18 Gold update

[maxedout007]

Is Andrea Harrison signed to UCLA or just a walk-on? I know she made a commitment but there is nowhere on ucla's site that she has signed a LOI I have seen that she is most defineatly good enough to be on a scholarship but Yudin is the only one on the site that has signed.

[andy]

"If exposure is one of the main reasons for playing at this point, then why would a freshman or sophomore have to play GOLD"

Gold Nationals is about winning a National Championship and not about showcasing. Softball is still a sport and people still play it to compete as a team against other teams. College coaches who go to Gold are there to see their future players or current players compete against each other in a challenging venue under pressure. Players need to compete under pressure as a team and participating in Gold Nationals give them that experience. Showcasing is more an individual concept wherein emphasis is on individual and not team performance. Those who believe attending Nationals is about showcasing are self-centered towards their individual goals versus playing softball with team goals and enjoying the sport because it is a sport. Are people playing softball solely to get a scholarship? I thought people play a sport to compete and challenge oneself. If an athlete prepares herself and her skills and participates at the highest level they can, the scholarship part takes care of itself. In the meantime, they can enjoy the game itself an learn to play under pressure the same as they will have to in college. learning to compete for a position on a team, learning to compete against other teams, is all part of the process that will make a player a success in college.

GCH are National Champs and did a great job in achieving their golas.

[Sam]

"If exposure is one of the main reasons for playing at this point, then why would a freshman or sophomore have to play GOLD"

Gold Nationals is about winning a National Championship and not about showcasing. Softball is still a sport and people still play it to compete as a team against other teams. College coaches who go to Gold are there to see their future players or current players compete against each other in a challenging venue under pressure. Players need to compete under pressure as a team and participating in Gold Nationals give them that experience. Showcasing is more an individual concept wherein emphasis is on individual and not team performance. Those who believe attending Nationals is about showcasing are self-centered towards their individual goals versus playing softball with team goals and enjoying the sport because it is a sport. Are people playing softball solely to get a scholarship? I thought people play a sport to compete and challenge oneself. If an athlete prepares herself and her skills and participates at the highest level they can, the scholarship part takes care of itself. In the meantime, they can enjoy the game itself an learn to play under pressure the same as they will have to in college. learning to compete for a position on a team, learning to compete against other teams, is all part of the process that will make a player a success in college.

GCH are National Champs and did a great job in achieving their golas.

Your view, in my opinion, is the view of the Cruisers, Batbusters, Angels, Firecrackers, and a select few others....but for the other 54 teams at Gold Nationals who had no chance of winning, they get their kids showcased against the best of the best. For the other teams at 16U through 18 Gold its all about the exposure and really not a lot else. I think your view is valid, but for a very few teams.

[andy]

Sam
My view is emphasis on showcasing and chasing a scholarship is not good for the sport. Camps such as the Adidas Futures is a better idea. It seems like no one plays tournaments anymore Just showcases that mean nothing and once a player is committed, they wind up sitting while the unsigned players compete. Playing under pressure and playing for something adds to skill development and that is now declining as well.

[Sam]

Sam
My view is emphasis on showcasing and chasing a scholarship is not good for the sport. Camps such as the Adidas Futures is a better idea. It seems like no one plays tournaments anymore Just showcases that mean nothing and once a player is committed, they wind up sitting while the unsigned players compete. Playing under pressure and playing for something adds to skill development and that is now declining as well.

I don't disagree with your statement. My view is reflecting my reality of coaching at the 16U level and with two non-qualifying 18 Gold teams....right now it is what it is....

[andy]

Yes, you are correct. Right now that is how it is. Girl's softball is the only sport where the emphasis is now on recruiting versus actually playing a sport. No other sport has anything ismilar to the amount of showcases or team showcasing that softball is now doing. I think most people who first joined a sport did so to play as a team and compete while having fun with teammates.

The true success of a recruitment can be measured when a player not only gets into college but plays for her four years at the same college, achieves some success or awards such as All Conference, All Area or All American and helps lead her team to a Regional, Super Regional and or College World Series. That then shows she chose the right school and so did the college choose the right player. It also shows the true fruits of her efforts and hard work during her softball years. That is typically the standard athletes in all sports are graded by. And of course the end result is a college degree.

Few numbers exists out there or at least are published by teams or players that show the numbers of actual full rides given to players and those players who keep their scholarships full for all four or five years. Few numbers show how many players wind up either not playing or dropping our or not having their scholarship re-newed. All that is publicized is that the player committed to so and so college. What a waste it is for an athlete to do all the hard work growing up in the sport and then becoming disappointed in college when they realize they are not prepared for what it takes to keep and maintain their skills and scholarships. If an athlete plays the sport for fun and to compete and obtains a scholarship as a result , then the sport tends to continue to be fun and the athlete continues to be rewarded. If the athelete and parents plan for their college funds without depending on atheltic aide, then the recruitment is not what they thought it would be, the athlete still gets her college education. If an athlete can obtain academic aide, they can not lose it as they can lose athletic aide year to year. If parents spent as much on tutors as they do hitting or pitching lessons, they would not have to worry about showcasing and their DDs would be admitted to any school of their choice.

[Fasterpitch]

Andy,

I agree with some of your statements about Gold, but I think your in the dark a little.

I agree with Sam alot. There are a few that travel to OKC with the hopes of winning. There are fewer that actually have a chance to win. The teams that Sam listed are for the most part, the teams that go to win ( there are a few more). But they are the teams that have girls already signed or already playing in college.

Getting into college through softball is the reason that most 15-17 age girls play at this point. They have a great love for softball, but they are not traveling all over the counrty, just to play.

Oh well.....not sure that it matters to explain.

If your spending 10,000 or more a year for your 15 year old to only have fun, more power to you. I do not travel to California, OKC x2, Florida, Colorado, Kentucky only for the fun of it. We have alot of fun along the way, and would not be doing it, if it was not fun. But it is not the only reason.

[andy]

I am in the dark, uhhhhh ok

[3strikesLooking]

Andy,
You`re not in the dark a little...You are stuck in a 14u Fog!
Tell me what were the years of batting and pitching lessons for?
So you and DD can have a little fun on Sundays? By 16-18gold-
usually the system is purged and the only DD`s that are left are the
serious ones in it for an Education paid for by her years of hard work,
sweat, blood and her fair share of bad coaching.
Sam is right. There are only a handfull of Elite teams that still have that
mantality of winning every tournament there in, at any cost.

[anonlooker]

Andy,

I just finished re-reading your recent posts in this topic.

There are only a handful of posters on here who provide any real insight into the upper divisions, recruiting, and college. Your posts contained more meaningful, intelligent perspective on those aspects of the game than I've read on here in a month. Or maybe ever.

Thank You.