Need more advice on Softball recruiting

Athletic Recruits
1

This is so much more complicated than swimming! So, Ivy/Nescac softball players/parents-what helped you or your DD get recruited at the school of her choice, assuming the grades, scores, and skills are there? Camps? Videos? Tournaments?

DD is a sophomore, probably won’t be on Varsity because they need her to pitch at JV more than play middle infield and “slap” on Varsity-but hard to tell, our coaches really keep their thoughts to themselves. Plays travel and is the starting second baseman, pitches, and is back up shortstop. Pitching about 50mph, nothing too exciting, and has a change-up and a screwball. She’s really outstanding in the field and has turned into a great slapper and lead-off base-runner, thanks to advise from this forum. She’s the only “slapper” in our town and on her travel team…

So, the Pennsbury Academic Camp and the NESCAC 2 day Northeast Coaches Camp are on our schedule for this summer-should we wait to see if she gets any feedback from that? Do we have videos made? Anything we do now is indoors til April… How do coaches contact the girls? Recruiting forms? How many schools did your dd contact?
Help! Thanks as usual for the help and advise!

2

OBD,

I would definitely get a skills video made now. The reason being that a lot of coaches like to see development. If you have at least one tape as a sophomore and one as a junior, there is a good opportunity to see evolution. Now, whether you decide to “do it yourself” or engage a pro is up to you. A good pro will run about $350 or so, and you can probably buy a hand HD video camera with a cheap tripod for about the same cost. However, if you do it yourself, you will need to edit and you will need to know what you are taping. Several coaches have told me that they would rather see practice or a skills type tape than game tape. So for example in pitching, you would want to do about 10-15 shots of each pitch in a row to give a sense of the level of control. Same for fielding and hitting, and running.

I would also put together a college resume, with grades, board scores, academic awards, softball teams, softball awards, and stats. The resume helps by consolidating all the info in one place, provided it is updated over the next two years.

I absolutely would NOT wait for feedback from Pennsbury or any camp. You might not get any personal feedback other than form invites to college camps. For the D3s, the priority for coaches this spring will be juniors (rising seniors).

I would first start with the on-line college athletic questionnaires (recruiting forms) – only because it is such a pain to get done. They do, however, have to be updated. Honestly, I think the questionnaires are more of an organization tool for the coaches (they say it keeps all the info in one place for them). I didn’t see a lot of contact (other than possibly invites to camps) directly from the questionnaires, but it is a step that must be done.

The next step would be to email the coaches with a copy of the college resume as a conversation starter. We used any award, good game, or recognition as an excuse to contact the coaches on the list via email.

Then take her to meet a few college coaches so she can get used to the process. You might want to start with the predicted safeties that are geographically nearby so that she is practiced for her more favored schools. You know the drill as much as anyone on this site from there on in. Have your daughter practice a short elevator speech that responds roughly to the question "tell me something about yourself. Have her prepare three questions for the coach in advance of the meeting. If you have a tape done, you may want to bring it with you to ask the coaches what they think. Ultimately, sitting down with the coaches is what you want to do. It allows for a true relationship to build between coach and recruit and more than any other recruiting step it signals interest on the part of the recruit.

Our philosophy was to cast the widest net, so we did contact numerous schools. Sometimes there was traction with the schools that we never anticipated. Sometimes the schools that looked like a good match petered out.

Hopefully, your tournament team coach will be available to advise you about all of this as well.

Good luck!

3

Thanks! That’s a big help.

Our HS coach has never had anyone recruited. She didn’t play ball in college, either., and the JV coach is a guy who likes ball, more than knows much about it. The joys of small town living!

The travel coaches are all newbies. Her hitting and pitching coaches can help some, but no one has had anyone play for an academically selective school.

Seems like we should start with Hamilton-it’s local, she’d be a great candidate academically, and our hitting coach has a connection.
I’m taking her to Brown over break-which would be a sttrettch softball-wise, seems like we should just go under the wire.
Thanks again!

1 Like
4

OBD,

goingthruaphase is spot on. I agree with everything suggested.

I would add the following:

  1. NESCAC/Colonial League schools tend to show interest early because they try to win the hearts and minds of the recruits early in the process knowing full well that the IVY onslaught will come later and steal many of their prized prospects. Our daughter began being actively wooed by two of the top academic NESCACs during the summer after her sophomore year -- precisely where your daughter will be this summer.
  2. Try to cajole her travel team to participate in as many showcases as they can be admitted to -- Binghamton, New England's Finest, the one's in Edison, NJ (can't recall the names). The Northeast coaches tend to attend all those. This whole process is about the travel team -- right tournaments, right fields. High school ball is not very relevant because it's taken for granted the recruits are (or in time will be) All Everything at the high school level.
  3. Bombard the coaches with your team's showcase schedule each week, to maximum the chance that they may swing by the field she is playing on for a glimpse. You want to try to make it as easy as possible for them to find her. This take a lot of effort and organizational skill.
  4. Signup for the NESCAC winter/summer camps (e.g., Amherst, Williams, Tufts). Sure, these are money makers for the team, but you'd be surprised at the ability to develop a rapport with the coaches given the concentrated period of time spent with them. Also, at many of them coaches from other schools participate (tufts tends to be at the Williams camps). By getting to know your D at a camp, it can make it more likely that they stop by to see her play at a tournament or showcase they otherwise are attending.
  5. Grades matter (although athleticism matters most; they want the best athlete they can squeeze past admissions). Give them a clear sense of grades, scores, etc. so that they are confident that are not wasting their time on a recruit who ultimately will prove not admittable.
  6. Except for the absolute stud recruits (SoCal pitchers, mostly), the Ivies tend to come late in process. You can (and should) begin contacting them now, but don't be disheartened if you don't get much traction. In the case of our D, they came the summer after junior year, causing her to change her mind from NESCAC to IVY.

