The early signing period for NCAA sports is quickly approaching. In less than one month, high school seniors in all sports except football, men’s and women’s soccer and men’s water polo can sign National Letters of Intent (NLI) with NCAA Division I and II colleges and universities from November 9-16. Of course, in order to … Read more
There are benefits to “playing up,” but there are also inherent problems. The term itself was first used in the early 1980s when tournaments were short of filling an age bracket. Tournament directors would call coaches they knew in the age bracket just below and ask them to fill in “just this once.” Soon, teams were volunteering … Read more
Does size matter in softball recruiting? Absolutely! But it’s not the “be all, end all.” In college recruiting, we call it “the box.” Does a kid fit “into the box” as per her position, etc.? There are some coaches who recruit by the box, and some coaches who believe “it’s not how big they are, but … Read more
At National Scouting Report, we advise prospects to diversify their recruiting efforts. Social media is one of those diversified methods we emphasize. While it can have minimal effect alone, tied to a strong website, frequent and targeted promotional distributions, social media is essential to rounding out a prospect’s recruiting portfolio. Every college coach expects prospects to … Read more
Young athletes walk a tightrope. Some make it to college. Others drop off. The fall is often life-threatening. How is it that a good high school athlete and kid fails to play at the next level? How can a youngster who was perhaps a can’t-miss prospect lose his or her way over a two- or three-year … Read more
An eighth-grade girls lacrosse player recently made a verbal commitment to Syracuse. Penn State recently received a verbal commitment from an eighth-grade boys lacrosse player. An eighth-grade girls soccer player recently committed to Texas. Arizona received a commitment from an eighth-grade softball player. An eighth-grade football player already has received offers from Alabama, Michigan State, … Read more
Coaches are like piñatas being wildly swung at by blindfolded parents. “My son isn’t getting enough playing time.” “Her practices are terrible.” “He treats my kid like [bleep].” It goes on and on. But hindsight tells us that what happens to athletes — bad or good — is more telling in the future than in … Read more
College prospects should know that when they are practicing, they are honing their craft. We rarely think of sports in that vein, but it is time we do. The days have passed when athletics were played on sandlots, empty streets or vacant fields by unsupervised youngsters simply because they loved the game. Now kids are taking grounders, … Read more
Today, there are lots of softball prospects who decide not to play high school softball. It’s an ongoing discussion that will continue to evolve as the college softball recruiting world continues to evolve. When you ask the question of “how important is travel ball” in college softball recruiting, it’s huge. That’s not to say you … Read more
I was recently talking to a parent of an athlete who told me his son would have almost enough credits to graduate after his junior year, so he was going to take a bunch of easy classes his senior year to pump up his GPA. I immediately replied: “No, no, no.” I may have said … Read more
