DD made HS Varsity... first game Feb 9

[marriard]

Not unexpected, but it is exciting. Your local HS experience may be different, but High School it is a big deal in this area, and more importantly, playing HS is important to my DD and has been a goal of hers since she started playing.

Looking forward to sitting in the bleachers, saying nothing and clapping when they make a good play.

A good day for DD's team as well. We had 8 freshman at various local high schools. 4 made varsity. 4 made JV (at schools where making JV was probably harder than it was for the girls who made varsity at their high schools)

 

[7smom]

Congrats! My daughter had an amazing HS experience. Enjoy every game- it will go fast. We are down to our last two college seasons.

 

[Coach JV]

HS ball means the world to the players, as they can play with friends without the pressure of travel ball.
It means little to college coaches but is great for the families of the players- My DD loved her HS teams.

 

[Il softball fan]

Congrats to your dd. Feb 9th will still be way too cold for sb around here. Can't wait for spring.

 

[55dad]

Congratulations to your DD! That is a huge accomplishment at many schools!

 

[CoogansBluff]

HS ball means the world to the players, as they can play with friends without the pressure of travel ball.
It means little to college coaches but is great for the families of the players- My DD loved her HS teams.

What you're describing is the experience of many, but in some situations, HS ball presents more pressure than travel ball.

As examples, my DD has played at two high schools. As a freshman, she was at a school w/ 30 TB players. As a 9th grader, DD was just happy to be there, but for most of the upperclassmen, they felt more pressure than they'd ever felt in TB because of the depth and balance of players who are used the TB experience of playing all the time and generally playing the position they wanted. But in HS, tryouts were stressful and pressure-packed, and then on varsity, if you struggled in the field or at-bat, you had a lot to lose. You could be a starter one week, then spend weeks on the bench. Keep in mind this was a good but not great HS team, just one with a whole lot of travel players who were accustomed to playing all the time.

On top of all this, the team got in the playoffs, where games actually meant something. In TB, how often does winning and losing really ruin a player's day? On good high school teams, the outcome means more to more people than most TB games.

The next year, DD had to move to a newly opened school. DD was a top player in this lesser program. But, she felt more pressure on that team than in TB because she cared more about what her friends and classmates thought than her TB teammates. She was already secure with her place in travel ball, but in high school, she felt she had something to prove.

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded post, but HS can prove to be a wide range of experiences. A box of chocolates, as it were.

 

[4 girl's dad]

DD2, who has not played since 6th grade LL All Stars, is going to be the varsity catcher as a freshman. (SMALL private school. They had no one else with experience at catcher. She wanted 1B)

Im excited to watch her play again. Even if they dont win a game.


Thanks for starting this thread and good luck to your DD!

 

[YOCOACH]

Congrats! I hope your DD's HS experience is an amazing one for her!

 

[Orange Socks]

What you're describing is the experience of many, but in some situations, HS ball presents more pressure than travel ball.

As examples, my DD has played at two high schools. As a freshman, she was at a school w/ 30 TB players. As a 9th grader, DD was just happy to be there, but for most of the upperclassmen, they felt more pressure than they'd ever felt in TB because of the depth and balance of players who are used the TB experience of playing all the time and generally playing the position they wanted. But in HS, tryouts were stressful and pressure-packed, and then on varsity, if you struggled in the field or at-bat, you had a lot to lose. You could be a starter one week, then spend weeks on the bench. Keep in mind this was a good but not great HS team, just one with a whole lot of travel players who were accustomed to playing all the time.

On top of all this, the team got in the playoffs, where games actually meant something. In TB, how often does winning and losing really ruin a player's day? On good high school teams, the outcome means more to more people than most TB games.

The next year, DD had to move to a newly opened school. DD was a top player in this lesser program. But, she felt more pressure on that team than in TB because she cared more about what her friends and classmates thought than her TB teammates. She was already secure with her place in travel ball, but in high school, she felt she had something to prove.

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded post, but HS can prove to be a wide range of experiences. A box of chocolates, as it were.

My DD's HS team will be VERY lucky to make the playoffs this season with 3-5 TB players on the team. It's more fun for the girls than pressure packed. Those TB players are really the coaches of the team and the real coaches tend to lean on them for advice. This give those girls leadership opportunities that they would not otherwise have on competitive HS team. On the other hand there are the HS programs in our area that tend to churn out playoff runs year after year. Those teams have enough players to field a Varsity and two subvarsity teams and yes it is pressure packed with much more parental politics. Unfortunately, for those teams because they are so good their JV teams tend to mow through the JV teams in their districts that offer no competition. I have seen college committed kids ride the bench on those teams. How frustrating would that be??? A team with 14 seniors that are all committed to play college softball. I would hate to sit in the stands with those parents.

First scrimmage next Tuesday for my DD's team and both of our pitchers are still playing basketball. It should be interesting. I just tell the coaches that we are here to support you and if you need anything just let us know. Wishing everyone a great season!

 

[marriard]

DD2, who has not played since 6th grade LL All Stars, is going to be the varsity catcher as a freshman. (SMALL private school. They had no one else with experience at catcher. She wanted 1B)

Im excited to watch her play again. Even if they dont win a game.


Thanks for starting this thread and good luck to your DD!

That is pretty cool, Good luck to her and her team!

End of week one of practices/tryouts notes:

- It is a big step up in time commitment for the team. With every day team practice, the hours adds up quick.
- The game schedule looks light until you really look especially if you are not deep. DD's team plays the 9th,11th, 13th and 14th and 7 inning games. That is a lot of innings right out of the gate, especially if our second pitcher doesn't come through.

She is enjoying it so far But it is early.