User:Knkoska/sandbox

Junior College Softball
The National Junior College Athletic Association was founded on May 14th, 1938, due to the fact that track teams from two year colleges wanted a chance to compete in the NCAA, they were rejected, thus resulting in the creation of the NJCAA which became open to all sports, although, women's sports were not part of the organization until 1975.In fact it wasn't until May of 1983 that the first national championship for womens junior college softball was played. Junior college softball programs compete with in the NJCAA or the national junior college athletic association, With in the NJCAA there are divisions I,II,& III just like the NCAA. Amongst the divisions, there are regions and conferences each team gets divided into, At the division I level there are 19 regions, At the division II level there are 18 regions and at the division III level there are only 9 regions, given its the lowest grade of “competition." Every year at the end of the regional championships there is a national tournament as well. The Division I tournament is held in St. George, Utah Division II tournament is held in Clinton, Mississippi Division III tournament is held in Rochester, Minnesota.

Why NJCAA? Junior colleges recruit thousands of elite athletes every year. In fact, many junior colleges are considered “feeder” schools for Division I universities. DI college coaches will turn to trusted junior colleges each year to fill roster spots. For many athletes, junior college or “JUCO” is a great way to knock out some core classes while honing athletic skills before moving on to a four-year university, as well as getting paying time. A softball player recruited into a big time school as a freshman will likely face a lot of adversity to receive a starting spot and playing time. The junior college route allows athletes to secure playing time as freshmen and sophomores.

There are lots of ways for athletes to become recruited although women's sports tend to be neglected. Although FloSoftball, really helps the cause. They are a softball recruiting page devoted to helping athletes get to the next level. Now to bring it back to JUCO level, they have a Junior College hot 100 sophomore list where softball players playing in any divisions I,II or III can  get exposure and hopefully get recruited by big time schools. Ideally softball players like to be recruited out of highschool to a bigtime program. But, Jennifer Mckibben is there to help keep athletes motivated. Mckibben is a true Juco product herself. Playing two years at Tallahassee community college and then transferring to Virginia tech.