Help with getting on College teams radar

[Lefty123]

My daughter is starting high school, she been playing softball since she was 5, and has been pitching for 5 years. She is signed up with NCAA. She pitches left handed and bats left. Should we start sending her information and video to colleges just to get her on their radar or should we wait to her sophomore year? Also should she play for a well know team, i.e. Firecrackers, Bat Busters, etc.?
Also if you know of any other ways to help me help her get on a college teams radar it will greatly be appreciated.

[jonriv]

Have you filled out the player/student profile on the athletic website on the schools website?

[Lefty123]

No, but I will make that my next step.

[Safebyahare]

Have your kid sign up and take the SAT as a freshman.
I know it sounds crazy at this age, but it puts you on another map, and another road you will have to cross in future.
Don't worry if she bombs, that's a none issue. It gives you access to great stuff and information you will need..
collegeboard.com
Don't listen to school councilors, the one size fits all doesn't apply to student athletes.
Have her take it every spring when what she learned in school is still fresh. (May, before TB kicks back in)

If you are aggressive now, the rest falls into place without rush and fuss.

[Safebyahare]

Make a cheat sheet after filling in a college student interest form, you will need it again and again it will save you time.

[exD1dad]

Hare brings up a great point & a big mistake I made with my DD. She should take the SAT every year to chart progress, my DD took it at the beginning of her Soph year, popped an 1810 without studying or having any tutoring (which qualifies for the Ivy league academic index as well as Patriot league standards) but last June we listened to her Dean (he HS version of a counselor) & took SAT subject tests deciding to wait until Oct to retake the SAT, Since she goes to one of the top private schools in the country (ranked 12 by Forbes) her 3.2 would translate to 4.2 in LA public schools but coaches dont care about that even though she'll probaly go over 2000 because s they are inundated with emails & correspondence & like water they follow the path of least resistance

[jonriv]

Attend camps held at and hosted by the college you have interest in

As far a grades go-remember freshman grades are as if not more important than senior grades

Besides the great advice on taking the sat numerous times, plan to take the act as well. Most schools accept both and some kids score better on the act(it was the case with my son)

[hit4power]

All good advice above, but "Ready, Aim, Fire" is better than "Ready, Fire, Aim" so it might be good to sit down and start to think about what kind of school your kid would like to attend if you haven't already done this. It can be hard for a 13-14yr old to know (and describe) what she wants (and doesn't want) out of her college experience but it's worth the effort to try to build some kind of list of schools that she thinks fits her desires and then focus on those. Be prepared to continually update the list as your DD moves along- her understanding of college will grow and her views change, you both will gain a better understanding of her academic and athletic abilities, and all that will drive schools on and off "the list". As an example, in 9th grade my DD wanted to attend a big school in the south and now she attends a small school in the northeast. I made my DD sit down with both parents a few times a year to review the list and add/subtract schools based on new learnings and/or visits. DD had regular "homework" to do on researching schools and their softball programs (we had to kick her butt to do this, but it was worth it) so that she could discuss with us why she was or was not interested in a particular school. The list also made it easy to keep track of communications, camps, etc. Four years later the list was down to 4-5 schools (only 2 of which were on the original list) that met DD's desires and where there was some interest level (from walk-on to firm commitment) in her as a player.

One point I would re-inforce heavily from above is that many HS college/guidance counselors don't understand the athletic recruiting process very well and when parents of the athlete are having to "buck the system" to get what they need, it can cause friction. I wish we had gone into the college counselor's office early in 9th grade and sat down to explain what we were trying to do, assess their understanding of the process, etc etc. It would have saved some grief later on.

[Safebyahare]

Open an email account in her name, but you have access to.
Do hers and yours emails from this site in regards to anything college. (just college)
It will help keep college stuff organized and miscellaneous crap out.

[Safebyahare]

Getting on the radar.,,,,,,,,,email,,email,,,,email.
This may sound crazier than taking SAT as freshman but here we go.
You compose an email as if you were her and send. 10x
Have her compose an email (without your help!) and send it. 10x
Together compose an email (more her than you) send it. 10x
Keep a list of who you sent to,,,,,no repeats. except the process.
See wich one gets more bites or responses,, send more emails.

I canvased for my dd. I composed a letter as if I were her. I got a few hits and I emailed a lot, I mean A LOT!
One day I got tied of doing all the work and she pissed me off, so I told her she needs to do it and that I would not.
It looked stupid to me, lame, it was immature and not a resume.
She got responses,,,,lots,,all the time.over a 95percent.
Sure they were not all good responses, but they were honest. and answered her question.
She would ask a question, they would respond, she would write back as if a text, they would respond.
She started dialogs.
I busted my ass, and she stepped in and showed me how it's done.
College coaches are not stupid, they can tell the difference between a parent and a student.
She would send unedited iphone clips of her hitting and practicing, not an edited skills video.
They loved it.

So to get on radar,,,,,,start emailing.

I am sure others have a better way, but that worked for her.