| SOFTBALL TIPS |
|
|
|
| SITE STUFF |
|
|
|
|
ARCHIVES
|
| • |
June 26, 2005 |
| • |
July 03, 2005 |
| • |
July 10, 2005 |
| • |
July 17, 2005 |
| • |
July 24, 2005 |
| • |
July 31, 2005 |
| • |
August 07, 2005 |
| • |
August 14, 2005 |
| • |
August 21, 2005 |
| • |
August 28, 2005 |
| • |
September 11, 2005 |
| • |
October 02, 2005 |
| • |
October 09, 2005 |
| • |
October 23, 2005 |
| • |
October 30, 2005 |
| • |
November 06, 2005 |
| • |
November 13, 2005 |
| • |
December 04, 2005 |
| • |
December 18, 2005 |
| • |
December 25, 2005 |
| • |
January 08, 2006 |
| • |
January 15, 2006 |
| • |
January 29, 2006 |
| • |
February 05, 2006 |
| • |
February 12, 2006 |
| • |
February 19, 2006 |
| • |
February 26, 2006 |
| • |
March 05, 2006 |
| • |
March 12, 2006 |
| • |
March 19, 2006 |
| • |
March 26, 2006 |
| • |
April 02, 2006 |
| • |
April 09, 2006 |
| • |
April 16, 2006 |
| • |
April 23, 2006 |
| • |
April 30, 2006 |
| • |
May 07, 2006 |
| • |
May 14, 2006 |
| • |
May 21, 2006 |
| • |
May 28, 2006 |
| • |
June 04, 2006 |
| • |
June 11, 2006 |
| • |
June 18, 2006 |
| • |
June 25, 2006 |
| • |
July 09, 2006 |
| • |
July 16, 2006 |
| • |
July 23, 2006 |
| • |
July 30, 2006 |
| • |
August 13, 2006 |
| • |
August 20, 2006 |
| • |
September 03, 2006 |
| • |
September 10, 2006 |
| • |
September 17, 2006 |
| • |
September 24, 2006 |
| • |
October 01, 2006 |
| • |
October 08, 2006 |
| • |
October 15, 2006 |
| • |
October 22, 2006 |
| • |
November 12, 2006 |
| • |
November 26, 2006 |
| • |
December 31, 2006 |
| • |
January 14, 2007 |
| • |
January 21, 2007 |
| • |
January 28, 2007 |
| • |
February 04, 2007 |
| • |
February 11, 2007 |
| • |
February 18, 2007 |
| • |
February 25, 2007 |
| • |
March 04, 2007 |
| • |
March 11, 2007 |
| • |
March 18, 2007 |
| • |
April 01, 2007 |
| • |
April 08, 2007 |
| • |
April 15, 2007 |
| • |
April 22, 2007 |
| • |
April 29, 2007 |
| • |
May 06, 2007 |
| • |
May 13, 2007 |
| • |
May 20, 2007 |
| • |
May 27, 2007 |
| • |
June 03, 2007 |
| • |
June 10, 2007 |
| • |
June 17, 2007 |
| • |
June 24, 2007 |
| • |
July 01, 2007 |
| • |
July 22, 2007 |
| • |
July 29, 2007 |
| • |
August 12, 2007 |
| • |
August 19, 2007 |
| • |
September 02, 2007 |
| • |
September 16, 2007 |
| • |
September 30, 2007 |
| • |
October 07, 2007 |
| • |
October 14, 2007 |
| • |
October 21, 2007 |
| • |
November 04, 2007 |
| • |
November 18, 2007 |
| • |
November 25, 2007 |
| • |
December 02, 2007 |
| • |
December 09, 2007 |
| • |
December 16, 2007 |
| • |
January 13, 2008 |
| • |
February 17, 2008 |
| • |
February 24, 2008 |
| • |
March 02, 2008 |
| • |
March 09, 2008 |
| • |
March 30, 2008 |
| • |
April 06, 2008 |
| • |
April 13, 2008 |
| • |
April 20, 2008 |
| • |
April 27, 2008 |
| • |
May 04, 2008 |
| • |
May 11, 2008 |
| • |
May 18, 2008 |
| • |
May 25, 2008 |
| • |
June 01, 2008 |
| • |
June 15, 2008 |
| • |
June 22, 2008 |
| • |
June 29, 2008 |
| • |
July 06, 2008 |
| • |
July 13, 2008 |
| • |
July 20, 2008 |
| • |
August 03, 2008 |
| • |
August 10, 2008 |
| • |
August 17, 2008 |
| • |
August 24, 2008 |
| • |
August 31, 2008 |
| • |
September 07, 2008 |
| • |
September 14, 2008 |
| • |
September 21, 2008 |
| • |
September 28, 2008 |
| • |
October 05, 2008 |
| • |
October 12, 2008 |
| • |
October 19, 2008 |
| • |
October 26, 2008 |
| • |
November 02, 2008 |
| • |
November 09, 2008 |
| • |
November 16, 2008 |
| • |
November 30, 2008 |
| • |
December 07, 2008 |
| • |
December 21, 2008 |
| • |
December 28, 2008 |
| • |
February 15, 2009 |
| • |
February 22, 2009 |
| • |
April 12, 2009 |
| • |
April 19, 2009 |
| • |
April 26, 2009 |
| • |
May 03, 2009 |
| • |
May 10, 2009 |
| • |
May 17, 2009 |
| • |
May 24, 2009 |
| • |
May 31, 2009 |
| • |
June 07, 2009 |
| • |
June 14, 2009 |
| • |
June 21, 2009 |
| • |
July 05, 2009 |
| • |
July 12, 2009 |
| • |
July 19, 2009 |
| • |
August 02, 2009 |
| • |
August 30, 2009 |
| • |
September 06, 2009 |
| • |
September 20, 2009 |
| • |
October 04, 2009 |
| • |
October 11, 2009 |
| • |
October 18, 2009 |
| • |
November 08, 2009 |
| • |
November 15, 2009 |
| • |
November 22, 2009 |
| • |
November 29, 2009 |
| • |
December 27, 2009 |
| • |
January 03, 2010 |
| • |
January 10, 2010 |
| • |
January 17, 2010 |
| • |
January 24, 2010 |
| • |
January 31, 2010 |
| • |
March 14, 2010 |
| • |
March 21, 2010 |
| • |
March 28, 2010 |
| • |
