Should goal be college?

[JudeDaRude]

I agree with everything that’s said but at same time don’t think just because they are true, doesn’t mean that you can’t be thinking of college.
1) can you think of college and still have short term goals? Yes
2) can the girl at some point not be able make it and until then, still think about college? Yes

3) can you think of college and still have a positive attitude during times of failure? Yes

4). Can you have fun and still think about college? Yes
5) can you learn all kinds of good things such as work ethic, team work, etc from this goal ? Yes

6) can you fail this goal and life still be ok? Yes.

7) can everyone get a scholarship? No but the people that tried more and dreamed more are probably the ones that did

Sorry bout grammar, I’m busy trying to get a 9 year old a scholarship lol jk

 

[marriard]

I agree with everything that’s said but at same time don’t think just because they are true, doesn’t mean that you can’t be thinking of college.
1) can you think of college and still have short term goals? Yes
2) can the girl at some point not be able make it and until then, still think about college? Yes
3) can you think of college and still have a positive attitude during times of failure? Yes
4). Can you have fun and still think about college? Yes
5) can you learn all kinds of good things such as work ethic, team work, etc from this goal ? Yes
6) can you fail this goal and life still be ok? Yes.
7) can everyone get a scholarship? No but the people that tried more and dreamed more are probably the ones that did

Sorry bout grammar, I’m busy trying to get a 9 year old a scholarship lol jk

Scholarships are not the goal. You will spend WAY more money on softball than any scholarship will cover. Money wise you would be better just keeping the money and putting it in a bank. Almost all softball players at D1 (often except the #1 pitcher) are on partial scholarships. And less and less money the lower the division and team. If you are thinking this is how they will pay for college, think again.

And a focus on 'college' can become the stress point that makes them quit. It can put a lot of pressure on the kid. If that is constantly the goal for 8+ years and you don't want it or understand it, this makes a lot of kids quit. "I don't want to play in college, so why am I even playing?" Or "D1 isn't recruiting me, I am a failure". Or "I am failure because XXX college wont look at me".

 

[S Spiff]

My family has had kind of a two step goal process. At 10, the goal was to do what we could to put her in position so she could play high school ball if she wanted to do that. At 14 we had a discussion that ended with she would like to play college ball. So now we are doing what we can so she can play in college if she chooses. But the playing and growing has to be its own reward. Since she’s just a kid and despite our best efforts still faces a lot of external pressure to do what she thinks her parents or whoever wants, we try to make the goal always about creating choices and opportunities rather than end results.

 

[MNDad]

I agree with everything that’s said but at same time don’t think just because they are true, doesn’t mean that you can’t be thinking of college.
1) can you think of college and still have short term goals? Yes
2) can the girl at some point not be able make it and until then, still think about college? Yes

3) can you think of college and still have a positive attitude during times of failure? Yes

4). Can you have fun and still think about college? Yes
5) can you learn all kinds of good things such as work ethic, team work, etc from this goal ? Yes

6) can you fail this goal and life still be ok? Yes.

7) can everyone get a scholarship? No but the people that tried more and dreamed more are probably the ones that did

Sorry bout grammar, I’m busy trying to get a 9 year old a scholarship lol jk

Gotta admit I thought you were a little nuts when I read your earlier posts. Sounds like you’ve got a good perspective and like all of us just want our kids to reach their potential.

I don’t think parents should have a goal of our kids playing in college. It’s our job to give kids the tools so they have an opportunity if THEY want it. At nine it’s tough to discern their goal to play in college from their goal to be a Disney princess.

 

[JudeDaRude]

Gotta admit I thought you were a little nuts when I read your earlier posts. Sounds like you’ve got a good perspective and like all of us just want our kids to reach their potential.

I don’t think parents should have a goal of our kids playing in college. It’s our job to give kids the tools so they have an opportunity if THEY want it. At nine it’s tough to discern their goal to play in college from their goal to be a Disney princess.

I just confirmed again; do they like softball? and they said No they don’t like it, they love it. So it’s not like I’m pushing my kids into anything but I disagreee with most of the comments but appreciate the answers because I do understand what everyone means. But I do think I’m capable of understanding what’s too much on them and when hey, they are not going to be that good. But I’m glad to hear the answers because it makes me more aware of the cons of it

 

[Hawk_]

At 9 or 10.... your goal is that they are having fun. Assigning something like a "goal is to be a college player" to someone, especially that young just adds pressure and expectations.
Long term goals are fine, but they can not be our goals, they have to be our girls. Then when their goals change, we change with them.

 

[CoachKevin]

College should be the goal, but not for playing Softball.... for the education. If someone gets a chance to play softball in College, that should just be the icing on the cake. There is way, way more money in academic scholarships than athletic scholarships.

 

[grcsftbll]

College should be the goal, but not for playing Softball.... for the education. If someone gets a chance to play softball in College, that should just be the icing on the cake. There is way, way more money in academic scholarships than athletic scholarships.

I'm not even sure I would go that far. College isn't for everyone. I've told mine that they need a plan to support themselves, which may or may not mean college, depending on what they want to do. For those who do go to college, the academics should absolutely be the most important thing. Realistically, that's not always the case.

 

[Rambler34]

I have made the comment that I’m working on trying to get my girls to college and have had comments that I shouldn’t be thinking about that. So with that said, should a parent/coach be thinking of college? I dream big,think big and have seen in my life how I can have a lot of control over what I do. So I believe the same for my kids. They are athletic and smart and seem to have other talents that fall in line with softball skills. They are only 9 and 10 but unless there comes a day that I realize they are not ahead of others, I feel I should think of college. I understand that if a girl simply does not have talent, then yeah maybe not but I believe in dreaming big and I’m sure most that have succeeded would say the same. And yes it has to be their dream and at this point they do love it and want to play as long as they can. I’m not just asking specifically for my girls, but would like to know everyone’s opinion on when is the appropriate time for people to start thinking college.

I think everything changed for DD when she was about 12. The idea of playing in college went from being her dream to being her goal. Her work ethic changed and now 4 years later she has schools looking at her and we will find out whats going on Sept 1st.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Should you be thinking about and preparing for your daughters’ college years? ABSOLUTELY!

Start a college fund and save money.
Work on study skills.
Teach them good ethics and responsibility.

Not all kids will go to - or NEED to go to - college. But you should definitely be preparing.

Now about softball ... what the heck is wrong with you!?
No, you should not be preparing a 9 year old to be a college athlete. Here is the secret: just about any kid who wants to play a sport in college CAN play that sport in college. There are enough schools that you can play if you are willing to go anywhere.

But let’s be real ... parents who “want their son/daughter to play in college” don’t want them to play in college ... they want a sport to pay for college. There is a huge difference.

I had two daughters play sports in college.

The first played soccer. She was a mediocre student who had never played soccer until her junior year in high school. She was a volleyball player. She was convinced she was going to play volleyball in college. Then she had a bad experience her senior year in high school with a new coach and had no desire to keep playing. The soccer coach convinced her to come out for fun. Her last game of her senior year, a college coach was at the game and offered her a 1/2 ride to a D1 junior college.

The second was a very good student and a damn good athlete. She played both softball and volleyball at a D3 school she chose for academics. After two years she was burned out and came back home. She will be going to the local junior college this year, coaching freshman volleyball at a local high school, and not playing anything.

Let them play ... don’t make them play. Don’t make it a job that they are doing for money.