Should I move my DD

[Redzone71]

DD's school team is full of talent, but lacks quality coaching and drive to be the best. Most of the girls on her school team would rather party or hang out with their friends than work on their skills and get better at the game of softball. I understand the game of softball is not for everyone and I'm blessed to have a DD who loves the game and works hard to make herself better without me pushing her. I've always told her to lead by example and understand that not everyone loves the game as much as she does. She gets frustrated at times because she is so competitive and can't stand to lose. My DD currently plays travel ball with Tulsa Eagles 12u with a group of girls she has played with since the age of 8 years. All of these girls she has traveled with go to a different school in our district and have probably one of the best coaches in the state. DD is in seventh grade and will have to make a decision this summer if you wants to transfer or not. If she starts her 8th grade year and then moves she will have to set out a year because of the transfer. What would you do?

 

[Sparky Guy]

Your DD has a decision to make. Does she want to represent her school on the field or does she only want to win for herself? In the big picture winning MS games means absolutely NOTHING. No coach will care what her MS team did. They know just how much disparity there can be with school ball at both the MS and HS levels not to mention some of the dumbing-down rules they put in the game.

As for the coach of the other school. Just how much do you think she'll learn from this coach in the very short MS season? I doubt much. The real place where your DD learns is from her TB team. While the coach may be great, is the potential benefit worth giving up a year of eligibility?

Another option is to not play MS ball and guest play on other teams during the MS season. Right now your #1 priority should be academics. Which school is better in the classroom? Make your decision based on that. Softball is a distant second or third reason to attend a particular school.

Your DD has to realize that she will be stuck in situations which are not ideal many times during her life. It's best that she learns how to deal with them now instead having mom and dad swoop in and "fix" everything. Helicopter parents are frowned upon at the older levels, especially in college.

 

[Sweet Lou]

DD's school team is full of talent, but lacks quality coaching and drive to be the best. Most of the girls on her school team would rather party or hang out with their friends than work on their skills and get better at the game of softball. I understand the game of softball is not for everyone and I'm blessed to have a DD who loves the game and works hard to make herself better without me pushing her. I've always told her to lead by example and understand that not everyone loves the game as much as she does. She gets frustrated at times because she is so competitive and can't stand to lose. My DD currently plays travel ball with Tulsa Eagles 12u with a group of girls she has played with since the age of 8 years. All of these girls she has traveled with go to a different school in our district and have probably one of the best coaches in the state. DD is in seventh grade and will have to make a decision this summer if you wants to transfer or not. If she starts her 8th grade year and then moves she will have to set out a year because of the transfer. What would you do?

Which school has the best academic program. I'd try to transfer to that one and let softball take care of itself.

 

[Redzone71]

The school she currently attends is the better one as far as academics go. My intentions are not to move her to another school just because they will have a better softball team. The other school has good academics also but don't compare to her current school. They have won many academic state competitions. The main reason I thinking about moving her is because that is her request. She wants to continue playing with the girls she has always been with and there is no doubt the coaching is far superior at the other school. I know if my daughter is to play at the next level it will be through her travel ball and not HS. Tulsa Eagles is one of the most elite organizations in the country and they have put many girls in the position to play at the next level. The reason why it's a tough decision for me is because of the loyalty to her current school. We have many ties at our current school that would make the transition to another one difficult. My wife is the president over the girls athletic program and I'm a school board member just to name a couple.

 

[starsnuffer]

School ball is for friends and socializing. Travel ball is for competition. This is true in high school, and even more true with middle school level sports. This should also be in the parenting section, not pitching.

-W

 

[SoftSocDad]

Am I the only one who doesn't see a viable question here?

If it were me, I'd delete the original post and pretend it never happened.

 

[Steve Huff]

DD's school team is full of talent, but lacks quality coaching and drive to be the best. Most of the girls on her school team would rather party or hang out with their friends than work on their skills and get better at the game of softball. I understand the game of softball is not for everyone and I'm blessed to have a DD who loves the game and works hard to make herself better without me pushing her. I've always told her to lead by example and understand that not everyone loves the game as much as she does. She gets frustrated at times because she is so competitive and can't stand to lose. My DD currently plays travel ball with Tulsa Eagles 12u with a group of girls she has played with since the age of 8 years. All of these girls she has traveled with go to a different school in our district and have probably one of the best coaches in the state. DD is in seventh grade and will have to make a decision this summer if you wants to transfer or not. If she starts her 8th grade year and then moves she will have to set out a year because of the transfer. What would you do?

People in sports were surprised at my attitude toward money spent on athletics, especially in Texas. I push the academics! But after coaching HS and DI college ball, I also see another side. Sports keeps girls out of trouble. It consumes a lot of time and effort. If your coaches have high standards, then it really sets a wall kids are reluctant to throw themselves against. And example would be 2 college girls I had who got into trouble on a Hawaii trip. One ended up with alcohol poisoning, and missed all but the first days double hitter. Because of the distance and expense, we played 6 games each year rather than home and away. We kicked both girls off the team. It set a standard. Later we had 2 more girls who got caught smoking dope with members of the football team. They got the boot! No questions or excuses! The football players got a 30 second reprimand. They had no standards, believe me. After that February we had no more problems with any of the girls the rest of their careers there.

What I am getting at, is that the dynamics of all these issues is not an easy choice to make. I put education first, but I would even put the long term welfare ahead a "degree" of academics. Will she study better here or there? Are the peer groups a better influence here or there? Is she the 1/100 player that will get a scholarship? There are a lot of issues, and we can list them, but you will have to weigh them.

 

[02Crush]

I think the NCAA commercials out the past few years state it best...
Most of us will go pro in something other than sports!
Academics. Academics. Academics.
As a dedicated parent with a dedicated player if college ball is the long term goal you will find a way to make that dream come true.
And...Good grades from a solid school will help.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I moved mine in 7th grade. For one, the schools system we were at had no softball team. ( middle school ) #2 The high school system had softball but about par with a watered down rec league. #3 We lived in the burbs, but the county and city taxes were going through the roof paying for all the dead beats. #4 The majority of the TB girls we played with lived in the next county. ( where we live now ) #5 The academics of the new school far out weighed that of the old. #6 We wanted some land to build our dream home. #7 I picked this school because I followed the timeline. Their senior ace ( scholarship ) would graduate when my DD was graduating the 8th grade and they had little to compete with her getting plenty of pitching time.

#8 So far so good. Happy new home, nice little town, still only 20 mins from the big city. DD broke ERA and HR record freshman year. First state appearance in the programs 25 years her sophomore year. Now we are getting ready for her junior year.

Long story short, we moved because of a few things besides softball. If my wife isn't around..............I'll tell you we moved ONLY because of softball. wink wink

 

[Jojo]

This is tough call. One of my students parents moved her to a new school. Private school where she would be the varsity pitcher. Great school, great softball program. Added cost to the family being a private school. Her parents had to drive her to another town every day to and from school, long commutes. She did great, won state, got her scholarship then quit school after her first semester.