Between showcases, camps, lessons, and travel ball, a softball family can spend $10,000+ a year on recruiting. Most of it is spent in the wrong order. Here's the order that works.
1. Verified Data First (Cheapest, Highest Leverage)
Before a coach watches a single inning, she's a row in a database: grad year, position, metrics. If those numbers are self-reported, they're discounted. If they're verified, they're currency. Getting FPA-Verified at a combine or showcase is the least expensive purchase in recruiting and the one everything else depends on — because it determines which schools should be on her list at all.
2. An Honest Evaluation (Aim Before You Fire)
The most expensive mistake in recruiting is spending two years marketing to the wrong level. A professional evaluation with a level projection — D1, D2, NAIA, D3, JUCO — turns a 300-school fantasy list into a 25-school working list. Every dollar spent after this point works harder.
3. Targeted Camps (Not Camp Collecting)
College camps are where relationships happen — but only at schools that already know she exists and match her level. A camp at a target school that has opened her packet: gold. A random "elite" camp with 400 kids and no fit: a donation.
4. The Right Showcases (Where Her Targets Actually Go)
Choose showcases by who attends and whether the data is verified — not by the name on the flyer.
The order matters: data → evaluation → targeted exposure. Families who flip it pay more and get recruited less.