2kids2catchers wrote:fastpitchdad05 wrote:Most people don't do any sort of rankings of teams after 14U. Even the legendary HB poster, Brackey tread lightly on ranking 16U. Doing what Padre de Spazo did and going by tourney results is a good idea if you want to at least get an idea of who's near the top.
I will assume that you are asking because you want to know what 16U team might be best for your DD if she were to try out. It's important to know why you're asking because the "best" 16U team is different according t
o what you are attempting to achieve.
All that said. I have no clue who the best is because I haven't done any research and my DD is in college. She played against one of the top players for Tidd/Ornelas in HS last year and that player is very good.
Thank u Fast. I know after talking wit a few other parents who have been through this as u have, we just decided to skip 16's n go straight to 18U. I appreciate u taking the time to respond n share. Glad there r a few good parents on this site
My DD played 16U for one fall season and then went to 18U when she was still 14U eligible so I have some experience with this.
I used to think that we made a mistake doing this because the 18U team she played for was not an elite team and didn't get on "the good fields". There were some other more minor issues involved, but let's just say that I realize now that the biggest mistake we made ("we" being the team of her mom, myself and my daughter) had next to nothing to do with what team we were on, it was the amount and quality of the effort we put into identifying what her target schools were and contacting their coaches.
We thought that she was so good that she would be eventually "found". But if you don't properly target the colleges she's interested in and effectively contact those schools so that they show up to see your DD it heavily decreases your DD's chances.
Playing for a high profile team (meaning one of the absolute top teams in the country) will help your DD to be "found", but unless you are a top player on one of those teams (and maybe even still) you will need to do what 99% of the players who get successfully recruited do - their homework.
Don't expect her talent alone to be enough, because even some of the better players can fall thru the cracks.