HS Softball team is terrible

[greg99]

My DD is only in the 6th grade. She is a pitcher for a travel team and is pretty good, both her and the team. We went to about 4-5 HS games last spring and my DD is already better then 80% of the girls on the team. I can very easily see that there won't be a catcher in HS when she gets there that will be able to catch her.

Have any other pitchers parents have this happen to them. Not sure why I am I even thinking about this now, but I do from time to time. Is it going to be a big deal? Maybe just let her play another position and not pitch? I have been thinking about trying to start working with the REC program in the area, but I really don't have the time. I think I will start coaching the girls in the area after my DD is done playing. shes a pitcher so most of my time I'm on a bucket or pitching to her, not alot of free time right now.

Just curious how other parents dealt with this.

 

[SoftSocDad]

My DD is only in the 6th grade. I can very easily see that there won't be a catcher in HS when she gets there that will be able to catch her.

That's awesome. Can you please tell me who's going to win the Super Bowl in 2014? Naturally, I'd share the winnings with you, but the sooner I get that bet in, the more we can make.

 

[greg99]

I can understand where you are coming from. But you haven't seen the HS team or the Rec teams. I guess i can always hope for a family to move into the school zone that is a crazy dad with a catcher as a parent.

 

[sluggers]

You have to be proactive. You can develop a catcher. Recruit a couple of girls from the local rec league for your DD's travel ball team. There probably will be a couple of kids who can play but just need a little help.

HS softball is a different experience than travel ball. On the one hand, the HS softball team won't be as good as a a travel ball team. On the other hand, the trophies your DD wins in HS are displayed for years and years, while the trophies she wins on a travel ball team are tossed a couple of weeks after the tournament. My DDs enjoy going to back to their HS and seeing stuff on the wall and in the trophy cases.

You have to think differently...high school softball isn't travel ball. If your DD is a good pitcher, they'll find a catcher for her

 

[RubberBiscuit]

Great topic -
Be prepared for catchers that can't handle the spin pitches and HS coaches that will shy away from calling them thereafter. These are all REAL challenges your DD will face in a HS like the one it sounds you have (& us too).

I strongly suggest finding a catcher that will for sure go to the same HS and mold the pair.

 

[greg99]

Its funny that you bring up that HS is different from travel ball. Which I agree with. Another reason I am thinking about my DD pitching in HS while she is only in 6th grade. I'm sure if her HS team would makes a deep run into a state title the memories would be great. It wouldn't just be Moms and Dads in the stands watching, which is the case in most TB tournaments. It will be a totally new expereince having actual "fans"

I'll keep my fingers crossed for that new family to move in. Also try to go to some Rec games and see who is wanting more of a challenge and hope to steer them towards a travel ball team.

 

[chinamigarden]

I have to say, you are jumping the gun just a bit. Your DD is in 6th grade and you are worried about who is going to catch her in 3-7 years from now? You might be right, there might not be someone to catch your dd then. Or there might not be someone there to catch the girl who got better then your girl in the next 4 years. Or your dd might decide she would rather be the catcher. Heck your dd might decide to leave softball by then and all this preemptive worrying will be for naught.

When most HS teams make a run into the playoffs, there are tens of extra fans in the stands. Its not like there are 1000s of people milling about to create a memory. No matter what we do and no matter how good they are. The softball team is not the football team.

There are girls who are so much better then the HS team, who get so frustrated they don't play HS ball at all. Usually the track team gets the benefit of that.

 

[jinjet95]

If your daughter continues to develop as a good pitcher and the team has some hitters, it's really not going to be an issue. The teams with the best pitching and hitting tend to win games. The coach can certainly develop a catcher that can keep the ball in front of her. My DD just finished her first season of HS ball (MO plays in the fall). It was definitely interesting. They didn't win many games, but she had a good experience and made a lot of new friends. The middle infielders were the only TB players on the team (my DD and another freshman). The 4 hitters with the highest BA were 3 freshman and a sophomore, so maybe there's hope. The biggest problem is the pitching - they have none. My DD ended up pitching 1/3 of the games, did so-so. If your team has good pitching, you're ahead of the game. Dont' worry so much, just enjoy the ride.

 

[FPMark]

I have to say, you are jumping the gun just a bit. Your DD is in 6th grade and you are worried about who is going to catch her in 3-7 years from now? You might be right, there might not be someone to catch your dd then. Or there might not be someone there to catch the girl who got better then your girl in the next 4 years. Or your dd might decide she would rather be the catcher. Heck your dd might decide to leave softball by then and all this preemptive worrying will be for naught.

When most HS teams make a run into the playoffs, there are tens of extra fans in the stands. Its not like there are 1000s of people milling about to create a memory. No matter what we do and no matter how good they are. The softball team is not the football team.

There are girls who are so much better then the HS team, who get so frustrated they don't play HS ball at all. Usually the track team gets the benefit of that.

You are right about it being a little early to worry about a catcher now, but I see this alot. Everyone assumes the players playing middle school are the only ones who will play HS. People do move from one school district to another. While a good catcher is a good thing to have, even a necessity, I wouldn't suggest losing sleep over it at this point. You could find a catcher to train with your DD only to have them move to a rival HS district in the 8th grade.

As for your description of HS not being competitive, it depends on where you live. Our HS SB team finished 4th in the state championships this year and I will tell you, the whole team was treated like "rock stars" at school. It was a great experience for all of them. From recognition at school functions, to newspaper articles, to just having other schoolmates congradulate them, the attention factor was much more than winning ASA State or even Nationals.

I'm not saying winning in ASA is not HUGE, but the only ones it matters to, are the ones who specificly follow it. Win Nationals and you might get an article in the paper on page 10 of the sports section. Win HS State and you might get page 1 coverage in the major local paper. I would encourage all SB players to play in HS. If they don't because the team is not very good, what does that say about them? I don't buy the arguement that a girl is too good to play HS, if they are that good, they should be a team leader and help the other girls to improve by example and by demonstating true sportsmanship. JMO

 

[marriard]

The high school my DD will eventually go to is traditionally awful at softball. The school is private, pretty small and actually goes from PK3-5th grade (lower) and 6th grade -12th (upper) and a lot of kids go through the whole system. 50% of the HS graduates last year had been at the school since at least 3rd grade. There were several 7th graders on the HS team last season. 3 of them started.

There was only one of my DD's classmates in grade school playing softball. She worried about who her teammates would be when she got to HS. So she started recruiting her friends - now she has 6 girls in her class playing rec and several girls in the year behind and in front of her playing as well. A few even joined her in travel this last season.

When did she start worrying? 3rd grade. The fact she went out and did something about it was pretty neat.

(BTW, travel is king here. High school is great, but it doesn't matter anywhere near as much as the travel season)