- Jun 8, 2016
- 16,118
- 113
They probably just needed a better point guard.We started a team when my kids were young because I took my girls to a HS softball game and their school got beat by 28 pts in 3 innings and looked terrible.
They probably just needed a better point guard.We started a team when my kids were young because I took my girls to a HS softball game and their school got beat by 28 pts in 3 innings and looked terrible.
Awesome. Glad to hear we aren't alone in this endeavor. It can be difficult to keep my eyes on the prize, but those of us involved refuse to let our kids suffer if there's something we can do about it. You're exactly right about the perception of softball. I long for the day where we aren't constantly looking for girls to invite, or harrassing the ones who went to another sport, trying to woo them back over. I want getting on the team to be an achievement. I want the LL kids to be going to the MS and HS games because they WANT to.Great saga! Keep it coming. I'm in the midst of my own program building in the role of head of the softball association. Started from scratch. Providing support to the program outside the school season. Making headway in changing the culture that softball is what girls do only when there is nothing else to do. Small school, so I see some of the same things you talk about. Some of the other problems you describe I'm thankful we don't face so much. Still a lot to do, good luck!
That's an awesome story. I think we have the right people in place to really come out and compete with almost anyone by the time my freshman is a junior. We should have experienced pitchers, strong hitters, and some size. Pitching is just SO important and we're still far behind. I've taken some steps to rectify that, but nothing happens fast in this world.We started a team when my kids were young because I took my girls to a HS softball game and their school got beat by 28 pts in 3 innings and looked terrible.
I told them, they could never play on a team like that, so we were going to start working now. My oldest was 8 and youngest twins were 6. Me and a friend got all the girls together and created a little league team. We lost every game the first year, won 4 the next year and then went undefeated the next three years in the rec league. By the time they were in 12U we started playing tournaments we added a girl and lost one, but basically the same team we started with when they were young.
In HS we were ranked in the top 5 in state 6 yrs in a row. The school built a new softball stadium, batting cages/concession stand and locker room. 4 girls are now playing college softball.
When we started we said we never wanted to be a laughing stock we wanted everyone to be concerned when they came to our town to play. We wanted our girls to be proud of themselves and proud of where they are from. I can confidently say we accomplished our goal and had a heck of a lot of fun doing it.
The teams coming behind them are all good…now that they are all young adults, I tell them look at what you created, look at the new stadium, look at the girls playing every weekend…you guys created a legacy. They all take pride in what they created by winning.
This is a great topic. It is always fun to hear about other people's journeys. They are all different.
Our HS program is highly successful. A recent 6A state championship and almost another. Semis two years ago and four rounds in last year. Good coaches. The last 3 #1 pitchers went to PAC12 and SEC schools.
The new coach that took over last year was stunned to hear how few girls were coming out though. Maybe 8 years ago we had V, JV, and freshman teams. Then there weren't enough to field a freshman team. The coach then was a good coach, but not a program builder. He just expected good player to show up from the club ranks. Which they did for the most part. Two state POYs in a row and that championship. His last year, JV had maybe 5 or 6 club players, and was thin after that.
This year the new coach had to scrounge PE classes for enough players to field a JV team. V was still full of good players though, so they did well. Had so send a V player down to pitch for JV one game. But by and large, the V players in coming years arent going to come from the JV team. We had two move up this year and two freshman. 2021 4 freshman went straight to V. That was some kind of a record. The nickname for freshman on V used to be "Token", because there was usually only the one. We are expecting some real talented freshmen this year and next, so we will see.
We are now trying to reestablish ties with the middle schools, which had not been a thing with the prior coach. We need to encourage more participation and drive more excitement. MS here is no-cut for the first part, then cuts for a brief season against the other MS in the district (7 others). Our MS usually finishes 2nd. Top 3 schools are competitive. Others are not so good.
The other thing is that our main feeder Wreck league shut down for good during Covid after years of declining numbers, so the skill base just isn't as good. That league used to have over 40 teams. I think it had 9 total in 3 age groups by the time it folded. That is a whole different conversation. The result is fewer kids with any experience coming in to make a JV team and potentially move up to V.
No kidding. 2600+ kids, 900 freshman this fall. 25 came out for softball in the spring. And a couple of those quit after tryouts, including the girl that was going to be the only JV pitcher. She did come back after a couple days of contemplation.Thank you for reading!
It's crazy to think a 6A class school could have any problem coming up with 25-30 kids. We're a 2A and I believe HS had 18 last season.
Programs can be so fragile, year to year. Cultivating players from the ground up has to happen every year forever. Just a year or two of slacking can hit the program hard. I fear that a couple years after my freshman graduates, the program could be in trouble again. There always has to be someone coming up to pick up the torch. Some sucker parent...
If I don't suck too bad as a pitching coach, I intend to keep doing that in the years to come. Just having competent pitching can go a long way. I completed the Pauly intermediate program mid summer, and study pitching from all sorts of sources every day.
Thanks for the vote of confidence!No kidding. 2600+ kids, 900 freshman this fall. 25 came out for softball in the spring. And a couple of those quit after tryouts, including the girl that was going to be the only JV pitcher. She did come back after a couple days of contemplation.
On the flip side 100 showed for volleyball tryouts.
I bet you will do the program proud as a pitching coach. When you put that much real effort into learning and give the girls what they just would never get otherwise, its a success even if they dont end up at UCLA. Sometimes it is about learning, improving, and having a great experience.
HaHa! Yeah, with ya on that. My coworker has a volleyball girl and a soccer girl. He says " I hate soccer. It's so boring."Thanks for the vote of confidence!
I hate soccer.
You're 100% right. The simplicity of basketball, volleyball, and soccer is the lack of gear. It looks like something easy to catch-on to. And it's not, really, but if the get into it and like it, then it doesn't matter. We lost 'em.HaHa! Yeah, with ya on that. My coworker has a volleyball girl and a soccer girl. He says " I hate soccer. It's so boring."
Back on topic: I think part of the issue is that Softball is really intimidating. There are SO MANY skills to learn vs many other sports. Hitting, catching, throwing, running bases, where's the play, etc all adds up. Each skill takes hundreds of hours to be competent and thousands to be elite. Soccer is run, kick, occasional header. Yeah, I know it's more than that, but there is just less stuff to spend the hours on. Volleyball is similar. Softball is hard and that hard ball coming fast can be more scary. Kids are new to the sport are still ducking away from warm-up throws. Now ask them to stand in the box against decent pitching. They back up in the box real quick after that first pitch!