PLAYING FOR THE TOP GOLD PROGRAMS

[NORCALGOLD]

I still think to this day ASA 16 Nationals is one of the best recruiting events for the younger girls from 14 - 16 and I think it is the least used event.I would rather my kid play on a 16u team that can make it to nationals than almost any average 18gold team.The 16u hall of fame ain't bad either.The gold programs do alot of their recruiting at 16 nationals.

[PlayingfortheOCB]

Hall of Fame tournament was another recruiting opportunity for our team last year... several college coaches were there in attendance watching the team play.

[Old Darter]

Wow, what a change! Seems I remember last summer an awful lot of folks on this board were blasting the very concept of playing 16u and not moving up to Gold. I was at 16u Nats in Owensboro and there were at least 100 college coaches there, and most of them were following the team blasted on this board the hardest. After 16u Nats, all but one kid on that team had been recruited and within 2 months all had verballed. I'd say it turned out to be a pretty good decision....

[3Bsnag]

OD- it didn't hurt that your team happened to win '08 16U Nationals either.

[3Bsnag]

I think some posters are generalizing DI. Sure there are kids that get recruited DI from an average Gold team, but aren't you really asking if she will go to a PAC or SEC type school? There's a big difference between UCLA and Coppin State Univ, both DI.

I'm with Sftbll4ever, I could care less and happen to be a fan of NAIA schools too. DD doesn't seem to agree with me on that though.

[AM Softball]

Sam, I see you snuck in a token Pac 10 school.

You sure you didnt get some help from a real Gold program like the one NorCalGold's DD is on?

I coached her when she was younger....she eventually played for Myers and Marty. Awesome kid and player.

This is a question I have been wanting to ask for awhile now. Obviously this girl could play, which is why Myers would want her on his team, because she definitely had the potential to be a DI player. Am I to believe that if this girl, with all of her talent, wouldn’t have gone to a DI school without going to Myers & Marty?

Let’s say Sam kept her the whole way through, you guys are telling me she doesn’t get a sniff from the DI coaches.

JMO, but I have always thought the top organizations have always done a great job recruiting elite players from other organizations that help continue the theory that these organizations are the only way to a DI school. I have seen all the post on here of National winning teams changing over to the top organization, all those girls got there without the “top organization” now that top organization acts like the only reason that team & players are good is because they are with them and the only reason why those girls will go on to a DI school.

I was just curious about everyone’s thoughts on this.

Should I just put my girl in rec and just save all the money it cost to be in the "top organization" because I bet if you calculate it out, it might actually be cheaper. I have heard outrageous fees being collected by these organizations.

A girl CAN get recruited on any team but if you go to these exposure tournaments, you will see double or triple the amount of coaches at the top programs games. Also, at Nationals, a lot of coaches stay til the end so obviously, the top teams will play more games and will have more exposure than the rest.

It isn't about exposure; it is about the MAXIMUM exposure. Playing AGAINST the top teams is just as good as playing for them at times (except how long they last in the tourney). If they come to watch the top teams and an opponent stands out, I'll guarentee they will find out her name.

[Old Darter]

No, it didn't hurt one bit! In fact probably helped one or two seal the deal with their 1st choice college.

[wadeintothem]

The only time I remember seeing Diane Ninemire looking at players at a tourney was the 16U HoF qualifier. And it was a pretty small tourney.

[Old Darter]

Diane and Tammy were both at 16u Nationals, as were Kelly and Lisa from UCLA. Lisa was there right through the championship game. The only PAC 10 Team I didn't see there was Arizona, but they very well could have sent an assistant since Candrea was pretty busy at the time.

[Gone in 2.6]

Wow, what a change! Seems I remember last summer an awful lot of folks on this board were blasting the very concept of playing 16u and not moving up to Gold. I was at 16u Nats in Owensboro and there were at least 100 college coaches there, and most of them were following the team blasted on this board the hardest. After 16u Nats, all but one kid on that team had been recruited and within 2 months all had verballed. I'd say it turned out to be a pretty good decision....

Playing 16's sure didn't hurt Bailie Kirker or Teagan Gerhart.

Or Taryne Mowatt and Katie Cochran for that matter.