By Staff
Coaching Management, 9.7, October 2001, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0907/bbrecruit.htm
After two full years in effect, the NCAA Division I Softball Recruiting Calendar appears to be working as planned. Coaches are appreciating both the structure and fairness it is providing.
Initially conceived as a means of self-preservation for coaches running the recruiting gauntlet, the calendar legislation marked the first occasion where coaches of an NCAA sport asked for recruiting regulation.
It limits the number of permissible evaluation days to 50, assesses one evaluation day for each coach recruiting, exempts high school contests from counting against the 50-day limit, and establishes a dead period from Thanksgiving Day until New Year's Day. In addition, a quiet period was established during the National Letter of Intent signing periods in the spring and fall and during the Division I Women's Softball Championships.
In 1999, the calendar's originators stated that the intent was two-fold: to enhance the quality of coaches' lives and to reduce program costs. According to Jacquie Joseph, Head Coach at Michigan State University and Past President of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), the calendar has achieved both goals.
"Our sport is one of the few in the country where youth can play year-round in certain regions,"says Joseph. "And what happened was if there were kids playing, we had to be there. So we were just killing ourselves. The only thing that limited our recruiting efforts was budget, but with some schools' budgets jumping from $5,000 to $20,000, money was no longer a limiting factor.
"So, all in all, I think the development of this calendar was a very good move,"she continues. "There have been some detractors, but most coaches, especially those who've been coaching [at this level] for more than five or 10 years, have realized that this calendar is important for their longevity. They know year-round recruiting was an advantage, but they also felt like it would be nice to be able to spend some time with their own families."
Gayle Blevins, Head Coach at the University of Iowa, agrees. "I know people have liked the quiet period,"she says. "They typically have never had Thanksgiving at home or the month of December free from recruiting obligations. So it's been nice to have those periods closed off."
In developing the calendar, one of the biggest obstacles was determining the final number of evaluation days. And while those at the NFCA (which originally submitted the legislation to the Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet) acknowledge that 50 is not a magic number, and that change is always a possibility, most coaches have accepted and adapted to the 50-day limit.
"We have had no difficulty staying within the days provided,"says Blevins. "And believe it or not, there are some coaches who still feel it's not restrictive enough."
"Since the calendar has gone into effect, we have not even used all 50 days,"adds John Rittman, Head Coach at Stanford University, "so it hasn't affected us negatively. I feel like it provides enough days to recruit and evaluate talent."
In addition to providing structure to the recruiting season and scheduled down time for coaches, the calendar has also produced more parity between programs. For example, the stipulation which levies an evaluation day for each coach out recruiting has helped level the recruiting field between financially disparate teams.
"Some programs have three full-time coaches while there are still others with limited staff,"says Rittman. "I think that component creates a balance and evens the playing field for some programs that are not fully funded."
Joseph feels the calendar has also created more parity between warm-weather and cold-weather programs. "For coaches in warm-weather states, the calendar has curtailed what they can do,"she says. "Warm-weather staffs used to be able to go out [in their regions of the country] an unlimited number of times to evaluate talent, and that was an advantage [over cold-weather programs]. Now they can't do all their drop-ins for free anymore. And as a cold-weather coach, I find that restriction beneficial."