Post by gq on Nov 13, 2013 17:46:14 GMT -6
What is the right age to begin implementation of your recruiting plan? This is a question whose answer has changed quite a bit in recent years. Seven to ten years ago it was safe to say a player’s junior year in high school was the key year to get established as a potential college player. These days we read about 8th and 9th graders making verbal commitments. So let’s look at some of the issues that drive early recruiting and how this environment should affect a potential recruit’s planning if at all.
1. What type of college makes offers to 8th and 9th graders? Typically it has been college programs from major conferences that have made the vast majority of the early offers. When I say “major” conference, I am referring to conferences that for football purposes are referred to as BCS conferences, i.e., SEC, ACC, Big 10, PAC 12, Big 12. These schools have convinced themselves that there is a finite amount of “difference makers” out there and that they better compete early for them or they won’t get one. So called mid-major programs are starting to explore the early offer concept, but it is still the big kids on the block that are most active in this market. So understand that the amount of kids who verbal as 8th and 9th graders is still relatively small and that many, many opportunities remain open all the way up until signing day senior year.
2. What type of player receives an “early” offer? It is safe to say that the 8th and 9th graders receiving scholarship offers are usually players who have already demonstrated exceptional physical and/or softball ability. It might be an athlete with exceptional size and power, exceptional speed, exceptional arm strength, or a combination of one or more of these traits. If it is a pitcher it might be one who has exceptional velocity and size, or in some cases, one that has demonstrated tremendous pitching ability against top flight competition. In effect, they have the talent that makes the college coach think she “can’t miss”. This type of player certainly is not very common when you consider the thousands of young players out there.
3. How do these players get discovered? College coaches are now recruiting major 14U tournaments so in many cases they have had the opportunity to watch the athlete perform in competition. Prospect camps and camps run by the colleges themselves are very plentiful and have become venues for discovering young talented players. Presumably, these young athletes are demonstrating physical traits that are indicative of potential success at the high D1 level and college coaches are convinced they can’t risk losing their top choices to their competitors. It is certainly debatable how effective these early evaluations will eventually prove to be, but they are taking place. In some cases these favorable evaluations manifest themselves in the way of a scholarship offer to an 8th or 9th grader. Five years ago it got that same player put on a “watch list”.
With the knowledge that a lot of the major programs are trying to get to recruits in 8th and 9th grade, what strategies should the recruit employ to give herself an opportunity to be recruited by a major program?
1. Do you fit the criteria for an early offer? The first question should be, does the prospect have the talent to earn an early offer? Here is where getting an honest appraisal of the prospect’s skills is useful. Understand that most kids do not get recruited in 8th and 9th grade. Therefore, being told as an 8th grader that you are not likely to be recruited by Alabama should not be enough to cause a good player to give up the sport. Still, in the old days, kids and parents were allowed to hold on to their dreams a little longer. Often times those dreams helped push the athlete to the upper limits of her skill set. For this reason alone I have really come to dislike the idea of the early verbal. However, if you are not either an outstanding player or an outstanding athlete you are an unlikely candidate for the early offer.
2. How does a player find out where she is at as a player and when should she try to find out? The earlier a player can get an honest appraisal of her skill level the more time she will have to enhance her skill level. Therefore, if an athlete is really serious about playing college softball, I think it is a good idea to be evaluated as a 7th or 8th grader to see where she falls on some of the important benchmarks for D1 players. For example, how hard does she throw overhand, how fast do she run, how far does she hit a softball. Some players have the physical ability to improve tremendously between 7th grade and college, but they need to have some idea what level they are trying to work towards to gear their training accordingly. I will routinely take a look at kids who are 7th and 8th graders (that have requested I do so) to provide them with some measurements and critiquing of their fundamentals. Sometimes what I have to say to them may hurt them a little initially, but if it is important information that can hold them back or move them forward I feel it is best to get it to them at the youngest age possible
.
3. Does your travel team make a difference? Some travel programs are certainly more visible than others so it is fair to say you will get more opportunities to be seen at a young age playing for certain teams. In addition, a tough schedule will help a player develop more quickly by pointing out the areas of her game that need to improve. The uncertainly associated with early recruiting probably also makes college coaches gravitate more towards travel programs with a history of producing D1 players. The fact that a player already has the skill level to play on a “visible” team would add credence to the idea that perhaps the player is a D1 prospect. That gives rise to the old “chicken and egg” question. Is the player on this team because she is good or is she good because she is on this team. It doesn’t really matter what comes first, it only matters that she is good. My opinion is that no matter how good an 8th grader’s travel team and teammates are, she needs to be playing on a team where she is improving and being taught how to become a better player. Being part of an assembly of all-stars may serve you well in the short-term, but may not produce the skill improvement necessary to succeed once you get to college.
