Enlightened about "Unofficial" Recruiting

[softballermama]

So, I am pretty new at this TB stuff and just starting to learn a little about recruiting and things like that. With that being said,

My DD went to a softball clinic this past weekend. There were many girls there...my DD being 11 was one of the younger playing with 13-14 yr olds. Anyway, I was talking to several parents. At one point after the lunch break, they separated them into teams to play mini games. There were a group of girls (EXCELLENT PLAYERS) who were kept to play on the main field. All the main coaches stayed on the field and seemed to know the players by name. I figured it was for players they were maybe interested in. I ask a dad, who was filming his kid, if they were being recruited...he hesitated and said unofficially. I ask what age she was and he said 14! I was floored. In talking to a couple other parents, I learned most of the girls on the field were 14 yrs old. One of them was on her 2nd visit...her first happened when she was 13! Girls from ALL over the US for a 1 day clinic...WOW!

Does the recruiting process really happen when they are not even in HS yet? I had no idea. It sure was an eye opener for this newbie. One parent said, his DD already has "unoffical" offers (just turned 14), and most of the top schools already have their 2014 rosters solidified. Is that true?

[artomatic]

Take it all with a grain of salt, and remember it's coming from parents that are excited about their kids.

The college coaches are definitely looking at players that are 2014's and 2015's.
But they will throw around "She is my #1 recruit", "we are very interested in her, and we would like to get her on campus", etc pretty loosely.
Remember, you are paying to get your kid to their camps, which are also their fundraisers.
Don't get me wrong, there are a few incredible studs every year that are getting very early looks, and it is getting younger and younger.
But again, the coach is getting these players to pay their own expenses to attend their camps, why wouldn't they like it?

For us, it all was so confusing at first, then as time went on, it worked itself out.
What I rememeber clearly is when the coaches were really interested in my kid, they made sure we knew, and there wasn't any uncertainty. They began discussing verballing and financial amounts. Of course, you will also hear that verbals don't mean a thing, but they are how softball recruiting works, and they are real.
good luck and enjoy the ride.
Your 11 yr old still has time to enjoy being a kid before getting swept up in the recruiting process...

[AlwaysImprove]

For top 25 programs, they will be 'done' with 2014's in the next couple of weeks. Does that mean they have zero dollars, no, but it does mean they will largely stop looking at 2014's and start full on recruiting of 2015's. By March of the Sophomore year, they will declare they are done.

You will still see those programs looking at the occasional stud that got away through the end of the junior year, but they are no longer looking for talent in a broad fashion.

And as arto pointed out, it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of things. For talented players things often work out.

I think the current recruiting schedule puts more of an emphasais on first and second year 14 seasons. I know a few studs that were messing around, hoping teams, or found themselves on a team that was not traveling much. Then went and joined an 18g team, but a lot of the money was gone, so they struggled, more than expected to find a home.

[Iluvblue]

These camps are a huge plus for schools. YOU pay for them to go to the camp, not just the entry, but hotel and travel, so they are losing zero dollars out of their budget for recruiting. add in the fact that they actually MAKE money for their program off of the camp and it is win win.

Now you know for sure a kid is really interested in your school, or they would not come. You get an extended look at the player, get to actually practice with the player to see how they deal with instruction. There is just nothing not to like about these "Unofficial" visits if you are the college coach.

We had kids go on their "Official" visits AFTER they verbaled. I personally would like to see NCAA stop these things. Kids go to these camps hoping it will get them into ZERO chance of playing softball at the school, but it is cha ching for the teams fundraising.

[jonriv]

These camps are a huge plus for schools. YOU pay for them to go to the camp, not just the entry, but hotel and travel, so they are losing zero dollars out of their budget for recruiting. add in the fact that they actually MAKE money for their program off of the camp and it is win win.

Now you know for sure a kid is really interested in your school, or they would not come. You get an extended look at the player, get to actually practice with the player to see how they deal with instruction. There is just nothing not to like about these "Unofficial" visits if you are the college coach.

We had kids go on their "Official" visits AFTER they verbaled. I personally would like to see NCAA stop these things. Kids go to these camps hoping it will get them into ZERO chance of playing softball at the school, but it is cha ching for the teams fundraising.

It always depends on the camp/clinic

I agree- many are just used as a money maker. especially the "professional" off-campus events with "guest" coaches. Others are less set up as a either a true teaching clinic and/or a way to get a closer look at possible prospects. Several of the clinic/camps my DD attended were excellent(other were more like blue described) A good camp/clinic gives the player a chance to experience a college coach, meet and talk to real college players, many times a chance to work one-on-one with a college coach, sometimes the college players give a campus tour, and finally a chance to see what some of your competition is like.

Ironically- some of the better camps/clinics were the least expensive.

[softballermama]

Thanks for the information. I am in no hurry with my 11 year old. I just thought it would be good for me to educate myself so if she is still playing and still loves like she does when she gets a little older, I am not totally in the dark about the processes. For now, she is loving 12U and learning a lot.

Thanks all!!

[Sam]

College coaches recruiting 14 or 15 year olds are morons. They are projecting talent and physical shape 4-5 years....just for their freshman year in college. Idiots.

[SnocatzDad]

We had kids go on their "Official" visits AFTER they verbaled. I personally would like to see NCAA stop these things. Kids go to these camps hoping it will get them into ZERO chance of playing softball at the school, but it is cha ching for the teams fundraising.

Worst case on a college clinic, you get a chance to see a college campus first hand, get some instruction, meet some coaches, and see what kind of atmosphere there is. Even if those things lead you to cross that school off your list, that's still valuable.

Best case your kid stands out in some way and gets verballed or put on a watch list so that when they attend a college showcase later someone is actually making an effort to see them play versus going and hoping everyone notices their brilliance.

From a recruiting standpoint IMO attending college camps and clinics is the best bang for your buck. If your attending a camp at a school your kid has no chance to play for then it's still a chance to see if it's somewhere they want to go to school. There are some camps that are just revenue generators (too many kids, coaches don't run them, etc...) but I beleive every school uses some camp or clinic annually as one of their main recruiting tools you just need to do a little research to figure out which one.

[SnocatzDad]

College coaches recruiting 14 or 15 year olds are morons. They are projecting talent and physical shape 4-5 years....just for their freshman year in college. Idiots.

Girls mature early. Many won't grow another inch after 14. There is a 13 year old at our school that is 6'0", fast, pitches pretty well, and when she bats cranks the ball out of the park on a regular basis. I can understand college coaches getting excited about her because we don't have any 18 year olds that do all that at our school and the kid should only get better and stronger.

It could be that kid has peaked and some other late bloomer will pass her up and get looked over because she wasn't a stud at 14U. With girls, because they physically mature earlier, that seems less likely than with boys, but it's always possible.

[Vess Express]

I agree that girls mature early, physically. I was almost the identical height and weight at 21, as I was when I turned 15. And, I agree that at 13 - 14, if a kid is good, it isn't very likely they will get worse by 21.

I just worry a little about their mental maturity. Have you ever sat around and listened to 8th graders? One day, they think softball (or volleyball, or school, or some kid at school) is the greatest thing ever in the history of the universe. Two days later, they never want to play that game or be seen with that person again. Two more days pass, and the whole scenario could have changed again.

They cannot comprehend that they have choices, and will most definitely be over the top happy at the first offer they get. They will then spend many days writing the name of that school all over their middle school papers, and book covers. On the other hand, if I were the college coach trying to make sure I had an 8th grader lined up, I would be worried. That kid could very well forget all about what was said, when another college coach says something they like better. And it could be something as goofy as what their school mascot is.