Playing D1 Softball not all its cracked up to be

chinamigarden said:

Thanks Steve, I look forward to more posts from you and your perspective.

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I was on lunch hour when I posted. I went back and added a couple of things to quantify, qualify some issues.

The fact that it is hard to do is what makes it great. Some embrace that notion... Some do not and just say that it is too hard.

You have to love it. The hours spent training and practicing should fly by like minutes because of how locked in you are to getting better and better and better at something you love.

Amy in AZ. said:

I have a friend whose DD is at a major D1 in TX. He says that is not so much the team or the game, but a group of hangers on that latched on to his DD. He talks to me about the world of softball players. It is so different than baseball.

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Amy that was interesting. Can you elaborate about all elements of your post?

Jim said:

The fact that it is hard to do is what makes it great. Some embrace that notion... Some do not and just say that it is too hard.

You have to love it. The hours spent training and practicing should fly by like minutes because of how locked in you are to getting better and better and better at something you love.

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For most kids they are in college to get educated. Softball may be the means to that end, but when the softball gets in the way of your education. Its not a matter of what you love, but what you have to do. Playing softball and getting a degree that allows you to work at your pick of Dick's sporting goods or Dunhams may sound great to some (no offense to retail employees) but if what the kid wants to do is be a doctor. Dropping out of softball is not because they don't love it, its because they are planning for the rest of their life.

chinamigarden said:

For most kids they are in college to get educated. Softball may be the means to that end, but when the softball gets in the way of your education. Its not a matter of what you love, but what you have to do. Playing softball and getting a degree that allows you to work at your pick of Dick's sporting goods or Dunhams may sound great to some (no offense to retail employees) but if what the kid wants to do is be a doctor. Dropping out of softball is not because they don't love it, its because they are planning for the rest of their life.

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Very adult and responsible insight Chinamigarden!

True, plus if you kid wants to go into sa field like nursing, they will find it is impossible to play softball in college.

chinamigarden said:

For most kids they are in college to get educated. Softball may be the means to that end, but when the softball gets in the way of your education. Its not a matter of what you love, but what you have to do. Playing softball and getting a degree that allows you to work at your pick of Dick's sporting goods or Dunhams may sound great to some (no offense to retail employees) but if what the kid wants to do is be a doctor. Dropping out of softball is not because they don't love it, its because they are planning for the rest of their life.

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Well said and I agree. I was speaking to those who choose not to play for reasons other than their major. Some just complain because it's hard to do and maybe they are not the starting shortstop. So they quit. I also know many people that played D1 athletics that were unbelievable students and eventually went into very lucrative careers outside of sports. (They didn't end up at Dick's)

If they want to be a doctor, they have to love that as well. They have to embrace the unbelievable challenges of that profession. I guess my statement can be applied to any endeavor that is difficult.

Some girls might want to play softball to compete? Its not always just a means to get an education. The education will always be there waiting for you, but how many chances in your life do you get to be part of a National Championship team?

The weighting of academics is inversely proportional to the level of softball competition. You dont go play for a national champion contender school if you want to get a difficult degree in 4 yrs. You go play for that school because you want to compete. If you want to get that degree in 4 yrs, you go play for a less competitive program.

We like to say its all about getting the education, and it is for maybe 90%. But for the other 10%, its all about playing softball really, and getting the education on the side.

Blasphemy, I know.

I would have to agree on one thing said earlier: getting a degree and playing D1 aren't mutually exclusive. I too had the dream of playing D1 softball and getting a degree, knowing full well my education was more important. Yes, I gave up on my dream of playing at Stanford, because of the extra long hours, mandatory tutoring, and lots of games on the road. But, I did get the chance to graduate from a great engineering school and still make 3 appearances in D1 regionals. It is quite possible to have both.

Yes, it was hard work, but trying to balance softball, school, and a social life was just as hard before college. There are lots of competitive softball schools out there that value education very highly. The coaches should be very up front about this during the recruiting process, at least that's what I found to be true 90% of the time. My college softball experience was no different then I had expected or wanted. I still got to play a competitive game while making life long friends and getting the degree I always wanted. Isn't that what college is all about? The most important thing to do before heading down that path is for the player to know what kind of balance they are looking for between softball, school, and social life. If they are honest with themselves and their potential coach (as in before the signing), it usually ends up being the time of their life.

I know this particular thread has laid dormant for awhile, but it caught my attention earlier and I was sincerely disheartened by the notion that Division I softball coaches so singularly have their eye on the prize. So I wanted to offer my opinion, for what it's worth.

WIN BABY WIN.

I am a Division I coach. Of course we play to win. Of course we practice to prepare to play to win. But this is not all we do at the Division I level. In-season, I spend nearly 30-40 hours a week with my players. Yes, practice and games takes up the largest percentage of that time, but several hours a week are spent on buses and in restaurants and in hotel lobbies. I know their quirks, I know their favorite music, I know when they're having an awful day and when their excellent day will be the catalyst to inspire the good moods of their teammates. I have read their senior theses. I have watched them declare a major and know exactly what they want to do with their life...and then sat patiently and listened to them change their mind. I know their parents and their siblings and their boyfriends and their best friends. I teach our first and third defenses by talking about it, and then drawing it, and then doing it, because even if that's tedious, I know my players, and I know some are visual, some auditory and some just need to throw it around. I have seen them cry. I have watched them fail and succeed. And I have been there as they've grown.

We come together everyday to play softball. To work. To improve. To win. But certainly not at all costs. Just because we coach at a very competitive level, doesn't mean we lose sight of the fact that the people we work with are just that; people, and not expendable athletes to bolster the number in our win column.

I am a softball coach. And I teach softball skills to my team. But I don't coach softball. I coach people who play softball. So while winning is the destination, our journey along the way entails far more than swinging a bat.