High school tryouts

[Pdiddy]

Seems like folks get hung up on having their DD's play varsity all 4 years like it is important and will somehow shape their future. My DD was all conference this, all state that, and even got a National HS Player of the year award. She will be the first to tell you that what you did in HS means nothing once you step on the field in college. Nobody asks, nobody cares, and only a noob talks about their glory days in HS. If you are headed to the next level use HS ball to prepare. If HS ball is the end of the line then enjoy the time and make the most of it. Remember that with or without softball the best days are are those beyond HS. Don't be that "peaked in High School" person.

Agreed...!!!! Also, parents need to remember that college softball is a job and means to help pay for it (hopefully). In high school, players need to try and enjoy it because it goes by pretty quick. No matter what team a kid get assigned to (Varsity or JV), they need to be playing to get better....because of all the things I have experienced through the up and down journey of being a parent and being a coach....one thing is for sure....you can't teach anyone experience.

 

[riseball]

It does not matter to colleges if you played on JV. The biggest thing a family can do is go to camps at the colleges of their DD's choice.

In our area, where the showcases are so in name only (serving as $$ for greedy tourney directors) the colleges do scout the HS regionals and state championships in the largest-school categories. So you have be an impact player on Varsity by the time you are a sophomore, and help get your team there. If you are going to D3, you can wait longer, but not D1.

You bring up a good point that the only hope you have of getting recruited based on what you do in HS is to play for one of the big schools and be on a team good enough to get to regional or the state championships. Then if you are lucky a coach may notice you do something spectacular and take an interest in you. Obviously the odds are not in your favor so you better have a plan B if you want to play college ball.

 

[SoftSocDad]

I get what you're saying and don't disagree. But, what if your daughter had been placed on JV as a freshman because she was a freshman? I'm not worried that my daughter is missing out on any glory. But she is missing out on playing with and against the best players in high school.

It seems that it's you, not your daughter, who feels he's 'missing out on the glory' of her being a 4-year varsity player.

 

[sluggers]

But, what if your daughter had been placed on JV as a freshman because she was a freshman?

Oh yeah, it was a real tragedy for my kids:

DD#1: Played JV ball for freshman year in HS. Played varsity sophomore year. Became "big dog" varsity pitcher her junior year. She ended up a D1 all conference pitcher. Has a closet full of HS and college awards.

DD#3: Originally put on freshman hoops team. After 1 week, she was moved to JV hoops team. Became varsity starter middle of her sophomore year. Scored 1300 points in HS. All conference in college. Won a D3 national championship team. Has a closet full of HS and college awards.


If your child can't find motivation from being told "you're not good enough", she'll never be good enough.

As far as life lessons go, learning what to do after you lose is much more important than learning what to do after you win.

 

[Cannonball]

I seldom, if ever, disagree with a couple of posters here but did want to give a different perspective. Some of us live in small town USA. For us, HS is very important. I know that Amy has weighed in on this before and the area from where she grew up to where I live is comprised of very serious HS softball. My town has a small newspaper that comes out once a week. It is a big deal to have your sports team covered in that small newspaper. At HS teams here at my school, it is not uncommon for 15 or 20 young girls to be in attendance watching and hoping that some day, they will be on the varsity field. As I have mentioned before my dd was not concerned with college until those last two years of HS. Instead, she wanted to play Varsity as a freshman and get to play with those other girls who were older. I know that this isn't the norm but, again, did want to give the perspective.

 

[Nimrod]

If your child can't find motivation from being told "you're not good enough", she'll never be good enough.

Man, that one gave me chill bumps. Thanks!

 

[BobInMadison]

DD #1 only played HS softball for a year. She was on the JV2 team, similar to a C team in other areas. The official definition of a JV2 team in Wisconsin compared to a freshman team is that a JV2 team can have sophomores.

Leading up to that time, several coaches told DD #1 she was ready for JV.

Anyway, new coaching staff, tryouts indoors, fairly week incoming freshman class, all the freshmen wind up on JV2, along with a couple of sophomores.

Result? DD #1 was a lot happier. She got to play on the same team with some of her closest friends, she played almost every inning of every game, and led the team in HR and SB, and possibly hits as well. Also, one of the best fielders.

So, she had a blast being one of the stars of the team her friends were on, rather than warming the bench on JV.


Another local HS only has V and JV. Top freshmen usually wind up on V. As a result, sometimes this other HS has had their 4 best pitchers all on Varsity. Meaning, sophomores who could use a lot of circle time might get a handful of innings the entire season. They sometimes start pitchers on that JV team who aren't as good as a lot of 12u or even some 10u pitchers.

 

[Coachmom]

To add:
My DD played JV for 2 years. She plays in college. No one cared about JV or Varsity high school softball when she was being recruited.

 

[bucket pinata]

I agree that college recruiters wont be watching a single High school Game BUUUT if I was a recruiter I would make a point of taking the 30 seconds it takes to look up the state high school softball stats leaders and if you are a player with double digit dingers or a 700 average or a era way below 1 you are going to be of interest in your next well attended showcase. just my guess.