covid and the future of softball and sports for our youth

[ian]

Im not saying your wrong for your thoughts. I’m saying you are on the wrong forum to discuss them.

I’m not a mod but I know these types of posts get threads locked. Sorry that you don’t understand that.

Mods do a good job of letting adults talk it out on this forum. When some pansy can't justify their position and runs to the mods with a whiney complaint, mods will step in.

The needless shut downs have hurt a lot of businesses. No softball means no discuss softball. That sucks.

 

[_MIA_]

 

[4 girl's dad]

Mods do a good job of letting adults talk it out on this forum. When some pansy can't justify their position and runs to the mods with a whiney complaint, mods will step in.

The needless shut downs have hurt a lot of businesses. No softball means no discuss softball. That sucks.

I tend To like the discussions and don’t always agree with the lockouts but Ive been here long enough to know it doesnt take much and then poof, locked or deleted thread. That’s my point. And be civil if possible. We’re all grown up’s for the most part.

 

[eagle6]

To get it back on the softball track, I think it is wrong to give all the college students extra years of eligibility. If it was done for fairness, who is it fair for? Fair is that everyone is affected in the same way. That would be that no one gets another year. High schoolers and middle schoolers dont get an extra year. This will negatively affect far more people than it will positively affect. The student athletes were still able to get their education and according to my college kid, the on-line stuff last spring was crazy easy. This decision was made more as a means for the ncaa to look like they care about the athletes' feelings. Losing a season sucks, but in the grand scheme of people losing jobs, homes, and, most importantly, lives, it is not the end of the world. Fair is not about making people feel better or happy. It is about things being equal. Extra eligibility is not fair or equal.

 

[ANNASDAD]

To get it back on the softball track, I think it is wrong to give all the college students extra years of eligibility. If it was done for fairness, who is it fair for? Fair is that everyone is affected in the same way. That would be that no one gets another year. High schoolers and middle schoolers dont get an extra year. This will negatively affect far more people than it will positively affect. The student athletes were still able to get their education and according to my college kid, the on-line stuff last spring was crazy easy. This decision was made more as a means for the ncaa to look like they care about the athletes' feelings. Losing a season sucks, but in the grand scheme of people losing jobs, homes, and, most importantly, lives, it is not the end of the world. Fair is not about making people feel better or happy. It is about things being equal. Extra eligibility is not fair or equal.

A big yes to this entire post!!

 

[BrianTx01]

We are still playing in Texas and will continue to do so as long as the governor allows us to. Several local officials have requested the governor allow them to cancel youth sports but so far as he not indicated he is willing to do so.

The aforementioned rec downfall has been going on around here long before Covid. The proliferation of Class C teams combined with the local rec associations banning select players has put a much larger dent in numbers than Covid. Those rec leagues that are doing well are the ones that welcome select players and play games during the week.

 

[Cannonball]

Life is comprised of peaks and valleys. You can't get too high when you are experiencing a peak and you can't get too low when experiencing a valley. What we term "normal" is still a possibility and I believe we will return to normal. Per college, yes there will be a log jam at various schools. However, the possibility for someone to play professionally is not great or even good. There are many players who really want the softball experience but are there for an education and they know that the end goal is to start a job or career. They will weigh those things and the instant job opportunities open up, they will move on to greener pastures. JMHO!

 

[FP26]

To get it back on the softball track, I think it is wrong to give all the college students extra years of eligibility. If it was done for fairness, who is it fair for? Fair is that everyone is affected in the same way. That would be that no one gets another year. High schoolers and middle schoolers dont get an extra year. This will negatively affect far more people than it will positively affect. The student athletes were still able to get their education and according to my college kid, the on-line stuff last spring was crazy easy. This decision was made more as a means for the ncaa to look like they care about the athletes' feelings. Losing a season sucks, but in the grand scheme of people losing jobs, homes, and, most importantly, lives, it is not the end of the world. Fair is not about making people feel better or happy. It is about things being equal. Extra eligibility is not fair or equal.

