By Adam Diorio
From the desk of: Joyce Wellhoefer
After working with thousands of softball players aspiring to compete at the next level, there are two aspects of the process to reach that level that many neglect. Both involve an aspect of self evaluation which might prove extremely helpful in shaping expectations regarding the types of schools the player might be interested in.
The first area that many softball players fail to effectively utilize is watching film of their own play. When NCSA Recruiting Coaches ask our student athletes how often they watch themselves on film, the answer is typically “rarely or never.” Watching your own mechanics and fundamentals will immediately give you skills to work on during practice. Serious student athletes are often times their own harshest critics and watching film will provide fuel for improvement. It also might help to find an expert to watch the film with. This expert might be a personal coach or high school coach, but they will most likely find areas that the student athlete can work on as well. It is also important to keep in mind that every college softball player spends a great deal of time studying film so starting those habits at a young age will only facilitate a smoother transition. The benefits of watching yourself on film might seem obvious but it is surprising how little it is used.
The second aspect of the process that softball players overlook involves actually watching college softball games. What could be a better way to gauge your own ability than watching the level of play you aspire to reach? However, much like watching film of your own play, many softball players have never even seen a college game! With the growth of the sport at the college level, finding a college game is fairly easy and geographically convenient. Whether the college game is DI, DII, DIII, or NAIA you will be able to watch the type of skills and abilities it requires to compete at those levels. This experience could be extremely helpful when deciding what types of schools you should target in your search.
There are many steps in the recruiting process but understanding what skills need improvement and what level of play realistically fits your abilities are vital to achieving success. Working on the two areas above will increase your chances at finding the right fit.
