How is school ball going this year: My experience...

[InsidePitch]

I don't see how it's that much different. The TB coach has girls from all over that they must gel in a hurry. Often the only time they see each other is on the field. They shuffle players in and out because they need to play all of them. Unless you have kids that ride the pine day after day you too are shuffling kids in and out. So how is it so different?

I suspect the roster issue is probably something that plays more in the minds of kids that are first being considered for Varsity regardless of Freshman, Sophomore or JR. She seemed very happy to announce, I'm on the Varsity.

 

[Slappers]

DD has only played one game so far. She doesn't play in the field as the player in her position is the best in the area but she does hit for another player on the team so she is happy. Probably prefers it that way... She was 1 for 3 in that game with a single, a FC with RBI and a GO. Looking back at her stats from the fall, she didn't strike out during the fall TB season and hit .522. She puts the bat on the ball I guess..

 

[Michael N]

DD made the Varsity roster as a Freshman and has been starting at 3rd base . She has never played 3rd before so it has been a learning experience for her . The season has gotten off to a rough start with their #1 pitcher being injured , the #2 pitcher quitting and the #3 being ineligible . To top things off the JV team had 2 pitchers one of which has been out due to illness so we don't have anyone to pull up to help out . Of course this is a program that has 4 wins in the past 4 seasons so we didn't expect a lot going in . DD was hoping to get some time catching for the HS team but with only one pitcher she isn't getting much time in practice let alone real game time . Not surprisingly she is taking all this in stride and maintaining a great attitude .

 

[Doug Romrell]

DD made the Varsity roster as a Freshman and has been starting at 3rd base . She has never played 3rd before so it has been a learning experience for her . The season has gotten off to a rough start with their #1 pitcher being injured , the #2 pitcher quitting and the #3 being ineligible . To top things off the JV team had 2 pitchers one of which has been out due to illness so we don't have anyone to pull up to help out . Of course this is a program that has 4 wins in the past 4 seasons so we didn't expect a lot going in . DD was hoping to get some time catching for the HS team but with only one pitcher she isn't getting much time in practice let alone real game time . Not surprisingly she is taking all this in stride and maintaining a great attitude .

Oy!!! Sounds rough.

 

[Grogger31]

Today is the last day of tryouts for DD's middle school team. Her middle school is 7th and 8th grade only. DD is a 7th grader. We're both cautiously optimistic about her chances of making it. She worked her tail off this winter and making this team was her major goal. Regardless of whether she makes the team or not, she's proud of herself and we're even more proud of her.

 

[maksoftball]

DD made varsity as a freshman and has been playing since last week of January (tournaments/scrimmages to start...district games started 2/18). She was starting pitcher for the tournament/scrimmages but not for the district games as the jr pitcher was on bench due to bad grades. These HS coaches take seniority over skill so DD sees the mound very little in district games. She is cool with it though. There were 9 seniors on the Varsity roster of 18...but one Sr. catcher quit, and another Sr. 2B was kicked off team. So out of team of 16 players, we have 7 seniors, 3 jrs, 1 sophomore, and 5 freshman (2 are primarily on JV). Only 2 pitchers on Varsity, 2 on JV...and 1 varsity catcher (freshman) and 2 JV catchers. -_-

Anyhow, next year should definitely prove interesting as we will have 5-6 holes on the field to fill with new starters. It's been hard to watch at times because we don't always agree with the coaches but this is HS ball...who cares? It's obvious that 80-90% of the upper classmen don't care. Sigh. That one has been hard to explain to DD. I just tell her those shoes will be hers to fill, and it's up to her and her teammates (freshmen and younger) to set better examples.

DD is just ready for TB to pick up again.

 

[Jquick823]

First off i am jealous of all of you who can play highschool ball prior to 9th grade. Stupid Delaware rules lol. DD made her MS team and was named starting catcher in practice 3. School isn't known for softball but she is 1 of 3 TB players in her school so making the team wasn't a concern. HS program now has one of the better TB coaches as their HC and the AD is also pro softball which helps. Hoping for an injury free succesful season at both school and TB this year. Good luck to everyone elses DD's and i look forward to reading about the season. P.S. East Coast weather stinks and first game was canceled. Hoping to get game 2 in or i will miss her first game due to work.

 

[John T]

jdavenp3,

The state I live in a HS coach can coach the team in the summer for both Spring and Fall seasons as long as they are right before or right after the HS Season. Winter sports are allowed so many contact days (10 I think).

Not that we will be playing a game anytime soon with snow flying as I type this...It will be another 1 month season.

 

[guero_gordo]

So far JV has been devoid of drama or BS. One girl that thought she should be on Varsity is making a strong case for herself, the other is making an @ss of herself, but everyone is pulling the same direction and all of the parents are behaving.

Varsity, on the other hand, is a tire fire. Glad we dodged that bullet for one year.

 

[ms244]

Our HS team just returned from Tennessee & Florida on a spring break softball trip. We played 11 games between a tournament in Tennessee and 4 games in Florida against two HS teams. Our team finished 9-2 on the trip. My DD is a Freshman and is 4-0 as a starting pitcher with 2 more appearances with no decisions. For my DD pitching time and her record are great! Unfortunately the HS coach doesn't allow the pitchers to bat or play other positions as he doesn't want them to get hurt. (His words, not mine). That part is disappointing but the pitching time has been good!