We’re beginning a new phase in our lives around here. It’s called “having high schoolers that are getting ready for college.” My oldest daughter started her sophomore year of high school a couple weeks ago, and we’ve been told that IT’S TIME.

Time to start marketing my student-athlete to college coaches.

Apparently, those ideas that we all have as parents of our kid being approached by a college coach and handed a full-ride scholarship are not even one tiny bit true. (Well maybe a tiny bit, because a very small teeny tiny number of kids actually get those). That stuff just doesn’t really happen anymore. Nowadays, in order to get noticed — you don’t have to be the best player on your team, or the toughest or the strongest. You just have to put yourself out there. You have to have passion and a love for the sport. Oh yeah, and then you can’t forget about keeping up your grades. This isn’t football, people. They don’t recruit just anyone for girls’ sports. You have to have the grades to back it up.

Commence pimpin’ out my kid, phase 1.

She tried out for a showcase softball team, and made it. For those of you that are fortunate enough to not have your entire life consumed by kids’ sports, a “showcase” team’s sole purpose is to play in showcase tournaments, which are designed to “showcase” (duh!) each player to college recruiters. Each girl will play in several different positions per game, and there is no scoreboard. Each game is 90 minutes, and when time is up, the game stops. Period. It is done so that coaches can see girls in game situations, and also be able to watch several girls at one time.

So this fall, we travel. Travel to a different surrounding state each weekend in the hopes of someone liking what they see.

This has become a learning experience for my husband and I. Who knew that there were so many rules and regulations to recruiting? Rules like how many phone calls per week my kid can receive from a coach. Or the fact that a coach cannot approach my child until July 1st before her junior year.

And did you know that there are different rules for different schools? It seriously makes my head spin. “Division I” and “Division II” schools have different regulations than a “Division III” school. Some offer scholarships, and some offer very attractive financial aid packages. We can contact a coach, but they can’t call us back. We can approach them on the college campus and speak with them, but they can’t talk to us if they visit our high school and come watch a game. College coaches can contact the high school coach and say “We’d like to have so-and-so athlete get in touch with us” but they can’t speak to the athlete or her parents.

I’m already getting a headache from all of this.

It’s almost like getting your favorite-awesome-can’t-live-without-it toy for Christmas, and then discovering that it comes with a set of instructions that are 850 pages long. And written in CHINESE.

So we learn as we go, hoping that all of this research and planning works out in our favor.

Commence pimpin’ out my kid Phase 2.

We sat down and discussed what type of schools she wanted to go to, and we researched the softball program at each of them. She knows that she wants to stay in Iowa for school (thank you, cheap Jesus for making her pick a school with RESIDENT tuition rates!), so she narrowed her first round of schools down to eight. We researched and studied and found the right way to make contact with a coach. My daughter sent out eight emails to college coaches around the state, and included her athletic AND academic statistics (because again, a school cares about your GPA just as much as your batting average).

Within 48 hours she had receieved replies from four of them. Four schools that she likes, offers the major she wants to pursue, and that have a solid softball program. SUCCESS!

What’s scary is that this is just the beginning of it all. She is only a brand new sophomore. We have only about a billion more phases to go in this plan, but if it means my child getting more money towards college AND getting to spend four more years playing a sport she LOVES, then it’s a win-win situation all around.

I am participating in the August Blog Challenge. Thanks to Belinda for the daily prompts!

Day 27: Describe each of your children’s personalities and chracteristics, including photos of each, age today, grade level, words that best fit them, their favorites, etc.

Caitlyn is sooo close to turning sixteen she can hardly stand it anymore, and she is just starting her sophomore year in high school. Her current priorities as of this second are sports, boyfriend, friends, school, and somewhere towards the bottom comes HER FAMILY. Yet she still manages to make time for all of us, and I envy her. She is an amazingly smart kid, and she’s a stellar athlete. She loves anything Nike or Under Armour, she usually dresses in jeans and hoodies with her hair in a ponytail, but sometimes you catch her actually dressing like a girl.  What’s really making me realize how old I am getting is that this kid is already researching colleges.  She knows what she wants, and wants to be prepared for it. Words to describe Caitlyn: Strong, athletic, ambitious, beautiful, and a loyal friend.

You really have to know 10-year old Courtney (almost 11!!!) to know that this picture suits her to a T. Courtney just started 5th grade, and I have a hard time realizing my BABY will be in middle school next year. Courtney is my diva, my drama queen, and I wouldn’t change her one bit. She loves school (straight A student!!), and seems to have all the boys wrapped around her finger. She loves soccer and basketball, and it amazes me how two sisters can be so different from each other. Even though I always say that her teenage years will give me gray hair, I am so looking forward to seeing this little girl grow up.  Words to describe Courtney:  Cute, sporty, funny, smart, and so so lovable.

Cameron is my 16-year old stepson and unfortunately, he does not live with us.  He just started his junior year of high school, and he is involved in several sports (cross country, wrestling and golf).  He is an outdoorsman, and he enjoys hunting and fishing.   He is someone that was truly destined to be a small town guy.  He works hard at his job, and I wish he worked that hard in school.  It’s tough being a teenager and trying to juggle friends, school and a job.  I remember that very well!    Cameron has lots of friends, and seems to have a lot of girls chasing him, too.   Words to describe Cameron:  headstrong, outspoken, athletic.

Kaylee is my 14-year old stepdaughter, who also does not live with us.  Kaylee just started her freshman year of high school, meaning I am now the parent of THREE high-schoolers.  Wow.  Kaylee is in dance, cheerleading and volleyball.  She is outspoken and seems to have no fear of meeting new people or making friends.  She gets good grades, and loves to shop.  Her ideal day would probably be spent at the mall with a few hundred dollars to spend.  Words to describe Kaylee:  Opinionated, ambitious, beautiful, and ALL-GIRL.