Popularity of Softball in your state, gaining or losing?

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Feb 26, 2013
166
18
In my state, lacrosse is taking off and it is impacting softball. We are also located in an area where soccer is the biggest kids' sport, meaning girls are never taught baseball or softball. We also have the country club set, so tennis is really popular.

While many more schools have softball (schools being built in certain growing areas), the numbers per school are waning since mid-2000s when softball was at a peak. My school is OK, but we have a neighboring school that had to cancel summer camp due to no one registering; one has a large graduating classes of seniors with very few TB players to replace them (simply none live there, this coach is very popular). Other schools are begging girls to play, in the more urban areas nearer the city. One district cannot support JV softball.


NFHS |

I just found this. You can perform searches on softball in your state.
 
Last edited:

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
Volleyball is huge here in northern Illinois. We have some top-level clubs that compete on the national level, and of course with the weather it's a lot easier to play volleyball year-round.

There are a lot of softball clubs around but the talent level is pretty low overall. When people ask me for a recommendation on where their daughter who takes it seriously should play I'm hard pressed to think of many teams.

At the high school level, some schools are doing alright, others are hurting pretty badly. Teams that used to dominate regularly are now mediocre; some struggle to put together a freshman, JV and varsity team.

Sure doesn't seem as popular as it once was.
 
Jul 19, 2014
2,390
48
Madison, WI
Softball is still popular in Wisconsin, but less so in certain parts of the state, such as within the city limits of Madison.

I'm going to get a bit controversial here, to be thought provoking.

My DD #3 is one of 3 girls on her TB team who is either non-white or mixed race. (DD is a mixture of 3 different races).

A couple of years ago, I read an interesting article by "white nationalist" Steve Sailer, about the US Women's Olympic Soccer team. He noted that for a team that had such strong popularity amongst minorities, (esp. Hispanics), it was interesting that the US Olympic team was what Sailer called the whitest US Olympic team. Sailer blamed, or credited, the club system. He said the club system was NOT the best way to develop soccer players, but was the best way for upper-middle-class fathers who were willing to spend a lot of time with their daughters to get into a system where they didn't play the riff-raff.

I had a conversation about this with the African-American grandfather of another mixed-race kid on the team. He reacted interestingly to my phrase "riff-raff".

Interestingly, our TB team was getting ready to play a team of riff-raff, the Boys & Girls Club team from another part of the state. More interesting, every girl on the team was white. Just white working class, rather than white middle class to white upper class.

These days Madison, WI is becoming more ethnically diverse, and poorer. The problem is, the sport of softball is basically a white middle class sport. Harder for the sport to survive in Madison, although the Madison teams are still partly non-white.

When I read that article in 2012, I realized my DD #1 was on an all-start rec league team with about 10.5 white girls out of 11 on the team. DD was the ONLY girl on the team who didn't have blue eyes. (Granted, the other 10 girls were 10 of the sweetest, kindest girls you can imagine, who certainly made DD feel more than welcome).

Because of that article, I kept a close eye out for any non-white girls on any team anywhere in that tournament. If there were any, i didn't see them.

So, softball in Madison can only survive if it can appeal to working class whites, and to non-white kids.

As for this TB team? If the 3 girls who are either mixed race or completely non-white were to leave the team, the team would not have won a single game the entire season, or have even come close. Those 3 girls include the 2 best pitchers, the 2 best base runners, 3 of the best fielders, 2 or 3 of the best hitters.

As it is, with only a few non-white girls on the softball teams, 3 of the 4 Madison high schools simply could not compete against the teams from the white middle-class suburbs (Verona, Middleton, Sun Prairie). There was one Madison HS that COULD compete, but they had the best pitcher in the state, who has now graduated.

In the rural and suburban areas of Wisconsin, softball is doing fine. Softball will only survive if it can expand its popularity to different groups of people.

For example, DD #1 and DD #3 have both been on TB teams where both of the two fastest base-runners were Asian or half-Asian. (That includes my DDs, who are fast and half-Asian).
 
Mar 22, 2013
45
0
Sunny SC
Many rec/community leagues here in the coastal SC area have shut down, or are close to shutting down. Soccer, volleyball and lacrosse are getting very popular. Two years ago our local community center had three teams. This year they had none. I coach at our local rec league. We used to have 6 teams in each age group two years ago. This year we had 3. I have heard they might shut it down next year.

I coach mainly football, but i have been an AC/HC on rec and TB softball teams for a few years. I think kids get more action/have more fun playing other sports. Softball can be slow, not much action (bad pitching) and sit the bench for some kids, especially at young ages. Unless they quickly get good, many give up. Luck for us, DD hit a bunch of balls her first time playing and now, sor far, loves softball.


Edit: i think a lot of it has to do with the speed of the game; kids actually moving. As a fan/coach of multiple sports i see that many kids just just stand in one spot or sit the bench in softball. How often does the outfield really get any action in 8U, 10U or even 12U in a rec league? The only real action most get is one or two if they are lucky at-bats....against pitchers who can barely get the ball across the plate. Now take the same kids and play theym in soccer, lacrosse or even volleyball. Most are running....touching the ball....being active, scoring points. I think this has a lot to do with softball losing kids to other sports.
 
Last edited:
Jan 17, 2013
414
18
Texas
Last year it was stated on ESPN that fastpitch softball was the fastest growing sport in the US. Look at the colleges really spending the money on Softball now and all the air time it is getting. I know in our area it has probably gained some momentum but I think it has more to do with the number of parents who are willing to be involved and kids enjoying it. I am sure that is a cycle that roller coasters up and down depending on the number of good coaches and willing players.
 
