how to open mind assess your DD ability ?

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sluggers

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Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
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Dallas, Texas
Playing softball in college is not an activity, it is a lifestyle.

you do have a way with words...

I agree with you as to D1 and D2 programs.

D3 programs are a bit more flexible. My DD#3's hoop team was very good, and it was a lifestyle. There was something going on basketball related everyday (weights, shoot arounds, etc.) five days a week.

The softball team at her college was more of an "activity". They started practicing a few weeks before the season started, went to Florida for a week over spring break, and reliably finished 15-25 year after year after year.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
Playing softball in college is not an activity, it is a lifestyle.

I have already fielded a couple of calls from my DD complaining "softball is ruling her life"...my response was "suck it up buttercup"! DD loves playing games, but running/lifting/practicing 6 days/week during the off-season is a grind. Especially when you add in the required study hours, ect.
 
Jan 31, 2011
453
43
We took my TB team to 2 different NAIA & 1 DIII school this fall where we played round-robin tourneys as showcase events on the college fields. We asked the college coaches/players to talk to the TB teams/parents about playing college softball & recruiting. We did this at all 3 schools & all 3 were great experiences. Specifically, I asked one of the NAIA coaches I know well to expand on "what it takes to play college ball" as I think many kids/parents see it as sunshine & lollipops. At the NAIA level he said expect to spend 10 hours of practice for every 1 hour of game play. Not including conditioning. It is a life-style and a huge commitment. Kids need to know this going into any program...
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
The advice/wisdom from those whose DDs have been through the process - or are currently in the process - is absolute gold. Shared knowledge is one of the very best things about this place. Thanks, guys!
 
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
The intensity and demands of a program will vary from team to team regardless of D1, D2, D3, NAIA, or JUCO. Jake spent 2 years in JUCO and 2 years in the SEC at SC. The demands of the JUCO program at Chipola were well beyond SC and most any other top D1 program. All athletes stayed in the dorms, complete with curfews and bed checks. Lifts in the AM and practice in the afternoon. Twice on Saturday and Sunday unless they had several games scheduled in a day. School, Softball, and Sleep, nothing else. If it sounds like a military boot camp you are getting the picture. As a Freshman she arrived in mid-August and did not have a full day off until late September. It was a beautiful Sunday, with sunshine and cool temps. She slept all day. :)
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
I agree completely about freshman struggling with time management and being overwhelmed at the demands of playing softball and keeping up with their classes.

I played baseball at a D3 school my freshmen and part of my sophomore years. I was starting my soph year and then promptly quit.Why? My personality at that time had a hard time with
accepting less than 150% effort for any one task. I was an Engineering major and in my Freshmen and Soph year was deathly afraid that if I didn't spend 10 hours a day studying I wouldn't
do as well as I could. As such, in the early spring, when in MA we had indoor practices at 6 am, I would be studying till 2 or 3 am and then sleep for 2 hours and go to practice. In the Fall when
we only played intrasquad games on the weekends, I would try and find other players to take BP during the week and if I couldn't I would hit off the tee by myself for hours along with doing extra conditioning, etc. Again, because of
this and my overstudying, I would get minimal sleep. The result of this borderline OCD behavior? I got mono my soph year and was sick as hell when we went down south to play our first spring games. Because of the mono
I got strep throat (which I didn't know until we came back up North) and didn't tell anybody about it. I played through all of this because I was afraid to lose my starting job. Finally when I came back North, with a 103 degree
fever, I made the decision that I just couldn't play anymore and quit.

The moral to this? If you have a child who has a personality anything like mine you have to tell them, plead with them, that sometimes you have to know when enough is enough. You don't need to study 10 hours when 4 hours would
be fine. You don't need to take 2000 swings a week when 1000 is enough. I learned this later on in my academic career, but it was too late for my athletic career. I didn't pick up a bat/glove again until 3 or 4 years ago when I starting working my daughter, 20 something years after I last played. I went from playing baseball everyday to not thinking about it or playing it all. The memories of the whole situation, brought on my inability to relax once in a while, were just too lousy.

Many people have regrets related to not doing as much as they could to succeed at something. My regrets are the opposite.
I worked too hard at things and as a result I ruined an experience which should have been memorable, in a good way.
Just make sure your kid finds a happy-medium and has neither of those regrets 20+ years after college.
 
May 15, 2016
926
18
FWIW one of the smallest JUCOS in the nation is Chiploa College in Marianna FL. So far in the fall they have wins against Mississippi State, FSU, and a few other "D1" programs. They were beating LSU until the last inning and lost by one run. It is not the size of the dog in the fight it is the size of the fight in the dog.

Sounds amazing. Are schools like this outside of SEC country?
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
Love your first four points. Great advice!

I’m sure there are D1’s that just want to win and encourage their kids to major in basket weaving. My experience with D1 softball and majors has been vastly different. Not just with DD, but with others she knows playing from mid-major D1’s to the SEC. Coaches were up front about how much work and dedication is involved for certain majors. None were told they can’t have a specific major. The only thing DD was told she couldn’t do is the study abroad program. She’s played for three different coaches now and ALL stressed academics first. In fall especially it’s common for girls to miss practice and even some games because they were in class. If kids get caught skipping class the punishments are severe. I’ve see it range from “motivational workouts” for the entire team to players being suspended. We had a girl get cut last year in part for skipping class and she was possibly the most athletic girl on the team.

I agree completely about freshman struggling with time management and being overwhelmed at the demands of playing softball and keeping up with their classes. TBH I’ve been rather shocked at how many drop softball after a year or transfer to less rigorous academic/softball schools. As you and others have alluded to, girls really need to know what they’re getting into and decide if college softball is for them. The benefits and rewards are incredible. It’s definitely not the typical “college experience” that most kids think of though.

Maybe it's just the geographical area we were looking in. At that time, DD wanted to be a nursing major. The most of the D1's that offered, once they found out she wanted to switch her major to nursing basically told her there's no way that would work and encouraged her to look at other majors. The exceptions were 2 out of the 4 smaller D1's. Same thing with the D2's. They were split almost evenly between the ones who would tell her she may need to switch and the coaches who told her don't worry about it since they work hand-in-hand with their nursing department.
 
Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
Sounds amazing. Are schools like this outside of SEC country?


Butler CC in college in Kansas are two time national champs. Last year they had five players move on to P5 schools. Don’t know if they play D1’s in the fall, but yeah, they can go out and beat them too. Spring might be a little different, but the top JUCO's can still compete.
 

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