COLLEGE COACHES, TRAVEL COACHES AND YOU!

                                                                                           by Catharine Aradi
                                                                                   www.fastpitchrecruiting.com


With the start of a new year, it's important that juniors or early-starting sophomores, make sure they have a clear picture of how recruiting works for the
majority of would-be college athletes. It's very easy for parents and players to go down the deep, dark rabbit hole of "Oh! Getting recruited is SO easy! Just play for ME!  Give US a big chunk of change! Don't worry! YOU'RE sure to get a scholarship!"

Playing for the Super-Duper Gold travel team (i.e., one of the top-ranked teams in the entire country) may guarantee some players a fairly easy recruitment process. But in a Catch-22 way, most of the time if you are
that good of a player—e.g., the standout who really is head and shoulders above the rest of her class—chances are you can get yourself recruited almost regardless of which team jersey you wear.

However, this is the scenario I see more often.  Susie Player joins a moderately successful, moderately well-known travel team because the coach tells her his players not only get seen on the best fields at the best tournaments, but they also get recruited with minimal effort on their part.  (I actually heard of one travel coach who tells team families, "Here's how recruiting works. You play for us. Coaches come to see us, and I ask them what they need, and they watch the kids I tell them to watch.  And then when you get recruited, I negotiate the best deal for you.")

There was SO much wrong with this statement that it left me speechless. (Okay, almost speechless!)

While college coaches do really appreciate input from travel coaches with whom they have established good working relationships, most coaches—-and especially those at highly competitive programs—take an “I want to see for myself,” approach to recruiting. A college coach may look at the players a travel coach recommends, but the ultimate recruiting decisions will be the college coach’s,
not the travel coach’s.

In addition, I can guarantee that any self-respecting travel coach with a time-tested working knowledge of college softball will not suggest a player to a college coach unless he really believes this girl could legitimately contribute at that program. It’s Self-Protection 101.

If I’m an experienced travel coach, it gains my program nothing to push a player towards a school that’s going to be a stretch for her. If I do, there’s a pretty good chance we'll
all lose. The college coach may start to doubt my judgment and may not be as interested in my girls in the future. If she goes to that school, the player in question may be out of her depth, may not get the playing time she hopes for, may never become a starter, and may eventually quit the team. Consequently, most travel coaches try to be selective about which players they recommend to college coaches they like and whose “business” they want to keep.

On another note, if any travel coach implies/suggests that he or she can “negotiate” a better scholarship deal for you, go dunk your head in a bucket of cold water and then politely say, “No thanks!”  College coaches almost never negotiate when it comes to scholarships. All coaches-—even those at top programs—-have only so much money to work with. And the majority of college coaches know that there’s nothing to be gained from trying to “low ball” a scholarship offer to a prospect.  (I’m happy to explain why this is the case if you email me—-cat@fastpitchrecruiting.com.)

Once again, the moral of this story is
BE SMART!  When you get to college, if you’re too busy to do your conditioning, too tired to go to class, too unwilling to prepare for games like you should, you will almost certainly not make it as a collegiate athlete. So, if you’re too busy, too tired, or too disinterested now to take charge of your own college search (and to understand how recruiting works for most athletes), the odds are pretty good that you won’t end up being recruited at all!

And if you'd like your recruiting questions answered or some help with your college search, simply email me! I'm here to help.