How Big Is Your DDs List

[Fastpitch4Life]

Great question! Yes it was, but she did not receive any correspondence from them at first-despite several e-mails from her. Her guidance counselor had suggested the school at a meeting with my DD March of her junior year- she then contacted the coach via e-mail and requested a meeting- the coach agreed. We both went to see him and it turned out this coach(whom we had heard nothing from) had a huge file on her and had seen her play a number of times- so I guess you never know

Starting during her sophomore season she sent out e-mails, newsclipping etc religiously to her list- several coaches had commented how much they began to look forward to them

Gernally speaking, what is the content of those outreach emails? At what point do coaches agree to meet with you and your DD?

[jonriv]

Initial e-mails are generally an intro- perhaps a link to a video or stats site. Filling out the prospects form on the college website should be done early in the process- sending out frequent e-mails- schedules, highlights, newspaper article etc.. is also good. Attending a camp or clinic at the school is also great.

As far as the interview goes- just ask about a certain date and go for it! ie " I am planning to visit your College on Sat, ......, what time would you be available to meet?" Half of the interviews my DD had started that way- including the school she has committed to. Some other case the coaches initiated the interview. It is a great "real-life" experience for you DD. These interviews are great practice for future job interviews. By time the process was near the end, our DD did not need(or want) my wife and I there. She even handled 5 interviews in one day in the Boston area- all by herself. My advice- get out there, visit schools, have meetings with coaches and asst coaches- enjoy the experience

[AM Softball]

I have about 40 for my daughter but she has a top 10 already. I say get a top 10 of where you would totally love to play. Then get another 20-30 that you would also like to play at if you couldn't play at any of your top 10. You have to reach for your dreams yet still protect yourself by having the most opportunities as possible. College coaches have multiple players they look at too so you need to look at multiple schools.

Always look at "in-state" likes first because if you were not offered a full scholarship, as most aren't, you want to know if the costs left are something you could handle or if you would consider your kid walking on and earning money the following seasons. Scholarships are signed year to year and coaches know if they would have any money available in the future.

Look at the schools as if zero money were given and then work from there. If a top ten offered you 60% but a top 20 offered you a full, would you take that? What is most important to your family? Education? Softball? Scholarship amount? Location? Playing time? Be honest with yourself! Then you can narrow it down. You might also end up adding to it if college coaches not on your list show interest.

I notice your focus is all on softball.
Many have said pick the school that if you walked on campus and the first day got hurt and could never play a gain would you still want to be at that school.

I absolutely agree with your last statement. I disagree that my focus is pure softball. Not true and many of my daughter's top picks are amazing academic schools. I said look at what makes you happy...at the end of the day, some girls will go to play competitive softball first while some girls will go for the academics. It's up to them. I know personally, my daughter would choose UCLA, Cal, or AZ over Harvard, Yale and Princeton if they all offered the same thing because she wants an opportunity to play on TV or win a National championship yet still get a good degree...but it won't be an Ivy degree. That is her decision. To each is their own...

[fasterpitch92701]

A couple of comments....

- listen to jonriv
- DD was VERY hesitant about calling a coach. I said fine, call a school you really are not interested in and try it. If it fails, you do something silly, whatever, it doesn't matter. She called the coach at Williamette. The expectation was an answering machine or 2 minute discussion. 40 minutes later they got off the phone. Great coach. Very good school. Very impressive. It was a top 10. It didn't end up being "the one" but she will ALWAYS have good memories of her first call. The POINT is... after the first call it's a lot easier. Get past the first call.
- call assistant coaches... they are the ones dealing with 80% of recruiting. Really.
- be aware... that... and this is ONLY in my opinion.... many schools send out pseudo-scouts to check out players. No uni's, no hat, no clipboard... just a piece of paper in a pocket with the name, number, field and time. I think it happens a LOT more than most think. And, yes, they sit in the stands with parents and observe... take it as you will.

nevertheless, hello...

[jonriv]

- DD was VERY hesitant about calling a coach. I said fine, call a school you really are not interested in and try it. If it fails, you do something silly, whatever, it doesn't matter. She called the coach at Williamette. The expectation was an answering machine or 2 minute discussion. 40 minutes later they got off the phone. Great coach. Very good school. Very impressive. It was a top 10. It didn't end up being "the one" but she will ALWAYS have good memories of her first call. The POINT is... after the first call it's a lot easier. Get past the first call.
- call assistant coaches... they are the ones dealing with 80% of recruiting. Really.
- be aware... that... and this is ONLY in my opinion.... many schools send out pseudo-scouts to check out players. No uni's, no hat, no clipboard... just a piece of paper in a pocket with the name, number, field and time. I think it happens a LOT more than most think. And, yes, they sit in the stands with parents and observe... take it as you will.

