WHAT DOES IT TAKE?

[exD1dad]

There is another way that is quicker ...Money

find a multi national corporation or hedge fund to sponsor you & your team, buy the best coaches & fields & it can be done much quicker than Rico & Hanning did it.

Look at the Birmingham Thunderbolts they needed a place to play so they built 2 fields (if you build it it will come) they had a visionary leader in Richard Shea who knew what it took to become a champion (he led Aurburn's Defense in Bo Jackson's day) & with that money they attracted talent & qualified coaches from several states & have produced quality players going to top major D1 schools

[McGee]

The question should not be how many players from a team got scholarships, but how many from the team actually graduated within 4- 5 years and how many ended up with some type of employment/career.

Other questions include how many girls stayed/played four years and how many were satified with the process.

[exD1dad]

I hate to burst your bubble McGee but isn't Exercise Science like the #1 major for SEC softball players?

My observations are the majority of kids just want to play ball & at a major it's a full time job, obviously you are correct about what the question "should be" regarding grd rates etc but where else in life is any students "dream school" once they verbal even if they'd never heard of the institution 1`8 months before?

[McGee]

I agree totally that many D1 programs have very low academic standards, push kids into easy majors and spend little time working with them on thier future outside sports.
My hope is that players recognize this going in and that kids with strong academic credentials take a long hard look at schools where the will be challenged acaddemically.
I think travel teams should look at schools from a variety of perspectives and point them in a direction that is best for the player as a whole. The early verbal trend certertainly is a huge wrench in this process and I think lots of players make decisions they regret years down the road.

[jonriv]

Anyone know of any TB organizations that specialize in ivy, patriot and nescac type school recruiting

[exD1dad]

JonRiv there's a SoCal team that's "high academic" the waves in simi valley . DD has played with several current roster members in wreck, HS & a couple of different TB teams, & it's a mix of private & public school players. They focus getting the girls seen & do but they don't go to Pennsbury or even try to qualify for PGF.

McGee it's not the academic standards that are low for athletes that I have a problem with & i've know how most (if not all ) schools have tutors for students & they (institutions) want them to succeed both on the field & & in the classroom. It's the growth of the sport which is now a business & the focus of the parents/players to just play anywhere without regard to majors or future career as the important thing is just becoming one of the 3% that go to the next level when the sport only lasts 4 years past HS. That being said knowing the deck is stacked against them somewhere from the end of a kids soph year (when most majors & mid majors have run out of money & are moving on to younger players) to their Senior year when they're applying to colleges that reality sets in for either parents or the players that they've now spent 30 to 50% of their life chasing a dream that will never be fulfilled.

sorry if I derailed this thread but like pale rider says.....

[jonriv]

It's the growth of the sport which is now a business & the focus of the parents/players to just play anywhere without regard to majors or future career as the important thing is just becoming one of the 3% that go to the next level when the sport only lasts 4 years past HS. That being said knowing the deck is stacked against them somewhere from the end of a kids soph year (when most majors & mid majors have run out of money & are moving on to younger players) to their Senior year when they're applying to colleges that reality sets in for either parents or the players that they've now spent 30 to 50% of their life chasing a dream that will never be fulfilled.

Well said

[McGee]

I do think education of parents and players about how the game actually works is paramount. Families need
need to learn about how the system really works and how they need to work the system. The graduation rates and academic standards of most of the teams left in the D1,D2 and D3 playoffs are embarassing yet no one talks about it.

How many of the girls these team's players go on to law, medical or graduate school and how many are recruited after school to work at firms that recruit top academic talent. The answer is an awfully low number. Many players from the SCIAC in southern cal or NESCAC back east actually play the game at a high level and end up with strong overall academic portfolios that lead to compelling careers, but very few travel teams point girls in this direction because they don't have the reputation of D1 competition.

HST is one of my favorite authors and I live my the quote" When he going gets weird, the weird turn pro"1

[jonriv]

The graduation rates and academic standards of most of the teams left in the D1,D2 and D3 playoffs are embarassing yet no one talks about it.

Not sure about at DI & II- but here is some info for the DIII teams in the Championship- data is from College prowler. Not sure I would call the Academic Standards of Tufts or the University of Rochester as "Embarrassing"? Of the schools I know- Salisbury has a very good business school- Montclair St(home of the Yogi Berra museum)also has a decent rep

School Admissions

Tufts Very Hard
Montclair St Average
Wisconsin White Water Easy
Salisbury Average
Trine Easy
Rochester Hard
St Thomas Very Easy
Eastern Texas Baptist Average

[3'sDad]

JR: I don't know all 8 schools in the DIII finals but your assessment of Tufts, Montclair St. Rochester & Salisbury matched my research.

There are two teams in our neck of the woods that focus on academics - one requires transcript review every semester; if you don't meet requirements your on probation; the other focuses on recruiting of their players by the academic DIII's.

I've chatted several times with the coach who focuses on academic DIII recruiting. Every other year he'll get a kid who can be admitted & play at one of the Ivy's. He generally advises them to focus on being a student - graduate with your Ivy degree and only play softball if it will have almost no impact on the players GPA - as example, a recent player is now at Cornell as an engineering major; she is not playing since engineering is a very challenging major, but she'll graduate on time with her Cornell degree.