Good luck, and enjoy the ride.

5

Two clarifications:

  1. Meant Centennial, not Colonial. Haverford and Swarthmore have softball camps my D attended and enjoyed.
  2. In para 1, should have qualified that this was our experience and not suggest that I know this generally to be tghe case.
6

look at ncsa

They are amazing at matching athletes with schools. I used it and well worth the money.

Don’t scoff at the price either because it is only $1,200 to find the perfect place for your d.

7

Certainly start with Hamilton, as you are well aware, it is lovely there. Have your daughter research a bit about the softball program, so she has a sense of where the program is going (I think it is a program on the rise, coach is young, nice and a grad of the 'CAC). If you go to the NESCAC website you can review the history of the program in terms of stats, in league and non-league W-L records. Definitely have your ducks in a row as far as having your college resume and unofficial transcript printed and ready for the meeting and hand it over to the coach. If you have a meeting before the tapes are made, by all means ask what coach is looking for.

Also, despite the fact that your high school has never placed a softball player in college, I would have your daughter ask both the varsity coach and the JV coach if they would be a college athletic reference. Two reasons for that: 1) like any reference, you should ask the reference first; 2) it lets the varsity coach know you are serious about the sport. Who knows, it could give your D a leg up during spring tryouts.

Others may disagree, but I suspect you don’t need a service. You already know a ton about athletic recruiting. Swimming is just a bit more objective than softball. Second, I have a pretty strong feeling that you know where your D should go academically. Who doesn’t love the 'CAC? I’d use the $1200 for tapes and the Head First Camp.

8

We started the recruting process when my D was at the same point in time as yours. My D unfortunately had a serious injury during the winter before her junior season, so athletics then dropped out of the picture. However just to say that what we found that what got NESCAC coaches’ attention was that she had an over 700 SAT subject test on her resume by the end of freshman year. That score, along with her strong grades to that point, seemed to make them feel comfortable seeing her as possibly admitable, often the highest hurdle for their recruits. They were also intested in skills video.

During the summer before her junior year, she attended the WIlliams camp (Coach Kris Herman is fabulous) and we visited several other schools ( Midd, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby) and she met with the coaches. Then during fall of her junior year we visited Hamilton, Haverford and several others. All the coaches were interested in girls who play high level travel ball and are potentially admittable to their schools. I would encourage your D to start visits this summer to give her time to consider which schools she is most interested in. My D was hesitant at first to reach out to coaches and ask for meetings as well but became more confident and interviewed better as she gained experience.

My D has former teammates playing at a variety of D1 and D3 schools, including NESCACs. Except for the one girl who is now pitching for a very strong D1 school, all the other girls found their school through the process of reaching out to coaches and pursuing them. Several attended the Rise Ball High Honors Camp in NJ and NE Finest, and went alone,not with their teams.

And remember, she should love the school! My daughter ended up at Bates and is terrifically happy, though she did not apply as an athlete. One of her first impressions there was her interesting interview with Gwen Lexow who was then the softball coach (now Title IX officer). Sports was her introduction to a school that she might not otherwise have visited so soon in the process, and it has turned out great!!

Good luck to you and your daughter. Coaches love slappers!

9

OBD, just a note, I believe that NFCA is opening up applications for Pennsbury the week of February 22. You may want to keep an eye on the website.

10

I really feel so lucky to have all this great advice. She’ll try the Pennsbury and we’re planning on the Midd/Babson etc camp in Boston this summer. She’s really slapping awesome plus she just posted a 2.52 second run to first base from righty… Probably not exactly accurate, but she certainly is fast enough to run bases anywhere.

Right now we’re struggling between being a decent pitcher and an awesome second baseman. I think this season will be the point where she can decide. Hate to ask a 15 year old girl who is still growing and developing give up on something she loves. It’s hard not to feel the pressure to get it all figured out, but this summer seems a good time to start.

11

Hey, that’s a totally sweet time for a 20. To be sure, there are a lot of variables, like who is manning the watch. However, any sub 3.0 time for a 20 is good. I think you may find it interesting if you go to the Pennsbury Academic website. Look under “Application Information.” Right under it is a link to 2015 results. You may find that an interesting point of comparison on timed 20s. Last page is pitchers and catchers. It shows the speed of the campers.

