Alabama high school softball "outside participation rule"

[smddad]

I just don't get how some are against these types of rules. When in the world would you find time, and the energy, to do both? From mid March to mid May we play 50 games, and that's varsity alone. Non-game days, we're practicing 2-3 hours. I love ball probably more than most, but I couldn't imagine running our HS schedule and a travel at the same time.

Here in WA they are not allowed to play in more than 20 games of regular season HS ball. If a player does, they are ineligible for the district and state tournaments.

If it were up to me, I would tell the tournament ball players to forget about HS ball and run track instead. At least that way you know their HS coach isn't going to mess up what you spent the last 6 months working on. Plus, they work on their speed and endurance.

 

[riseball]

Here in WA they are not allowed to play in more than 20 games of regular season HS ball. If a player does, they are ineligible for the district and state tournaments.

If it were up to me, I would tell the tournament ball players to forget about HS ball and run track instead. At least that way you know their HS coach isn't going to mess up what you spent the last 6 months working on. Plus, they work on their speed and endurance.

Have gotten quite a few TB players to pass on HS softball and do something, anything else and the results have been significant. The better TB players are better off doing nothing than dumbing down their game for the benefit of everyone else.

 

[fastpitch]

I think for the majority it only affects those who are not yet in HS and in a state that allows 6th,7th,8th graders to play on the HS team. Some freshmen playing 14u also. 12u/14u are pretty much the only TB tournaments of any real quality available during the HS season in most areas with this type of rule.

While I don't really like the rule as it seems to overstep boundaries as to what people do with their personal time, I think it does protect kids from potential overuse injuries. In this day and age where everyone is pushing their kids in a "Race to Nowhere." (Like the documentary.) It makes the decision for parents/players. If you want to play HS softball (or whatever sport) don't play anything else or be ineligible. Does it suck for those players who have a bad HS team/coach/etc? Yes. For those players, then you have to choose what is important to them. For those who are lucky to be in an ok or good program, then this rule shouldn't affect you too much.

 

[Cannonball]

Have gotten quite a few TB players to pass on HS softball and do something, anything else and the results have been significant. The better TB players are better off doing nothing than dumbing down their game for the benefit of everyone else.

... and how would you know this? So, you went to HS players and told them that representing their school, community etc. was not important and that there was nothing to gain. So, they missed out on a different kind of experience in sports that others really enjoy. Ten, fifteen, or twenty years from now, at high school reunions the other girls will be talking about their senior years of HS softball and these players won't have that experience. Just yesterday, a teammate sent me an email asking for me to set aside a weekend so that we can pick up our HS coach who is now 80 and take him out to lunch. I haven't talked to this teammate in 25 years and yet, our experience was so good that he contacted me with this idea. Great news you have convinced these young ones to give this up. It will make room for those who want this experience and so, I applaud you for it.

 

[riseball]

...While I don't really like the rule as it seems to overstep boundaries as to what people do with their personal time, I think it does protect kids from potential overuse injuries. In this day and age where everyone is pushing their kids in a "Race to Nowhere." (Like the documentary.) It makes the decision for parents/players...

So where does this end? As stated in a previous post their DD will be excused to seek medical care without the knowledge much less the permission of the parent. As parents what other decisions are you willing to defer to the school on the loose premise that is for the collective good?

 

[riseball]

... and how would you know this? So, you went to HS players and told them that representing their school, community etc. was not important and that there was nothing to gain. So, they missed out on a different kind of experience in sports that others really enjoy. Ten, fifteen, or twenty years from now, at high school reunions the other girls will be talking about their senior years of HS softball and these players won't have that experience. Just yesterday, a teammate sent me an email asking for me to set aside a weekend so that we can pick up our HS coach who is now 80 and take him out to lunch. I haven't talked to this teammate in 25 years and yet, our experience was so good that he contacted me with this idea. Great news you have convinced these young ones to give this up. It will make room for those who want this experience and so, I applaud you for it.

The TB players I am referring to played or will play college ball. For some High School may be the pinnacle of athletic and social experience and playing High School ball is a great experience and a life long memory. Others move on to the next level and never look back. As I reconnect with these players who now have professional careers and families of their own the significant softball memories are of their college careers, not what they did or did not do in High School. There is something to be said for having goals beyond High School and doing what is best for the long term. To your point it is better for an elite player to make way for a player that will not play at the next level so they may have that High School memory. For the college bound player they need to ask themselves if playing HS ball is the highest and best use of their time. If not then they may need to do something else.

 

[Cannonball]

Our experiences are absolutely 180 degree opposites. My dd has a plaque in the Trophy Case for 1st Team All State. She has all of her No Hitter balls displayed. She has her ESPN Award displayed. On the walls as you enter the receiving area outside the gym are all of the plaques for Conference Championships and Regional/Sectional Championships. My dd pitched them to 3 regional and sectional championship titles. She pitched every conference championship game for 4 years. You know what, she is not alone. There are 5 First Team All State players that have their pictures and records displayed as well. Every girl in our town knows my daughter if they go to basketball games because of her picture and her accomplishments. The friendships have been solid throughout the years with her teammates. DD has a prom picture with all of her teammates decked out but with their gloves and bats. It covers a wall and cost a few hundred dollars to get made. So, again, our experiences are 100% different.

 

[riseball]

Sounds like she had a wonderful High School experience. I hope that her career in college is just as rewarding.

I believe that High School experiences differ greatly depending on the size of the school and the surrounding community. In smaller towns where everybody knows everybody the High School experience is probably held in higher regard. We live in a large metro area with well over 1M people. Within 5 miles of us are 3 High Schools with over 3,000 students. When my last DD graduated there were over 800 in her graduating class. Her end game go to college, play at a high level, for a competitive program. High School was a means to an end and for her could not be over soon enough.

 

[Cannonball]

... and to be fair, we are a small town.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Sounds like she had a wonderful High School experience. I hope that her career in college is just as rewarding.

I believe that High School experiences differ greatly depending on the size of the school and the surrounding community. In smaller towns where everybody knows everybody the High School experience is probably held in higher regard. We live in a large metro area with well over 1M people. Within 5 miles of us are 3 High Schools with over 3,000 students. When my last DD graduated there were over 800 in her graduating class. Her end game go to college, play at a high level, for a competitive program. High School was a means to an end and for her could not be over soon enough.

To be equally as fair, I grew up and played HS BB in a large metro area, about a million too. I was lucky to play for a good program, not sure of their budget back then, but there was an article in the paper last year it's $70,000 now. It was a good experience that I enjoyed.

We now live 20 miles north in a small small town, think it is 5500 now. It is a softball nest. They have 2 REAL NICE softball complexes with 8 fields. They also have 2 other single softball fields. More softball fields than I've ever seen in one " town". The neon signs outside Mcdonalds, Sonic, Dairy Queen don't flash up meal deals...........they flash HS sport schedules, outcomes, and key players accomplishments.

Everyone's HS experience is and will never be the same, I'm glad my DD had a good one.