College Softball Recruiting Tips
Although the professional softball stage is growing, college softball is still considered the highest level of play. Below are some statistics on college softball.
Less than 4% of high school softball players end up playing in D1 or D2. 0.03% play at power 5 schools.
The number one factor every player who wants to play in college needs to consider is what kind of experience do you want to have? Let’s say you do get a D1 offer. You might not play. You might not get much money. The school might be in the middle of nowhere or far from home. The team might have a terrible culture. Not to mention, the time commitment and pressure in a D1 program is incredibly intense. I think some players just like the idea of being able to say they went D1 without wanting the commitment and sacrifices that come with it.
If you’re not practicing on your own, working out on your own, watching high level softball on your own, and working harder than 99% of the other girls out there then you will not play division 1 softball. Now, most parents will read what I just said and see it as an open invitation to push their kids in unhealthy ways and bully them into working harder. Very few kids will have the drive to work this hard. Trust me, if they have it, you won’t have to ask them, and you cannot make them have it. If they don’t - there’s nothing wrong with that. Do not make the mistake so many parents make by sacrificing their relationship with their child and harming their child’s sense of self-worth by pushing them to invest an extortionate amount of time and energy into something that is maybe more of a hobby for your kid. Which is fine! There is so much more to softball than ‘going D1’.
Softball:
Keeps kids active and teaches them the importance of exercise for the rest of their lives.
Teaches kids discipline and responsibility.
Teaches kids how to deal with stress and difficult situations.
The relationships your kids will make and you will make with other softball families are incredibly valuable.
Teaches kids how to work with others, improves social skills, and makes them more successful in other group settings.
Brings mentors into your child’s life that will (hopefully) have a powerful and positive impact on them.
Gives them and you experiences and memories that will be cherished forever.
Provides them with an extracurricular activity that will add to their high school experience.
It is perfectly okay to not go D1 or D2! D3, NAIA, and Juco have plenty to offer with scholarships and competitive play. My bottom line message is be realistic about the experience you want and whether it’s parents or players, don’t reach for something that you might not actually want and might not be what’s best for you.
Below outlines each level of college softball and the scholarships that are available:
Things you need to now about college softball scholarships:
Grades are incredibly important. Coaches look for players with good grades for the below reasons:
-Players with good grades are self motivated and more disciplined.
-Players with good grades know how to manage their time.
-Players with good grades will receive more academic scholarship money, and will cost coaches less money in athletic scholarships.
A “Full Ride” is very rare. That’s why it is important to excel academically and not rely on athletic scholarship money.
Division 3 schools CANNOT give athletic scholarships. These schools give academic scholarships. However, D3 schools do tend to give more academic money to athletes.
NAIA schools and juco schools get more scholarship money than D2 and D1 schools. You can play very competitive softball, have a more well rounded college experience, and get more scholarship money at a JUCO or NAIA school.
Tips for Getting Recruited
First of all - until your child is in high school, you should be focused on them learning good skills and having fun. Unless your child is an incredibly exceptional talent - no school is looking at them until they’re in high school.
Summer before freshman year of high school is when you should start doing the following:
Have a twitter page set up. Have your year, positions you play, and travel team in your bio along with a good picture.
-Post clips of your game highlights, lessons, workouts, practice, etc. Anything that shows off your skills.
-Refrain from saying anything negative on your twitter. Always focus on the positive.
-It’s very nice of you to repost other people’s posts, but be careful about making your profile almost all re-posts. This makes it difficult for coaches to weed through and find stuff about YOU.
-Tagging coaches is a great way to get their attention. Coaches will look and see how many other coaches you are tagging. If you tell a coach you are super interested in their school, but you’re tagging other coaches and not them, they will not be impressed.
*It is good for coaches to know that you have other options. It shows you are desired and valuable. Just be honest about your level of interest in a school - don’t play hard to get. If they’re your number 1 school, tell them! but always keep your options open.
Most college coaches know each other and are well connected. Do not burn bridges. Burning a bridge with one well connected coach could ruin your reputation and make you an undesirable recruit. Do not go around telling every coach they’re your number one school and do not lie to coaches because again, they all talk to each other.
Have a recruiting profile set up - There are plenty of platforms: NCSA, softballrecruiting.com, fieldlevel, sportsrecruits, collegeboundjocks, etc. NCSA and fieldlevel are my favorites.
Start attending camps. It’s best to start out with college exposure camps that have multiple schools attending. During camps, your child should focus on:
-Learning! If they ask questions and pay attention, they will learn a lot.
-Standing out. Coaches are looking for players with high energy, great attitude and great effort. Be loud, show great sportsmanship, talk to the coaches and ask them questions, and have confident and high energy body language.
-Things coaches look for at camps: preparation, athleticism, endurance, positive failure response, hustle, high energy, cheering, eye contact, participation, softball IQ.
Have game and skill video compiled into one video that is easy to view and send. Make sure your videos are not longer than two minutes and the clips are as concise as possible. Do not send video of entire innings or entire at bats. If your video link requires a coach to sign up or login to something - they are less likely to watch it. Make sure it is clear in your game video who you are! put a title in that says if you’re the batter or what position you’re at, or even use arrows to point to you.
Send thank you’s to coaches via e-mail or twitter for working with you at camp or watching you play.
If you are a high level athlete with real division 1 potential, you should be receiving personal camp invites by the end of sophomore year.
The team you play on and the tournaments you play in matter. Playing on a successful and higher profile team for a travel coach who has good connections with college coaches is incredibly important to be able to play D1 or D2 softball. Now, this does not mean you should play for a watered down franchise. Just because your team has a big franchise name, doesn’t mean a college coach will be impressed by that. Coaches are aware of the programs that are ‘watered down’ and are not impressed by the title alone. Your team’s reputation will depend on the head coach, the success of the team, and how the team presents themselves. If a team is quiet, or has players with bad attitudes, or parents who display poor sportsmanship at games - they will not attract college coach attention. Coaches care A LOT about what team you are on, and don’t want to see team hopping.
Players need to run their own twitters, profiles, and communication with coaches. Players need to reach out to coaches on their own. DO NOT have your parents reach out to coaches for you. A college coach doesn’t want to hear about a player from a parent or another coach unless they have a relationship with that parent or coach already. If your head coach reaches out to a college coach about you, make sure they’re also making it seem like they want to make a connection with that coach and not make it seem like they’re doing the work for you.
Depending on what level of play you are at will depend on when you zero in on your top schools. By sophomore or junior year, you should have a pretty good idea of what schools are interested in you (if any). Make sure you keep in touch with these coaches often. Send them video and updates on a regular basis by tagging them on twitter and e-mailing them. If a coach tells you they would rather text, then communicate that way. Send them updates 1-2 times a month. Attend your top schools camps as often as you can so you can stay on their radar and build a relationship with them, but don’t get suckered into schools that are just having big money grab camps.
Don’t be afraid to ask coaches what you have to do to earn a spot on their roster or if they feel you would be a good fit for their program. Make sure you have thoughtful questions for them when you speak with them about their coaching style, values, program and school.