Information to aide

Picking a Fastpitch Travel Team

Just where we live, there are literally hundreds of travel teams.

And right now, during the fall – is when so much of the spring recruiting is taking place. If you are looking for a new travel team, or looking to find your first travel team, we are hoping these tips will help. Because, really – your fast pitch team will become like family, and you will spend A LOT of time with these people – so choosing as wisely as possible in the beginning is important.

1. The first piece of advice for picking a fast pitch travel team – whether this is your first team or your third is to KNOW YOUR GOALS! What do you want for your daughter? What does she want? Are you looking to move up in the realm of competition or give her more field time? Are you looking to break into travel for the first time, or up the ante on your experience? Are you looking for a coach who can bring your daughter to the next level? BE VERY CLEAR about what YOUR goals are for your daughter – and then when choosing a team, take those into consideration to see how well they mesh with the goals of the team. If your goal is to get your daughter mound time, then picking a team with 4 pitchers ahead of her wont work out very well for you in the long run.

2. A lot of girls end up on teams with people and coaches they know. But our advice if you are taking a chance on a new team is to find out where they are playing and go have a look-see to see what the team looks like when no one knows they are being watched. Go to a tournament and listen to the coaches, stand behind the dugout and hear the conversations, sit on the bleachers and pay attention to what parents are saying. See how the team, coaches and team dynamic works when they are not trying to woo you, or pick you up as a player. Watch the coach on the field, his or her interaction with the girls, and pay attention to the morale of the kids as well. You can learn a lot about a team by watching them play in a tournament and we recommend that you take a Saturday and visit a local tourney so you can see the differences in coaching and team dynamics. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the team, or talk to the players. Keep your eyes and ears open so your intuition can do the work.

3. Establish your level of commitment. Remember, these are called ‘travel’ teams for a reason. Do you want to remain local or are you willing to fly around the country to compete. Are you willing to drive 2 hours to practice several times per week to be on one of the best teams? The commitment to a team is both financial, and has to work with your goals and your personal life. Fastpitch seasons are LONG – and seemingly never-ending, and coaches will EXPECT your daughter to show up regardless of where you live. Some folks drive 2 hours for practice and take flights to attend tournaments, and some want something a little more local. In other words know what is involved.

4. Even though we are a new team, this advice will sound counter productive. Be leery of BRAND NEW teams looking for players. There is a honeymoon period when new teams start forming up. They are literally trying their hardest to field 12 girls, and are constantly prowling for new players. The final recipe for the team often takes a year or more to come to fruition. In the honeymoon phase, coaches make lots of promises to new players and their parents – but A LOT can and will change once competition starts. There is nothing wrong with signing on with a start-up team, but just be prepared for bumps in the road and a lot of player turnover in the beginning until things get worked out.

5. If your player is seasoned, then pick up with the team during competition and go to a few practices with them. This will give you a REAL feel of how the team works, and the pecking order of players and the real needs of the team.

6. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions. If this is your first travel team, you may just be thrilled to have your daughter out there in a uniform. But you should still ask lots and lots of questions of the coaches and managers? What are their goals? What kind of tourneys are they planning to play in? Do they have commitment letters? What are the upfront costs? Who are the coaches and what is their experience? Where do they practice at, and how many times per week? Be an information gatherer.

7. “Interview” with several teams. As many as possible, before committing to one. This way you can a firsthand view of the many different team dynamics. Then, trust your intuition and mostly – ASK YOUR DAUGHTER where she feels most comfortable

8. Avoid listening to rumors! Everyone has an opinion of another team, another coach. People run their mouths all the time. Remember, your experience will likely be different from theirs. If a team or coach has a consistently bad reputation – then yes, there is probably something to it. But the opinions of one or two people – are perhaps more about THEM than about the realities of what happened.

9. Last but not least - be realistic about your own daughter. When someone tells us their daughter pitches 50mph, we know they really mean 42mph. When someone says their daughter batted .800, we realize they mean in ‘one tournament.’ Be honest about your daughters strengths and weaknesses from the get-go. We all think our daughters are superstars, are the best! But when you are hunting for a team, you have to step back and assess honestly. In fact, it’s a good idea to ‘sell’ your daughter a little short rather than long – and allow the coaches to find out for themselves just how awesome she is.

Remember, the goal is for your daughter to PLAY BALL, to have fun doing it, and to thrive and grow with her experiences on the field. If she isn’t doing, or is unable to do any of these things – then you are not on the right team.

NCAA Softball Scholarships

Approximately 950 college teams are listed among the ranks of NCAA Softball. About 400 of these are Division III teams, and as such are restricted from extending formal athletic scholarships. That leaves more than 500 Division I and Division II teams that can, and do, offer scholarship awards to women with proven softball skills. softball scholarships

The NCAA regulates the scholarships that can be offered by participating colleges and teams. These regulations put a limit on the number of full tuition scholarships that can be offered by any one college or university. Scholarship Limits in NCAA play:

NCAA Division-I Softball teams may each offer up to 12 full scholarships.

