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I didn't plan to reply, but maybe I should. The D1 in the SEC that my daughter will attend has 1 JuCo player. She was a pitcher, and most who transfer to big D1s are pitchers, like Kristen Davenport who transferred from Blinn to A&M this spring. My main reason to reply is to say that as an educator and a mom, I would never encourage an athlete to shoot for a JuCo. The first priority is education. We never considered a school that didn't meet my daughters goals academically. And by the way, most of the girls in the higher ranked programs who qualify for ASA Nationals year after year who feed Big D1 programs are honor students. You have to have some smarts to play such a strategic game. Why would you want to encourage a student in the top of their class with a 4.0 GPA to try to go to a JuCo for playing time? And of all of the Big D1 players we know, not one has ever said they regretted it. We don't care about the "prestige" or "allure". We looked for a quality education that will give her an opportunity to reach her life goals. And it was extremely beneficial for her to be in a program that has a reputation for turning out Big D1 players. When he text the ones she was interested in, they showed up to watch. And ultimately she did the work to get there! We had the means to take her to Houston 3x a week. Others in this area have what it takes, but don't have the means. These programs will help those have a better chance. It won't be a large number, but it will be more than in the past. When those select coaches take an interest in a player, and they text a college coach - that college coach will show up, probably at an 8 or 9 am game. They don't like the heat:) It takes much more than just talent to make it to the highest level. You have to know what fits your child. We visited 21 colleges and Universities across the nation. It all has to come together. God orchestrates that. And for some of our local talent, God is working it out for them. Say your prayers and be thankful! 

Houston Power and Impact Gold coming to Beaumont is awesome for our girls! The ones it will benefit are our girls who have what it takes to make it to a big D1. It's sad to say, but once you get the right combination of hard work, talent, determination, and attitude on the players part, it DOES matter what name they have on that jersey. We know from experience. Parents have to be willing to turn your daughter's game over to the coach/manager/organization that's willing to push her beyond what she thought was her limits, then let things happen. If our local coaches don't live up to those organizations expectations and reputation, they won't be coaches for long. And that's a good thing. The local softball drama won't last long with those groups. Parents and kids will have to step up their game and rise to the level of success. Some of our local guys have done an amazing job getting our local players to the next level, but it's time to make things better. There will still be a place for some of these smaller organizations, but this opens up so many possibilities! My advice is to find out what your daughter's goal is, and give her every opportunity to reach it. It's not going to fall in her lap in softball.