Popularity of Softball in your state, gaining or losing?

[Slappers]

You don't need much equipment for swimming and for soccer...

You don't but swimming is costing me triple what softball does. Granted the step son is in like National Olympic etc programs but he will wear a swimsuit for a meet or two and then needs a new one. Those things are like $130 each. Monthly dues are in the $400-500 range...

Ok back on topic..

 

[Sweet Lou]

I can't speak for everyone but softball seems alive and well in our little corner of CA.

With our own rec program it has grown since my older DD now 16 started and my younger DD now 9 is playing. When older DD played there was no 8U all-stars and they bearly got enough girls at tryouts for a single 10U & 12U team.

This year they had over 20 girls tryout for 8U all-star team, close to 40 for 10U & 12U and had 8U, 10U-B, 10U-C, 12U-B & 12U-C teams; this after having both a 10U & 12U year round A-travel team of girls taken out of the rec pool in January.

 

[BobInMadison]

WOW!

But then, you are talking about a very high level. My son is in rowing, and the dues, uniforms, summer races, etc. run to almost $3000 a year, not to mention travel costs if we join him at a regatta.

The really top kids pay a lot more. There are a couple of national races every year, and those are about $800 each per kid. More if parents come along.

Several of the kids were invited to National Team activities. One of them participates, and it is expensive. Another kid quit the National Team activities, because it was just too darn expensive for his family to handle.

But then, a lot of the cost of teams depend on how close the team is. A local Bandits softball parent told people he spends far more on gas to and from practices than on club dues. (The Bandits are one of the top Wisconsin teams, located a long way away).

 

[JJsqueeze]

Thank you SO much for this post, sluggers!

The problem with forums of this sort, is that certain nuances that can be conveyed in verbal communication can be lost in written communication.


In retrospect, I should have been a LOT clearer in my writing, to avoid confusion.

What I intended to convey (but clearly failed) is that I first really noticed the situation when I read an article written by a "white nationalist". The idea of rich white fathers keeping their DDs from playing with the riff-raff, was HIS interpretation, not mine. Anyone offended by that probably SHOULD be offended. If anyone thought that was MY opinion, I take the blame for not being clear enough, and I extend my more sincere apologies.

What I intended to show is that reading that article really made me think about the whole club/ organization structure as far as it went for a number of sports, including softball, and how that excludes people with limited means.

That particular "white nationalist", S.S., said that the club system was NOT the best way to develop players, but it was good for those who had the time and money to participate in the club system. His opinion, not mine. I do agree that the club system excludes players of limited means, either time or $ or both.

Also, there are certain cultural reasons that keep non-white kids from playing softball in Wisconsin. How did my DD #3 get into softball? Her sister, DD #1, played softball, and dragged all her siblings into practice. DD #3 enjoyed it, and went on the rec league and TB. How did DD #1 get into softball? Her BFF was playing rec league, and asked DD #1 to join her. Why was her BFF playing rec league? BFF's mother played HS softball, and some club softball during college.

My own opinion? I would like to see, not just for softball but for ALL sports, some way to include and involve players who are either from families with limited resources, or else from families that are part of ethnic groups that do not generally play the game.

Boys' sports have sometimes done a better job of this than girls, but not always. It is quite possible for a kid, especially a boy, from limited means to be a HS star and get into D1 in sports like football, basketball, and track.

Now that sluggers has pointed out why people would be offended by my post, I completely understand it, and I apologize to anyone offended. Not for my ideas, but for my clumsy way of presenting the ideas, which made me appear to be racist.

You did not appear racist at all in that first post. The things you said are true. The only flaw was using WI as a sample since that state is 99.9 % white. You will find out soon enough that OILF is just perpetually offended.

Here in SoCal the teams are all pretty diverse both racially and economically. Somehow the girls who come from families of limited means find a way to get on teams. I think a lot of times they are getting pass on dues which is fine by me.

As for the sport losing numbers, I don't think this is anything more than a scholarship driven leveling out of opportunities. By that I mean that there is a better chance at getting a scholarship in lacrosse etc since they do not have so many female athletes so some sports are growing at softballs expense. I don't think the game itself is archaic or out of step with modern times. It is a sport with a slower pace to be sure but that suits plenty of girls.

 

[BobInMadison]

Wisconsin is predominately white, but some areas of the state are not.

The Madison school district is about 50% white. The softball teams have a somewhat higher percentage of white girls. Nothing wrong with the white girls playing softball. They are some of the greatest kids you will ever find. I just wish they could draw on a larger portion of the student body.

 

[Sweet Lou]

Wisconsin is predominately white, but some areas of the state are not.

The Madison school district is about 50% white. The softball teams have a somewhat higher percentage of white girls. Nothing wrong with the white girls playing softball. They are some of the greatest kids you will ever find. I just wish they could draw on a larger portion of the student body.

We have a large hispanic population in our area and while there are hispanic girls in softball in our area they are not represented in as high a percentage as the population would suggest they should be.Maybe they are drawn more to soccer by culture. I know my neighbors originally from Mexico had all their kids and cousins all in club soccer growing up both boys and girls. But that's just one anecdotal story and I'm not trying to draw conclusions from it.

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

Yea volleyball is hot too. I forgot about that. Crap!

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

Really? White black or Mexican. Can they catch and hit the ball? Riff raff will be eliminated as time goes on. I hate unprofessional parents. Especially with ghetto attitudes. If there kid can hit run and catch all will be forgiven

 

[BobInMadison]

Them furriners with their soccer! (JOKE!!!)

Yeah, there is some of that among the immigrant population. My FIL, and Asian immigrant, doesn't speak any Spanish, but he loves soccer. I often see him watching soccer on Spanish language TV. I presume he understands ONE word of Spanish:

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

[BobInMadison]

You did not appear racist at all in that first post. The things you said are true. The only flaw was using WI as a sample since that state is 99.9 % white. You will find out soon enough that OILF is just perpetually offended.

Here in SoCal the teams are all pretty diverse both racially and economically. Somehow the girls who come from families of limited means find a way to get on teams. I think a lot of times they are getting pass on dues which is fine by me.

As for the sport losing numbers, I don't think this is anything more than a scholarship driven leveling out of opportunities. By that I mean that there is a better chance at getting a scholarship in lacrosse etc since they do not have so many female athletes so some sports are growing at softballs expense. I don't think the game itself is archaic or out of step with modern times. It is a sport with a slower pace to be sure but that suits plenty of girls.

The scholarship opportunities DO make a difference.

Three softball players in the local conference got D1 athletic scholarships. The two all-conference pitchers got softball scholarships to nearby D1 schools. None were big-name schools, and one of them was the Gatorade Player of the Year for Wisconsin as a junior.

The all-conference 1B got a scholarship to a Big 10 school: U of Wisconsin, but in rowing. To be fair, she rowed in a boat last fall that came in 3rd place (out of 85 boats) at the biggest North American rowing event, the Head of the Charles in Boston.

But, to be realistic, a good softball player has a much better chance of rowing for a D1 school, EVEN IF SHE HAS NEVER ROWED BEFORE, than playing softball at a D1 program. If she goes to a college rowing camp and gets a good enough score, she can get a scholarship, EVEN IF SHE HAS NEVER ROWED BEFORE! Of course the score must be exceptional, but sometimes girls who have never rowed before get scholarships. (The first baseman was an excellent HS rower, of course).

I often see the young rowers at U Wisconsin running near the boathouse early Saturday morning, before getting in the water. They sometimes stop to pet my doggy. You would be amazed at how many softball t-shirts I see, sometimes tournament t-shirts from Colorado events.