Life after softball

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Jul 19, 2014
2,390
48
Madison, WI
I used to post on this forum a few years back. Every once in a while I get a synopsis of current posts in email, and I'll look here.

It would be nice if there were some sort of sticky thread so that we could update as to what former softball players are doing now. Is there life after softball?

I will start with the 2 kids of mine who played softball.

DD 1 only played for a few years, 7th- 9th grades.
At one point she started rising very rapidly.

Fall of 8th grade she was in 12 U rec league (little league)
Spring of 8th grade she was 14 U rec (LL)
Summer of 8th grade she was 14 U tournament ball
Fall of 9th grade she was 16 U TB.

That was too quick a jump for her, from 12 U rec ball to 16 U t-ball in about a year. She quit softball after that, then came back to play JV 2 her freshman year, then quit again. She was playing in a slow pitch rec league this summer for her work, and was upset she couldn't steal bases.

One interesting tidbit -- there was a girl who played in DD1's first AND last softball game. They started and quit softball together, and have been close friends since kindergarten.

DD 1 graduated from college in 2020, and is now in her first year at med school.


DD 3 played from 4th grade to 11th grade. She was considered to be the top player in her LL for kids born 2002. For a while it looked like she was likely to play D-III college ball. Things did not work out for her on her HS team. She was very good in playing softball, but not HS softball politics. She only played for her freshman year in HS. She pitched for the JV team, and won more games than all other pitchers in varsity, JV and JV 2 combined. But the varsity coaches didn't like her for some reason. She did very well at TB, but not her school team. The last game she started as a pitcher was a Sunday afternoon, her second victory of the day. So at least she ended up strong.

Interesting tidbit -- after looking over some of her rosters, I discovered there was a girl who was on her teams the first and the last softball game she ever played. That was mostly coincidental. DD 3's TB organization broke up, so she went back to her old team.


DD 3 is in the 3rd year of a 5-year college/co-op program, and is sharing an apartment with her non-softball playing sister, DD2, who is a 5th year senior at the same college in Boston. She graduated from HS in 2020, and is expected to graduate college in 2025.


Are there any other former softball parents who can give updates?
 

TMD

Feb 18, 2016
433
43
There is most definitely life after softball.

My daughter started playing at 6 years old and played through college, so clearly it was a BIG part of her life. She graduated in 2021, playing her last competitive game a couple of weeks before graduation.

So far, "life after softball" is going exactly how she hoped. Got a job in her field with a goal to work for 2 years before starting a PhD program (applications submitted last week), and has remained active in a variety of recreational activities both physical (coed softball, volleyball, running, etc.) and social (concerts, sporting events, weekends with friends, etc.).

As a parent, I like to think that this is exactly what we want for our kids.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,855
113
My dd is teaching middle school math and coaching both middle school and high school softball. She loves coaching but has learned that coaching has changed a lot since I coached. Her middle school team made it to state this year but did not win state. The majority of her players don't know about her college career, although I think a couple of players know that she played in college. She and her college team were inducted into her university hall of fame and she is very proud of that. She wants to be inducted as an individual player now and we will see if that happens.

My dd is recently married and married a young man who was also a college athlete. He played golf. My dd had scholarship offers for golf and so they make a very good scramble twosome in the summer. They routinely make money in two-person and four-person golf scrambles. I coached HS golf for 15 years so I get to have a lot of fun with them in the summer. They purchased a lot to build a house one block from our house. I guess we did something right for her and her husband to want to live that close to us.

For my dd, there is life after college softball but softball is still a major factor in her life.
 
Jul 19, 2014
2,390
48
Madison, WI
There is most definitely life after softball.

My daughter started playing at 6 years old and played through college, so clearly it was a BIG part of her life. She graduated in 2021, playing her last competitive game a couple of weeks before graduation.

So far, "life after softball" is going exactly how she hoped. Got a job in her field with a goal to work for 2 years before starting a PhD program (applications submitted last week), and has remained active in a variety of recreational activities both physical (coed softball, volleyball, running, etc.) and social (concerts, sporting events, weekends with friends, etc.).

