Making Sure You Have the Competitive Edge!
By Catharine Aradi (updated 1/24/2004)

Youth softball has become incredibly popular with more kids taking up the game every year. Awareness of college softball has grown as well, and increasing numbers of high school players are dreaming of wearing a college team's uniform.

Although the West is still a "hotbed" of softball, fast-pitch is developing quickly all over the country, and many states are beginning to produce top quality players. Recruiting is more competitive than it's ever been before. Just being from California is no longer a guarantee you'll be offered a scholarship. Playing on a well-known travel team helps, but again, it's not a guarantee college coaches will notice or recruit you.

The best way to ensure you're that lucky "1 out of every 15" who gets to put on a new college jersey your freshman year is to take charge of your own college search. Make sure coaches come looking for you at the tournaments your travel team attends. Make sure you stand out in crowd of other talented players.

Learn about recruiting, how it works, key aspects you need to know, and then just as you prepare to win on the ball field, you can prepare to win in the recruiting race as well. Be pro-active and take charge. From your freshman year on, be sure you're taking the right classes and getting the very best grades you can. Make sure you and your parents understand the many NCAA recruiting and contact rules.

Take the PSAT as a sophomore or junior so you have some idea what to expect when it's time for the real thing. Be sure you take your SAT and ACT at least once in the winter or spring of your junior year. That's when you'll also want to begin sending out your letters, resumes and videos.

When you're a senior, take your SAT or ACT again. Be sure to follow up those videos and letters with phone calls. Keep in mind that 90% of all colleges that play softball are located east of Colorado, and that over 75% of all college teams compete under Div. II, Div. III or NAIA rules. Remember scholarship money is limited, but academic money is very plentiful. Take advantage of those good grades!

Understand that recruiting is not now, and never will be, FAIR! Much like life, recruiting is what you make of it. Don't take your recruitment for granted, no matter how many letters you get, and don't be afraid to let college coaches know you're the player they should be pursuing for their teams!

There are many resources available to you if you really want to succeed, including my book, Preparing to Play Softball at the Collegiate Level. Just as you make sure you touch every base when you hit a home run, cover every base when it comes to recruiting, and you'll be one of the lucky few who realizes her dream of having the college softball experience!

College Recruiters, Scouts or Coaches?

What do they look like? Can you talk to them? What do you say? Notice the stopwatch on her hand. Are you working on your speed?

1. First learn the NCAA rules about "contacts." Parents/players shouldn't be talking to coaches/scouts at tournaments unless the coach/scout has specifically asked the parent/player to find him/her. (And that's only when it's allowed--e.g., after July 1 following the junior year. Players can't talk to the coaches even then at tourneys until their team has been eliminated.)
2. See point 1! Parents should leave coaches alone for a number of reasons unless asked ahead of time to talk to them.
   • It may jeopardize their player's eligibility;
   • It may use up one of only three off-campus contacts per school;
   • It may turn the coach off, particularly if they feel the parent is too aggressive. Some coaches don't like to talk to kids/parents at tournaments, preferring to wait until later.

   My rule of thumb is this. Leave them alone unless asked to find them. If they want to get a hold of you, they will, trust me!

3. If a coach has asked to talk to the player and her parents at a tournament (assuming she'll be or is a senior), I suggest keeping it short and simple. Unless it's a home visit or you're going out for dinner or something, tell the coach you're glad to meet him/her, that you'd appreciate getting info on the school, and that you'd like to have time to think about his/her interest--whether the coach is asking the kid to visit, to consider his/her school, etc. Don't feel intimated or rushed into anything.

Cathi Aradi's book has three pages of questions kids can ask coaches at different times. Keep the book handy when talking to coaches. Make the most of any contacts, but don't feel you have to answer every question at once.

"Why" the rules?" The purpose is to help provide coaches with a level playing ground when it comes to recruiting and to help prevent them from overwhelming kids. Personally, I think too many coaches "push" the edge of the envelope--e.g., skirt right along the edge of what is legal and what isn't. Some coaches try to sell a kid on their schools and get them to practically commit based on one fifteen minute conversation. Parents should never be afraid to step in--putting their egos and wallets aside for the time--and tell coaches the player will definitely look into that school and would like to hear more but perhaps by phone or on a visit when they can really concentrate on what's going on.