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It's no secret I hate August with a passion. It is my absolute LEAST favorite time of year and I try to stay out of the tryout crazy as much as possible. As you're evaluating your current team and deciding if it's time to make a change, here are a few things to look for in a team IF you're in high school and looking to play in college: 

1) Look at their record - If they're boasting some crazy winning percentage or win streak they probably aren't playing the right level of competition and are trophy chasing. College coaches look at the level of tournaments you're playing - winning every weekend might be fun, but it's not preparing you for the next level! 

2) Who is training and coaching athletes on a day to day basis? In today's travel softball world it is ridiculously easy to throw a big name on the front of your jersey and say the right things. It doesn't matter who the overall head of your organization is in another state or how many athletes they send to college because at the end of the day college coaches use their connections. If the coach of YOUR team doesn't have them, it's going to hurt you. (I know some great people who coach teams under big name orgs who have built their own reputations, but there are just as many out there riding on coat tails of  big name orgs) 

3) Find out what fields they play on - Most teams share what showcase tournaments they are attending (which might look great on paper) but what fields are they playing on? Playing in a showcase an hour from the top complex with no college coaches isn't showcasing. 

4) What message do they sent to their athletes? Are they selling DI dreams to every athlete on the team? (Which is almost statistically impossible unless you're on one of the top 10 teams in the country.) Are they as focused on an academic future and life after college as they are on what level and where you play at? What do their athletes talk about at tryouts? 

5) Do they struggle to keep athletes on their roster? Are the constantly looking for pick up players? Talk to former team members and parents, what was their experience? Talk to current players and parents at try outs, what do they like/dislike about the program? 

6) Are the coaches realistic? Are they asking you to spend thousand to travel the country when in reality that's not in the best interest of their athletes? A family recently reached out to me for help and sent this about an experience they had with a team. 

"The majority of the girls on that team are 2023's. In the fall, all were talking about D1 schools. Now, the best 2 girls on the team have small D1 offers and all the rest are pivoting to D2 and D3 schools. That's a lot of money spent by these families on camps and tournaments chasing a D1 dream."