a) "You should know around 12 or 13 if she will be "good". Her body is going to change so much when she matures that it is hard to tell anything right now."
b) "There is no pot of gold at the end of the softball rainbow." Usually, you follow this with an explanation of college majors and sports, as in, "You really think that a sports communication degree should be the educational goal for an 8YOA girl?"
c) "Things change. They might not even have collegiate softball in 10 years."
There are lots of parents who wear "rose colored glasses" when it comes to their DD and her abilities. Unfortunately, they usually have to figure things out for themselves.....there are also a lot of parents who only know about their DD and how she is a STUD in the local rec league and they have no idea that ASA or PGF exists.....LOL