High School Softball Hierarchy

[CoachV]

I can read the writing on the wall and expect that next Spring when my DD is a freshman in high school, I will be asked to coach. I will do it if she's on the freshman team and if the school NEEDS a coach. I'd much rather be an assistant and not have to deal with the politics I hear about so often.

Here is my question; How does the structure of a high school program affect the Freshman and JV teams? Are JV and Freshman teams simply feeders for the Varsity team? Will the two teams above me take all my best players and leave me with a freshman/rec team?

I want to go into this with my eyes wide open before I were to accept a position.


Thanks.

 

[SBFAMILY]

Each high school is different, but the best are feeders of the varsity. We pick the best players no matter what class and if we need someone during the year they get pulled up. Catcher gets hurt, you pull up the next best player. Next get ready for politics, parents are a real treat in high school. Go to the NFHS site for all the requirements, you can do most of it on line. Finger prints and back ground check and CPR class I would check with your high school . Most take care of that locally.

 

[sluggers]

If the only reason you are coaching is to win games at the JV or freshman level, then do everyone a favor and pass on coaching.

Are JV and Freshman teams simply feeders for the Varsity team?

No...but note the emphasis is on "simply". Do you remember that sports is supposed to be about more than winning? A freshman coach is there to teach the game and teach those intangibles (teamwork, sportsmanship, etc.) people like to talk about.

The freshman team rarely develops players for the Varsity team. Most players on the freshman team will never make the JV team, let alone the varsity team.

We can all be softball snobs about HS softball and talk about how bad the level of play is in softball. But, if your heart doesn't melt when you see the kids try on their school uniforms, then you shouldn't be coaching.

Will the two teams above me take all my best players and leave me with a freshman/rec team?

First, they aren't *your* players, they are the school's players. Second, the kids want to play at the highest level they can attain, and coaching is about helping the kids achieve *their* goals, not *your* goals.

But, yes, the Varsity and JV teams will take the best players, and you will be left with the rest. The players will be all different skill levels--a couple of good players that were overlooked or had a bad tryout, a few marginal players, and a bunch of not-so-good players.

Coaching freshman ball is not about winning a bunch of games. It is seeing how much improvement you can get out of the kids and how much of a sport experience you can create for the kids.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Good points Sluggers. Frankly, I've always preferred to be an rear't coach and teach than be the head coach and have to manage.

 

[CoachV]

So they are not "my" players, but they are the "school's" players and yet they are there to achieve "their" goals. Whose words do we take literal? Yours or mine?

You suggest I should see how much of a sport experience I can create for the kids...that I agree with. I think that to them they would like to win ball games.

 

[JAD]

I would like to suggest meeting with the varsity coach and asking him/her to outline their expectations of the JV and freshmen teams. I would imagine any 'studs' will be pulled up to to the varsity team, so you will probably end up with a low/mid B level team at best. Pitching is probably going to be your biggest issue as the best pitchers will be pulled up. Some schools will let their #3 and #4 varsity pitchers play on the JV team too, but there are limitations on the number of innings or games played in a season, so ask the varsity coach for guidance. Good luck!

 

[chinamigarden]

I am not sure how you can see the writing on the wall that they will want you to coach. Aren't schools required to post the job, then take applications. And isn't the process weighted toward staff members at the school, then staff members in the district and then its opened up to the general public. How can they jump ahead and recruit a parent before they post the job?

 

[Ken Krause]

Most players on the freshman team will never make the JV team, let alone the varsity team.

Sorry, Sluggers, I thoroughly disagree with that statement. Maybe that was the case where your daughter played but it's not the case here in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.

It all depends on the quality of the players at the upper level. A school with a strong varsity team filled with upper classmen is going to take fewer to no freshmen onto varsity. They may not take that many on JV, so the rest play freshman ball. As sophomores, they move to JV or varsity.

That was my own daughter's experience, although it was a bit odd. The JV team was awful and had a bunch of girls who would never make varsity. So the varsity coach decided to keep the freshmen (who were much better) on the freshman level rather than "contaminate" them by pulling them up. Their sophomore year several of those freshmen (including my daughter) were pulled up to varsity, while the JV players remained at JV.

Every school is different and handles things differently.

 

[KCM]

I am a JV assistant coach for the 2nd year and was 5 year head coach in rec. My goal always is to teach the game and improve their skill. As they climb to the higher levels I want them to be the best they can be, not matter if they stay at the little private school I help or move down the road to the big public school. Our staff has been thanked by our varsity coach and the public school coaches, even when we coached at the rec department.

If one of the players on the JV team has a chance to move up we always discuss between coaches, then the parents and the player last. It is not JV against V, it is JV to help V. As adult coaches we must make sure they can physically and mentally handle the move. I had a girl from last year move up this year, I wanted her to stay on JV one more year but her mother made the final decision. She has suffered as a player, took almost half this season for her to build her confidence to play against older and physically stronger girls.

 

[SnocatzDad]

I had the pleasure this spring to help coach our freshman HS team for about three weeks while the regular coach was out with a medical issue. My DD is a senior and I just am a glutton for punishment. I really enjoyed the time despite working with several kids that probably will never make JV as sluggers mentioned. There were a few that with time and work could progress to the Varsity level and as a coach it's your job to help them get there, sell them the hope that it is possible, and make them understand what they need to do to make it happen. The selling hope part isn't hard right now because despite the fact that we have one 8th grader starting Varsity, the three seniors starters (including my DD and the #1 pitcher) on the team were on the freshman team as freshman. We actually had a 9A and 9B team my DD's freshman year and one of the senior starters was on that 9B team.

The real issue for the kids that have no shot is that they can't comprehend that working hard at practice during the season is the tip of the iceberg. In any sport the best are defined by what they do beyond that minimum to make themselves better athletes and improve their skills. Those hours spent by the best build up every year and for some by the time they reach High School they are ready day one to start Varsity and for others there won't be enough time in the day to catch up in three years if that is when they finally choose to start.