Thoughts after College Reverse Exposure Tournament

• Does anyone teach/coach catching skills? From what I saw, the ability to block a ball in the dirt has been lost. Even basic things like a no throw stance would be advanced for the girls I saw catch. I saw one base runner thrown out all day and these girls have impressive arms when throwing down during warmups. Finally, I saw signs all day long when standing behind the screen. What is more basic than knowing where to put your hand when giving signs?
• In at least half of the games I saw, dads were sitting alongside the team fence line and dads were giving dd's instruction. That would never fly on my dd's former team. One dad actually yelled at a coach from the fence line outside the on deck circle.
• Bunt defense is a thing of the past.
• The change and the rise are the two dominant pitches. Today, it seemed that the change really messed people up.
• One team had 30 players on its roster. How can you coach that many effectively. It was an NAIA school and so, I would suppose it has a JV schedule.
• I saw 4 infield fly situations. Not one was called out loud by the umpires. In fact, the dad I always sit by asked me if we might not know the rule anymore. LOL
• I saw fewer slappers today than I have seen in the past.
• There are some quality pitchers at every level of this game. We saw a bunch of games and I think a lot of these players could play at a higher level than what they currently are.
• I saw one team play the same players the entire game when most teams subbed each inning. There was free substitution and they batted roster if they wanted. Naturally, the team with 30 didn't bat roster.
• You can really tell which teams have a weight program and which teams have a wait program.
• There were teams who were to play on Saturday against certain teams who refused to play those teams. How do you get better not playing?
• On a personal note, when my dd's former team played, it was tough for her and us to watch the games knowing that she no longer can play. I think it was a lot harder on her than she thought it would be.

SBmom8992 said:

For about half of those bulletpoints above, I could have sworn you were referring to the 12U tourney I was at this past weekend.

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Was at a showcase this weekend where college teams were playing alongside showcase teams.

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Maxx said:

Kids aren't getting those fundamentals you mentioned in travel ball or high school. So many things to cover once they get to college that should have been covered at the younger levels. Watch how many travel teams run their cuts and relays with the pitcher standing on the mound.

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CoogansBluff said:

Problem is that older/top travel teams have players so spread out that they can't practice, so team play (bunt coverage, relays, anything that takes teamwork) is neglected. Even bunting and stealing bases and sliding get rusty because those aren't things that players work much on their own. Too busy with the meal ticket - pitching or hitting.

Also, in defense of the players, another issue is that getting recruited has become a very time-intensive endeavor. Lots of time spent traveling to showcases, traveling to camps, playing all the time, getting exposed. Then they're told they should be working on strength/agility. And the most important thing is your grades. And be well-rounded. Don't let softball run your life. It's pretty hard to have all the fundamentals when you get to college. I'm not sure it's possible for the average kid to have a high-level swing and throw, a model slide and bunt, and mastery of defensive strategy, and a 3.8 GPA before age 18. Most are going to need some coaching when they get to college.

I know that's not what you're saying, but just pointing out some of the challenges. Hitting is the hardest thing to do in sports. Takes a helluva lot of time to develop a hitter so she can rake in college. Then you find out she can't bunt. Softball is hard.

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