A Commitment to Regional Talent

Thanks to all the teams that participated in the NSA-NSR Summer College Showcase Tournament in Salisbury this past weekend. It was a great representation of top talent from NC (in particular) and SC as well.

We were proud of this our first summer showcase event and of the fact that no less than a dozen colleges from DI through DIII attended and scouted prospects. It was a very good first step toward our long term goal of getting more attention for NC and SC prospects, NSR-affiliated or not. There was some really competitive softball played by both 16U and 18U squads. Howard Edwards and his staf at NSA did a fine job, too.

At our Elite Softball Showcase Camp (55 kids) at Catawba College earlier in the week and our NSA-partnered Showcase Tourney (32 teams) Thursday and Friday, we discovered something noteworthy: college coaches are seeing a marked improvement in softball talent in the region. Time and again coaches talked to me and our scouts about how many more legitimate prospects they were seing than in the past. As a softball community, we need to be proactive in promoting this train of thought.

To that, we at NSR Carolinas are dedicating ourselves to attracting more regional college coaches to our sponsored events so they will evaluate regional talent. We will be reaching out to college coaches by E-mail, telephone and in person urging them to attend our Elite Camps in the spring and summer next year as well as our Showcase Tournaments this coming Fall and in the Summer of 2005. With the talent improving, we are hoping that college coaches will stay, and look, closer to home for their recruits. We can do little about manufacturing jobs leaving the state, but we sure should be able to keep more NC and SC kids on the rosters of our states' colleges.

Yes, coaches can see a ton more prospects in Boulder, at the Dynamites Tourney as well as at Rising Stars. We aren't asking coaches to forego those recruiting opportunities. However, we will be asking them to put the Summer and Fall Showcases as well as our Elite Camps on their schedules because there ARE solid prospects from local high school and travel teams to evaluate.

We were particularly inspired after the overwhelmingly positive comments by the college coaches following our Elite Camps. To them, we say thanks. To those reading this with pull in the softball communities across NC and SC, we ask that you speak to the travel coaches you know and get them to send their teams to the NSA-NSR Fall Showcase. The better the participation, the better chance we have of influencing college coaches to attend. While we are pleased with the dozen that showed up this weekend, because of the number of colleges in the region (NC, SC, VA, E-TN, E-KY and N-GA) we should be seeing at least 50 coaches! Think how many regional kids will realize their dreams of playing in college if that happens!

Collectively, we are on the brink of making a strong move toward helping a lot more regional talent receive scholarship opportunities. That IS the point after all, isn't it? But, until we get these events to the point that they are a part of the routine of regional college coaches, we're going to have to stand in the middle of the road and wave our arms for awhile. Any help you can lend, we would appreciate.

Thanks to all.

 

Very good post and very good reasoning. Being pro-active and understanding that it's about the players and not money goes a long way in developing a "must see" tournament.

College scouts have limited time and a limited budget and they want to get the most out of their visits. If they can attend a showcase tournament with many potential recruits, that's where they will go. And if a tournament can gain the reputation of attracting talent..well, there you go!