Reverse “ Travel Parent” Mentality

[Rolling Hard]

A mold isn't an athlete. A mold isn't confident. A mold doesn't have eye hand coordination. A mold is not a warrior competitor.
Size is nice but a 5' 3" player with good mechanics can hit a ball 205 feet on a regular basis.

 

[joe720]

My DD is on the smaller side 5'2". She never would get noticed in profile type things as she is not what the prototypical athlete is that most teams are looking for. Get her to a camp though and all of a sudden coach wants to be friends. She had interest from multiple schools including D1. She's a smart kind though and committed to a top D3 school as she wants to be a college student and is 100% aware that there is no softball after college so a good education is what she is gong for. She's a 2024.

Pitcher for GA a couple years ago was 5'1" and last year the pitcher from ASU was 5' even.

 

[Rolling Hard]

My DD is on the smaller side 5'2". She never would get noticed in profile type things as she is not what the prototypical athlete is that most teams are looking for. Get her to a camp though and all of a sudden coach wants to be friends. She had interest from multiple schools including D1. She's a smart kind though and committed to a top D3 school as she wants to be a college student and is 100% aware that there is no softball after college so a good education is what she is gong for. She's a 2024.

Pitcher for GA a couple years ago was 5'1" and last year the pitcher from ASU was 5' even.

Some coaches are smarter than other coaches.

 

[_MIA_]

Lol..these threads come up once every few so months. Being good at 12 is a hindrance and you are better off being 4’2”..

 

[clarkms75]

Appreciate the responses and the perspective as admittedly I’m probably her biggest (silent) critic

Answers
She’s 5’7 around 135 but “looks kinda small” if that makes sense.
Her goal is to coach softball at the highest level she can (so networking matters most probably even if she doesn’t know it yet)
Our biggest advice to her so far in choosing schools has been “can you live here for 5yrs?” Since my wife and I have definitely lived in some towns due to work that we got out of fast as we could..
The interest I’m speaking of has been through her travel coach and in person at camps which has all been totally above board.

My opinion has been based mainly on seeing the girls she’s playing against that are just physical specimens (5’9 to 6’0 and easily 25lbs heavier) hitting moonshots and watching the backpack crowd follow them around from field to field. Which after reading some of the responses is probably a horrible way to gauge things…. LOL

Thanks everyone


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[Strike2]

My opinion has been based mainly on seeing the girls she’s playing against that are just physical specimens (5’9 to 6’0 and easily 25lbs heavier) hitting moonshots and watching the backpack crowd follow them around from field to field. Which after reading some of the responses is probably a horrible way to gauge things…. LOL

Go watch some college softball in person...at different levels, if possible. Don't bother looking at OU; EVERYONE there is a beast. Watch some JUCO, Div II/III, and mid-major D1. You'll see some of those same "physical specimens" who hit moonshots in HS barely get the ball out of the infield against good pitching. 5'7" isn't small...it's about average on most college teams, but you'll probably see some "small" looking kid with good mechanics hit the ball into next week. You've got a ways to go, and if coaches are chatting your kid up at camps, they apparently see something. Perhaps she's fast, she has good mechanics, or they just like her approach and attitude.

 

[radness]

Appreciate the responses and the perspective as admittedly I’m probably her biggest (silent) critic

Answers
She’s 5’7 around 135 but “looks kinda small” if that makes sense.
Her goal is to coach softball at the highest level she can (so networking matters most probably even if she doesn’t know it yet)
Our biggest advice to her so far in choosing schools has been “can you live here for 5yrs?” Since my wife and I have definitely lived in some towns due to work that we got out of fast as we could..
The interest I’m speaking of has been through her travel coach and in person at camps which has all been totally above board.

My opinion has been based mainly on seeing the girls she’s playing against that are just physical specimens (5’9 to 6’0 and easily 25lbs heavier) hitting moonshots and watching the backpack crowd follow them around from field to field. Which after reading some of the responses is probably a horrible way to gauge things…. LOL

Thanks everyone


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She's not small.


Not sure what weight strength training she is applying. But if you're looking at college players in comparison there's a good chance they are already applying weight strength training.

 

[_MIA_]

She's not small.


Not sure what weight strength training she is applying. But if you're looking at college players in comparison there's a good chance they are already applying weight strength training.

I was just going to say this. 5’7” 135 to me is a good size for a HS kid. Plenty of room to grow into her frame a bit with a good weight and nutrition program. I’d rather have it that way then having to worry about keeping the weight off when she gets to college (and beyond..) It’s softball not football.

OU has solidly built kids but the reason they mash is 3/4 because they flat out can swing the bats..Arguably the best hitter in MLB history was nicknamed The Splendid Splinter..

 

[Lobster Birch]

5’7” isn’t small in anyway, even for college.

I just looked at last year’s Oklahoma roster. There are seven players 5’7” or less.

I did a thread once about how tall are softball players where I looked at the rosters of the top 10 teams one year. They’re a little taller than the average American woman, but by only an inch. I believe there were only 3-4 six foot or taller and they were pitchers.

 

[angispeds]

That’s not small at all especially for a middle infielder. DD is just under 5ft 6 125 verbal to top 25 team as a MIF. Hits as many homeruns as anyone else on her team and steals a LOT more bases. All coaches have their ideas of what they want their players to look like. You should cast a wide net. She’s not limited by that size.


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