The NJ Heist's softball program continues to be a great experience for girls through the years as the teams' success carries on. The NJ Heist's Fall Player Showcase is set for Friday, Sept. 8, and 2017 tryouts are also upcoming as the different Heist age group squads are formulated. (photos courtesy of NJ Heist)

Heist softball has included such recent stars as Reagan Jones of Immaculate Heart (left) and Sami Huetter of West Essex, both of whom starred for team.

College Coaches Will Be Out
For Heist’s Player Showcase
…Team Tryouts Also Upcoming In Late July & Early August

By Steve Tober
For sidelinechatter.com

BLOOMFIELD- To fully realize how college dreams can all come to fruition for a group of dedicated high school softball players, the place to be this past March was inside the Franklin Steakhouse in Nutley where a group of NJ Heist seniors got together with their parents, coaches and friends to celebrate what had been achieved: namely landing an optimum opportunity to play college softball for the freshmen arriving on various campuses in the fall of 2017.

Fast forward six months from that festive late winter evening to 6:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 8, at historic Pulaski Park on Mount Vernon Avenue where college possibilities for the next wave of prospective future college softball players can be germinated as 2017-2018 high school seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen will be enhanced once again when NJ Heist holds its Fall Player Showcase with a large number of Northeast college coaches present.

With the changes in recruiting rules for Division I schools the coaches on hand will be of the Division II and Division III variety, which are the main destinations anyway for most high school softball prospects as more than 90 percent of high school players wind up playing at the D2 or D3 levels.

Also upcoming are the NJ Heist 2017 team tryouts which run through Aug. 7. See the full schedule below.

The Sept. 8th fall player showcase to assist 2018 seniors not yet signed or committed to colleges will also enhance recruitment for those in the classes of 2019, ’20 and ’21. The showcase also takes place one day before the beginning of the NJ Heist Fall Tournament, which starts Saturday, Sept. 9, at both Pulaski Park and Clark’s Pond.

Interested New Jersey high school players are urged to log on now at http://www.njheistsoftballevents.com   and apply for a spot in the Sept. 8th showcase which will be limited to 30 to 36 players from the aforementioned three grades.

“This is an unheard of, and simply tremendous opportunity for players still trying to find the right college fit to be seen by a number of different college coaches,” said Sergio Rodriguez, head coach and president of the NJ Heist softball organization. “We urge kids to apply as soon as possible because we will be selecting the field of players by invitation in the coming days.

“The fact we have several college coaches committed to being on hand for the showcase, and we’re going to have 30 to 36 players involved makes this such an incredibly appealing player-to-coach ratio in terms of being seen by a coach from a college that one is truly interested in playing for.”

Among the colleges that will be on hand for this September's big NJ Heist showcase weekend at Pulaski Park will be Division III programs including New Jersey Athletic Conference members Montclair State, William Paterson, Rowan, Kean, The College of New Jersey, Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden along with New York University, Drew, Dominican, Caldwell, Felician, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and Georgian Court.

While September can be a tough month for college softball coaches to be productive on the recruiting trail, with some high school athletes just easing into fall sports at that time, an opportunity such as the NJ Heist Fall Showcase can be a prime opportunity for all college coaches who attend to learn much more about North Jersey's best scholastic softball players of all high school ages coming up the ladder.

All interested high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors should apply as soon as they can to be part of the selection process. Criteria such as class grade and position will be taken into account in terms of assembling the teams since, as Rodriguez notes, "We cannot have 20 pitchers and catchers, but, in the same sense, this is just a great opportunity to play in front of college coaches since there will only be one game going on and they will all be watching those kids."

“I truly believe this is an unheard of opportunity,” he continued. “With so many college coaches committed to being on hand at Pulaski Park on Sept. 8th and some also remaining for the fall tournament, there is no way that a youngster interested in one of the several colleges that will be on hand will not have the greatest format in order to display her skills and potential for the next level.”

If there are any questions about the upcoming Fall Player Showcase email Coach Rodriguez at serg021@aol.com

***

Also upcoming are the NJ Heist team tryouts, which begin Tuesday, July 25.

All tryouts will be held at: Clark's Pond 190 Dewey St. in Bloomfield.

July 25th  :  12 under & 14 under only : 6pm

Aug 2nd :  12 under & 14 under 5:30pm - 7pm, 18 under : 7pm

Aug 3rd :  12 under & 14 under 5:30-7pm, 18 under : 7pm

Aug 7th :  14 under and 18 under only : 6pm

If you have any questions please contact Sergio Rodriguez  by email at  serg021@aol.com

Follow Steve Tober on Twitter @Chattermeister

Coach Sergio Rodriguez and the NJ Heist have enjoyed much success

copyright 2005 Sideline Chatter - comments - contact the webmaster