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Get Scouted Scouting CareersBy Robby Wilson
I just finished reading where the average parent of a softball player in the “recruitable age” spends between $8,000 and $12,000 per year for showcasing and camps combined.
That’s an average, meaning there are some parents who pay less and some who pay more. Some reported paying as much as $15,000 per year. The hard part was reading those statistics alongside words and phrases like “hope to get a scholarship” or “hope to be recruited.”
So, if you’re the parent of a “recruitable-age” softball athlete, sit back and think for a second: You showcased all summer and fall, and sprinkle in some camps through the summer, fall and winter. How much did you end up paying? It’s scary, right? And did it pay off? Was your daughter “recruited” and “offered”?
As the National Director of Softball, one of my favorite “perks” is that I get to scout softball talent coast to coast, from some states you don’t even think of when you say “softball.” So I’ve seen all types of “showcases.” And I’ve scouted many types of “showcase camps” as well as regular college camps.
There are some showcases doing things right. There also are a couple of showcase camps doing a marvelous job (similar to jerradhardin.com). But you can look back on the past and pretty much predict where you’re going. Anytime there is a growing interest in something, there are those who will see an opportunity (no shame in that for them) and “get in while the getting is good.”
Such is the case in the showcase/tournament arena as well as the showcase camp arena in today’s softball world. It’s a shame, though, because it only takes a few years for things to go south with it and in softball, it’s heading that way:
- Four or five big-time showcases, all on the same weekend. Where should you go?
- Showcases increasing cost by $100-$200 annually.
- Showcases increasing the number of teams in each age group by 10-20 annually.
- Several showcases on the same weekend. Where should college coaches go to see the talent they need to see? (D-I coaches have only 50 days to recruit annually.)
- Camps before and after showcases, which cost more money and result in missed school days in the fall.
- Most fall showcases are three or four days, which means more missed school.
Of course, playing softball is a bonus. But the entire concept of “student-athlete” is that student comes before athlete, and that you’re going to college to get an education first, play softball second, correct? So why are the athletes being put in a position to miss school just to showcase? Not to mention the parents having to take off work which means less money.
This is not a rant about showcases. This is actually about YOU. You just finished traveling all summer and fall, showcasing, attending various camps and clinics, driving all over and writing endless checks — all in hopes of coaches recruiting your daughter.
But in the back of your mind you are reminded of all those athletes you know who went unrecruited and/or under-recruited. So the possibility is creeping into your head: “My daughter could end up doing all of this and not even be recruited.” The worries of “feeling like a failure” start setting in. Your daughter could become stressed out about not getting recruited and, because of it, lose interest in the sport before graduation. Some athletes give up on it before their time is up because it’s their way of saying: “It’s not that I didn’t get recruited; I took myself out of the race.”
Day after day, year after year, I deal with a new set of “recruitable-age” softball prospects and their families. I see the money strain and the recruiting stress (although it’s supposed to be fun). It doesn’t have to be a drain on the pocketbook. It doesn’t have to be stressful and unproductive for your daughter. It doesn’t have to be like “shooting fish in a barrel.”
The softball recruiting world is changing, period. We all have to accept it. The number of softball athletes hoping to play in college has grown exponentially in the last few years and therefore, the chances of your daughter playing in college just got slimmer. But as Darwin said “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Therefore, if you understand the changes taking place, and realize that your summer, fall and winter proved less productive than you had hoped, it’s time to adapt.
As “camp season” comes to a close, most softball prospects in the “recruitable age” are beginning to think about high school season or beginning to play spring ball with the misconception that college coaches don’t recruit during the spring because it’s their season. On the contrary, spring is actually when college softball coaches have the ability to maintain communication with those athletes truly serious about their programs, as well as continue communication with those “handful of trusty sources” such as NSR scouts, about those athletes.
Come early June (June 9 at noon to be exact for D-I), those coaches already have their athletes atop their recruiting board; know when and where they’re playing; and know what their recruiting schedule looks like. Those athletes who wait until June to resume getting recruited must get in line behind those who have been on the top of coaches’ boards since February.
So, how do you adapt, and not be left behind?
My best recommendation is to invite an NSR scout to scout your athlete and determine whether she has the ability, grades, work ethic, attitude, family support, and drive to play in college. Why? The number of people a college softball coach talks to during the spring diminishes dramatically. But an NSR scout is typically in touch with them, especially in softball. All day, every day, an NSR softball scout is working in softball. He or she may talk to several college coaches throughout the day, while scouting practices, lessons, watching skills videos, scouting games, etc. The NSR scout has the schedule that most closely mimics that of college coaches and, therefore, is usually available to them.
Parents invest a lot in their athletes over the years. Their daughters invest a lot, too (different type of investment). The only way to ensure that it pays off is to make sure you’re following all steps correctly, targeting the right programs that have a need for your athletes and matching them athletically and academically.
The only way to ensure these things take place is to be scouted by professionals. If your athlete qualifies as an NSR prospect, she will have guidance from Day One through graduation and National Signing Day. NSR softball prospects can and will go on to play college softball, period. Be scouted by an NSR softball scout: www.nsr-inc.com/softball and fill out the scout request form.
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.