Is H.S. ball worth the time?

Cannonball · May 17, 2018

marriard said:
First - if your DD achieves enough to play good college softball, it is at BEST MAYBE 10% due to a coach or an org. And that is a real reach. If your DD wants it, it will be 100% on her. Everyone else is an enabler and supporter - our family, her coaches, her coaches, her instructors, the organization etc. My DD is heading toward the end of her recruiting journey and it is all on her - lots of help on the way and lots of help to come, but it doesn't matter who the coach is, or parents, or instructor or whatever if the talent/work ethic/commitment/etc isn't there. Playing for X may get you some more looks and access to their network, but in the end if you can't perform when the looks happen then it wont matter. We have helped lots of girls over the years - and we as an org are proud that we got to help and be part of each girls journey - but it is 100% their achievement.

Nothing against your coach who I don't know, but you always have to keep your eyes open. If you can find photos or can talk to parents of their last time through - check out how many players stayed through the whole time. Is it 2? 5? If it is a lot then congrats - that is totally rare. Our teams turn over 3-4 players most seasons (lots of options locally)

We have a org here locally that is known to 'produce college players' - it is BS - they have never, ever developed a player - but they used to suck up all the talent everyone else developed. A lot of girls they claim were already committed before they joined.

That sounds right. Our second year 14U teams rarely plays in 14U unless they are trying to qualify for something.

This post is not only very sound, it is a yearly occurrence for me as some of my HS players find out that the organizations that promised them and their parents that they would get them college scholarships, in fact, don't do a darn thing to do so. Yet, on their websites, they put those players up when they do get college scholarships as an organization achievement. If some of you will remember, I've posted this several times and almost yearly on this site. I know a freshman in one of these organizations who' parents are bragging that their dd is going to get a full ride due to one of these organizations. A friend told them they had better call me. I gave these parents a list of 5 names of players who went through that particular organization and told them to talk to those players and/or their parents. I know first hand who got those players scholarships.

murphdog · May 17, 2018

#7sDad said:
What time? That's a major showdown! Kelly Nelson's been virtually unhittable this season. We have them on Wednesday for a non-conference game.

Last night our girls beat Braintree in 12 innings! Was an amazing game.

10 am. We are Norton’s only loss they’ve had this season. Beat them 5-4 a few weeks back.
Great job against Braintree. I heard they’re solid this year.

vicimus · May 17, 2018

Obviously, 100% is due to DD's work, but I was speaking of external factors and her club coach will be given 100% credit, since she's had 4 coaches in the last 4 years, and he's the only *real* coach who knows how to coach, doesn't play mommy/daddy ball, and has *proven* D1 player development experience. My only regret is that we didn't find him 6 years ago in 10U. DD's private tryout with him in the fall was a humbling experience and lasted 4 hours where he broke down every aspect of her game (pitching, fielding, throwing, hitting) that she was taught wrong, and in that first month he made an *IMMEDIATE* positive impact on *EVERY* aspect of her game!

Where as DD's HS coach is exactly the opposite!

As far as talking to parents, there's plenty of compelling former parent *thank you* letters posted on the team's social media and web site, and that freshman's father actually attended the club's fall kick off meeting where he tore up the tuition check that he didn't have to send to the college, since his daughter got a free ride thanks to the coach.

I appreciate your skepticism given that club you mentioned below, but this club is not that situation. Basically, this club has 2 coaches that have taken 10U/12U teams through 18U and the recruiting process at least 3 times in the last 10-12 years, and have plenty (more than 5) of D1 developed players (and scholarships) to show for it. If anything, other clubs around here have claimed some D1 players who started on this club.

marriard said:
First - if your DD achieves enough to play good college softball, it is at BEST MAYBE 10% due to a coach or an org. And that is a real reach. If your DD wants it, it will be 100% on her. Everyone else is an enabler and supporter - our family, her coaches, her coaches, her instructors, the organization etc. My DD is heading toward the end of her recruiting journey and it is all on her - lots of help on the way and lots of help to come, but it doesn't matter who the coach is, or parents, or instructor or whatever if the talent/work ethic/commitment/etc isn't there. Playing for X may get you some more looks and access to their network, but in the end if you can't perform when the looks happen then it wont matter. We have helped lots of girls over the years - and we as an org are proud that we got to help and be part of each girls journey - but it is 100% their achievement.

Nothing against your coach who I don't know, but you always have to keep your eyes open. If you can find photos or can talk to parents of their last time through - check out how many players stayed through the whole time. Is it 2? 5? If it is a lot then congrats - that is totally rare. Our teams turn over 3-4 players most seasons (lots of options locally)

We have a org here locally that is known to 'produce college players' - it is BS - they have never, ever developed a player - but they used to suck up all the talent everyone else developed. A lot of girls they claim were already committed before they joined.

That sounds right. Our second year 14U teams rarely plays in 14U unless they are trying to qualify for something.

#7sDad · May 17, 2018

murphdog said:
10 am. We are Norton’s only loss they’ve had this season. Beat them 5-4 a few weeks back.
Great job against Braintree. I heard they’re solid this year.

