A Querc From The Merc, 11/22/19

Fall Ball In a Nut Shell

 

While our tournaments are only on weekends, trying to field a team each weekend can be challenging.  Fall sports begin before school does.  Every weekend coaches have to figure out which players can attend fall tournaments.  Valuable time is spent making phone calls, sending texts and emails to find players to fill in from our other teams. Some weekends we end up playing with only half of our team.

Just when you think you’ve got a full roster, you find out that Player X is not available on one or two of the days of a tournament because of Homecoming dances, Build A Bear Parties, or last-minute sniffles.

 

Recruiting Rules:

 

NAIA, D3 & D2 schools have not been affected by the new NCAA recruiting rules, only D1 schools have been. Per new rules, D1 coaches can’t attend tournaments to recruit players until October 14th this year (purple).  This means that northern teams must travel further south in order to play, if they want exposure opportunities for D1 schools.  This also increases the overall cost to play club because of higher travel expenses.

 

 

 

The fall provides numerous opportunities for players to gain exposure to college coaches and hopefully catch the eye of a college coach. If a player gets an invite to their camp, they’ve definitely made an impression. This is a win-win for players, coaches and parents.  For players and coaches, they’re able to identify one another and for parents, they can save money, by avoiding camps of schools that did not show any interest. When traveling in the fall, it provides a great opportunity for the team to get to know each other and bond.  It also provides an opportunity for parents to get to know each other better.  Fall ball is a large part of the college recruiting process, despite the many issues and obstacles.  While challenging for travel coaches to manage, it’s too important and valuable to forgo.

 

 

Girls: I came across this video Of Drexel University. They do many of the hitting drills we incorporate into our practices. Keep working hard – keep seeing results!!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7mOq8hBtiY