School ball Coach not pitching DD

[Hillhouse]

I disagree with you. How many times does a college softball game go 7 innings? Almost all. How many time does a TB game go 7 innings? Almost none. An extra inning game is rare as hen's teeth in TB.

TB is 4 to 5 innings a game. I've coached some that went *TWO* innings. There is always a time limit, and many tournaments have a drop dead time limit. HS ball is 7 innings, sometimes 9 or 10....whether the game takes 60 minutes or 3 hours.

Throwing the extra two or three innings changes the dynamics of pitching. The pitcher has to be smarter and stronger in a 7 inning game.

Kids who have only pitched TB often get shelled in the 6th inning of a HS game. They aren't physically or mentally prepared for it They have no idea how to pitch after the batters have seen them two or three times.

The competition level in HS varies, just like it does in TB.
Norco in SoCal could play with any TB team in the US.

FINALLY:

Softball is supposed to be played, not practiced.

These kids should play every chance they get...because when softball is over, it is *OVER*. After college, 99.99% of these girls will never play a fastpitch game again.

Depriving the kids of even one game when they are playing makes no sense.

I was talking about the aspect of school ball relating to college recruiting. That is the context of the statement you disagreed with. I don't disagree with you about anything else, but I wanted the OP to know school ball means diddly for college recruiting.

 

[Hillhouse]

HS ball absolutely helps with recruiting. College coaches attend HS games to look for players or to look at girls that contacted them. Many HS coaches are also travel coaches. That can help a player get on a top travel program as mush as attending a tryout. HS coaches and college coaches talk. Impress one and word spreads. I’m not saying it helps anywhere near as much as travel, but anytime a player can get in front of coaches helps.

In addition to recruiting HS ball helps kids deal with the politics they’ll face. In college. Probably the biggest thing it does is show them what it’s like to compete for a spot and be on a roster with more than 12 kids. I know you’ve seen how many kids can’t cut it and quit their freshman year.

There are 5 states in the country that play their HS softball in the fall. One state plays theirs in the Summer. Of the states that play in the fall, there is a "chance" that a college coach will stop by a HS game. But travel and recruiting budgets are thin. A coach isn't going to spend money to go to a high school game to see 1 potential player for a program, when they can spend the same amount and go to a tournament where there will be 100's.

In my years in college coaching and as a pitching coach who gets contacted by colleges about students, not a single coach ever asks about HS stats. Nor did I ask for anyone's HS stats. None. Zip. Zero. Why? Coaches know that HS is often polluted with lopsided games that are nothing but stat padding for someone. They also know the corruption of the prinicpals kid needing to be the catcher, even when she can't catch. The superintendent's kid is the SS even if she can't field. Etc. There's a lot more 19-0 games in from 2 mismatched teams that play in the same league, one school has TB players the other does not.

I'm not going to tell you that college coaches never attend HS games. But they put infinitely less importance on those results as they do summer/TB stuff because of the competition gaps.

 

[radness]

How many times does a college softball game go 7 innings? Almost all. How many time does a TB game go 7 innings? Almost none. An extra inning game is rare as hen's teeth in TB.

TB is 4 to 5 innings a game. I've coached some that went *TWO* innings. There is always a time limit, and many tournaments have a drop dead time limit. HS ball is 7 innings, sometimes 9 or 10....whether the game takes 60 minutes or 3 hours.

Throwing the extra two or three innings changes the dynamics of pitching. The pitcher has to be smarter and stronger in a 7 inning game.

Kids who have only pitched TB often get shelled in the 6th inning of a HS game. They aren't physically or mentally prepared for it They have no idea how to pitch after the batters have seen them two or three times.

The competition level in HS varies, just like it does in TB.
Norco in SoCal could play with any TB team in the US.

FINALLY:

Softball is supposed to be played, not practiced.

These kids should play every chance they get...because when softball is over, it is *OVER*. After college, 99.99% of these girls will never play a fastpitch game again.

Depriving the kids of even one game when they are playing makes no sense.

That post describes exactly why it is far more beneficial to play 2 full games at 1:50 instead of 3 game friendlies at 1:15 each.

 

[MNDad]

There are 5 states in the country that play their HS softball in the fall. One state plays theirs in the Summer. Of the states that play in the fall, there is a "chance" that a college coach will stop by a HS game. But travel and recruiting budgets are thin. A coach isn't going to spend money to go to a high school game to see 1 potential player for a program, when they can spend the same amount and go to a tournament where there will be 100's.

