Recruitment help

[Safebyahare]

Reading the original post. I would NOT recommend a third party service.
To me they just seem to be money scams preying on parents. Besides they don't care where your kid goes.
You should and most important, so should your dd.
It sounds like you are doing the correct steps.
Have your dd be more direct. Point blank. Just try a few and see what happens.
Ask directly, what's to lose,
Are you in need of a 201* infielder with a good bat.
DON'T be afraid of NO. At least that is an answer.

[hit4power]

Personally it would be great to hear more from people that have gone through to DII, NAIA, DIII and JC routes

While I tend to agree with fasterpitch that this board is more D1 focused than "D-other" I'll bite on the request. I've posted some of this earlier in various threads but FWIW some thoughts. BTW, my kid is a junior at a NESCAC school.
1) As was pointed out above, any answer, even "no" is better than no answer. Don't fear the "no". Just move on.
2) The recruiting process is far from perfect. If you pull your hair out at the draft selections of your favorite NFL team, just imagine how nuts you would be if they had to pick 9th and 10th graders. That's what many D1 college coaches face - I don't envy them, and there's no way they can get it right consistently. D-other coaches struggle just as much as they often have limited budgets and travel options.
3) Be realistic about where your DD slots in the talent competition. That means asking and listening to those who know. The sooner you can understand where she fits, the sooner you can get started on the right recruiting process.
4) Academics matter. They matter a lot at some schools and less at others, but there are no programs where coaches are not concerned with grades and the ability of the prospective athlete to make academic progress.
5) Carefully consider the "D" decision. The experience your DD will have is different at the different "D" levels. Even if your kid has the stuff to play at high level D1, that experience is not for everyone. There are kids playing D-other who were recruited to play D1 but opted for a different experience. Different strokes for different folks...
6) How did my kid get recruited? My kid is where she is b/c first, she smoked the SAT (never saw it coming) which caused us to have to regroup on target schools, and second: coach A talked to coach B at dinner one night in Colorado and mentioned my kid. We did all the stuff that you're supposed to do: emails, phone calls, videos, played for a top TB team, etc etc etc. All that work generated one small D-1 offer (walk-on w/ academic $), one IVY offer, and three DIII offers. But at the end, it came down to a dinner in Colorado.

[catcherzrule]

Fastpitch Scout.com

Inexpensive (relatively), useful, gives you feedback....helped my kid and a few others that I know. It's worth a look.

[outtahere]

GO TO: http://mfrm.org/ "MyFit" Do everything else mentioned above. MyFit will keep your pursuit of colleges more focused and blends academics/college desires & softball all in one program. It is amazing!

[outtahere]

Just want to encourage people looking for the "right colleges" to pursue to use this service. My DD is a unnsigned 2015. We have been "chasing" random colleges that send acdemic interest, some she just likes and others we never heard of. No real plan or reasoning. Getting to the "panic" point. Used MyFIt and got the recommended top 10. What a difference. We can now focus on schools that fit her academically (3.9 gpa) as well as all the other factors the system uses. Steve even called us to follow up and talk about DD's top "10". This would be EXTRAORDINARILY useful for people just starting the search process. Be honest about GPA's use UNweighted 9-12 GPA's not including PE etc. This will provide you with an excellent match up. As you can tell from my rambling, this really is an excellent program. The most inclusive I have ever seen to date. It even directly links you to the college website

[Battle]

DON'T be afraid of NO. At least that is an answer.

That is probably the best advice to adhere to. Also, if you do call or email a coach, don't mistake a "no call back" for a "no" response. Make them actually tell you no. Coaches understand that this is a very important decision in your life and will talk to you at some point.

As far as third party recruiting sites, if they are not quickly putting you face to face with the schools of your choice then don't put too much stock in them. There are a lot of advertising on threads like these and it kinda pisses me off.

