At some point your player will obviously have to choose a school to go to.  Hopefully, she will have plenty of choices and the decision may be a tough one.  I believe that that decision is often made based on a feeling of being "home" when she is on campus--a place that she feels comfortable at.  Until such time as the decision is made your player may want to narrow her choices through the use of her and your subjective criteria.  Below is a table that is designed to her do exactly that.

RANK	FACTOR	SCHOOL	SCHOOL	SCHOOL	SCHOOL	SCHOOL
	D-1 Program
	Softball Stadium/Facilities
	Like the coach
	Close to home
	No harsh winter
	Opportunity to start right away
	Academic reputation
	Party reputation
	School specializes in your major
	Not a commuter school
	Active alumni - employment network
	Top ranked team
	Amount of scholarship money
	Big campus / football team
	Small campus / enrollment
	Friends attending that school

This is just a sample, but the idea is to place the factors that are important to the player and then rank them in the order of importance.  The lowest number should be given to the least important factor and the highest to the most important factor. Then give each school a grade as to each factor on a scale of 1-10.  Here comes the complicated part.  You then multiply the score given for each factor and then add up the individual scores for each school.  The schools with the highest total scores should be the closest to meeting all the criteria for the school your player wants to attend.  Remember, the factors and their rankings are completely subjective to each individual player or family.  Even if you do not do the math, making a charge to determine what your player wants in a school may help her sort through her choices.

By way of illustration: This is a theoretical comparison between UCLA and a ficticious university in New Jersey.   Let's assume that the girl is from New Jersey and lives close to the fictious campus.. 

 

RANK	FACTOR	UCLA	FICTICIOUS U.	SCHOOL	SCHOOL	SCHOOL
16	Major D-1 Program	10	3
15	Softball Stadium/Facilities	10	4
14	Like the coach	9	6
13	Close to home	1	10
12	No harsh winter	10	3
11	Opportunity to start right away	1	10
10	Academic reputation	8	7
9	Party reputation	8	4
8	School specializes in your major	3	9
7	Not a commuter school	6	2
6	Active alumni - employment network	10	4
5	Top ranked team	10	1
4	Amount of scholarship money	2	10
3	Big campus / football team	10	1
2	Small campus / enrollment	2	8
1	Friends attending that school	1	3

Based on the factors that this fictional person used and the scores, UCLA would get a 160 points for being a major DI program and 150 for its facilities, and so on, with a final score of 951.  Fictitious U. on the other hand would have a final score of 751.  The clear choice be UCLA.  But if the factors were ranked in a different order, then Ficticious U. could finish ahead of UCLA.

Once your player has narrowed the choices down to a couple of schools, make sure applications are timely submitted.  College coaches may have some pull with admissions but only if an application is submitted.  In addition, make sure that all of the financial information is provided to the school and all appropriate federal, state and local agencies.

Once your player decides on a college, commits, gets accepted into school, and graduates from High School all the hard work is over, right?  Uh no, it is really just beginning.  Of course there are different levels of commitment to softball in college, but for those players who play at the Division I level, especially at the upper levels of Division I, there is nothing that can prepare them for the experience, but I am going to try to at least make them understand what may be expected. 

I have seen a number of travel teams boast that they can prepare a player for college.  They can't.  They are either lying to your or themselves because there is simply no way to recreate the college experience of practicing up to 20 hours per week plus a full contingent of classes, trying to keep grades up, and all while living away from home and trying to make new friends and fit in on a social level.  Most girls have no clue as to what is in store for them and some of them can't handle the changes.  I believe that if they have a better idea of what to expect it might help them both adapt better and make the right choice of schools.

The training for softball begins months before the players step on to campus.  Many, if not most, coaches, will provide their incoming players with an off season conditioning guide.  There will be a sample of one put on the handouts page very shortly.  Make sure that your player takes this seriously.  Your player only has one chance to make a first impression.  Now, I can see some of you thinking that your player has already made an impression because she was recruited.  That was a recruitment first impression.  Now there is a transition from recruit to player.  Your player now must make a new first impression as a player.  If she comes to school out of shape it makes a bad first impression and one that cannot be undone.  The player should follow the off season conditioning program religiously.  Your player may wonder if she is doing enough.  Have no fear-she isn't, at least not in the eyes of the coach. 

One thing to remember when making the transition to college life as a softball player is that your player has not proven anything yet on the college level.  She may have been a great High School and travel player, but she still must prove that she can perform at the college level.  There have been many exceptionally talented players who did not perform well in college. There is no one reason why this occurs.  Sometimes the player picked the wrong school, is playing for the wrong coach, is too immature to handle college life, or gets burned out.  But what needs to be done is to minimize that possiblity by picking a school that is a good fit AND understanding completely what is may happen before she gets to school.

One thing that happens to some good players, especially as freshmen, is an inability to accept a lesser role on the team than they were used to.  Not all freshmen will start and some players may sit for even two years, or in some cases never start.  All players who play ball at an upper level Division I program were "the best" players in their area, on their travel teams, and High School teams.  Not starting or not starring in college is a blow to the ego that some players cannot handle. 

TO BE CONTINUED.