High School softball will remind you why TitleIX is important

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marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
Talking to many people who have been around high school sports WAY longer than I have, all said that the situation is WAY better than it used to be - in fact many said it is extraordinary how far it has come even though a lot more work needs to be done.

My DD's school is lucky - they are not quite on even par with the baseball team, but in terms of equal opportunity/similar facilities/etc there really is minimal differences. For all the programs the school runs I have no doubt they would pass a TitleIX audit with out any issues...

Of all our opponents, I would say 4 or 5 other programs were in similar situations.


Here are some of the things I saw this season:

- 3 schools played and practiced off campus at city fields while baseball had on campus (and updated) facilities. In fairness, in 2 of these cases these are older schools with limited space based on decisions probably made in the 60's or 70;s. The other school has no excuse

- At most schools it was easy to find the softball field... it was in the corner of the school furthest away from anything. Just keep walk away from everything else

- We had to play at 4pm at two schools because they don't have lights... unlike the baseball fields which are lit up like it is daylight and this was still better than...

- one school has lights but they haven't worked for several years officially because of 'funding' but really because baseball doesn't like the girls playing or practicing at the same time they are doing things

- One school has for baseball what amounts to a minor league facility on campus with sponsors, hall of fame billboards, stands down both lines, all new equipment with a storage shed, new lockers,scoreboards and a lot of other great things... softball is right next to it with no stands, uncovered dugouts and half a shipping container for storage. And the outfield is a mess. I actually hesitate to call it a softball field. It was like baseball was taunting softball.

- 3 schools require you to off-road to the softball field parking

- Two outfield fences backed on to the baseball fences so were... uneven. One actually bowed in to follow the baseball CF fence. So it was probably200' down both lines and to CLF and LCRF... but about 170' in center field as it came in.

- One school had to have a security guard drive out to the field when the game finished in his car so he could use his headlights to light up a way out. We were so far in the corner of the school that there was a 600 yard walk in complete dark back to civilization and no lights or defined paths to get there. Sorry - that is slightly wrong - you could see on the way in because the baseball team was practicing, but they had finished before the game was over and they turned the lights off when they were done. I mean it was PITCH black walking back

- One field was basically a large open field where they have dug out circles to put bases in and put in clay and a backstop fence. Everything else was grass and they put up a temp fence to play.

- I would say well over 50% of the infields were not up to standard (especially when compared to the baseball field). Outfields were mostly ok, though one was very,, ah.. hilly might be the best way to describe it.

- Several schools you had to walk how ever far it was to the baseball or football field for restroom facilities. Which on one occasion were locked because baseball wasn't playing or practicing and the softball coach couldn't be trusted with a key.

I am sure I am missing many things - these were some of the things that stood out.
 
Last edited:
Mar 29, 2017
155
18
Its really a shame the neglect that softball gets.

At our school the JH V and JV and HS JV use the same field for games. The field itself isn't that bad, the backstop is just a back stop. There is no fencing in front of the benches the players sit on. Picture about 4 sections of fence, 2 straight across behind the plate and then 1 on either side on an angle. That's it. The benches are moveable. No stands or bleachers what so ever. I told the coach I would use that field for tee ball and that's about it. Seen many girls scramble on hard hit foul balls that slam into the bench were they were just sitting. Thankfully they were paying attention. No outfield fence. No score board.

The HS V field is ok, but it has bleachers, a small set of about 5 rows maybe 10ft long on the visitor side only. No Fence in the outfield, but there are nice dugouts and a fence on sides. They also have a pretty nice sized room for equipment. Really all this field would need is bleachers on the home side and a outfield fence. We have a score board, but its hanging on the stands for the football field, so its pretty far away, would be nice if it was a little closer, or bigger but its not bad.

Baseball has a completely fenced in field. Both game field and practice field. Nice fields, nice dugouts, huge scoreboard.

Played at one school where the bathrooms were locked and where at the football field, pretty far walk. One school you had to go inside the school, took my wife about 15 minutes to walk to the school, find bathroom and walk back. Multiple others had no bathrooms remotely close.

Concession stands were open for track meets or other events, but as soon as track meet was over, stand closed. Even though softball game was still going on.

2nd on the ridiculous parking.

Oh yeah, None of the fields have lights, baseball or softball.

Only had one jersey for uniforms also.
 
Last edited:
Jul 19, 2014
2,390
48
Madison, WI
The local Little League shares the softball fields with two local high schools. Because of that, the fields are not as bad as they would be otherwise.

Baseball has lights, scoreboard, fences, etc. The Little League baseball fields have scoreboards as well, and some have lights. (Girls use the LL baseball fields in the fall).

This year, because of fundraising by the local little league, there is, for the first time ever, a scoreboard for the Varsity field, and a nice one at that. The Varsity field has a fence, but not the JV field. JV field is also a bit funky with the drainage.

I once looked the unofficial records (I am not sure if there are any official records). For many years, ALL the HR hit were in-the-park, because until the days of Title IX, NONE of the HS fields in the state had fences, so that made it hard to hit a ball over the fence.

Some of the softball fields in the suburbs are really nice, though. It's great to see my DD 3 play on a field with a fence and a scoreboard.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
Our team last year practiced at a school field. It was way down back behind the school, behind the track, behind everything. It was not maintained at all from what I could tell - our coach would often drag the fields himself and cut the grass. There were no bathrooms and no lights. The dugouts were a mess.
 
Jun 14, 2016
270
0
My DD's high school field isn't too bad after reading some of this. It has a fence and scoreboard. The home dugout was redone this year so it's actually pretty nice now. However we still have no lights while the baseball field right next to us does. We have to walk to the bathrooms by the baseball field but it's not too far. We have been complaining about not having lights but I guess it could be far worse.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
Filing a Title IX complaint with the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is an easy process. There are no costs, you don’t need an attorney and you can file online.

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/howto.html?src=rt

It’s a lengthy process and you need to document EVERYTHING to supply to the investigator. DD’s HS softball team practiced and played at a city park with no amenities while baseball had a field on campus with all the works. It took six years, but now the girls have new varsity and JV fields with a scoreboard, dugouts, proper fencing etc.
 
Feb 20, 2015
643
0
illinois
DD's high school coach started a "junior" ______program several years ago, when DD was around 10 or so. A big group of parents from those original couple of teams have volunteered time and done a lot of work on our high school softball field. Back then, it had old ratty, rusted fencing for backstops and fences next to the dugouts. Dugouts were old block walls. Grass in outfield areas was mostly weeds. Dirt was just that...dirt. No bleachers at all. No scoreboard. With the coordination of the HC, and lots of time put in by us volunteer parents, and a few donations by the city the field has been turned into a field that the girls can be proud to call home.
Scoreboard money donated by the "booster club" put up a new scoreboard a couple years back. Dugouts have been powerwashed and stipped down and repainted. Fencing has all been repainted and now has mesh netting on it, and the yellow safety topping on it. Field has been transformed with lots and lots of the kitty litter type dirt that dries quickly. Lots of weed killer, and grass seed. General landscaping etc. City donated bleachers, which we painted and made look nice. Trailer donated and rehabbed and turned into a concession stand. I know I am rambling now, but the transformation is remarkable.
 

obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
0
Boston, MA
Filing a Title IX complaint with the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is an easy process. There are no costs, you don’t need an attorney and you can file online.

thanks! my DD will not benefit from it but future girls will, and maybe it will help the softball program at the same time!
 

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