Just out of curiosity, is your D a pitcher? Maybe I’m not breaking any new news here, but softball appears even more pitching dominated than baseball. If your D was a pitcher, then that to me would be easier to display/show to any college recruiter.
Also, does your D hit/bat left-handed? Why? Even more so in softball, the distance once you leave the batter’s box to 1st base is really, really short in softball. I’d think being a left-handed hitter would be very advantageous in recruiting, but I don’t know that with any certainty.
Just some random thoughts, although I know nothing about college softball recruiting.
She’s not a pitcher nor left handed. She said a pitcher last year was recruited and is playing in college but she does not know where. We are in a small Catholic high school in NYC—-> there’s actually a college fair tonight at her school so I will take this opportunity to ask some colleges how they go about recruiting.
@twoinanddone I dont know what I’m looking at. Insert cry/laughing emoji here
Look at some of the smaller D2 schools in North/South Carolina. I’m sure most have softball - Limestone, Belmont Abbey, Queens, Mt. Olive. Just nice schools with a good mix of athletics. Also the PA D2 schools are nice, but may not have as much money to give out - West Chester, Bloomberg, Slippery Rock.
Your first step is to find a tournament team. Tournament teams play year round but, depending on location, things lighten up a bit in the late fall and early winter. Your problem now is that tryouts are typically in the fall. Try googling teams in your area, and you may find one or two looking for additional players. The quality of teams varies considerably, but if you can, try to find one that is focused on skill development, rather than “daddy ball.” Once on a quality team, there will be emphasis on fundamentals and lifting – all of which is essential – but your D also will likely see a higher quality of tournament play than in high school – also important before going on to college.
Then you can work on a good recruiting plan Take plenty of video, fill out questionnaires, and start emailing coaches. As far as the best high academic showcases, Head First is the way to go. Certainly, there are others (Pennsbury has camps and team play), but Head First is a very good (albeit expensive) camp. In any recruiting plan, know that you have to reach out to coaches and not the other way around. Think about it, would you assume that employers would “find” you? Maybe a select few are recruited for jobs without trying, but most mortals have to actually apply for jobs.
There is a VERY, VERY low probability that ANY college coach will see your daughter at a high school game. First of all, D3 in particular has no recruiting budget, like nothing. So the chances that any D3 coach will hear of your D and go to a high school game is – well – virtually non-existent. D1 is only marginally more likely. They do go to high quality tournaments, but your D wont be seen if she isn’t on a good tournament team.
Have a discussion with your daughter. See if it is something that she would like to do. If so, commit to it and see where the process takes you. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Things to also consider–I’ve known many players who play as walk ons in various sports as well, if they aren’t at D1 schools. So even if not recruited, they can often play if in D2 or D3. But I’ve also known many who were recruited but who stayed on the team for only a short time because the sport conflicted with academics or other things they wanted to explore. For D1, they are owned by the team- essentially working for the college.
@bronxbaby, those Pa D2 schools mentioned by @twoinanddone play some pretty high level softball. The one thing that concerns me is that your school in NYC is small. That usually, but not always, means that there is not much in the line of competition for playing time. Is the school in a highly competitive league? Anyway, the most important thing now is to develop skills, and it is unlikely that that can be done in high school alone.
In most sports only the rare outlier, usually competing well at national tournaments, doesn’t have to do some legwork to get recruited.
I would talk to the coach and try to get an assessment of where he/she truly thinks your D can play. I’ve done that with 2 of my kids’ coaches and it was valuable information. Although both of them competed somewhat year round in their sport, so they were working with club coaches who had sent numerous kids to play in college, and both coaches also coached at the college level for several years.
Getting involved with some off season playing and practice is probably necessary. That can get expensive in a hurry. I would at least get a preliminary assessment by the HS coach if it is worth it.
Also you may have to assess whether your D really wants the sacrifices that entails. My S was all in for that experience. He probably cares more about his sport than his classes. My D I think could be a midlevel D3 player in a couple sports, and is kinda pursuing it, but I think she doesn’t care enough about competing for it to ultimately happen. Which is fine too.
D3 is easier to find a balance, and especially for a kid who hasn’t been all in, might be the best fit, regardless of ability.
I agree with @dadof4kids: you really have to want it badly to choose the D1 or D2 paths. The money in softball frequently isn’t that good for the number of hours you have to commit and the academic options that might be closed off for you. You have to be involved with the team for most of the year, you may not be free to study abroad, you won’t have much time for a job, in some cases there are entire majors that don’t fit well with some sport schedules. And in exchange for all that, Softball is an equivalency sport, so D1 gets 12 scholarships to split up across the entire varsity and JV rosters, and D2 gets 7.2. That means most of the 20-24 athletes won’t be getting more than a half scholarship, which is not much if you’re looking at OOS tuition and you needed more financial aid to afford the school.
My DD plays a different sport, but when it came time to choose a level she was looking at D2 to be average or D3 to be very good. Three things shaped her decision. First her aunt told stories of running D1 track at a very high level and was not at all certain she’d do it again because of the things she had to forego. Next, she suffered a season ending injury that cost her the last couple weeks of her high school season and the first month of club ball in the winter. Living without her sport was kind of an eye-opener. Finally she did get a D2 offer from a top 25 team, but it was $2500 per year and she was going to be behind an incoming transfer from Iowa State that played her position. Thanks no thanks, she chose D3 and has had a great experience in her three years to date.
TLDR: Even if your level of play might indicate D1 is an option, make sure your athlete has the deep desire and willingness to invest herself to the extent it takes to make this work. Lots of kids wash out when it becomes a job, so personality can matter as much as velocity or skill.