12

Any advice for a sophomore, living in WI, that wants to go to school in the southern half of the country? She is a decent player, plays HS and club. Assuming she’s more of a D3 player. Played since she was 7, she’d like to continue in college but I feel like we are way late in starting…

13

Is she a good student? Wants a big school or a small one? What position does she play?

14

D3 probably hasn’t even started recruiting all the juniors, so as a sophomore she has plenty of time to find the right school. She might also look at D2, and there are quite a few in the south. My daughter is not a softball player but her 3 roommates are.

15

She is a 4.0 student, lefty that plays 1st but she’s only 5"4’ so she gets comments on being too short for 1st. I don’t know about that. She plays basketball too but obviously her height is not helpful there :slight_smile: She knows basketball is not something she will pursue in college. I think she will prefer a mid to large school. I’m trying to compile a list but it’s hard to without going to every single schools website to see if they have her academic major and a softball team. Is there a website somewhere that lists all the D2 and D3 schools in a particular state that sorts by a particular sport?

16

You can go to the NCAA site and it will list the schools that participate in the sport, or you can go to a site from the sport and often they will list the schools by rank (I use laxpower for lacrosse). You can use collegedata.com and put in the region and majors she’s interested in, but I haven’t found the sorting feature on there to be that great

17

Theatermom,

There are plenty of sites (including this one) that have a search mechanism for various attributes of the school, such as sports, majors, location and size. Collegedata also comes to mind. There also are softball websites, like Heybucket, but I didn’t find them as helpful as High School Baseball on the Web for baseball.

As you know, 1B typically goes to the taller players (who have a longer stretch), power hitters (whose hitting skills are so valuable fielding can go down a notch), and to rotate in good hitting pitchers. But who is to say. I do sort of wish that the tournament teams valued player development over winning, because all these girls should be totally comfortable with their secondary positions and have the skills to be moved.

I do not think you are too late, but I do think you should get going right now. There are some girls who get recruited at their dream everything school. For the rest of us, the process is one of balancing goals. The process will allow D to figure out her priorities. For example, say she likes a big school down south that has 15,000 students and a Wisconsin D3 school is recruiting her for softball. She needs to be able to decide whether warm and large is more important to her than cool and softball. So, my two most important pieces of advice are be proactive (get out there, no southern coach is coming to Wisconsin for a high school game) and keep an open mind (there are countless high school students who insist they will never go to _________, and end up going and loving it).

18

Hoping for some advise. What sort of pitching speeds are the NESCAC or Ivys or Centennial Conference looking for? Is mid 50s sufficient? High 50s? or are they specifically looking for 60+? Are pitchers flame-throwers or do they rely on movement more? Hoping to get some expert opinion on this. Thanks!

19

The NFCA Pennsbury Academic Camp is a great idea. I forgot about it, but it is a good showcase and worth going to to with or without your team. Here is a link to the list of coaches who attended last year: https://nfca.org/index.php?option=com_nfca&rcamps=1&lscoach=1&rciid=48
The bar is not too high as far as GPA and PSAT or SAT/ACT scores so you can be sure that the Ivy and NESCAC coaches are not able to really consider all of the girls. As far as the pitch speeds, you can look at the results of last year’s camp which lists pitch speeds, rotations, etc. for each girl (scroll down to the last few pages): https://nfca.org/web_docs/campdocs/NEAcademic2015AnalyticsReport.pdf

My impression is that most coaches are wowed by speed as well as overall athleticsm and size of the athlete. Yes there are girls pitching in NESCAC who are more control/junk pitchers but they are probably not getting the attention at the showcases unless they also hit and run well.

Still, I remember Coach Herman of Williams saying that there was a place in D3 for basically all the girls who are playing high level travel ball if they are interested. And from what I’ve seen, SAT scores were what caught the attention of the coaches from the most selective colleges. They don’t have such a large pool to recruit from.

Good luck to your daughters as they start this spring season!

20

Girlee,

I think you will find Pennsbury academic focusing on speeds. The pitchers are placed in a line and the staff manning the guns are yelling out times while the coaches watch. There was no live hitting. I really liked Headfirst as a camp more because there is a focus on games rather than isolated skills. Yes, Headfirst still ran the 20 and ran other skill segments. However, it has like a day and one half of live games, with a rotation of college coaches managing the games. If you show better by tricking hitters with junk, I would go to Headfirst. If you shine better by a gun with no live batting, Pennsbury would be better. Incidentally, Headfirst is well known as probably the best baseball showcase and closes very quickly. This is like the 3rd year for softball, so its growing. Still, the coaches in attendance were pretty impressive and all seemed to really like it (at least they told us that). There is no doubt that there is far more of an opportunity for coach interaction at Headfirst. At Pennsbury, I felt like the coaches didn’t want to be bothered. At Headfirst, you have to interact with the coaches because they are coaching your games.

If you are applying to Pennsbury, don’t wait. They do sell out quickly and preference is given to girls whose team is playing at the Tournament.