As a parent, I like to think that this is exactly what we want for our kids.
Bingo

One thing I am extremely happy about is that all of my kids still keep in shape. They all hit the gym and exercise at home.

My oldest kid, and only boy, was a D-III rower in college. Went to D-I nationals twice. He still competes about twice a year, weather, water levels and COVID permitting.

And yes, having healthy, happy active kids is exactly what all of us want for our kids. That is our reward for the hours driving to and from practice, volunteer work, motels on the road, and $ for club fees.
 
Nov 26, 2010
4,784
113
Michigan
Ok so parent brag warning

DD started playing at 7 in machine pitch LL. The next season The league would not let her move up to kid pitch when she was 8 and during an indoor practice she was chastised for throwing the ball too hard. She had thrown it to a coach who was wearing a glove. So we moved to the local travel org. Played 10u for 3 years started pitching her second year.

Played travel and eventually HS. Plus played several other sports including varsity volleyball and basketball in HS.

Has 8 no hitters and 1 perfect game. Batted at the top half of the lineup her whole travel and HS career. Played jn the field when she didn’t pitch. Took great pride in her defense.

Told me in 9th grade that she didn’t intend to play softball in college. She wanted to focus on academics. But once she got
There she realized she missed it. She was at a college club sports event and when she saw the batting cages she said her heart started beating faster. So she tried out for the Club team and played 2 years of Club. Team went to the National finals both years and she Made All American second team as a pitcher her sophomore year.

Her goal from 11th grade on was to earn her Masters in 5 years. So at age 23 she hit her goal and earned her bachelors in electrical engineering and her masters in Biomedical Engineering in 5 total years

She is a sensor systems engineer for a start up company. She has been with them for about 2 years.

She plays the occasional volleyball (just moved so she hasn’t found a softball team) she does some spin bike and powerlifting to keep in shape.

In 9th grade she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and 6 months later she was diagnosed with celiac. She never has let either get in the way of her goals or her sports. Strongest person I know.
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
DD started playing at age 5 in a coach pitch SP rec league. She moved through TB, HS and went on to play College Ball. She had to redshirt Sophomore year due to injury and the following year, the pandemic hit and the season was canceled. She continued for one more year and then decided to hang up her cleats for good to focus on academics since she was already a year and a half behind due to having to medically withdraw to redshirt and having to take fewer classes because of the remote learning enforced throughout the pandemic. She has since transferred to the local U and is finishing up her Senior year. She's studying to get a degree in Special Needs Early Childhood Development while working part-time for spending money and gas.
 
Last edited:
Jan 25, 2022
881
93
I have two in HS. My freshman is still playing, but the older one is a junior and to my dismay, has already started life after softball..lol.

She said she would be too busy to play in the spring, which at first I thought was ridiculous but now have learned is very true. Went from playing on her phone in her free time to waiting tables 2-3 nights a week, and participating in FFA. She's not a future farmer, but she wants to go to vet school and vet schools take a lot of things into consideration.

FFA around here is constantly doing something work or project related, or just the officers socializing. It ties up almost as much time as playing sports. She loves it, though. It's really expanded her friend circle and there are a lot of good kids there.

In addition, she applied to volunteer with a local vet once a week.

Academically, if she graduated today she would be valedictorian.

I've dedicated most of my free time to softball. Taught her and her sister the game from scratch when each started at 11 and have taken a lot of pride in seeing her improve and build confidence. The selfish part of me wants to see her play, but the dad in me is really proud of her and starting to see that participating in softball the past five years is a building block that's helped her to get where she is now.

It's also been a building block for me. I didn't play baseball after my 15 year old Babe Ruth season. I've learned a ton about how to play the game and just simply how to coach. I've learned so much from other coaches, and have even become a pitching coach. I went from reluctant parent LL coach who felt like he didn't know what he was doing, to uncertain MS coach, to feeling confident that I could semi-competently run a HS team. It's definitely been huge for my personal growth. She's started her life after softball but I think I'll probably still be continuing mine after the freshman graduates.
 

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