The new calendar went up this week. Same structure as last year with the dates shifted, but a few of these windows sneak up on families every year, so here's the plain English version.

Heads up first: the current contact period runs through July 31. New calendar starts Aug 1.

Aug 1-9: contact period

Aug 10 - Nov 22: evaluation period, school ball only. Coaches can watch, not talk off campus.

The exception, and the one that catches people: six fall weekends where coaches CAN evaluate at travel and showcase events. Oct 17-18, Oct 24-25, Oct 31-Nov 1, Nov 7-8, Nov 14-15, Nov 21-22. If you're picking fall exposure events, pick inside those weekends.

Aug 28 - Sep 3: dead period

Nov 9-12: dead period (signing week)

Nov 23 - Jan 2: quiet period, with full recruiting shutdowns Nov 25-29, Dec 22-26, and Dec 31-Jan 2, plus a dead period Dec 9-12

Jan 3 - May 31: evaluation period, school ball only

Jun 1-11: dead period (tied to the WCWS, stretches if the series runs long)

Jun 12 - Jul 31: contact period

Two things versus last year. Spring evals run through May 31 now instead of May 25, and the summer contact period starts a week later. So next summer's window is shorter. Plan accordingly.

And the reminder that matters most: none of this stops your player from emailing coaches. The calendar governs what coaches can do in person, not what she can send.

Official PDF: https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/compliance/recruiting/calendar/2026-27/2026-27D1Rec_WSBRecruitingCalendar.pdf

My daughter currently swings a 32/22. I noticed during BP last night she isn’t barreling the ball consistently. I saw a Tony Gwen video once where he took the bat and put it at the corner of the plate and basically said, "That’s your spot, and you adjust from there." We did that and it backed her about 3 inches from where she usually stands, and she started hitting nukes consistently just from that adjustment. I don’t want to overcomplicate it for her at this age (9) with adjustments in the box. Has anyone else had to do this? Just for more context, she is cracking bats, and it’s always down close to the handle.

We’re a softball 12U travel team in Southern California. We pay $600 up front for startup fee and 150/month. Then each returning season $300 startup and $150/month. Also required to fundraise $300 per season. 10 tournaments and 5 scrimmages in spring. Is this average, high, low? What does everybody else pay? Just trying to figure out if it’s fair what we’re paying

Anyone have a recommendation for a softball pitching mat that holds up well on a concrete driveway? My 10U daughter wants to practice pitching outside, but our yard is too sloped, so the driveway is really our only option.