In my years in college coaching and as a pitching coach who gets contacted by colleges about students, not a single coach ever asks about HS stats. Nor did I ask for anyone's HS stats. None. Zip. Zero. Why? Coaches know that HS is often polluted with lopsided games that are nothing but stat padding for someone. They also know the corruption of the prinicpals kid needing to be the catcher, even when she can't catch. The superintendent's kid is the SS even if she can't field. Etc. There's a lot more 19-0 games in from 2 mismatched teams that play in the same league, one school has TB players the other does not.

I'm not going to tell you that college coaches never attend HS games. But they put infinitely less importance on those results as they do summer/TB stuff because of the competition gaps.

Local colleges don’t need a recruiting budget to attend local games. They know which games are worth watching. I’ve seen countless D3 and D2 coaches at local HS games. I’ve seen the University of MN coaches at regular season HS games. During HS playoffs I’ve seen U of M, NDSU, USD, SDSU, and North Dakota. Iowa plays HS ball in the summer and DD’s old college coach attends the state tourney every year looking for diamonds in the rough. I agree it’s far less than the time they spend at travel games, but it is significant and worthwhile for kids to take advantage of. Particularly if they want to play at a local college.

 

[Tango]

Sometimes HS ball is a joke too. Sometimes Travel ball is a joke. The point is, anyone who sends a pitcher out there without warm ups and notice is the real joke. Other than playing with her friends at school, there is no advantage to playing school ball at any level. It doesn't help with college recruiting and you just saw first hand how it can be harmful to someone's career. Give the pros and cons of this school ball a second thought. NOT ALL SCHOOL BALL IS BAD!! But don't be confused into believing it helps with the next level, it doesn't. However, there's a lot of great coaches who love and try their best for the game. It's a shame the that bad coaches and situations like this populate the forums. There's a lot of great ones out there too. Just don't think this will matter when it comes to college, in fact it appears it will be the opposite of helpful. And it's clear it will effect her love of the game. Good luck.

Local JUCO"s in rural areas do listen to HS coaches (at least here). Several academic based scholarships (Foundation Scholarships) are given out to players to continue playing and the recommendation of the HS coach means a lot. Now if you are looking at a college that isn't in the region, it's all travel ball. Bigger schools of course TB is the ticket.

 

[Hillhouse]

since only 5 states play HS ball in the fall, those are more likely to get college coaches to attend (and Iowa who plays in Summer) but mostly if the kid they are after is local. The other 44 states in the country play HS ball during the same time as the college season. The recruiting window is closed at that time and coaches are not allowed to go watch games, even if they wanted to. (The only exception is if the college coach has an immediate relative playing in the HS game). I know this rule because it was on my recruiting test last year. The recruiting window for college coaching starts after the WCWS and goes to about Nov 15. That's it. Thats why the schools that play HS Ball in the fall are at a disadvantage because the majority of college coaches are at the big fall travel ball tournaments (Music City in Nashville, D9 in Orlando, Surf City events in Las Vegas, San Diego, etc).

I am not saying that college coaches "NEVER" go to HS games. What I am saying, from first hand experience and knowledge is that the HS stats are meaningless to them. If you want to agree to disagree with that, that's fine too. I'm just telling you what I know and did myself.

 

[Hillhouse]

Local JUCO"s in rural areas do listen to HS coaches (at least here). Several academic based scholarships (Foundation Scholarships) are given out to players to continue playing and the recommendation of the HS coach means a lot. Now if you are looking at a college that isn't in the region, it's all travel ball. Bigger schools of course TB is the ticket.

JUCO's and NAIA have their own sets of rules, or lack of. NAIA is the wild west, there's almost no rules or restrictions. It's amazing what the difference is to NCAA.

 

[whiporee]

My DD's gone in several time with a five-pitch warmup, a few times in games where she'd definitely been told that she would not pitch, so she warmed up at first.

In school ball it happens a lot.

 

[DrRiello]

I was talking about the aspect of school ball relating to college recruiting. That is the context of the statement you disagreed with. I don't disagree with you about anything else, but I wanted the OP to know school ball means diddly for college recruiting.

What does?


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[chinamigarden]

One thing to consider. When your dd ran over to you to warm up, that’s a concern. She should be grabbing a kid from the team to warm her up. I told my dd to warm up for pitching prior to all games. Just in case. But it should never be with the parent.