April 04, 2010 |
| • |
April 18, 2010 |
| • |
April 25, 2010 |
|
|
| SOFTBALL LINKS |
|
|
|
Cashin' In
by Dave
Thursday, December 08, 2005
As I sit here staring out at the white carpet which covers my front lawn, contemplating whether I have anything worth saying on this softball blog, random thoughts of the various softball news stories I have read over the past few weeks run through my head. Most of the news these days is about girls committing to various schools in the "early signing period" which occurs this time each year. This or that superstar goes to this or that super softball school. Most of the coverage consists of schools issuing press releases about their relative success in attracting the top talent from all over the nation. Things look very bright for some of these schools as they sign some of the very best girls to their rosters. But what of the decision making process some of these girls go through? How do they decide where they are going to spend perhaps the most important four years of their lives? What are the criteria each uses to make this most crucial of decisions?
The press releases of the myriad schools signing myriad players to national letters of intent kind of melt into a single, pretty boring story. But one stuck out in my mind. That is the story of Nicole Ayres of Deptford High School in New Jersey. Nicole has had a tremendous career in high school as well as ASA play. She has been asked to play for a number of travel teams from as far away as California and Arizona. A large number of colleges have expressed interest in her coming to play for them including New Mexico, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, San Jose State and Fresno State. But Nicole chose to sign with Fordham University in the Bronx, New York City.
Fordham University is not a school which is known throughout the country for their sports programs. The softball program, however, is quite good. Led by 2005 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, Bridget Orchard, the team is planning on its most difficult season ever as it opens at perennial College World Series competitor, University of Texas, then goes on to play a very good non-conference schedule before it tries to defend its A-10 regular season title. But when one thinks of softball powerhouses, Fordham does not generally come to mind. The quality of the school's educational reputation is a different matter.
Fordham is an excellent school. Among its most famous alumni are Alan Alda (actor), William Casey (Director of the CIA 1981-87), Mary Higgins Clark (author), Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo), G. Gordon Liddy, Vince Lombardi, John N. Mitchell (Attorney General), Wellington Mara (owner of New York Giants football team), Charles Osgood (The Osgood Files), Donald Trump, and Denzel Washington, to name a few. There is very little doubt that a Fordham education is a quality education. But it is hardly cheap even by today's standards.
Ayres figures her complete package which includes tuition, room and board, books and meals is worth about $42,000 annually. For the four years she will attend the school, that's $168,000 even before you factor in the tuition and other cost increases which will likely occur. Ayres made her choice based on a number of factors including her friends' and relatives' ability to come and see her play. She also liked the proximity to Yankee stadium (where her favorite MLB team plays) and Manhattan where post-softball career opportunities abound. She was looking for the "best school" she could find. She says, "it's not all about softball. The better schools are on the East Coast."
It is easy to say "it is not all about softball." It is not my intent to proselytize you into choosing a school based exclusively upon its educational reputation. And while it is possible "the better schools are on the East Coast," there are great schools all over the country. I would never want to dissuade a girl from accepting an offer from a softball powerhouse just because the school's team is nationally ranked. Samantha Findlay played her Freshman year at National Champion Michigan but let's not forget that Michigan also happens to be a tremendous school. What I am after here is motivating you to look hard at the schools which have expressed interest in you.