We'll try to be there!!

flipper14 · May 17, 2018

I'd encourage you to read this article. I think it may change your perspective a bit. Wheaton Academy softball experiencing something different

Cannonball · May 17, 2018

vicimus, do you intend to hold your TB Coach accountable if your dd does not get a D-I scholarship to the school of her choice in the B1G, or other top conferences?

vicimus · May 17, 2018

How so? I'm not talking about the benefits of HS softball in general.

I'm specifically talking about a DD prioritizing her time between studying, club ball, and HS ball whose ultimate goal is to play D1 (double bonus points for scholarship).

flipper14 said:
I'd encourage you to read this article. I think it may change your perspective a bit. Wheaton Academy softball experiencing something different

vicimus · May 17, 2018

Absolutely not. Her club coach is not getting paid. He's dedicated a helluva lot more hours of his personal time to his girls than anyone else including all the parents.

DD is the accountable one. We've provided DD with every resource she needs to succeed, her club coach has provided her with the knowledge and college coach contacts. Now it's up to her to do the work.

Worse case scenario, she gets her computer science degree at her #1 school (half of what we're paying to send her to prep school) w/o playing D1 ball, and graduates making $80k+ with a job lined up. Once again, *priorities*. ;-)

Cannonball said:
vicimus, do you intend to hold your TB Coach accountable if your dd does not get a D-I scholarship to the school of her choice in the B1G, or other top conferences?

Softball scholar · May 17, 2018

My DD high school softball experience has been mostly positive and she's a junior this year. The thing about HS softball is that each school has a different situation, coach, competiveness level and the shoe always doesn't fit as well as finding the right travel team. For my DD not to play HS, the situation would have to be bad because she loves playing for her school.

My DD HS team is good and we have 6 girls committed to D1 schools. We have a couple under classmen that will very likely commit eventually. Counting JV we have at least 25 girls that travel. The tough thing at our school is that some good players don't make varsity or when they do, they get limited playing time. My DD as an under classmen started on JV her freshman year, but she got an opportunity and jumped on it and has been contributing. Like I said, each team is unique and the tough thing about her team is that she has to perform to get playing time. Its a lot like a college environment will be, you have to step or your going to play. Since she's going to play in college, its a good thing. The schedule is more like a college schedule too. You play a couple on the week then play a couple a weekend, unlike travel ball where you play 6 or 7 games only on weekends. Also, we win a lot too. And that's make it fun. She likes her HS her coaches and she mostly loves her teammates. We also play in the big class in our state, and there's some good high school teams. We have have some fun competitive games that mean something like a conference title or playoff win. High school is also great as you get in the local paper or on the news. You get recognized in your school.

I guess, our situation is good and were lucky. I see some other schools that aren't as competitive. But there's still some positive things for those girls. If you have a positive attitude, you can always help girls on your team improve. You still can get recognized individually. And if you treat teammates right, they'll be friends for a long time.

vicimus · May 17, 2018

Yes, your DD situation is very different.

There's a couple A conference teams here which probably have a majority of club players, but B conference teams have only 2-3 at best and C conference teams are lucky if they have 1.

Like I said, softball is a 2nd-tier sport at DD's HS where the major sports are lacrosse and field hockey both of which won championships this year and are nationally ranked. They have 3 lacrosse teams: fresh/soph, jv, and varsity. This year, the varsity lacrosse team carried 42 girls, 21 of which are graduating seniors the majority of which will be playing D1 next year.

Thanks for sharing.

Softball scholar said:
My DD high school softball experience has been mostly positive and she's a junior this year. The thing about HS softball is that each school has a different situation, coach, competiveness level and the shoe always doesn't fit as well as finding the right travel team. For my DD not to play HS, the situation would have to be bad because she loves playing for her school.

My DD HS team is good and we have 6 girls committed to D1 schools. We have a couple under classmen that will very likely commit eventually. Counting JV we have at least 25 girls that travel. The tough thing at our school is that some good players don't make varsity or when they do, they get limited playing time. My DD as an under classmen started on JV her freshman year, but she got an opportunity and jumped on it and has been contributing. Like I said, each team is unique and the tough thing about her team is that she has to perform to get playing time. Its a lot like a college environment will be, you have to step or your going to play. Since she's going to play in college, its a good thing. The schedule is more like a college schedule too. You play a couple on the week then play a couple a weekend, unlike travel ball where you play 6 or 7 games only on weekends. Also, we win a lot too. And that's make it fun. She likes her HS her coaches and she mostly loves her teammates. We also play in the big class in our state, and there's some good high school teams. We have have some fun competitive games that mean something like a conference title or playoff win. High school is also great as you get in the local paper or on the news. You get recognized in your school.

I guess, our situation is good and were lucky. I see some other schools that aren't as competitive. But there's still some positive things for those girls. If you have a positive attitude, you can always help girls on your team improve. You still can get recognized individually. And if you treat teammates right, they'll be friends for a long time.

Is H.S. ball worth the time?

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