Posing the question about the purpose of playing college softball….

[Rolling Hard]

I do think sometimes it's more about softball, winning, and championships than an education. And maybe for those who have stellar college careers in the sport and move on to coach or some other type of occupation that softball is used as a springboard makes it worth it. Statistics, however, would state that the education is more important, in general, in helping these girls for the next 40 or so years during their career. Some people like to chase the outliers. For that one coach that makes bank coaching at their dream job, it'll be worth it. There will also be others living at home with their parents along with a dead end job because they concentrated too much on the sport versus the education.

Who am I to judge? I hope it works out for them.

OUCH!

 

[radness]

I think it's more about playing time, and Seniors coming back for a 5th year, and the kids playing behind them, don't want to wait another year for the #1 spot.

BAZINGA !!!

 

[Vertigo]

Very interesting POV’s - thanks for the insights!

I don’t know - to me - transferring to a new school and a new program most likely can be extremely stress-inducing. Trying to take away a position from another player (unless transferring creates a guaranteed starting spot) would also be extremely stress-inducing. Moving to a new home (school) and getting a new job (softball) have been shown to be two of the most stressful life events most people go through. With all of the mental health issues that are coming to the surface in these athletes I can’t imagine how transferring doesn’t add to that in a significant way. Is chasing that WCWS championship worth it? Especially when only one team will walk away as the winner?

I also get that there are only so many years to play a college sport but a lifetime to start a career. However, will that degree they obtained while playing their sport be marketable? Will they need to return to school for a few more years to get a different degree in order to make a decent living? There’s just a lot to consider when you decide that playing the sport at the collegiate level is the number one priority. That money saved playing the sport may turn into money the player will need to spend in order to get a second degree that will gain them a career.

However, on the flip side, it’s an amazing experience to play at the collegiate level. There is a lot to be said about playing for a championship program. I see it in my dd who loves her school but was extremely bummed that they didn’t make playoffs. I hear the, “If I only went to x school (2nd choice) I’d be in playoffs right now.” It’s those times when I have to bring her back to the main reason she’s in college and why she chose the school she did.

 

[_MIA_]

Very interesting POV’s - thanks for the insights!

I don’t know - to me - transferring to a new school and a new program most likely can be extremely stress-inducing. Trying to take away a position from another player (unless transferring creates a guaranteed starting spot) would also be extremely stress-inducing. Moving to a new home (school) and getting a new job (softball) have been shown to be two of the most stressful life events most people go through. With all of the mental health issues that are coming to the surface in these athletes I can’t imagine how transferring doesn’t add to that in a significant way. Is chasing that WCWS championship worth it? Especially when only one team will walk away as the winner?

I also get that there are only so many years to play a college sport but a lifetime to start a career. However, will that degree they obtained while playing their sport be marketable? Will they need to return to school for a few more years to get a different degree in order to make a decent living? There’s just a lot to consider when you decide that playing the sport at the collegiate level is the number one priority. That money saved playing the sport may turn into money the player will need to spend in order to get a second degree that will gain them a career.

However, on the flip side, it’s an amazing experience to play at the collegiate level. There is a lot to be said about playing for a championship program. I see it in my dd who loves her school but was extremely bummed that they didn’t make playoffs. I hear the, “If I only went to x school (2nd choice) I’d be in playoffs right now.” It’s those times when I have to bring her back to the main reason she’s in college and why she chose the school she did.

Check out the majors of the kids transferring after their Soph years. It would be a lot harder for Grace Lyons (with her major) to transfer than a lot of these kids..

 

[Strike2]

Check out the majors of the kids transferring after their Soph years. It would be a lot harder for Grace Lyons (with her major) to transfer than a lot of these kids..

Grace Lyons appears to be exceptional both on and off the field. An easy person to root for. I think my wife would adopt her.

 

[_MIA_]

Grace Lyons appears to be exceptional both on and off the field. An easy person to root for. I think my wife would adopt her.

She seems like a good kid. My kids (both boys and DD) have met her a few times. One time she spent about 5 minutes talking about gloves with my DD (they both play SS and DD asked her about her preferences)...she didn't have to do that.

 

[monte38]

Check out the majors of the kids transferring after their Soph years. It would be a lot harder for Grace Lyons (with her major) to transfer than a lot of these kids..

Where do you find that? Majors aren't listed on OU's bios.

 

[_MIA_]

Where do you find that? Majors aren't listed on OU's bios.

I teach in the Engineering department at OU..




She graduated in 4 years too...

 

[CoachJD]

Their jobs are on the line.

Hmm... How true is this?

How many college softball coaches with winning records get fired each year? Heck, how many college softball coaches at the D1 level get fired each year, period?

I could be wrong, but it really feels like at most schools, the success of the softball program isn't important enough for ADs to churn through coaches unless the team is just dreadful or there is some kind of scandal. That's certainly not true of the Oklahomas and UCLAs of the world, but I get that sense that at 90% of P5 schools, if your team wins its fair share of games and makes a Regional every so often, you can probably coach there for a long, long time.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

A good question to ask is what's going on at Bama to cause a mass exodus? Most of the six players who've left already were starters. Is it Murphy?

Honestly, I didn't think they had a chance this season after watching their offense stink the last half of the year. It seemed Murph put way too much on Fouts' right arm and forgot to recruit any power hitters.