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Getting a scholarship is all about producing a good resume and being able to back it up. You have to have the skills, but a lot of girls have the skills and still don't get a scholarship because they never got noticed.
The First Step:
The first thing to do is create a profile that you can send with your portfolio. A profile describes who you are and the accomplishments you have.
Pitchers:
If you are a pitcher you want to state what your ERA is as well as the pitches you are able to throw and the speed that your pitches are at.
Catchers:
You want to include the speed at which you can throw down to first, second, and third.
Fielders:
Include some of your natural abilities and what you are able to do as a fielder, your speed of throw, especially from a third or short stop position you need to be able to show that you have an arm.
Hitters:
As a hitter you will include what your batting average is as well as on base average etc.
Awards:
You can include any awards you have won as well as any special tournaments that your team might of won.
Your Personal Profile:
Your profile is not just your profile as a softball player but also in life. You will want to include your grade point average as well as what extra curricular activities you do.
Letters of Recommendation:
Then to top off your list you want to include letters of recommendation. These letters should be both from people who know you academically as well as influential people in Softball. Your coach both in high school as well as your summer teams coach. Any other positions could work as well, perhaps a head umpire or a USSSA or ASA Director.
Video Resume:
Finally you must produce a short 3 min. video showing you playing in your position.
Pitchers:
If you are a pitcher you should include a video with a view from behind the catcher to prove that your pitches do what their suppose to. A true rise is a pitch that breaks up at the last second, if the pitch just goes up, it's not a real rise. So you want the video to show that your pitch breaks at the last second, and isn't just a high fastball. You also want to pitch to your catcher with a speed gun set up in front of the camera so that the speed registers solid right in front of the camera, to prove that you are able to throw at that speed. As a pitcher be sure to also show you fielding your position and any other position you play.
Catchers:
Catchers you will need to show your ability to throw to all the bases, but you must also include the speed of throw, just like the pitcher in the paragraph above, but you must also show a stop watch throw where the camera is able to register the speed from the moment of catch to the catch and tag at second base.
Fielders:
Outfield you want to show your capabilities, your speed in the outfield, and if you are able to dive, then you must show this on video. Infielders, short and second must show your ability to cover the whole middle field and also diving for line drives. First and third need to show their ability to stretch to the catch and jump for bad throws and quick movement for bunts.
Hitting:
You should show several angles of you hitting and one of those angles should show a fabulous hit. It is not impressive to hit off of a machine, so the film must include you hitting off of a pitcher, either in a real game or in batting practice, but make sure it's a real pitcher pitching and not a coach or parent.
Sending It Off:
Send your paper resume off with the 3 min. video to the top ten schools of your choice and be sure to include information on tournaments you will be playing in the future and where they could come see you, For Example: The Sparkler and Firecracker tournament held in July is a tournament that scouts from all over will be coming to Colorado to see and so be sure to state that you will be playing in this tournament, if your team is traveling to any out of state tournaments, include those as well.
Send your paper resume to an additional thirty schools of your choice, it would be to expensive to send the video to these schools as well, so it is better to simply send the paper resume.
Follow Up:
There are of course several other things you can do to get noticed like including a personal note of why you want to attend their school, as well as calling the coach personally and telling them about yourself, you can get the coach or his assistants number off of the schools website. For more pointers or to ask a question, simply send an email to SoftballCO@gmail.com or call (303) 809-1502
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