Playing D1 Softball not all its cracked up to be

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Nov 29, 2009
2,975
83
I promise/vow not to become "that dad"...

You're always "That dad." when it comes to your daughter playing. You just learn to keep the beast under control in public. I know it was hard for me. Everyone once in a while I would fall off of the wagon and let the beast out for a short walk. :)
 
You're always "That dad." when it comes to your daughter playing. You just learn to keep the beast under control in public. I know it was hard for me. Everyone once in a while I would fall off of the wagon and let the beast out for a short walk.

Thats too funny Sparky!! Presently watching DD play HS I do admit the 'beast' pops up out of no where....questioning coaches decisions. So i'm focusing on controlling this new tourette's syndrome I picked up. As a high level TB coach I have this instictive inbedded reaction "what I would do/call" constantly twirling in my head. I'm told by the peanut gallery of fellow parents I'm getting better. The biggest switch I made was to move way down the fouline, away from stands/dugout, with all the other dads that seem to form a pack around me. As the alpha I'm now more careful with my tone fo voice and really thinking twice before speaking. Instead of ripping on the coach I now only have words of encouragement with all the little victorys individual team members achieve during the games. HS currennt record is 19 losses with only 2 wins
 
Apr 12, 2010
192
0
Oregon
You're always "That dad." when it comes to your daughter playing. You just learn to keep the beast under control in public. I know it was hard for me. Everyone once in a while I would fall off of the wagon and let the beast out for a short walk. :)

This is a great statement! I'm going to hang onto this one, thanks for posting it
 
Nov 29, 2009
2,975
83
Instead of ripping on the coach I now only have words of encouragement with all the little victorys individual team members achieve during the games. HS currennt record is 19 losses with only 2 wins

Urmmm... Tough season. When my DD played the record was usually the opposite of your daughter's team. They would always be at or near the top of the local rankings. So the pressure was on the girls to perform EVERY game. Every little mistake the coach made was put under a microscope by all the crows lining the fence lines. All the regular starters played on high level travel teams so the daddies were always second guessing the coach. To her credit she did not make very many mistakes in the 3rd base coaches box. The kids usually took care of the rest of the game themselves. Once in a while they would get beat with a physical error at the wrong time, very, very rarely with a mental mistake.

I kept myself busy taking pictures of all the kids on the team along with my DD's. I have thousands of them. It kept me from thinking too much during the games. The only other dad I spoke to regularly was the other main pitcher on the team. I tried to keep any comments to myself or the wife.
 
Feb 26, 2010
27
3
West Chicago Il
I run into a lot of parents who only want their girls to play division 1 ball. First off not many girl's can come out of high school and start for a division 1 school. So if they were a star at their high school could they handle the older girls telling them to get them some water and carry their equipment bag? A lot of the parents that have girl's who go to division 1 schools are not getting any money or very little and if you check the stats many of those girls don't play or just pinch hit once a week. This would not be any fun at all.
I coach and instruct girl's who do go on and play college ball. My advice is first go to a school that offers your major and if you want to play softball don't forget to check out Division 2 and 3 schools. If you can play 3 or 4 yrs and get your degree you have done something a lot of girl's could only dream of. I have two girls I have trained one at a division 2 school and the other one at a division 3. Played all 4 yrs had great stats and a blast. I believed that wouldn't have happened at a Division 1 school. I also know there are girl's who did go on at a division 1 school and didn't play their first yr or 2nd yr ended up quitting or transferring to a smaller school, which a lot of parents wouldn't tell you that.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
My DD played two years at a juco. She got a lot of playing time and some great coaching. She then transferred to a D1 school and became a decent D1 pitcher. But, if she had gone to a D1 school right off the bat, I doubt she would have done as well.
 
May 7, 2008
8,506
48
Tucson
Here is a list of all of the D1 programs. NFCA.ORG You will see that there are D1 schools that you have heard of and then there are D1 schools that you aren't familiar with. I think when most of us say D1, we are thinking AZ., UCLA, etc., but there are a lot more than that.

There are more softball programs at the college level, than there are athletes to fill the slots. But, it means moving and living where you can find the opening. Heck, there are 4 college teams in Springfield, IL., alone.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
It isn't that hard to get recruited out a Juco *IF* the player performed well and the team performs well. Parents have to pay attention to the team. E.g., playing baseball for the Wabash Valley Warriors in Mt. Carmel, Illinois means not just college, but possibly going pro after 2 years. Players signed out of WVCC

Juco coaches are paid to win, and to win they need good players. To get good players, they have to get scholarships for the players after two years. So, if a player performs well, the Juco coach will bend over backwards to get the player a scholarship.

My DD's juco coach (Kathy Rodolph, now an NMSU, who is taking the Aggies to the NCAA Regionals this year) was very helpful in getting my DD recruited, and even had a backup plan in place. Kathy got scholarships for most of the starters on that team. The pitchers went D1, the outfielders and infielders went mostly D2. One kid ended up playing pro ball. Kathy is a very tough coach, but absolutely true to her word.
 
Last edited:
Oct 19, 2009
1,827
0
We had a basketball meeting after work yesterday and this young lady who I did not know was there after the meeting I asked my daughter who she was, thinking she may be a new player.

My daughter advised she was completing her second year in college and that she had a basketball scholarship in a DII school, and she quit after the season and started coming to their practice because she loved basketball and the coach allowed her to come to the workouts and practice with the HS team so she could still get some time on the court. Daughters HS basketball teams practice and scrimmage every morning before school starts.

I asked why did she quit, and was advised she was a premed student and basketball and premed was more than she could handle and she had to quit one or the other. My daughter advised she was 19 and would be 20 in August and her mother was a doctor’s assistant at a local clinic in town.
 

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