Inside Pitch: The Impact A Coaching Change Had On The Scholarship Offer Of All-American Nicole Marcon

Being offered a scholarship to play softball at the collegiate level and then committing to a dream school can be one of the most exhilarating times of a young student-athlete’s life, but for one 2018 State Gatorade Player of the Year, she learned that things can change when a new coaching staff is brought in.

Nicole Marcon of Caravel Academy in Bear, Delaware had an award-winning junior season, hitting .520 and smashing eight home runs including this mammoth shot and 25 RBI with a 1.140 slugging percentage to earn Extra Inning Softball 2^nd Team All-American honors as a catcher, NFCA 1^st Team East Region recognition as a Utility player and was also named Delaware 1^st Team All-State and the Gatorade State Player of the Year.

A varsity softball and volleyball starter since the 8^th grade, Nicole also carries a 4.0 GPA and it was a feel-good story when the local standout committed early in her softball career to play for the home-state Delaware Blue Hens.

But when a coaching staff change was made over the summer, the question arose as to how her scholarship offer and verbal commitment would be impacted, especially sensitive since the standout for the Midway Orange Crush 18U club team was just months away from her Letter of Intent signing date in November.

Here’s her first-person account of what transpired from her perspective and how what once seemed like the dream situation became a whole other ballgame…

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My name is Nicole Marcon and I’m going to be a senior this year at Caravel Academy in Bear, Delaware.  I wanted to share my softball recruiting story with others, so that anyone in a similar situation realizes that they are not alone.

I have been playing softball since I was eight years old. I first started playing locally in Hockessin, Delaware at Piedmont, a recreational Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken league.

While playing at Piedmont, I was part of the first-ever all-star team to make it to Regionals, and this is where my passion for softball was really ignited.

After realizing my love for the sport and that I had a strength in hitting and catching, and that I was wanting to play better competition, I moved to travel ball. I started playing 10U for Midway Orange Crush.

I remember being terrified of trying out because I thought I wasn’t good enough, but it turned out to be the best decision ever.

Over the years, I had several coaches who taught me many different skills and provided incredible opportunities.  As a catcher, I learned how to call games myself and my coaches even provided opportunities to play up at the 18U level even though I was just 13-years-old. It was their guidance and belief in me that helped me to become the player I am today.

So for me, that meant that the recruiting process began very early. All types of schools started to express interest including Hofstra, Wesley, UMass-Lowell, East Carolina University and the University of Delaware as I began playing in various showcase tournaments.

As an 8th grader I was emailing and even calling coaches to talk about their programs.  I started touring schools up and down the East Coast, trying to feel out some of the basics such as the size of the school and how far from home I would be comfortable going.

It wasn’t too long before I would realize that my local university was “The One,” the University of Delaware. The school is known for its many things including strong academics and a beautiful campus. I loved going to the football games and having dinner on Main Street was always the best!

In addition to these wonderful things, my parents were alumni. After many emails, calls and having coaches come to see me play, it wasn’t long before I got a text from my travel ball coach saying that Coach John Seneca wanted to have me in the office and discuss being a future Delaware Blue Hen.

July 8, 2016: that was the day I verbally committed to play softball at the University of Delaware. It was a dream come true!! I knew that even though verbally committing was a huge relief in the recruiting process, I still needed to keep up my work ethic. Therefore, I continued to work hard in both the classroom and on the field over the next two years.

I worked my way to a perfect 4.0 GPA in the classroom and also received several honors this past year–my Junior year– included Delaware Softball Gatorade Player of the Year, 1st Team All State, NFCA 1st Team East Region and Extra Inning Softball 2nd Team All American.

Just when I thought everything was going well, Coach John Seneca was relieved of his duties. Immediately after the announcement, Assistant Coach Sammi Shivock called me letting me know that I was still wanted at Delaware; the only thing that seemed to be in question was my scholarship amount. I wasn’t going to know that until a new head coach was hired.

She told me that they would know in about 4-6 weeks as to who the new head coach would be. Honestly, I wasn’t very concerned at the time because I knew I had followed sound advice from others to “choose the school first,” “continue to work hard and show improvement,” “keep your grades up,” etc.

What was surprising was that since there was going to be a coaching change, I started to receive interest and additional offers again this past summer.  It surprised me because I had been, and still was, committed to the University of Delaware.

After taking advice from others that I should consider all opportunities, my family and I visited some of the schools and I stayed in contact with the coaches.  They understood I couldn’t give them a decision until I had spoken to the new Delaware head coach, but in many ways it was like I was starting all over again.  It ended up taking about eight weeks for the new Delaware coach to be hired.

On July 30, 2018 Head Coach Jen Steele was hired. I made it a priority to contact her and get to know who she was. When we talked on the phone, she wanted to come watch me play. We set up a meeting at my high school softball field on August 8, 2018.

This was my week of vacation at the beach since softball was over, but I made it work and came back for her to watch me. All three of my coaches (high school, hitting, travel) were present to meet Coach Steele and help with the practice. The meeting went well and at the end, Coach Steele said she would be meeting with admissions to find out more about academic money and also that her assistant coaches would be starting on Monday.

A week later, I got a phone call on a Sunday night and during this call was informed that the coaches wouldn’t know my about scholarship offer until November, just before signing.

Later my parents were told that the coaches wouldn’t know about my offer before signing time in November and ultimately my family was told that the program couldn’t justify giving any money to me because it was felt the team didn’t need hitters or catchers in that class.

This was the moment I realized the dream to play softball at the University of Delaware was not going to come true, even though I was just two months away from the signing date I had dreamed of.

After discussing the situation with my parents that night, I came to the difficult realization that it wasn’t the right fit for me.

While the recruiting process started early for me and everything seemed to be working out, I learned how things can take a turn in an unexpected direction.

Even though I had done everything right including keeping my end of the verbal commitment, working hard to improve my grades and achieving some of the highest softball accolades possible, there are just too many things that can change along the way and some things are out of your control.

My parents have been very supportive, reminding me that things happen for a reason and my hard work will pay off.  I have been fortunate and am thankful that travel ball has allowed me to see different parts of the country, make friends and establish a great network.

I will always cherish the memories made with my family, teammates and coaches.  I know I will end up where I am supposed to be, and will accomplish great things, with or without softball.

Note: any college coaches who want to get more information on Nicole can contact her Midway Orange Crush 18U Coach, Dave Hoffman at [email protected] and her hitting coach, Mike Hawkins at [email protected].