Dec 7, 2011
2,368
38
Softball is still popular in Wisconsin, but less so in certain parts of the state, such as within the city limits of Madison.

I'm going to get a bit controversial here, to be thought provoking.

My DD #3 is one of 3 girls on her TB team who is either non-white or mixed race. (DD is a mixture of 3 different races).

A couple of years ago, I read an interesting article by "white nationalist" Steve Sailer, about the US Women's Olympic Soccer team. He noted that for a team that had such strong popularity amongst minorities, (esp. Hispanics), it was interesting that the US Olympic team was what Sailer called the whitest US Olympic team. Sailer blamed, or credited, the club system. He said the club system was NOT the best way to develop soccer players, but was the best way for upper-middle-class fathers who were willing to spend a lot of time with their daughters to get into a system where they didn't play the riff-raff.

I had a conversation about this with the African-American grandfather of another mixed-race kid on the team. He reacted interestingly to my phrase "riff-raff".

Interestingly, our TB team was getting ready to play a team of riff-raff, the Boys & Girls Club team from another part of the state. More interesting, every girl on the team was white. Just white working class, rather than white middle class to white upper class.

These days Madison, WI is becoming more ethnically diverse, and poorer. The problem is, the sport of softball is basically a white middle class sport. Harder for the sport to survive in Madison, although the Madison teams are still partly non-white.

When I read that article in 2012, I realized my DD #1 was on an all-start rec league team with about 10.5 white girls out of 11 on the team. DD was the ONLY girl on the team who didn't have blue eyes. (Granted, the other 10 girls were 10 of the sweetest, kindest girls you can imagine, who certainly made DD feel more than welcome).

Because of that article, I kept a close eye out for any non-white girls on any team anywhere in that tournament. If there were any, i didn't see them.

So, softball in Madison can only survive if it can appeal to working class whites, and to non-white kids.

As for this TB team? If the 3 girls who are either mixed race or completely non-white were to leave the team, the team would not have won a single game the entire season, or have even come close. Those 3 girls include the 2 best pitchers, the 2 best base runners, 3 of the best fielders, 2 or 3 of the best hitters.

As it is, with only a few non-white girls on the softball teams, 3 of the 4 Madison high schools simply could not compete against the teams from the white middle-class suburbs (Verona, Middleton, Sun Prairie). There was one Madison HS that COULD compete, but they had the best pitcher in the state, who has now graduated.

In the rural and suburban areas of Wisconsin, softball is doing fine. Softball will only survive if it can expand its popularity to different groups of people.

For example, DD #1 and DD #3 have both been on TB teams where both of the two fastest base-runners were Asian or half-Asian. (That includes my DDs, who are fast and half-Asian).

I am always glad when somebody has the guts to "go there" and I appreciate your insights Bob. I have a sneaky suspicion though if you didn't reveal your non-white status I wonder if your thread would have been "allowed".

Well I am a very strong part American Indian and does that give me the right to speak on this here.....? We will find out.

In WI I feel there is a very white-based participation to softball. But if you get around the country you will find differing bases for participation. Ya get in the south and you will find allot of non-white and then again out in TX & CA.

I feel WI is a bit of a unique state in allot of regards especially when ya add the fact of 9 months of winter. Do you have an opinion on the nation as a whole on this?
 

WARRIORMIKE

Pro-Staff Everything
Oct 5, 2009
2,815
48
At the Jewel in San Diego
C'mon now......

Softball rulez for the girls here in SoCal. With soccer a very close second and basketball right behind. Lacrosse is starting to come across here some. For scholarships though golf is coming in very strong. Waterpolo athletes I know get picked up a lot from back east colleges too.
 
Mar 23, 2014
621
18
SoCal
Volleyball in SoCal is gaining in popularity too.

Got to wonder about access and cost in relation to popularity. Buying a bat, glove, uni, balls and cleats cost a whole lot more than most sports. Also fields are harder to come by if your looking to play around. Nowadays, you need a reservation and fees for using a field when back in the day you could just go play.
 

KCM

Mar 8, 2012
331
0
South Carolina
I think I am in same area as Slaphitter in the good old Lowcountry of SC.

My years of being in the sport with no science to back it but just a personal observation. Down towards Mt. Pleasant and Downtown Charleston softball is being replaced with soccer and now the boom with lacrosse. I think with the down turn in the economy had a little bit to do with the decline of some rec teams and especially some travel ball teams (mainly the small single teams not affiliated with a larger organization). Now this year it seems to be growing again but back in the less populated areas - Moncks Corner, Summerville, Goose Creek, Hanahan...etc...there are more teams in these 4 areas than probably half the lower state. Lot of B level teams but still lots of girls once you break bast the area of the "Second Northern Invasion" (just a joke so that was not to piss any one off but folks from area know what I am talking about).

So over all the redneck softball players are growing in numbers just as the more cultured transplant numbers are growing in soccer and lacrosse.
 
Dec 5, 2012
4,143
63
Mid West
Here in east central Indiana, lacrosse is a brand new sport being offered for the first time this coming year. Volleyball is huge. Its played primarily in late summer so its hard to find enough softball players for late tourneys or any kind of fall leagues. Once basketball starts up, half my team is off to that!
 

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