Dena Tyson’s Blog: To My Unverballed Seniors (& What Options You Have)

Dena Tyson is a former All-American at the University of Washington and today is a successful Corona Angels head coach at the 18U and 16U levels who has helped dozens of players develop and advance to the collegiate level to play softball.

In today’s blog, she addresses seniors who still have an uncertain future when it comes to knowing where, or even if, they will play softball after high school.

Dena is the daughter of legendary Corona Angels head coach Marty Tyson and competed at the University of Washington from 2002 to 2007.

She was part of Husky teams that made the Women’s College World Series three times (2003, ’04 and ’07) and as a senior for Washington in 2007 was a 1^st Team All-American and was a selection to the World Series All-Tournament Team.

Be sure to check out her previous blogs too including Being a Team Player, How to Deal With Failure, How to Deal With Riding the Bench, How to Pick the Right College, How to Balance Life as a Student Athlete and What Are The Qualities of an All-American?

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To my unsigned seniors, I can feel your energy and this week is your week.

I know that this time is stressful, and you are not trying to hear me tell you to relax, it will work itself out.

Well guess what, I am not going to give you that advice.

What I am going to tell you is DON’T QUIT! Don’t quit when November comes by and you have no offers.  Don’t quit when it feels like there isn’t any hope.

I want to throw some options at you that you might not have considered, and I encourage you to dig into them.  They just might help you if you are feeling helpless.

I understand that some of you may have heard the options I am going to discuss before, but sometimes I think it is helpful to hear them from a different voice…

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Option 1: Do Your Research

If playing D1 college softball is the only route you want to go, then dig deep.  There are a lot of D1 schools out there that you have never heard of. Go research every conference and see what schools are in them and then see if one would be a good fit for you.

Don’t tell me that it will take too much time.

If this is truly what you want, then don’t leave any stone unturned. Many times, I see people who are not willing to put in the work to achieve their goal.  They want someone else to do the work and lay it in their lap with a bow on top.

Get off social media complaining that you have no offers and get on the Internet and go find an offer.

Option 2: Divisions 2 & 3, NAIA

There are more than just D1 schools that play college softball: you have D2, D3 and NAIA.

When you expand your search to include them, you will have a lot more options!

Right now, someone is reading this and saying what do you know about it? You played at a Power 5 DI school.

What some of you may forget, or may not know about me, is that I helped coach at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma Washington for two years.  This was such a great experience for me.

My first year, we had a team full of very talented players who just needed to believe they were talented. The coach that allowed me to start my short college coaching career taught me so many valuable things.

I may ruffle some feathers here, but I feel that the coaching at D2, D3 and NAIA schools is just as good or better than the coaching at D1 schools.

These smaller schools don’t always get the best athletes and they must coach up raw talent. Not to take anything away from D1 coaches because they are really good, but typically they get their pick of the best athletes.

My first year at Pacific Lutheran our head coach posed a question to the players: Would you rather be a starter and lose or sit the bench and win?

It was eye opening that we had players that chose to play and lose.  That year our big rival was Linfield. We won one game and lost another that we should have won, and you could tell that we just had bad energy.

The next year, a few of those girls who chose that they would rather play and lose ended up quitting. That year we beat Linfield for the D3 national championship.

We had All-Americans just like DI schools and our trophy was just as nice!

So maybe your home isn’t a DI school, but why does that matter?  You get to keep playing the game you love and get your education along the way! Your experience is what you make of it!

Option 3:  Junior College

Junior College is a good starter spot for some people!

It’s not a dirty little word for failed athletes. There are some junior colleges that offer full rides.

Some students may not be ready academically to attend a four-year college, so why not start the process and come out with your associate degree?

There are parents right now who are saying, “I didn’t pay all this money in travel ball for my daughter to go a junior college.?

Is it really that bad, especially if you do your research and see what their exit rate is?  Junior colleges allow some players time to build their skills up and be ready to play at the next level.

I played against a girl in college that is truly a champion. She won two championships in junior college and two D1 championships!  I don’t care what any of you say, that is a feat!

We need to stop putting a stigma on things! If you truly love this sport, why would you look down on any option that would allow you to continue playing it?

I will always be a fan of junior colleges.  A girl that is near and dear to my heart had her scholarship pulled in her senior season and she didn’t have the ACT score to go the new school that was offering her.

So, I called a friend that coaches at a junior college and he took her for me. That opportunity was huge for her because who knows where she would have ended up if she did not have anywhere to go.

Option 4: Walk On

If you feel that you have no other option, walk on!

I have seen many girls turn down scholarships from smaller colleges because they want to play at a, “bigger school.”

There are some amazing parents and grandparents that have saved up for their child’s college education. If that’s an option for you and you want to continue to play softball, then walk on.

However, if you decide to be a “recruited” walk-on, please be ready to accept whatever role you may be given!

I still believe that my senior year in college was my highest finish because we had a team full of kids on scholarship and walk-ons that bought in and accepted their role.

We had a personal pinch runner that was a walk-on. She knew her role and thrived at! She would be in the dugout with her helmet on ready to go in if I got on base.

One time, we were so used to our routine that we forgot to report the change. To me, it just showed how in tune we were.

There I was, a full scholarship player, and I had built this special bond with my walk-on little sister!

So, when you hear rumors that walk-ons aren’t part of the team, I beg to differ and I have seen walk-ons earn a starting spot.

Once you are in the field, anything can happen!

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Here is a checklist for my un-verballed seniors:

1. Go do your research and make a list and contact the coaches ASAP!
2. Be relentless; send an email weekly if you need to.
3. Don’t let anyone put you in a box.  If the goal is to continue your softball career, then go wherever you need to go to play
4. Stay positive!