Silly D1 Coach Talk to Freshman

[jonriv]

You could ask as many questions as you like but it doesn't necessarily mean they will tell you the truth. For instance at my DD school when a recruit comes in they're told to tell that recruit how much they love it there and practices tend to "be fun" so the recruit can feel at home. Once you get there it's a whole other story. What I've learned is these are life lessons that the girls need to learn on their own and how they deal with each situation. Some weeks my kid wants to come home and other weeks she loves it. It is a job and if you're on a scholarship then yes you are being paid so you need to work.

There was an old Army joke: "How can you tell when a recruiter is lying??" "When his lips are moving!"

[Makina]

I fully expect my daughter to earn her p/t. In fact, she cannot be equal or slightly better than the returning players. She must be clearly better and has to prove it everyday in practice!

When choosing a college or even TB team you need to look at several things:

1. Returning players that plays your daughters position or could even be moved to her position.
2. Have you watched the team play - how do the coaches react under pressure, especially when a player/team fails!
3. Who are the new players that the coach is recruiting/committed?
4. Does the coach have a history of playing freshmen or typically only plays upper class men?

And most importantly, will she be happy with out playing but getting an education from that school

[93players]

There are many solid programs with terrific players sitting on the bench -- A&M and OU and Bama. Connie has been working many players in games including some of the weaker players against weaker opponents.

Losing will tend to shake things up. Stats dont lie. Coaches cannot afford to play .100 batters or pitchers with high er or catchers with high stolen base counts. When a player gets a chance, you have to take advantage and prove that you belong on the field.

It is just like a job with a boss. You have favorites and those in the doghouse. But stats expose those a little more clearly than in a real job where performance can be a judgment call.

[jonriv]

My daughter rode the pine most her freshmen year- combination of a concussion during spring games in florida and capable upper classmen ahead of her kept her play and at-bats to a minimum

She kept her nose clean and worked hard. Was thrilled to pinch -run when needed and hit well when called upon.

This year(her sophomore) she started the year platooning in the outfield. Coach told her that the more she hit the more she would play- hitting got her the starting position and more hitting moved her from the ninth spot to clean-up. Also, the coaches changed her batting (utilized a bunt looking timing devise) In private I howled that they didn't know what they were doing- I was WRONG

Guess what- these people are professional coaches. We here on the the Bucket think we are the experts, but my guess is that most of the coaches are more of softball experts than we are. They also have the advantage of seeing the players practuce everyday.

Players need to act all the time like someone is watching-because they are. Effort will get you the shot, talent and performance will keep you there. College teams at all levels are populated with players that were the the best(or one of the best) from their hometowns, HS, Travel teams etc..... Everyone thinks they deserve playing time

[Sftbll4ever]

Losing will tend to shake things up. Stats dont lie. Coaches cannot afford to play .100 batters or pitchers with high er or catchers with high stolen base counts. When a player gets a chance, you have to take advantage and prove that you belong on the field.

Sadly, that is not always true!!!