Queen of Diamonds

Anyone heading to Rockhill for the QDSS?

 

coaching team #3

I'll be there coaching this weekend. Also have two very good kids playing for different teams.

Sr. 3B Jessica McKee (All-State 2x)
Jr. SS Ashley Harrell (All-State)

both are wonderful young women and I hope this really helps them and others that will be there. It sounds like this is a very good showcase and very well organized.

 

Isn't this tournament put on by some type of recruiting service?

 

No not really..The event was formerlly called the Ringor Showcase and was only available at a venue in Ohio during the winter. This is the first time it has been available in our area. My DD attended last Jan @ Kent State in Ohio. The event was held indoors on the football teams practice
facility. It turned out to be a graet event. Lots of college coaches from
the East Coast mainly. We got tons of exposure and even an offer from
a NE coach. At the time we were too young. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to gain valuable exposure. Good Luck !

 

This tournament sounds interesting but from what is said on their website, they are apparently looking for players/parents to utlize some type of player "marketing" service. If this service is completely at no charge, then what a great deal. But if there is a charge, I think there is a huge conflict of interest. Here is what the site says:

we are going to encourage athletes to fulfill that dream is by way of allowing a marketing individual, Jack Thomas, in which specializes specifically in assisting SOFTBALL athletes and their families, an opportunity to lay out a program specific to the athlete's need. From film work, to initial letter writing, to a full blown marketing campaign.

 

QDSS

My dd is headed to RH this weekend. I am not sure exactly what other services are offered through the website, but I have not been approaced about any kind of pay for services for recruiting. If they do have a program like that, I could only assume it would be comprable to NSR around here.

What has been happening is that the person who is organizing this showcase has been walking us through marketing concepts that you can apply or ignore as you want. Continuous emails about email, video, letter writing tips, etc. How to get greater attention and hopefully help get you noticed. Mr. Whiteside has been a tremendous help and is a pleasure to communicate with even though his emails can be pages long and his phone conversations even longer. Hope everyone has a great weekend, should be interesting to see how all these different players get along when they are just assigned a team. Chemistry can make or break a team.

Heard a great commercial earlier say, "Unless a team works together, they are just six (hockey team in commercial) guys wearing matching shirts." Definitely true when it comes to 12 hormonal teenage girls.

 

team?

I thought that showcases like this were really not much about a TEAM concept, but instead about getting individuals noticed.

 

Team vs Individual

I guess that would be true, but I would think that the coachs who will be there this weekend will be watching not only how the girl plays on the field, but watching her in the dug out to see if she will fit in with the players they already have.

IMO, if you have a coach looking at your dd and she is at a showcase like the one this weekend, she may be excellent on the field, but if she is unable to blend in with the girls in the dugout and put herself in a mindframe of making her assigned "team" work, then they may not want to bring a disruptive force into their midst. No matter who you are playing with or for, you have to have some kind of mental attitude that will eventually lead you to play for a team and not an individual. A great pitcher can look awful if the catcher does not do her job and a great catcher can make an OK pitcher look awesome. Just like a great pitcher can lose games if the seven girls who are behind her do not do their jobs.

I tell my dd that one of the greatest assets she can have is being able to walk into any situation, work with any person she meets and still be able to do her job. This is true in sports and in future careers.

 

agree

MD, this is a great truism and well-stated. I totally agree with this advise.
Now getting a kid to buy into this at 15-18 yr's old and really take it to heart................ now that's a real challenge.