High school softball

[Sweetclemens]

Would love to get your opinion. My DD is in 7th grade and wants to play softball in college. We just found out the high school she plans on attending no longer has softball. Is travel ball enough? How important is playing high school ball to get into a good college?


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[quincy]

I would say minimal. I would also say that most the recruiting, if not all, is done through TB. It is a better indication how good a player is.

(Another thing is most TB Teams around here shutdown during the HS Season. You might want to check your area and plan accordingly)

 

[marriard]

Would love to get your opinion. My DD is in 7th grade and wants to play softball in college. We just found out the high school she plans on attending no longer has softball. Is travel ball enough? How important is playing high school ball to get into a good college?


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Travel ball is plenty. HS softball doesn't matter in recruiting.
The only potential issue is that travel for HS ages generally shuts down during the HS season so you need to find something else or find a different option.

That said, most states allow players to play for another school if their desired sport is not available at their school so that might be worth looking into if she really wants to play HS ball.

 

[Sweetclemens]

Thanks. We live in Florida and play softball all year long even during high school softball time…


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[marriard]

Thanks. We live in Florida and play softball all year long even during high school softball time…

Right now you might if you are 14U or below, but once you are 16U/18U there is pretty much no HS travel from Jan to May unless you cross the state border and play for a Georgia team.

 

[uncdrew]

Yup.

Either:

A) Join a different HS team (if possible)
B) Do a different sport for HS during that time
4) Use that time to rest (do weights, conditioning, no softball) so you're good to go the rest of the year

 

[Jeffrey]

We hear this all the time: "HS ball doesn't matter for recruiting." I don't disagree that it matters less, but I imagine it matters to some schools. Doesn't it show a girl can manage being an elite athlete AND a good student? I get why performance in TB matters more because of they higher levels of competition, but couldn't the HS matter too like performing well in the playoffs? I've also heard from coaches that since the pitching might not be as deep in HS you better be a rock star at the plate, or since the hitting isn't as good you better be piling up strikeouts, etc.

So just to add to the OP's question - what if a your school DOES have softball and you choose to not play? Couldn't there be some negatives to that? What if you do play and you stink for one reason or another. (out of position, or nagging injury) Anybody have any actual experience that HS "doesn't matter."

Thanks in advance!

 

[marriard]

We hear this all the time: "HS ball doesn't matter for recruiting." I don't disagree that it matters less, but I imagine it matters to some schools. Doesn't it show a girl can manage being an elite athlete AND a good student? I get why performance in TB matters more because of they higher levels of competition, but couldn't the HS matter too like performing well in the playoffs? I've also heard from coaches that since the pitching might not be as deep in HS you better be a rock star at the plate, or since the hitting isn't as good you better be piling up strikeouts, etc.

I really have never run into a college coach that cares all that much about how you performed in HS softball. If your school does have a team and you DON'T play they may ask why (and you better be able to answer that question) but that is about it.

They will care that you can academically qualify for the school.

 

[mmeece]

We hear this all the time: "HS ball doesn't matter for recruiting." I don't disagree that it matters less, but I imagine it matters to some schools. Doesn't it show a girl can manage being an elite athlete AND a good student? I get why performance in TB matters more because of they higher levels of competition, but couldn't the HS matter too like performing well in the playoffs? I've also heard from coaches that since the pitching might not be as deep in HS you better be a rock star at the plate, or since the hitting isn't as good you better be piling up strikeouts, etc.

So just to add to the OP's question - what if a your school DOES have softball and you choose to not play? Couldn't there be some negatives to that? What if you do play and you stink for one reason or another. (out of position, or nagging injury) Anybody have any actual experience that HS "doesn't matter."

Thanks in advance!

I'll just say that dd's college coach never even asked if she played HS ball during or after recruiting her. When we've spoken to college coaches recruiting our select players HS ball has very rarely been brought up at all and they have never asked for stats.

 

[Eric F]

We hear this all the time: "HS ball doesn't matter for recruiting." I don't disagree that it matters less, but I imagine it matters to some schools. Doesn't it show a girl can manage being an elite athlete AND a good student? I get why performance in TB matters more because of they higher levels of competition, but couldn't the HS matter too like performing well in the playoffs? I've also heard from coaches that since the pitching might not be as deep in HS you better be a rock star at the plate, or since the hitting isn't as good you better be piling up strikeouts, etc.

So just to add to the OP's question - what if a your school DOES have softball and you choose to not play? Couldn't there be some negatives to that? What if you do play and you stink for one reason or another. (out of position, or nagging injury) Anybody have any actual experience that HS "doesn't matter."

Thanks in advance!

Generalizations about HS softball tend to be followed by lots of contrary stories. Not all HS softball is created equal. Just within my DD's league , there are teams that are very competitive and stacked with high-level TB players, and teams that are terrible and have zero TB players. In my involvement over the past couple of years with recruiting, not one college coach has asked about the HS performance of a player.

As for choosing not to play, I know of 2 girls in particular that are high-level TB players, but opted out of HS softball due to different reasons. Both opted to play other HS sports during the softball season. Both recently signed their NLI to play softball at D1 schools.