The Recruiting Process: The Joys and Struggles Facing the 2024 Class as Sept. 1 Approaches

Grace White is a college senior who plays first base for Union University, a DII school in Jackson, Tennessee, and is majoring in Journalism. She is the Sports Editor for the Cardinal & Cream, the school’s student publication, and has a younger sister, Esther, a 2024 high school grad who plays in the Virginia Unity club organization.

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Author Matshona Dhilayo once said:

“A diamond earns its sparkle from the pressure it endures.”

I believe this quote sums up the stories of many of the elite softball players in the country today that have gone through recruiting and now play at the highest level and even the stories of the athletes that are still in the process and nearing the finish line, such as the class of 2024.

Recruiting is an exciting time for the players going through it.

They’re seeing all the coaches in the stands and deciding which schools are their top choices. They’re posting their best hits and plays on social media, and they’re counting down the days until September 1^st of their junior year of high school when they can finally get offers from schools and ultimately make one of the biggest decisions of their lives.

However, this process isn’t all exciting moments. It is also filled with extreme pressure.

These athletes have to learn how to deal with striking out when their number one college is watching, how to battle through an 0-15 hitting slump when everyone around them is on fire, and how to stay within themselves instead of pressing too hard. When they learn how to persevere through these moments, then they truly shine. Even if they don’t always succeed, they will be remembered because they continued to give their best effort and to be the best version of themselves that they could be.

The attitude toward the game definitely shifts from the time these athletes were just little girls learning the fundamentals of the game to now when they are competing on a national stage. Mia Brown, part of the class of 2024 and a member of Birmingham Thunderbolts – Kaplan, spoke to this as she has experienced it in her own life.

“Before, it was more like ‘I play because I enjoy it and I want to practice every single day,’” Mia said. “And I still want to practice every single day, and I still enjoy it, so I still have that same purpose from when I was little.”

“It’s just I’ve added on to it and now I’m playing for this as a job, a job that I enjoy, but this is also a job that I’m trying to get into college for. You go from not worrying about it to ‘Oh my gosh, the-college-that-I-want-to-go-to’s coach is here. I have to do perfect.’”

The pressure that these players feel is real, and it can seem overwhelming at times. My sister Esther White, a member of the class of 2024 and a player on Virginia Unity Johnson/Ross, has experienced it, and I’ve gotten to witness it firsthand.

For as long as I can remember, Esther has wanted to play at a Division I school. That’s been her number one goal, and she’s worked as hard as she could to achieve it. I’ve spent many afternoons at the softball field watching her hit off the tee, hit front toss, and work on her arm strength.

Many people probably know Esther now for her power and her ability to hit long home runs and have clutch at-bats, but I remember a time a couple of years ago when she was struggling to get hits consistently. She spent hours hitting, whether it be in our basement or on the field, and she would get so frustrated with herself if she mishit even one ball because she wanted to be as good as she could be for her team and for her personal dreams. There were many times that I comforted her when she cried and calmed her down when she was upset.

“I feel like there’s pressure with everybody looking at you and wanting you to succeed, and they expect you to succeed,” Esther said. “But I think how I’ve dealt with that is praying a ton and then talking to my closest friends and my family.”

That slump became just a bump in the road on the way to what I would say has been a successful and growth-filled journey for her. I don’t think there are enough words to describe how proud I am of her. I’ve seen her mature so much during this process, and I don’t know if anything else could have taught her the lessons that this journey has. The adversity has truly made her shine.

“The pressure has made me question my love for the game, and then when I think about it, it makes me just realize how much I actually love it,” Esther said. “I think you learn to be mentally tough in this journey because you have to be able to deal with the struggles, but you can’t get too high in your ups. And you also learn to trust in God a whole lot.”

Mia has also had some growing pains as she has moved through her recruiting journey.

“I was more worried about impressing college coaches than I was playing for myself and my team,” Mia said. “You find yourself being a lot more selfish, and you’re not meaning to. You just find yourself being a lot more selfish because you’re playing to put yourself on the radar not other people.”

Mia had to shift her whole way of thinking this summer and refocus on herself and her team.

“At this point in our lives, we need to realize that at the end of the day we’re still going to have the people that are all around us,” she said. “Yes, I want to impress every single college coach out there, but I feel like we need to play for ourselves first, and then for our team and then to impress a college coach. And if you do the other two, then you’ll be outstanding to a college coach.”

Struggles in this time are basically unavoidable, but it’s these struggles that can teach some of the most important lessons of all.

“There’s so many girls in the world that would love to go through this, to go through the struggle, but they can’t because maybe they just didn’t have the talent to or their parents couldn’t afford it,” Mia said. “I feel like us as elite travel ball players take going through the struggle for granted. I think everybody struggles, but the thing is we’re getting to struggle on a big stage, so coaches are still watching you no matter how bad you do.”

“And then there’s kids out here that would love to play on the stage that you’re on and they wouldn’t even care if they struck out looking eight times. They wouldn’t care because they’re getting to play on the same stage as the people they look up to and the people they want to be.”

Ultimately, this is a season that these girls can look forward to. It’s a time when they get to reap the rewards of their labor. For Esther and Mia, that day is September 1, 2022.

“I’m very very excited, and I’m nervous but it’s the good nerves because I have a good feeling,” Mia said. “I know that I’ve prepared and practiced and put in the work. I still have a lot more to go, but I think I’m where I want to be right now.”

— Grace White, Extra Inning Softball correspondent