My understanding is that college permits each person to play 4 years. If they miss a year due to injury, they can redshirt. That allows them to become that 5th year senior we hear about sometimes. I see covid as similar, only that entire teams/conferences/sports red shirted for the year (in a way). I'm not sure there is anything preventing athletes to do the same thing in high school, but I'm not positive about that. Couldn't a student voluntarily return to high school for another year in order to play that year they missed? No, I'm not suggesting anyone do that, but I think high school has the same 4 year eligibility rule, and that would be the only way to complete that year.

In regards to fairness... There are a lot of rules in and out of sports that I don't think are fair. But they are still rules. In my opinion, as long as the rule grants 4 years of eligibility, each athlete should have the opportunity to complete 4 years of eligibility. Otherwise, the NCAA needs to change the rule. I'm not sure how many of you remember Chris Weinke. If I remember his story correctly, he was drafted by the Blue Jays to play baseball. But then later decided to attend college. He ultimately became the QB at Florida State at the age of 26 or 27.

So, in summary, I do not see it as extra years of eligibility, and honestly would not be in favor of extra years. However, I am in favor of allowing each person to play the four years of eligibility that the rules allow for.

 

[whiporee]

We are still playing in Texas and will continue to do so as long as the governor allows us to. Several local officials have requested the governor allow them to cancel youth sports but so far as he not indicated he is willing to do so.

The aforementioned rec downfall has been going on around here long before Covid. The proliferation of Class C teams combined with the local rec associations banning select players has put a much larger dent in numbers than Covid. Those rec leagues that are doing well are the ones that welcome select players and play games during the week.

i think there's a lot to that. The C teams are killing rec, but the overall popularity of the sport is hurting rec leagues, too. Girls see games on TV and want to be better than they can get with a practice and a game a week. Especially when they are in areas where there is a TB presence, and some of their friends are playing more competitive ball more often.

I'm curious, though about what you mean about rec leagues banning select players? How has that worked?

When i wrote above about youth sports being screwed, i was probably wrong. I think what will happen is they'll be damaged for a few years because tournaments and practices are going to be at the whim (not the right word but I can't think of a a less derogatory one. I'm open to suggestions) of states and municipalities, which will make seasons frustrating for everyone involved. But I think they'll play next spring and summer, but it might be a case where a tournament gets cancelled at the last minute because of a spike in positives. That might be enough to drive some families out of it, and also damage the organizations that put tournaments together. Then you'd have team contraction because there won't be as many families willing to arrange their summer of the potential for games, and you'll have tournament contraction because they can't afford to keep planning events they have to cancel. So maybe we'd find another equilibrium, but it would mean fewer tourneys and fewer travel teams.

Which might give the rec programs second life. Maybe.

 

[whiporee]

My understanding is that college permits each person to play 4 years. If they miss a year due to injury, they can redshirt. That allows them to become that 5th year senior we hear about sometimes. I see covid as similar, only that entire teams/conferences/sports red shirted for the year (in a way). I'm not sure there is anything preventing athletes to do the same thing in high school, but I'm not positive about that. Couldn't a student voluntarily return to high school for another year in order to play that year they missed? No, I'm not suggesting anyone do that, but I think high school has the same 4 year eligibility rule, and that would be the only way to complete that year.

In regards to fairness... There are a lot of rules in and out of sports that I don't think are fair. But they are still rules. In my opinion, as long as the rule grants 4 years of eligibility, each athlete should have the opportunity to complete 4 years of eligibility. Otherwise, the NCAA needs to change the rule. I'm not sure how many of you remember Chris Weinke. If I remember his story correctly, he was drafted by the Blue Jays to play baseball. But then later decided to attend college. He ultimately became the QB at Florida State at the age of 26 or 27.

So, in summary, I do not see it as extra years of eligibility, and honestly would not be in favor of extra years. However, I am in favor of allowing each person to play the four years of eligibility that the rules allow for.

NCAA rules give you five years to play four seasons. The fifth year is the redshirt, which means you can be part of the team but not play in games. Sometimes if a kid gets injured, the NCAA will give them a sixth year -- a medical redshirt -- but it's actually pretty rare.

The other part of what you're saying is that a coach designs their program for a certain number of players both at games and practices. Practice times are usually limited by rules, so if a coach has 15 players on her team, she gan give them ll more instruction time than if she has 20. Or 25. So even if we keep extending eligibility, the logistics of these expanding teams will be difficult, too, both at the high school and college level.