Players who bypass high school softball

[riseball]

Nothing against school spirit but it had nothing to do with that. She could care less. She lives to compete. At everything. When she comes home she still goes through the high scores on the X-Box and if she is not #1 she will play until she is. She plays softball because she is very good at it and it gives her the opportunity to compete. Truth be known if she could she would play ice hockey. But she was born to pitch a softball. Softball will pay for her bachelors and then her MBA. With those tools she will go into the business world to compete.

Good trait. But is there also value on a college team for someone who has that same sort of drive for her school?

I remember talking with a high school tennis player years ago who wound up going to Florida. She was nationally ranked. I asked why she played HS tennis, why it was important to her. It was school pride and the idea that she was playing for her community and her friends on the team. She said her school had to be the best at everything it did.

Isn't that the kind of kid you want on a college tennis team? Or does it matter? I don't know.

My DD did not like HS ball because it was not competitive. Quite frankly she hated the whole HS experience. She was mature beyond her years and was not into the drama, BS, and games. For her it could not end soon enough so she could start her college career.

However, there is definitely a school spirit aspect for her in college. Her working speed jumped to 67-68 as soon as they got into conference play against their arch rival. She is now getting offers for 2016 and programs rich in history and tradition are getting her attention.

 

[riseball]

This forum and others would not be in existence if there was not drama on TB teams, wow what a blanket statement that it is only HS. And 90 percent is from parents, not the kids. I told my boys to remove themselves from any drama, and they played for a coach who would not tolerate it from parents. Then there was no drama. I also clamped down on phones, etc.

Lots of complaining on this board about hS, but no one doing anything about it.....the HS coach is paid by you. You are also a parent who can tell the drama parent to stop or if you or the kid are the drama, change or be the parent. Do something.

IMHO the fact that HS coaches are paid is part of the problem. It provides incentive for the worst of the worst to continue. Your statement in bold seems to imply that as parents we somehow have a say in the decision to hire a retain a coach. We all know that is certainly not the case.

 

[Down and Out]

Right or wrong the the TB and HS softball experiences are very different. The biggest mistake a HS coach can make is to try to run their program like TB. And a TB coach cannot run their team like a HS team. If players are going into it thinking it will be the same they are in for a shock.

Can you elaborate on these differences? My DD isn't sold on playing in high school. She thinks the high school team sucks and just wants to stay with her travel team. I keep telling her she should play for her school because it will be fun & maybe they won't suck if you play for them.

How different is HS from TB, and in what ways?

 

[RubberBiscuit]

RB - The only thing that I don't quite follow in your scenario is why you would pull her out. Seems that would be totally the player's decision. But I get the rest. Sounds like very bad team + very bad coach. I remember you posting about this before. I can see the frustration for a pitcher there.

Ya no,...don't get me wrong. I can't tell DD to do almost anything - really.

But I know DD is exactly where I am at on this topic.

And I really don't think that the coach is that "bad" - He was dealing with the very bad catcher situation we had BUT also falling back to the pitch-calling strategy his 12U DD's team uses.....

 

[RubberBiscuit]

This forum and others would not be in existence if there was not drama on TB teams, wow what a blanket statement that it is only HS.

Not out of me OILF - As I have stated many times here 50% of my DD's TB years have been "flops". For multitudes of reasons.

I see it as a great statement on learning life. You gotta see that 50/50 as half full!

 

[RubberBiscuit]

Right or wrong the the TB and HS softball experiences are very different. The biggest mistake a HS coach can make is to try to run their program like TB. And a TB coach cannot run their team like a HS team. If players are going into it thinking it will be the same they are in for a shock. Likewise the college softball experience is very different than TB or HS. Which is why college rosters shrink significantly in the fall season as some players find out that college ball is not for them.

The "best" HS teams around here are run by dominant coaches (not all men either!) that drive for same-named TB organizations that keep all the same players and even recruit good players into their HS districts. I see this as the holy grail for HS coaches around here. And the do succeed.....