Also keep in mind, every year a previously unknown travel program makes its impact on the national level.
4. When should a player begin her marketing plan? Before we get into the sizzle, let’s make sure we discuss the steak. The best marketing plan is a player’s demonstrable skill level. This part of the game has not changed. As a young player, make sure the necessary time is being put into your fundamentals and skill development. If a player doesn’t enjoy practice and working on her skills she probably won’t have a long shelf life in this game. In addition, the ability to handle and overcome temporary setbacks is critical. That is why I want to see a player challenge herself against great competition. She finds out quickly how challenging this game is when matched against athletes at the top levels. With all of that as a backdrop, I think it is a good idea for a young player to start attending college camps as a 7th grader. In addition, she should consider choosing a 14U team that will either attempt to compete at a national level, or at the very least, a team that will train her well enough that she will be able to move to another competitive program the following year, either as a 14U or 16U player. Also, this is an ideal time to pick a proven hitting or pitching instructor and work with him or her regularly. Therefore, it is safe to say 7th and 8th grade are important years in charting a player’s course for the 5 to 6 years that will follow.
5. What if a player is not an early verbal candidate? Most players are not recruited in 8th or 9th grade so it is no reason to panic or give up. However, all the previous advice about being evaluated honestly as a junior high student and playing in a competitive club environment still hold true. The earlier you get good information the better. If a player doesn’t get around to doing these things until she is a junior or senior in high school it is a pretty tough road to hoe, at least if you want to be recruited at the D1 level. However, if she makes her move as a 9th or 10th grader into a competitive environment, and has the necessary athletic ability and desire to learn, there is more than enough time to earn the D1 scholarship.
In conclusion, I want to reiterate that the vast majority of future college players will not receive a scholarship offer as 8th or 9th graders. Still, I thought it was important to acknowledge that this does happen on occasion and identify the type of players and schools that are likely to partake in this practice. Quite honestly I find it somewhat absurd that some 14 and 15 year olds are being asked to make a collegiate decision and I am hoping this trend reverses itself soon for all kinds of reasons. However, in this country, freedom of choice is a cornerstone of our democracy so who am I to argue. My task is to do what I can to help the players I work with to the best of my abilities, not bitch about the current recruiting environment.
1. What type of college makes offers to 8th and 9th graders? Typically it has been college programs from major conferences that have made the vast majority of the early offers. When I say “major” conference, I am referring to conferences that for football purposes are referred to as BCS conferences, i.e., SEC, ACC, Big 10, PAC 12, Big 12. These schools have convinced themselves that there is a finite amount of “difference makers” out there and that they better compete early for them or they won’t get one. So called mid-major programs are starting to explore the early offer concept, but it is still the big kids on the block that are most active in this market. So understand that the amount of kids who verbal as 8th and 9th graders is still relatively small and that many, many opportunities remain open all the way up until signing day senior year.
2. What type of player receives an “early” offer? It is safe to say that the 8th and 9th graders receiving scholarship offers are usually players who have already demonstrated exceptional physical and/or softball ability. It might be an athlete with exceptional size and power, exceptional speed, exceptional arm strength, or a combination of one or more of these traits. If it is a pitcher it might be one who has exceptional velocity and size, or in some cases, one that has demonstrated tremendous pitching ability against top flight competition. In effect, they have the talent that makes the college coach think she “can’t miss”. This type of player certainly is not very common when you consider the thousands of young players out there.
3. How do these players get discovered? College coaches are now recruiting major 14U tournaments so in many cases they have had the opportunity to watch the athlete perform in competition. Prospect camps and camps run by the colleges themselves are very plentiful and have become venues for discovering young talented players. Presumably, these young athletes are demonstrating physical traits that are indicative of potential success at the high D1 level and college coaches are convinced they can’t risk losing their top choices to their competitors. It is certainly debatable how effective these early evaluations will eventually prove to be, but they are taking place. In some cases these favorable evaluations manifest themselves in the way of a scholarship offer to an 8th or 9th grader. Five years ago it got that same player put on a “watch list”.
With the knowledge that a lot of the major programs are trying to get to recruits in 8th and 9th grade, what strategies should the recruit employ to give herself an opportunity to be recruited by a major program?
