Extra Elite 100 Rankings Must Read… Do You Have to Pay to Get In? (Quick Answer: “Hail to the No!”)

This is Brentt Eads, President of Extra Inning Softball.

For more years than I want to remember, I’ve overseen the player ranking process which is to honor top prospects in each class annually as they move towards high school graduation and, hopefully, accomplishing their dream of playing at the next level.

Incidentally, next up is the Class of 2027 which has a nomination deadline of March 20.

Click HERE to see the schedule for all rankings to be done this year.

Two weeks ago, we received the following e-mail from a kind parent of a talented young softballer who had questions about the process:

Hey guys:

First off love your site. We love the game of softball and we’re happy there’s a place we can come that gets us the information we seek.

My kid was selected this year… thank you for that. She has worked hard and played some of the best and deserves it.

My question is: I’ve been hearing every kid ranked had to pay a publishing fee. Is this true?

When someone saw my kid’s name listed they texted and asked “How much did you pay?” I had another guy say he had a coach confirm with him that he nominated 4 kids and the 2 that made it the parents forked over the $120.

I didn’t pay obviously so you could say why am I asking lol.

I’m just curious if my organization paid for me, if some do pay and some don’t, or if paying is just a myth. I guess it doesn’t really matter but I’ve seen too many people say it for there not to be some kind of smoke; that or likely most people are haters.

Any who, thanks again. Love the site, love the sport. My kid is honored and she knows she can lose it faster than she attained it so she’ll keep pushing.

Father of ranked player

*****

First off, I appreciated this well-meaning dad’s email and, after picking my jaw off the ground, responded with the following text which I’m re-running here so people know the truth about the rankings and nomination process, straight from the horse’s mouth (that would be me, Brentt, and I’m more of a donkey or jackass):

First, thanks for your kind words about the site and we agree that we all LOVE the sport!

Regarding “publishing fees”…. My simple answer: HAIL to the NO!!!!!

NOBODY pays to have a kid ranked… I’ve done over 40 classes and never taken $1 for a kid to get in… that would destroy all journalistic integrity and ethics!

I have worked at ESPN, with Fox, Nike et al and “publishing fees” would bring down any one of those elite companies in a heartbeat, let alone a softball-specific site like Extra Inning.

We keep editorial and sales/marketing divided so we don’t have these issues but, as you said, people are making stuff up and running with it. The day we do these “under the table” payments to get a kid in or ranked higher is the day I expect to be struck by lightning.

As God as my witness (being the one who oversees rankings), I don’t know which kids/family members/coaches are subscribers and I don’t want to know as to not be influenced in any way.

I’m putting this in BOLD so it comes off as screaming:

“NO PARENT OR PLAYER SHOULD EVER PAY A COACH TO BE NOMINATED (TO US, AT EXTRA INNING SOFTBALL)!”

We take into consideration the trust and integrity of nominations from coaches we respect and are doing what we think is right by the kid and the sport. If a coach would ever do this, I would not trust that coach ever again because I would know it’s for the WRONG reasons.

And, lastly, here’s the awful thing about this: if a coach is nominating a team member for the $$$$$$, that player is very likely not as good as recommended so what is it doing to that athlete?

It’s setting her up to be a disappointment and failure because she won’t achieve the false standing wrongly given her and it will become apparent in time.

You can’t hide the lack of talent, athleticism, productivity, etc. that will be revealed over time and the Kid. Will. Be. A. Disappointment. Worst of all, in her own eyes.

I’ve seen it happen many times and it’s the adults who are to blame.

I’m going to not only BOLD this next statement, but put in screaming red too:

PAYING IS A MYTH!!!

And the fact that you’ve “seen too many people say it for there not to be some kind of smoke” is very sad to me because it’s NOT TRUE.

We have nothing to hide in the process; if you want to talk to me more about it, call me… my cell # is below…

Brentt Eads
Extra Inning Softball

*****

The dad of the talented athlete, who has played in top events and is one of the best in her class, responded:

Good enough answer for me. Thank you for the response.

I have a friend whose kid y’all ranked and she’s embarrassed to promote her happiness because people have been telling her it’s pay-based.

It’s sad. I never paid attention until a coach told me his coach friend confirmed payment for his kids. I didn’t have any ammo if that’s the truth, but it makes sense that the coach might be taking money from parents.

Either way I’m happy. Thank you for spending the time to speak with passion to defend your stance.

*****

To wrap this up and make it clear if not apparent already: we are a media website covering the fastpitch softball world from youth up to international levels.

We are a subscription site, yes, to pay our bills including writers, photographers, travel and other costs to attend events, website hosting, admin costs and more.

But editorially, when it comes to player rankings, we work with hundreds if not thousands of scouts and coaches at all levels, including club, high school and college, to get feedback and insights on players.

From our side, nowhere in this process is a player’s ranking dependent upon ANYONE getting paid to “speak up” (nominate) a player. If it’s down to line someone’s pocket who is representing the accomplishments of a young athlete, that is wrong…. flat out wrong.

If you have further questions, feel free to write and we’ll answer as we can and should: [email protected]