Fall Softball - How is it done?

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Feb 12, 2014
648
43
We're looking at our 8th cancellation/postponement so far in our HS season here in Ohio. We've played two games in temps below 40 and the next three days look really bad. We'll either have to cancel or play in temperatures that simply should not be acceptable for games.

I've long been an advocate for flipping the high school volleyball and softball seasons so that softball can be played in the fall. There are some who argue this can't be done because of travel ball nationals and the need to get the season completed by the end of October at the latest.

So, for those of you who play fall softball in your state, I am curious how you do it. When is the first day of team practice, when are the first games played, when do the state playoffs end?
 
May 15, 2014
135
16
Atlanta
In Georgia we play in the fall. Practice starts usually the 1st week of school which is the 1st week of August. The regular season ends by the beginning of October with state championships around mid-late October.
 
Feb 12, 2014
648
43
In Georgia we play in the fall. Practice starts usually the 1st week of school which is the 1st week of August. The regular season ends by the beginning of October with state championships around mid-late October.

Do the girls who play travel ball ever run into issues with late Nationals?
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
I’m curious how you do it too.

Our softball season in Illinois is approximately 14 weeks. If you start it at the same time volleyball starts here, (August 8th in 2018), half of our state finals would be the first week of November and the bigger schools would have state finals the second week of November. (Which is also the peak of the whitetail deer rut in Illinois btw, lol).

By doing fall softball here, you start in good weather and move toward bad weather. Your state finals happen after frost/freezing conditions. You have a chance of having snow in the north.

By doing spring softball, you start in “bad” weather in theory and move toward good weather. Again in theory. So... what happens is non-conference games are scheduled up front and if they get cancelled, no big deal. In fall, you would have to play some of the most important conference games right out of the gate. And remember, most years are not like this one. We usually have better weather by now.

By doing fall softball you also miss a prime D1 recruiting period. In Illinois, we can’t have contact with travel teams during hs season and I don’t see that changing.

Here is the D1 recruiting calendar: https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2017-18DIREC_SoftballRecruitingCalendar_20170912.pdf

I think there are real recruiting advantages for student athletes in states whose high school sports seasons coincide with the respective college sports seasons. I say play high school softball while the college coaches are busy playing their season.
 
Last edited:
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
MS is in Fall, HS in spring.

MS started a few weeks before school did.

MS had playoffs and it was a crap shoot towards the end.
 
Nov 29, 2009
2,975
83
We're looking at our 8th cancellation/postponement so far in our HS season here in Ohio. We've played two games in temps below 40 and the next three days look really bad. We'll either have to cancel or play in temperatures that simply should not be acceptable for games.

I've long been an advocate for flipping the high school volleyball and softball seasons so that softball can be played in the fall. There are some who argue this can't be done because of travel ball nationals and the need to get the season completed by the end of October at the latest.

So, for those of you who play fall softball in your state, I am curious how you do it. When is the first day of team practice, when are the first games played, when do the state playoffs end?


It won't happen. I don't see the NCAA switching their schedules. Fall is a prime recruiting time for college coaches. Given the huge disparity in talent levels, the coaches would not be interested in watching many HS games. They want to see players competing against travel level competition. The warm weather states would not agree to it. They gain nothing from the move. With the current NCAA recruiting calendar they have an advantage over the cold weather states. There is no upside for them.

Volleyball would have to move and I don't see them wanting to do so for similar reasons.

While HS ball can feel important. In the overall recruiting picture it is not. This spring has been very frustrating for HS ball. Even some MLB games have been cancelled due to the cold. The switching topic comes up every time there is a bad spring. Nothing new. Just the date changed.

You would need an overwhelming benefit for everyone and there's none I can fathom.
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
We should have played 18 games by now. Despite some very aggressive rescheduling, (hat tip to our hs coach and A.D.), we have only played 10.

It’s a bummer but it is what it is.
 
Sep 21, 2017
230
43
PA
We should have played 18 games by now. Despite some very aggressive rescheduling, (hat tip to our hs coach and A.D.), we have only played 10.

It’s a bummer but it is what it is.

One of the things I had to get used to, when moving to PA from IL, was the difference in games allowed. Going from 35 to 20 was a big shock! Finding room for games this Spring is tough enough with 20, trying to find room to get 35 in would be brutal.
 
Apr 24, 2017
203
28
Georgia
Do the girls who play travel ball ever run into issues with late Nationals?

Yes, but it is something we know we are going to deal with. We already miss the first week of school for nationals here, as we start August 1st most years. We are in Georgia also and play FP in the fall (slowpitch is played in the spring here). Our school has the same schedule: first official practice is the first week of school, and regular season runs through the first week of October. Regionals and State follow, finish up middle to end of October. Our tryouts are the first full week of May, and we have been playing travel ball since February here. My understanding is the girls can still practice with their travel ball teams in the fall during school ball, and once state is done we go to several showcases and tournaments. Usually about four tourneys/showcases for the TB team in the fall. We hit the big showcases during the summer for exposure, and then a few more in the fall as allowed. I personally really like the schedule we have. It seems like we have very few cancellations/reschedules for school ball. Our spring TB tournaments are another subject, of course. We have had a ton that have been cancelled for weather around here. So choose your poison! Either TB tourneys or school ball games are going to be cancelled in the spring.
 

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