College life of a D1 softball player

do you reduce it?

if you narrow your choice to basically one school that you really want to go to................do you reduce your bargaining power for scholarship money?

 

Not a hardship IF . . .

you really love the game. If, on the other hand, you want to spend spring break playing drinking games in Mexico or skiing in Aspen (an activity not allowed under my DD scholarship agreement) then it may be a hardship. My DD would fly anywhere to play a top 20 team but for some girls it's just not that important.

 

Easy answer

Yes. Ultimately, the rules of the 'market' apply. The more coaches who are recruiting you the more you $$$ you will command.

 

Yes and no...

...yes if you limit yourself to ONE school, and BTW, that is obviously not the way to go.
No, economics 101 does not play an big part in 95% of the kids recruiting, The other 5% might actually have "bargaining" power.
My suggestion would be to narrow your focus from 100 to 50 to 5 by the time you're a junior in HS.
I think what is missing here is the fact that coaches want kids who want to play in their program.
Also whats missing is the fact that theres only so much $ to go around.
Also whats missing is the balance of a kids desire to play ball and the ultimate value of the education at one school or another.


Now I'm gonna piss alot of people off, ....imagine that!....but folks, facts are facts,a degree from Harvard carries more clout than a degree from UNC. A degree from UNC carries more clout than a degree from Pembroke....and on and on.

I DO NOT mean to imply that an education/degree from Pfieffer is not of value. It certainly is! As well as an education from say UNCW.
So you get 13K from Chowan, and turn down 2K from UNC, tell me what possible employer 4 yrs down the road that won't take into consideration where you got your education???

Lastly, playing the "i can get more $ at Univ of X" card, is the worst possible move a kid/parent can make when dealing with a coach.

 

Everything you say is on target

We narrowed the list to five schools by the junior year and made it clear that we would make all five official visits before choosing. Not narrowing the field too early helped her have five really great choices. These coaches talk to one another and a "buzz" about a player can help "up the ante". She was one of those 5% who had bargaining power. Some that was due to recruiting strategy but most was due to performance on the field and in the classroom (as it should be). I absolutely agree that using the size of the offer as a bargaining chip is a terrible idea but if being a player "in demand" gets you a better offer from your five favorite schools (and it's likely too) then that's a good thing.

 

Timing is the key. My DD was not considered a D1 caliber athlete by many (mainly because of size or lack there of). However, Elon just happened to be losing a senior 3B/C that was actually a little smaller than mine but they play very similar and had alot of the same qualities. (did i mention this senior set the school record for RBI in a career). Also, there just happened to be a large senior class (6)and they were only bringing in 4 freshmen so there was a little extra money too. Bottom line is it was a combintion of Ash's self-marketing ability (got that from dad), her playing ability and desire (from me too), and alot of luck (mom's - she got me didn't she lol) to get where she is today-first day of classes at Elon University- GO PHOENIX

 

Loves it

Well DD came home this weekend, & I drilled her with 50 questions. She really has to do the time mgmt thing, but so far sounds like she is getting her routine down. Overheard her tell her GrandPa, she loves it more than she thought she would. By talking to her, seems the softball girls hang out alot together. Her schedule is non-stop from 1st class 8am to finishing her studies around 10:30-11:00 pm, then bed. We were given some good advice from DD4, about getting your rest, very important. Will see how things are when the seasons bout halfway through. Anyway she was well aware of committment that was going to take. Good luck to all the girls this fall !!

 

talent

are there girls in NC that command 100 colleges actively recruiting them?

 

Obviously, the more talented one is the more options one has. That's what makes the recruiting process so different and unique for each family. It's not a cookie-cutter process.

I believe you will see a dramatic increase in softball/baseball of early signings as each year goes by. Coaches understand that parents/players want to get the process behind them...and coaches certainly want to do the same. It will be the "special" player that has the patience and opportunity to wait.....and it will be the majority of other signees that will be forced to wait to see who is interested.

 

Time frame

One thing in our particular recruiting process was that after the offer was made from coach, DD had 2 weeks to make decision. Didn't really like the added pressure but had been warned this could happen. Fortunately everything has worked out beautifully. DD's happy, I'm happy, & my wallet is even happier. LOL