NCAA Division-II teams may each offer up to 7.

Many coaches prefer to split the allowed full tuition scholarships into a larger number of partial tuition scholarships. This strategy gives them the ability to attract more talent to their teams, and to broaden their pool of possible players. Coaches will make these determinations depending on the teams current needs, and strategies will change from year to year. Students applying for softball scholarships at one of the NCAA schools should also keep in mind that many of these scholarship awards will go to current students, and may not be available for incoming undergraduates.

NAIA and NJCAA Softball Scholarships: Numbers

Students looking outside the NCAA arena will find further scholarship opportunities for talented young softball players. The NAIA, while a smaller athletic association than the NCAA, offers many highly competitive scholarships across all types of college athletics – including softball.. More than 200 NAIA schools offer sponsored scholarships for softball players, each extending up to 12 awards per team. Most, but not all, are partial tuition scholarships.

In addition to the NAIA, and often overlooked in college athletics, is the NJCAA or National Junior College Athletic Association. Long overshadowed by the NCAA and NAIA, NJCAA schools are home to some highly competitive teams and can offer another avenue to much needed athletic scholarships. With 362 schools currently offering 24 scholarships each, the opportunities for successfully winning a softball scholarship are greatly increased.

So break down by the number:

Division one offers 12 each by rule 12

Division II offers 7 by rule 7

Division III offers 0 by rule 0

NAIA offers 12 per team 12

NCJAA offers 24 per team 24

Division I schools with teams 291 x 12 = 3492

Division II schools with teams 302 x 7 = 2114

NAIA schools with teams 200 x 12 = 2400

NJCAA with teams 362 x 24 = 8688

16694

These are the only amount available each year so do not assume that college coaches are going to knock on your door in today’s world it is up to you to knock on theirs.

Softball College Recruiting: 10 Facts Softball players, coaches, and parents need to know

Although many of the colleges want you to believe you have to be the top of the top for Softball college recruiting, that isn’t always so. In fact, many times colleges are assuming that they are not looking at the top 5% because those student athletes may already be spoken for.

Some things to remember:

1. Grades count. Sure, athletic ability is important, but do you have the grades to get into the college admissions office and catch their eye even without your sports ability? You should have grades that support you as a well-rounded student, not just an image of a ball player alone.

2. Do you know what a college coach values in a player? Is it the same as a high school coach or a teen-level coach? What do you bring to the coach that is different from the myriad of other players your age and ability that makes you a step above? Can you bring the values to the team that your coach is looking for?

3. What is your motivation? Not just “are you motivated” but what motivates you? Is it fame, money or a passion for the game? Do you work at your game based upon only your motivation? Do you have many motivators for your game? This is important; because parents, students and coaches will need to understand the motivators.

4. Are you motivated? As a verb, do you have it? Do you have what it takes to look into adversity and tough times and still shine? This is going to be important to be able to display to prospective colleges and future coaches as this may be a tie breaker trait.

5. Don’t wait until the last minute. Some students start as early as their freshman year in marketing themselves to colleges. If you are a senior and haven’t started, don’t let that discourage you, but do get moving on that! Market yourself as early as you can as a true athlete, because every moment you are no exposing your abilities, your peers are.

6. Do you, or do you plan to, meet the core requirements of entering college? If you are a great player, it’s important to have pretty good grades and decent SAT scores. There are a myriad of Internet sites that can help you make sure you are not lagging, and your guidance office should be able to help you. Again, it’s never too early to start working on your sports collegiate career.

7. Know the reality. According to statistics, less than 15% of high school Softball players will play college Softball. Just know your realities so if you don’t make the team, you are not devastated. It’s as important to know the realities of the situations as well as how to best get into a situation. Never enter any situation blind to both sides.

8. Look at the bigger picture. You may want to play ball but you may also want to have a certain climate, social life and academic schedule that fits your desires. Look at more than just the team; because you are more than just a ball player.

9. Do you have what it takes? It’s more than just the above. There is also something called “Luck and Timing”. Absolutely realize that you have to have both in addition to all the things you can control. Realize that a little of this is going to be out of your control.

10. Finances: not everyone is going to be playing ball on scholarship, or at least on full scholarship. Decide if the cost is worth the sport participation. If you are reading this, the answer probably is “yes, of course it is” but realize an injury or a sudden lack of passion means you still have the finances to deal with but none of the glory of the sport. Really weigh your financial realities.

All of this is meant to get you thinking – be it a parent or a player. Even a coach reading this needs to understand that you are going to be looking at some kids who have the research down pat and can impress you, but some other youth will be just as impressive deep down, but you may have to scratch the surface a bit. Not everyone knows the ins and outs of impressing a coach and a college but may be an exceptional player, student and person under it all. It’s everyone’s responsibility to learn as much as possible and do what they can to ensure the best options for all involved.

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