 

[BobInMadison]

At one point I suggested DD #1 NOT play HS SB. The coaches on her HS team weren't very good, and she was on a good TB team. Also, she was the fastest girl on her TB team, and was considering track instead, to get faster.

It turns out she quit her TB team. Her HS got new SB coaches, and she played SB on the school's freshman team. It was a close decision. I signed forms for her for both SB and track, and she decided the first day of practice.

At the end, she got into a summer academic program where she has to live in the dorms in the summer, so TB would be out anyway. She can get an academic scholarship to Wisconsin this way, and that is far more important to her than softball. She later quit HS SB, but might return. Or not. She changes her mind a lot.

As for DD #3, I don't know if she should play HS SB or run track instead. She has a couple of years to decide.

 

[bucket pinata]

Seen plenty of really ugly Drama on travel ball teams with both DDs. Maybe their school coach wont be able to teach them much. and some players on the HS team are not going to be superstars to say the least. But if my DDs learn how to make the best out of a challenging situation and the get proficient in the art of finding enjoyment instead of misery in situations that could easily go either way that sounds like a life skill worth developing. Taking all that into consideration HS ball sounds like a worth while experience to me. I do understand there are limits though.

 

[softballphreak]

Unlike TB, HS teams do not have the luxury of selecting players they need. The team you end up with may be great or totally unskilled. You may end up with coaches that don't even know the basic rules or you may have the equivalent of a major college coach. Most of the time you will have a mix of talent as far as players go for most teams.

From what I've observed there are always some good teams and there are always some bad teams as far as skill goes. I recently left a school, after half dozen or more years, that has consistently fielded powerhouse softball teams. I went back to a school that struggles to win any games. But I enjoy working with those kids that aren't as skilled. They want to work. I'm pretty sure they know they aren't as good as some other teams but that doesn't stop them from having fun. Heck, one of our most fun games we lost by run rule. But almost everyone was hitting and hitting and hitting hard. We didn't do that earlier in the season. Defense killed us. Not every team is going to have the necessary pitching and catching.

The one thing that worries me is that there seems to be fewer and fewer players wanting to play. Lacrosse, soccer, track, tennis, all seem to be attracting more players than in the past.

There are many reasons some kids don't want to play. For some it's a little too late by the time you're in HS. Add to that, some players skip the freshman year; thereby losing even more opportunity to learn. Some think HS ball sucks; not realizing the difference they could make to a team. This carries over to D3 and junior colleges by the way. Coaches are sometimes the cause. And of course there's always the drama that goes with the HS age kids. And one of THE most influencing factors, TB parents. If they only knew!! I don't think many of them realize what seeds they sow when they discuss what softball is really worth!

I'm content helping the kids I work with have fun! We're trying as hard as we can to win! And that's fun!! And when we do win that's great fun!! As long as we can field a JV and a Varsity and they're having fun trying to win I'm satisfied and I believe the players are. And the parents are I believe because we're not expected to win; we're expected to try harder!

 

[Doug Romrell]

I would agree that HS softball is probably generally a worthwhile experience, particularly when there isn't a HS/TB peeing match. I don't feel that I own any player on my team. That isn't the case with some coaches. I don't think players who pick up with our team should have to drop everything they've been taught and adopt everything we teach. That isn't the case with some coaches. I've referred before to the proclamation "No player on this team will use a stride when batting." Um..... Who the #*()@ do you think you are to make that determination. Some of my players hit better using a stride, so they use one. Some don't, so they don't. Some of my players seem to hit better when they incorporate a slight elbow raising as part of their negative pre-motion while batting. Some don't.

It is impossible for some coaches to accept that another coach can actually add to the overall skill set of a player. It doesn't all have to come from you. And, it is very unlikely that you have all softball knowledge. Odds are that other coaches out there are better at certain aspects of the game or mechanics than you are.

Look, paid or not, TB or HS coach, I appreciate the good. It's just that excessive power can lead to real problems, problems that are at the very least unethical. Humility is a rare thing among coaches.