We Are in a Softball Climate Crisis

Mid-year transfers are increasingly becoming more popular in college. The truth of it is though, not every university’s Admissions Department will accept a newly enrolled student in January. Despite the Admissions hurdle, players are falling back on utilizing the mid-December NCAA Transfer window as a possible “out” to their NLI Commitment several months prior for various reasons. Some of the various reasons we’ve heard are:

1. The following fall the player will enter her Graduate year and have opted to take her Covid year at another institution.

2. The player is home sick.

3. Academically the player has opted to find a better fit.

4. Financially the player’s family cannot afford tuition.

5. The time commitment to both Division I athletics and academics was too great to sustain good mental health.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Athletic reasons why players are entering the portal vary from:

1. During end-of-fall meetings, the Coach relays honest feedback and player realizes they will not be a starter in the spring; perhaps not even the following year.

2. The coach was sold on a player who did not meet athletic and/or personal characteristic expectations and was encouraged to “find a better fit.”

3. The player realizes on a team of 21 players, they are no longer the Most Valuable Player.

4. The player is accustomed to changing teams having played on 4 different travel ball teams in the past 6 years so leaving now is familiar.

5. If the player enters now, then the belief is the chances of being “picked up” in the spring are greater.

6. Physically they are unable to sustain the demands of Division I athletics.

7. Mentally they are unable to sustain the demands of Division I athletics.

8. They believe the grass is greener somewhere else; including but not limited to NIL agreements (Name, Image, Likeness).

9. Their travel ball coach had already contacted a few schools that would be interested in a conversation IF they were to enter.

Per NCAA rules and regulations, several steps must occur before a college coach can talk to a player at another institution. To this day, however, no one, or at least no governing body has been able to prevent a club coach or travel ball coach from “negotiating” moves, future conversations, and even official visits with prospective college coaches before entering the portal.

In travel ball, there is no transfer portal window. Essentially, players can leave their current team, try out, or simply be added to another team’s roster AT ANY POINT. It’s unregulated, unchecked, and out of control. It’s a current crisis that has impacted how college coaches now recruit first-year players, hold money back for players projected to enter the transfer portal, and even make way on their current rosters for more talented players or players who are a better fit for their culture.

For example, let’s say a rising senior has yet to be recruited on their current travel ball team. They, and by they I mean parents, become anxious and stressed and of course start to blame their current organization’s lack of interest from college coaches. They see rosters of their competition filled with verbal commitments and negotiate a deal to join a team for the upcoming fall that has a reputation, either a recognizable name in a saturated market or a recent ranking from @ExtraInningSB, and likely pay an extraordinary amount of money to have their daughter wear a new jersey.

But let’s not stop there. Let’s fathom a scenario in which a player comes from a financially successful pedigree, is slightly better than average athletically, ranked high by EIS (perhaps factor in a family financial influence), and committed to a P5 team because they were able to make a substantial donation to their program or team’s NIL Collective, just to play the NCAA portal game of knowing she’ll have “better options” after the 1st year playing with a P5 team; even as a walk-on?

The travel ball industry is facing a crisis of legitimacy. As we reported in our previous newsletter, Travel Ball Where Anything Goes, there is no oversight or regulation of the activities of parents, teams, and organizations. This leads to unethical and irresponsible behaviors, such as stealing players from other teams or creating new teams without any experience or affiliation, but using the reputation of another established organization.

College coaches have yet to identify the patterns exhibited in travel ball are also impacting their recruiting and coaching decisions. More and more, coaches are recruiting from their camps/clinics and VERIFYING the athlete with an unregulated opinion and ranking. This negates their need to do their due diligence because if it doesn’t work out, there’s always the portal.

So where do we go from here? Everyone talks about the instability of the travel ball environment but little does anything about it. Until now.

The travel ball atmosphere is unstable.

• Anyone can start a new team or organization. No background check or experience is required.

• Coaches have no accreditation.

• Parents are being overwhelmed with misinformation.

• Travel ball is expensive with no guaranteed return

• There is no governing body to hold organizations or coaches accountable

Softball Climate is aiming to be something bigger than just solely exposing unfiltered truths. We aim to protect the integrity of youth softball and restore the authentic game. We are striving to establish and uphold ethical standards for coaches and organizations, instill core values, implement basic skills to develop, empower parents with reliable information, and support college coaches in an ever-changing landscape one culture at a time.

Want to know how?

We are launching our softball climate website championed by former Division I Head Coach Jill Karwoski and a team of active coaching advisors. At the grassroots level, Coach Jill will be offering one-on-one consultations to travel ball coaches looking to gain valuable insight, assess their team’s culture, give tools to perform character assessments of players and parents, fine-tune their coaching talking points, and ethical recruiting practices. Parents can join too and be empowered by honest conversations and recruiting guidance.

Want more?

In-person team assessments and consultations are also available. In development, Softball Climate is creating a path for coaches and teams to be Climate Certified* and receive a verified check so parents can make better and more informed choices for their daughters when it comes to choosing the right team and coach in travel ball.

Softball Climate is the bridge between college coaches and prospective student-athletes who embody our values of integrity, honesty, and commitment.

*Climate Certification will provide coaches at the travel ball level with dynamic and practical information that will establish themselves as a verified coach who makes ethical decisions, has an enriched team culture, commits to 5 basic skills in developing with their players, empowers in-game IQ, and implements effective communication and parent education.

Have a story you want shared or truth to be unveiled? Reach out to Softball Climate at [email protected] 

Fill out this short quiz to see if you believe we are experiencing a Softball Climate Crisis!

Go to www.softballclimate.com to be a part of changing today’s climate.

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