[Crankymom]

I took a look at the "MyFit" questionnaire and didn't see any place to enter SAT or ACT scores. Is there somewhere to do that? Because we all know the 4.0 student who gets a less than impressive score on the SAT.

Hit4power, do you have a sense for how high you need to score on the SAT for NESCAC schools? I ask this because my 2016 feels that she did not "smoke the SAT" and her score is substandard for academically elite schools (she has a 2200 right now). She is trying the ACT next month with the hope that the ACT is "easier" for her.

Of course, my 2016 is not a stud player and she doesn't know if she wants to play in college. I have encouraged her to keep an open mind, because softball could help her get into an academically challenging DIII school. There are programs where the softball isn't that great and they need to find academically qualified players (and I think academically qualified players are in short supply - though maybe someone can comment on that).

[fasterpitch92701]

[quote][/quote] I have encouraged her to keep an open mind, because softball could help her get into an academically challenging DIII school. There are programs where the softball isn't that great and they need to find academically qualified players (and I think academically qualified players are in short supply - though maybe someone can comment on that).
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The often lamented and quoted phrase is "fit". While some discount it, IMHO, it is 100% accurate. Go to a school you would go to if they didn't have a softball team.

As for "programs where the softball isn't that great".... all in the eyes of the beholder. Have you ever been to a D3 game? Go to a Tufts game and observe first hand. There is as much passion and energy for the game as you would find anywhere at any school at any time.

As for "academically qualified players", there are many. These student athletes typically understand that they aren't going pro and are striving for engineering, pre-med, biochem, physics, etc. degrees and not "women's studies", 17th century French literature, communication or "multidisciplanary studies" degrees. They just happen to play quality softball as well.

My experience with whom they select, or don't select, clearly indicates that the school understands "fit" just as much as the student should, or more so.. 2400 SAT students have been and continue to be rejected if there is not a fit. Yes, that is reality. 2200 is fine and nothing to worry about. Continue on with the ACT. Pursue with optimism.

There was a show (60 minutes?) about the selection process at NESCAC schools (my daughters school, by chance). The video of an actual meeting of the selection committee was absolutely brutal. Ruthless. My wife jokingly commented "how did our daughter ever get in?" But... it emphasized and enforced the notion that a 2400 SAT is great but it is NOT everything. The selection committee looks at what your daughter brings to the school and how the school would enhance your daughter. Two way street. Forget the "need 2400" mantra. Your daughter will do just fine. Strive for the best fit and let softball follow. Really.

[Crankymom]

I realize that some DIII teams would be good competition for some lower level DI teams. My 2016 could not play at those DIII schools. But what about programs that are not so good? I won't name schools but one top LAC in the Midwest had an 0-22 season last year. They were run ruled in almost every game.

While DH says that our 2016 isn't college softball material, he acknowledges that she probably could play for that 0-22 team - she might even help a team like that.

As for academically qualified players, I don't think there are that many of them. I say this having gone through this process with my 2013. She ended up at a DI school that only has club ball, but she had interest from some DIII schools with not-so-good teams but with high academic standards. How many girls are there that play travel ball and have standardized test scores in the 98th-99th percentile? I don't know the number, but it can't be very large.

Ultimately my 2013 went with a school for "fit" (and because she didn't get into the schools she really wanted to attend). My 2016 will do the same. Some of the schools that interest her are DIII, and we're just trying to point out that softball might help with admissions. It might only be a slight advantage, but you need to work things in your favor as much as possible when schools have very low admission rates.

[fasterpitch92701]

Unless I am misreading your post, what you looking for is a mediocre softball school with good academics.

Question: why bother? Really. She could play slow pitch beer ball on weekends and have some fun.

Suggestion: find the academic school(s) of you and your daughters choice and get in. Forget fastpitch softball. If she can't play at the required level there is a time to say "move on". It appears from your post that that time is at hand. Study hard and develop alternative sports or hobbies but maybe it's time to wave softball goodbye.