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Starting the Recruiting Process
It's not just what happens on the field that makes an athlete elite.
Talent, skill, and practice are essential for anyone looking to advance in this sport. However, it's the additional effort that distinguishes average players from elite athletes.
Realistically, factors like the coach, the organization someone plays for, and success in major tournaments can influence recruitment. Yet, there are numerous other aspects that can help a player stand out from the competition with or without the items above.
Keep in mind that each person's journey is unique. You might not be the largest, quickest, or most powerful player, but you have the power to manage your effort, attitude, and work ethic.
Timelines
Most of the topics below can be started as early as 12u but efforts should intensify as the player reaches their 1st year in high school and beyond.
Recruiting Myths
My phone is going to ring on September 1st
Unless you are in the top 1% of players in the country, don't expect a phone call. The recruiting period STARTS on September 1st of an athletes junior year, but that's not when it ends. It may take weeks, months or even until their Senior year before they find the right home.
My Coach, the Organization will get me recruited
Coach's and the organization DO have an impact on a players recruitment effort. But it doesn't take the place of the Athletes commitment to their recruiting efforts.
College Coaches will find me
We all wish it was that easy. For the top 1%, that could be true, but for most, it starts with outreach campaigns, the player establishing a consistent communication with a coach/school.
I like whatever colleges like me
Sure. But anyone will tell you it's much easier, less stressful if the player leads the recruiting efforts rather then letting it lead the player.
Outreach Campaigns
Student-athletes must proactively reach out to college coaches. Many families are under the mistaken impression that college coaches will just “find” their student-athlete. And for most athletes, this isn’t true. The average recruit needs to do the legwork to find the school and coach that matches their academic and athletic needs, or risk slipping through the cracks in the recruiting process.
When to start: 1st year 14u, as the player gets closer to recruiting age (Fall Freshman year), the communications become more important and thus should be more frequent and more targeted to select schools.
Where to find college softball staff emails:
This information is usually found on the athletic pages on each college website.. X (Twitter) profiles are generally not found on the college websites but can be found by searching in X.
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Our on-line reference - many D1 Coaches and Assist Coaches X profiles have been added to our on-line reference
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Search X for coach and/or college
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Some Colleges post their Coaches X user names on their profile pages; most don't; however
What/When to send to coaches:
Tips:
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Repetitiveness is the key. It's ok if the coach doesn't respond - that doesn't mean they didn't read your email and take note of your name/who you play for/etc.
Ideas on ways to stay in contact with coaches:
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Tournament schedule, Game Schedule
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Camp visits (before and after)
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Travel/School recognition (scholastic or sports)
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All State, Player of the Year, Ranking (Line Drive/Softball America)
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End of season stats / highlight reel
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Volunteer / Charity Work
Things to remember:
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Coaches will not respond to players but that doesn't mean they didn't see it. Continue to send regardless if you can a response or not
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During the college softball season, coaches will not be coming to see your games. Instead, include a link to your teams You Tube channel or other on-line source so that the coaches can watch on-demand
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Always personalize your communication for the receiving school.
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Ideally the communications, whether through social media or emails should be written by the player but the important part is that they get sent
Below are a few examples of communications to coaches provided by players
Provide coaches with exciting updates on their high school season!
Introduce yourself to prospective college coaches
Provide tournament/ game schedule
Social Media
Recommend players have a Twitter account / email set up before entering into 1st year 14u to begin showcasing their achievements and building followers.
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1st year 14u - obtain email, set up X account
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1st year 16u is usually the right time to start tagging coach's on X posts (schedules, highlights, etc.)
Note: Coaches are prohibited from publicly commenting on a recruit’s social media profile until after the athlete has committed to their program
X (Twitter) Profile:
A profile should contain the basics about the player.
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Full name
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Graduation year
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Position (s)
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High School
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Travel team
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Headshot (up-close picture to allow viewers to see the players face)
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Position # (this makes it easier for coaches to identify the player in videos/clips)
Showcases
A softball showcase tournament is a multi-day event where softball players compete in front of college coaches from various universities. These tournaments are designed to give players the opportunity to showcase their skills and get noticed by coaches who are looking to recruit players for their teams.
Choosing the right showcase tournaments
[Participating in events where colleges are likely to seek players of a similar caliber to those on your team.
Coaching Logistics During Showcases
A head coach needs to be outside of the fences, talking with coaches as they express interest in the team or a particular player.
Roster Flyers
Roster flyers should be placed on the fence behind home plate. Bring more then you think you should - it's better to have extra's then run out.
There are several items that can serve as a holder for your flyers
- Be sure to think about inclement weather days - have something you can put the flyers in to keep them dry
What player/team info should be on a roster page?
