- Aug 21, 2008
- 2,393
- 113
I'm not sure why you think the "why" is illogical. You asked why some college bios list HS accomplishments, and I'm telling you those are the only ones they can list. There's no alternative. I am not sure what part of that confuses you??? If I kid could list "I was Most Valuable Player at PGF 18u" then I'm sure they would. If they could list "PGF 18U Nationals All tournament team" then they'd list that. But they can't list those things because the tournaments don't offer them. Therefore, a kid has no choice but to list HS accomplishments.Not taking anything personal...just having a discussion. What you say about the "why" isn't logical..."PGF doesn't give out individual awards, so college player bios have to include HS awards, including detailed but skewed stats doctored by a scorekeeping dad" (paraphrasing)
What if a kid didn't play for a TB team that you thought was up to your standard, didn't go to the right "nationals", but did really well in a competitive HS program...they do exist despite your own apparent bias. Would you just shut them out?
PS...Little Sally is going to be playing somewhere, regardless of where her 19 perfect games happened.
Of the scenario you asked, yes, I think I'd have serious questions about a kid who didn't play travel ball. And any kid in the description you mentioned could easily be overlooked by playing HS only. I think there's a TREMENDOUS amount of talented players, probably some of the most talented athletes in the country, that don't play travel ball because of lack of resources. And many of those kids play for inner city schools that have next to nothing for school softball programs. Yes, unfortunately, those kids fall through the cracks. Yes, little Sally might player somewhere but her choices will be severely limited. SEVERELY.
It's funny when you see the WCWS, it seems 9/10 times they interview the parents of a player in the game, the father is a former MLB, NFL, or some other with extraordinary resources. The majority of players in the WCWS play for a hand full of travel teams. Oklahoma has some diversity in where they get their players, schools like Texas draw from many clubs but have CLOSE relationships with the Texas Bombers. A school like JMU probably has close relationships with a regional club, maybe the Virginia Shamrocks or Legends.