Fall showcases vs High School commitments

[Sparky Guy]

Another thread made me think to post this question.
DD's softball program always participates in 2 or 3 tournaments in the fall (HS season is in the spring)
DD is in the marching band in the fall, going to competitions every weekend with them. I know most of the other U18 kids play a fall sport or participate in an activity that wouldn't allow them to miss a weekend.

what do your kids do? participate in tournaments in the off season? If so, are they excused absences from fall activities? If they participated in Soccer tournaments during softball season, would that be excused? ( in our state, if a player misses a practice due to playing another sport, they are not allowed to play in the next game.)

Also being in school doesn't lend itself to playing softball all weekend, not to mention travel time.

what do you guys do?

I know this will sound counter to what a lot of people will say here. My feelings on it are simple. Is your DD a softball player who does XY things? Or is your DD an XY who also plays softball?

If you put your decision making in that context it becomes simpler. If your DD is a softball player who is serious about playing in college then her fresh and soph fall seasons are very important to her recruiting opportunities. The junior fall season is also important for some kids.

The pool games at a very well attended tournament are the most important, recruiting wise. Those games are at set times and the college coaches use them to view the players. A good TB coach will put players in at a coaches request during a pool game. Trying to keep up with a bracket schedule for several players is not something the college coaches will normally do. Unless, they are really interested in your DD. Also, there's no guarantee the team will be playing late into Sunday.

Unfortunately, too many players are forced to make a choice with regards to, in my opinion, over-reaching HS activities and softball. There comes a time when the players must put their needs in front of other things during the recruiting process. It's their future.

 

[nanotech14]

Didn't know that your kids are wards of the state or schools. It is none of their business what my dd is doing on the weekends or during the week when school is out. Grow a backbone parents. That's the problem in the country. We give our rights away, to schools and government. Its up to you as a parent and your kids to decide if your going to miss something to do something else. It really is none of any coaches business other then telling the coach you are not going to be there.

 

[riseball]

Some parents figure it out and will relentlessly support the recruiting process. Others are enamored with their kids high school experience and never figure that HS is a stepping stone to better things not a destination. Do not let your kid be that peaked in high school Rob Lowe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOh7INtwuUQ

 

[riseball]

We just had our parent/athlete at the HS tonight for fall sports and they made sure to go over this multiple times for the new parents.
We're trying to schedule a college visit around fall softball and HS soccer and it's not going to be easy

This should be quite easy if a college education is the real priority. Be a parent, pick a date, and go. If a HS coach takes issue with it, too bad.

 

[obbay]

.Didn't know that your kids are wards of the state or schools. It is none of their business what my dd is doing on the weekends or during the week when school is out.

One of our teams (not softball) had a championship revoked when the 2nd place team found out one of our players was playing another sport outside of school which had caused him to miss some team practices. There are some real rules involved governing high school athletics.

I guess my issue isn't with school rules- it just pi$$es me off when kids play other (out of season) sports during softball season and expect to be cut slack. I didn't think it is right for our TB team to do the same thing, especially after taking up every weekend of the summer.

 

[nanotech14]

One of our teams (not softball) had a championship revoked when the 2nd place team found out one of our players was playing another sport outside of school which had caused him to miss some team practices. There are some real rules involved governing high school athletics.

Prime example right there. Sorry, parents and taxpayers pay these schools and their high schools sports governing body. Parents can they them where the bear $%*&s in the woods. That's what I mean people need to grow a back bone, pull up their big kid pants and take back what is ours. We are the people!!!!!

 

[Sparky Guy]

One of our teams (not softball) had a championship revoked when the 2nd place team found out one of our players was playing another sport outside of school which had caused him to miss some team practices. There are some real rules involved governing high school athletics.

I guess my issue isn't with school rules- it just pi$$es me off when kids play other (out of season) sports during softball season and expect to be cut slack. I didn't think it is right for our TB team to do the same thing, especially after taking up every weekend of the summer.

The choice is YOURS!!!! If your DD is a serious softball player with serious ambitions to play ball in college then you'll have her attend the fall showcase tournaments. The fall showcase season is very important in the process. The TB teams do it to get their athletes signed.

College coaches only have X amount of recruiting days as well as quiet times and dead times in the recruiting schedule. That is why they are looking at kids in the fall. The fall tournaments are driven by the NCAA schedule, not the TB coaches.

 

[Sparky Guy]

Prime example right there. Sorry, parents and taxpayers pay these schools and their high schools sports governing body. Parents can they them where the bear $%*&s in the woods. That's what I mean people need to grow a back bone, pull up their big kid pants and take back what is ours. We are the people!!!!!

If you, as the parent, notify the school your child will not be there on a certain date it's none of their business why. That's ALL they need to know. You are the parent. I never told them why. Just my DD would not be there. I had one woman who was rather persistent one time about "Having to know why. It was the rules." I told the woman my DD's father died. She asked me who I was and I told her "Her father." It took her a while to figure it out.

I withdrew a large amount of cash for the bank a while ago. The bank called my up and asked why I took it out. I told them none of their business.

The kids today are being groomed to give up their privacy without question to get "free" apps on their cell phone. It's really scary.

 

[murphdog]

This should be quite easy if a college education is the real priority. Be a parent, pick a date, and go. If a HS coach takes issue with it, too bad.

The college coach knows she plays a secondary sport and for a club team and has stressed that her obligation is to the team/school she plays for now and not the college she might okay for in 2 years. The coach is okay with this.
She signed up for a HS sport because she likes it, she's good at it and it helps keep her in shape. We knew what the rules were going in.
I am being a parent, I'm teaching her to fulfill her obligations. You don't just walk away from something because something else comes along.

 

[nanotech14]

The college coach knows she plays a secondary sport and for a club team and has stressed that her obligation is to the team/school she plays for now and not the college she might okay for in 2 years. The coach is okay with this.
She signed up for a HS sport because she likes it, she's good at it and it helps keep her in shape. We knew what the rules were going in.
I am being a parent, I'm teaching her to fulfill her obligations. You don't just walk away from something because something else comes along.

that's fine, but I'm a parent too and if her #1 sport softball requires her to miss the secondary sport sometimes. She is fulfill her obligation to do what she loves and has done longer. As an adult you do walk away from something because something else comes along. If not a person could be stuck doing a lower paying job forever.