- Player Name, #, Position, Graduating Year, Social Medial (Twitter), and an Email
- Be sure to include the Coach's name and contact information
- Add your team webpage on the GA Impact website to your flyers
- Upcoming schedule
Examples (can be created in Canva, Microsoft Word/Power Point, etc.)
Recruiting Profiles
Many platforms exist for athletes to build profiles and display their talents. A few recommended platforms are commonly utilized by college coaches for profile creation and maintenance. However, it's important to note that there no single platform adopted by all coaches While each platform may claim to be favored by coaches, verifying the accuracy of such claims can be challenging
Many popular platforms offer both free and paid access to their services. We suggest creating a free profile first, allowing the player to assess if a paid version is worthwhile. These sites can serve as a one-stop shop to share information with college coaches, recruiters, and others interested in learning about the player.
NCSA is the largest college athletic recruiting platform, with over 40,000 college coaches using NCSA to find athletes across 31 sports.
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Access to college coach directory (links to websites, email address (no Twitter/X)
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Track college coach activity
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Camps - not a comprehensive list but does offer search capabilities
Players enter information about their teams, High School, Academics, Events played in, tag favorite colleges to track college activity (account/profile views or searches)
All players within the organization will have an Athletes Go Live account and profile starting in the Fall2025 season, thanks to a partnership with AGL. AGL offers a scoring and live streaming platform, along with player profiles where college coaches can view clips and access essential player information.
FYI - Steaming and Scoring on AGL is free, however player profiles are only available to subscribers. This will be included as a benefit to all Impact teams/players starting Fall 2025.
College Camps
Attending college camps is a critical part of the recruiting process. This is where coaches are allowed to talk to you, provide 1:1 feedback and get to know the personability of the player, etc.
Camps can range from $150 - $350, depending on the school and the type of camp it is.
When to start attending camps:
Players can usually start attending camps when they are 13 (some colleges may have camps for younger participants as well), however most start attending in their freshman year, and ramp up attendance beginning in their sophomore year.
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Recommend the player attend their top 1-3 schools fall/winter as freshmen to develop name recognition/Relationship with the HC.
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By the players Sophomore year, they should be receiving some feedback in Showcases, Tournaments and have a more targeted list of camps to attend
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1st Year 16u Fall/Winter camps are critical - players should attend college camps that have expressed an interest in them during showcases or other means, in addition to 1 or 2 of their top schools.
Typical camps offered by colleges:
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Hitting clinics designed to focus on
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Pitching/Catching Clins
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Camps - Defensive Skills (no scrimmages)
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Elite Prospect Camps - these are typically full day events, in some cases 2 days.
Where to find information about camps
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Most colleges have a Camp link off of their softball page (frequently under "more info")
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Many colleges have a Twitter (X) page dedicated to Camps
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Ryzer is a good source for camps
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Our recruiting contact list has links to many of the D1 college camp sites
Coaches:
Don't expect feedback from college coaches on every (or any) player that attends a camp. In many cases the coach will reach out to you in some manner if they noticed/liked the player.
Camp Etiquette:
One of the most important aspects about attending a camp is how to stand out and make an impression.
Players:
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Send email communication in advance of attending camp
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Post camp picture(s) on social media (Twitter) / tag coach's
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Send email communication to coach / assist coach's after attending camp
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See list of colleges / emails below or perform internet search, most colleges have their coach's email addresses on the Roster pages (Coahing Staff section)
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Personalize thank you emails/social media post - cite something said/done by the coach/staff at camp (something about the campus, instructions/tips, fun-fact, etc.)
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Players can self-evaluate performance at camp using the attached checklist
Recruiting Profiles
Rankings
What does ranking have to do with recruiting? Not much. Players that are not rank can still get recruited and players that are ranked may not be offered by their desired school.
The good, the bad and the ugly of rankings.
Media Companies that rank players:
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Softball America
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Line Drive Media
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Extra Innings Softball
Quick Links (Recruiting)
Link | Description |
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Sports Recruits | Provides list of colleges by region, conference, division, etc. (Players can set up free account) |
NCAA | The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)[b] is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and one in Canada |
Wikipedia | D1 Colleges |
NCSA - College Camps | College Camps |
NCSA - D3 Colleges | D3 Colleges |
NCSA - D2 Colleges | D2 Colleges |
NCSA - D1 Colleges | D1 Colleges |
Ryzer - College Camps | Create a free account and find College Camps by Zip Code or State. Note - not all Colleges post Camps w/Ryzer |
Tell us about your recruiting experiences
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We'd love to hear from you