1. Do you fit the criteria for an early offer? The first question should be, does the prospect have the talent to earn an early offer? Here is where getting an honest appraisal of the prospect’s skills is useful. Understand that most kids do not get recruited in 8th and 9th grade. Therefore, being told as an 8th grader that you are not likely to be recruited by Alabama should not be enough to cause a good player to give up the sport. Still, in the old days, kids and parents were allowed to hold on to their dreams a little longer. Often times those dreams helped push the athlete to the upper limits of her skill set. For this reason alone I have really come to dislike the idea of the early verbal. However, if you are not either an outstanding player or an outstanding athlete you are an unlikely candidate for the early offer.
2. How does a player find out where she is at as a player and when should she try to find out? The earlier a player can get an honest appraisal of her skill level the more time she will have to enhance her skill level. Therefore, if an athlete is really serious about playing college softball, I think it is a good idea to be evaluated as a 7th or 8th grader to see where she falls on some of the important benchmarks for D1 players. For example, how hard does she throw overhand, how fast do she run, how far does she hit a softball. Some players have the physical ability to improve tremendously between 7th grade and college, but they need to have some idea what level they are trying to work towards to gear their training accordingly. I will routinely take a look at kids who are 7th and 8th graders (that have requested I do so) to provide them with some measurements and critiquing of their fundamentals. Sometimes what I have to say to them may hurt them a little initially, but if it is important information that can hold them back or move them forward I feel it is best to get it to them at the youngest age possible
.
3. Does your travel team make a difference? Some travel programs are certainly more visible than others so it is fair to say you will get more opportunities to be seen at a young age playing for certain teams. In addition, a tough schedule will help a player develop more quickly by pointing out the areas of her game that need to improve. The uncertainly associated with early recruiting probably also makes college coaches gravitate more towards travel programs with a history of producing D1 players. The fact that a player already has the skill level to play on a “visible” team would add credence to the idea that perhaps the player is a D1 prospect. That gives rise to the old “chicken and egg” question. Is the player on this team because she is good or is she good because she is on this team. It doesn’t really matter what comes first, it only matters that she is good. My opinion is that no matter how good an 8th grader’s travel team and teammates are, she needs to be playing on a team where she is improving and being taught how to become a better player. Being part of an assembly of all-stars may serve you well in the short-term, but may not produce the skill improvement necessary to succeed once you get to college.
Also keep in mind, every year a previously unknown travel program makes its impact on the national level.
4. When should a player begin her marketing plan? Before we get into the sizzle, let’s make sure we discuss the steak. The best marketing plan is a player’s demonstrable skill level. This part of the game has not changed. As a young player, make sure the necessary time is being put into your fundamentals and skill development. If a player doesn’t enjoy practice and working on her skills she probably won’t have a long shelf life in this game. In addition, the ability to handle and overcome temporary setbacks is critical. That is why I want to see a player challenge herself against great competition. She finds out quickly how challenging this game is when matched against athletes at the top levels. With all of that as a backdrop, I think it is a good idea for a young player to start attending college camps as a 7th grader. In addition, she should consider choosing a 14U team that will either attempt to compete at a national level, or at the very least, a team that will train her well enough that she will be able to move to another competitive program the following year, either as a 14U or 16U player. Also, this is an ideal time to pick a proven hitting or pitching instructor and work with him or her regularly. Therefore, it is safe to say 7th and 8th grade are important years in charting a player’s course for the 5 to 6 years that will follow.
5. What if a player is not an early verbal candidate? Most players are not recruited in 8th or 9th grade so it is no reason to panic or give up. However, all the previous advice about being evaluated honestly as a junior high student and playing in a competitive club environment still hold true. The earlier you get good information the better. If a player doesn’t get around to doing these things until she is a junior or senior in high school it is a pretty tough road to hoe, at least if you want to be recruited at the D1 level. However, if she makes her move as a 9th or 10th grader into a competitive environment, and has the necessary athletic ability and desire to learn, there is more than enough time to earn the D1 scholarship.
In conclusion, I want to reiterate that the vast majority of future college players will not receive a scholarship offer as 8th or 9th graders. Still, I thought it was important to acknowledge that this does happen on occasion and identify the type of players and schools that are likely to partake in this practice. Quite honestly I find it somewhat absurd that some 14 and 15 year olds are being asked to make a collegiate decision and I am hoping this trend reverses itself soon for all kinds of reasons. However, in this country, freedom of choice is a cornerstone of our democracy so who am I to argue. My task is to do what I can to help the players I work with to the best of my abilities, not bitch about the current recruiting environment.