When I was a senior in high school, I received a full athletic scholarship offer from a school which I did not think worthy of my attention. But I had not adequately checked out what the school had to offer. I would not go back and change my life for any reason, even if I could. But I should have at least checked this school out after the scholarship offer was made. The result of my decision was that I fumbled around for a while trying to figure out what I wanted to do and then pursued my degree while working full time in order to pay what was then a fairly expensive tuition bill. Eventually I graduated at the ripe old age of 28. My reluctance to even consider the school which had expressed interest in signing me cost me precious years but let's not relive ancient history.
The truth is there are very few girls who will eventually play softball for the biggest powerhouses in the sport, let alone play on an international level or in the nascent professional leagues. Of these select few, a very small percentage will actually be able to earn a living the way Michele Smith or Jennie Finch have. The rest of the girls will have to do something else, although many will continue with softball careers in the teaching and coaching professions. You have to look deep inside yourself at a very confusing time of your life and try to get a sense of what you see yourself doing at say the age of 30.
If you really want to teach school and maybe coach a junior high or high school team, perhaps there is a school interested in signing you which specializes in teaching and sports psychology or something along these lines. Maybe you eventually want to go to law school or maybe your interest is engineering, the sciences, humanities, whatever. It is truly up to you to decide where you are going and what you are going to do. If you are able to parlay your skill as a softball player into an education which qualifies you for a satisfying career, you will have achieved success even if you end up playing for a college team which never wins a single game.
As I said, while it may be true that in general some of the best schools are on the East Coast, there are many really good schools out there. One of your biggest considerations is where you want to be geographically. Most teenagers think they would like to be "as far away from home as possible" because they want to establish their independence from their parents. But is that realistic? Even if you attend a school one hour away from your home, you don't need to go home every weekend and your parents are unlikely to show up at your dorm room to "surprise" you some Friday night or Sunday morning. You may be a short drive from home yet have the same experience as someone who has to fly back and forth to school. And when those holidays roll around or when you just want to go home and do your laundry this weekend while vegging out and not dealing with all the usual college life stuff, you'll be able to by just hopping into your car or getting a lift home from a friend. Going to school a long way from home is not all that it is cracked up to be.
More important than the location of the school is the type of programs which are available. I can't tell you the number of times somebody I have known came back from college and found some aspect of their studies extremely wanting in terms of the skills they learned. One friend attended a major university with nationally regarded academic programs but when he returned home with degree in hand, the first thing he did was enroll at a local college to get his information technology skills up to snuff. In that process he discovered he wanted to become a programmer which is his chosen career to this day, some twenty five years later. He wasted his time by going to a great school that didn't offer the things he needed to succeed in life. Just because a school specializes in physical education, for example, does not mean it offers a comprehensive selection of courses in sports physiology. Just because a school is "an excellent engineering school" does not mean it offers a concentration in petro-chemical engineering. You need to do more than a cursory job of ascertaining how large of an opportunity exists for you at any given school before you make a final commitment.
Another extremely important aspect of college which is seldom given its due consideration is school size. I went to a University which was about 5 times my high school's size. That was right for me. I have always thrived in circumstances which I would define as more rural than urban - where I feel like I know most people I encounter. My younger brother went to an extremely large university which has more people than most small cities. That was right for him. But I can think of one friend who went to a behemoth university which was very impersonal and caused him to get very lost, and ultimately to fail. Ask yourself whether you really do like the big city vs. the small town or maybe something in between. Now factor that into the equation.
Another important aspect to choosing a college is to pick one that is very good at providing opportunity in your chosen field. If you are interested in being a programmer for Google one day and Stanford is offering you a scholarship, well, that's pretty easy. But if you really want to work in the energy industry, maybe the best place for you is somewhere along the Gulf Coast. There are any number of careers which can be approached from anywhere in the country but even with that as a consideration, some schools in certain areas do better at placing their graduates in certain professions than others. Say you want to big an accountant for one of the big, international accounting firms and you want to work in New York City. There are some schools which routinely place their top 10% of accountancy graduates in the Big 4. There are other schools locate din the same geographical location which generally have better overall reputations but which have nowhere near the same degree of success placing accountants. Again, you have to do your homework. While you still have the luxury of time, maybe you ought to engage in a letter writing campaign to ask partners in the Big 4 accounting firms which schools they draw from most frequently.
There are a number of criteria you ought to give consideration when choosing a college. I have not exhausted them here. Rather my intention is to get you thinking about what is going to be important to you. This is the most confusing time of your life but rest assured that if you put in the effort now, things will mostly fall into place in your near-term future. You're an athlete so don't get tired now, right at the end of the race. Motivate yourself to do as much work as you are capable of because this work will change everything for the rest of your life. It is, after all, your life. It is also your responsibility to live it. Don't make your decision based on what some college softball coach is telling you.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
Permanent Link: Cashin' In
 
|
|
|