Similar here- went on first tour/interview at a school low on the list. Coach spent 1hr 40 minutes- "so this is your first interview" then went on to let both of us what to expect , what to do (ie register with NCAA) It was great- coach actually contacted DD a year after first interview- DD had also put together a hand-out(stats, highlights etc), a DVD and also had a binder with all of her Newspaper clippings-(coaches ate them up!!!) My job was to sit on the side and keep my mouth shut(spoke only when spoken to) Coaches want to talk to your daughters-not you. Make sure that your daughters are prepared. Toughest part for my DD was get her to toot her own horn- I let her know that this was a time that it was acceptable. DDs need to be confident, but not cocky.

As for secret scouts- alumnus are everywhere!!!! As are parents of current players. Smart coaches use all sources. Best advice - DDs should act as though someone is watching always(on and off the field) because they just might be. Several coaches said they like to watch the players on the bench and between games- especially during warm-ups. They will look at attitude and dedication almost as much as talent- They also will look at how they treat their parents-they will also watch parents so make sure you behave too!

[fasterpitch92701]

jonriv.... yes... alumni and current players... we know we had multiple instances of current players "visiting the fields" when we went to Colorado and Surf City... very quiet, no logos. And, as for former students, we know coaches have communicated with past players, some 10 years prior, with a "we have a potential candidate who appears to live close to you..." routine.

Net/net, players and parents would do well to assume that they are on a podium, highly visible, from the very start of a tournament during the recruiting process. On the airplane, in the airport, in the hotel, in the parking lot, warming up... and... yea, during the game. Great players with clown/abusive/whacko parents... probably won't go far. Great parents with a snotty attitude player, don't want to practice or commit to the game or team attitude... or should I say ATTITUDE...., same thing. Why put up with the c-r-a-p.

[SDSUXO]

- be aware... that... and this is ONLY in my opinion.... many schools send out pseudo-scouts to check out players. No uni's, no hat, no clipboard... just a piece of paper in a pocket with the name, number, field and time. I think it happens a LOT more than most think.


____________________________________________
I couldn't agree more! My daughter is a sophomore, with a list of potential schools of about 50 currently. We have a recruiter who started working with her team, who provided exactly what is stated above....you NEVER know who is watching. She commented to my daughter, being a 2013, that the most frustrating part of this "process" is not knowing where DD stands...because the coaches are unable to contact her direct. Hopefully come September 1, 2011, things will change and we'll have a better idea of true prospects.

In the meantime, ALWAYS be on best behavior...player AND parent!

[CheckWriter]

I guess I'm not so sure about this whole "best behavior" thing . Think they should be themselves. If that's not a good fit with the coach/team/school maybe it would be good to know before DD gets there. If DD or mom & dad have to try that hard to "behave", it will be pretty tough once DD arrives on campus.

JMO

[Blind Squirrel]

She commented to my daughter, being a 2013, that the most frustrating part of this "process" is not knowing where DD stands...because the coaches are unable to contact her direct.

Coaches are smart enough to indirectly get word to you if they want to, regardless of the kid's graduating year. Could be any number of reasons why they haven't wanted to yet. No interest in being personal or mean - just setting the record straight.

BTW, I would ask the recruiter who suggested otherwise about my statement. Maybe your recruiter is aware of recent developments that I don't know about. If my comment is wrong, please post the correct information.

Best of luck to your kid and you. Recruiting is very stressful.

John

[CatWoman]

One of the ways we were able to figure out which coaches were interested was to start tracking who was there when DD was in the game playing. Unless your travel coach tells you, you really don't know which coach is watching which players unless you have a parent saying that they recently spoke with Coach X and they said they were coming to watch their daughter. I found that most people keep that to themselves but there will always be a couple of parents that want everyone to know. This, then makes every other parent insecure (trust me).

DD started out with a list of 12 schools and then generally sent out about 10 emails with her schedule before every weekend to coaches she was either in contact with or that she was interested in. We always used the same reference line with her name, team, year, and position. In the beginning, we also inserted a photo of her playing at the top of the email and right away would say something that was unique about her. In my DD's case, it was her size, otherwise you might put in batting average, speed, etc. After every game, DD would either email or call a coach's cell phone number if she had it and thank them for coming (regardless if we knew they were there to see her or not). After she returned a questionnaire to the school, she would make a follow-up call to see if they received it. She would email ahead of time to let them know she would be calling at a particular time. We were able to gauge their interest by whether anyone picked up the phone or not. If no one picked up the phone, she left a message of when she would call back. Often, the coach would then contact her travel ball coach and arrange a time for her to call for a conversation. When DD first started making phone calls, I would eavesdrop and cringe at the coaches having to endure some of the conversations but as time went on, she became really good at talking and we found it to be an extremely valuable process. This process worked well for her.