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[ Midwest Fastpitch - keeptheboardcorrect@gmail.com ]

Hypothetical Question

Posted by Parent on July 22, 2025, 9:04 am

Would we be better off from a recruiting standpoint if the "super orgs" didn't exist? Where talent was dispersed more evenly. Force colleges to look at more games and give more players a chance? I was wondering, you attend exposure tournaments, and do coaches gravitate towards the name teams only. I see really solid players only getting cursory looks.

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by @HypoParent on July 22, 2025, 9:56 am, in reply to "Hypothetical Question"

The absence of "super orgs" could be better for players and families. But it would be worse for college coaches, organization owners and tournament directors.

Guess who wins that tug-o-war?

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by Answer on July 22, 2025, 9:29 am, in reply to "Hypothetical Question"

Having lived through some very lean years of recruiting, the answer is definitely NO. The Bandits are the draw. They get the college coaches to these tournaments that allow players from other teams to be seen. There used to be 4 or 5 college coaches in Crown Point, and have you seen the amount of college coaches at the Easton/Rawlings.

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by @Answer on July 22, 2025, 9:43 am, in reply to "Re: Hypothetical Question"

I agree that not all recruiting moments are equal, and you must take advantage of the opportunities you receive. Although I'm not sure Easton/Rawlings is the best example, as the teams invited are already heavily recruited.

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by Answer on July 22, 2025, 12:10 pm, in reply to "Re: Hypothetical Question"

The point is the difference the Bandits have done in the last decade plus, getting college coaches to travel to the Chicagoland area. Go there and look at all the coaches. It wasn't always like that.

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by Come on on July 22, 2025, 11:58 am, in reply to "Re: Hypothetical Question"

Even if it was not the Bandits, Chill, Iowa Premier or IMG it would be some other powerhouse teams. These teams are the draw for the best players and the best draw for college coaches. D1 coaches want to see athletes compete against like talent. They know these clubs have access to and draw the top players in the Midwest. This is why high school means nothing. Look at some of the girls who kill it in high school but can not deliver in travel. Its all about PLAYING top competition and having success.

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by @Come On on July 22, 2025, 2:13 pm, in reply to "Re: Hypothetical Question"

We lived it, and you are wrong. It WAS the Bandits that started bringing the college coaches into the area. I guess it "could have" been some other powerhouse team, but it wasn't.

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by Never said on July 22, 2025, 2:50 pm, in reply to "Re: Hypothetical Question"

I never said Bandits did not start it but all teams mentioned are powerhouse teams now

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by @Never on July 23, 2025, 11:43 am, in reply to "Re: Hypothetical Question"

And they can thank the Bandits for making that happen.

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by @@Never on July 23, 2025, 2:56 pm, in reply to "Re: Hypothetical Question"

As a parent of past Bandits, I genuinely understand why other parents disliked us as a group. Comments like that. Act right, like you belong there. If your kids are good, everyone has known it for a long time; if you have to remind people, maybe they're not that great.

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by @@@Never on July 24, 2025, 8:40 am, in reply to "Re: Hypothetical Question"

Great players draw coaches; a lot of great players on one field draw a lot of coaches. With a lot of coaches at a lot of games comes great responsibility. Players must consistently outperform their competition, and parents need to behave accordingly. The vast majority of your daughter's talents can be duplicated by a proven player from the portal. A softball career, and college is career, only begins with being chosen as a Bandit; the whole family has to perform to get the most out of the situation.

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by @@@Never on July 23, 2025, 5:04 pm, in reply to "Re: Hypothetical Question"

My daughters never played for the Bandits. But, I have personally witnessed the huge strides in collegiate interest in this area, and I appreciate the Bandits for being the primary driver of that.

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by @Come On on July 22, 2025, 1:10 pm, in reply to "Re: Hypothetical Question"

Look at the girls who don't kill it in High School and still expect to be recruited at a high level.

Re: Hypothetical Question

Posted by @Come On on July 22, 2025, 1:06 pm, in reply to "Re: Hypothetical Question"

Not disagreeing, but to be the devil's advocate, the talent would still be there, just spread amongst multiple teams. Unless a Bandit team is playing against another top-level team, are their position players really being challenged? Or is a DI recruit hitting off DII pitching? If the Bandits, Chill, IP, IMG, etc., go three deep in pitching, it's kind of pointless to have them play anyone but that small sample size.

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