TB vs. High School

[KCPRK]

There are so many A level athletes not playing hs ball in my area for a variety of reasons. The level of hs ball vs A/Gold ball is dramatically different. Many teams don't even have a real pitcher. Politics. 6 days a week times 3-5 hours a day practice/games (that's insane when you add lessons, in school gym and weights etc). There are tournies every weekend within an hr drive featuring dozens of true A level teams from many states.

The biggest reason is what they are being told by the college coaches. I met with a Top 25 D 1 coach recently. They said (paraphrase) " I don't recruit out of hs ball because the level of competition is so inferior to select ball. How can I even come watch hs games when Im in season myself playing games. Its dead season for recruiting to boot. I want to know what select team you play for and I want to watch you play the best competition."

If that's the mentality of the majority of the coaches out there in top programs then what are the top athletes going to do? Ive spoken with hundreds of college programs and they almost all say the same thing.

I understand there may be exceptions to BIG areas in CA or TX.

 

[JAD]

Agree - we have a few home schoolers on our TB team now (1st year 14u). One player was able to play MS ball with a private school. Just a thought.

Middle school ball in GA is considered "feeder" so as long as the player is districted for the HS she should be good to go. Even those rules are flexible because feeder ball does not fall under GHSA guidelines. There was a pitcher who played for a different team because her team already had two pitchers and another team had none, so she got a waiver to change teams.

 

[JAD]

I'm just talking about the right to have some participation in the public school system for my child. I know sports are expensive and I always expect to come out of pocket. Homeschooled kids are such a small percentage, I very much doubt allowing them to try out for HS teams would wreak havoc and cause the apocalypse.

Most GHSA rules are written around football, similar to the NCAA, and I imagine they are worried about high school coaches recruiting players and skirting around the rules.

 

[4KidsDad]

Not in our state. Not allowed to practice or play with any other team during the high school season.

I see ur from the northwest. If you're in Washington, there are no.restrictions for playing TB.

 

[sluggers]

The State Associations are business and it is in their best interests not to have to compete with TB as it increases their bottom line.

And the revenue from softball is sky high!

 

[riseball]

And the revenue from softball is sky high!View attachment 10216

Textbook apples to oranges comparison. HS sports are a big business generating millions of dollars in revenue. You need understand the big picture. In Texas it is a multi-million dollar business with the CEO paid in excess of $250K.

 

[Jquick823]

After reading through this thread I realize that some of you have legitimate HS sports in your state where you play 40-50 games a year. My DD's HS season is 18 games maybe 25 with scrimmages and playoffs (which we won't make). My DD's team is 3-2 and has lost to the #2 and #5 ranked teams in the state. So far seems like a good season right? Well not exactly we have beat 3 of the worst teams in the state and the 3 wins ties last years win total and the winning record after 5 games is a first in a rumored 20 years. I view HS ball in my area as pre season for my DD. This is her time to be outside getting in live at bats against quality pitching at times. My state has a school choice system where you can send your DD to any school you want if they have room, all you have to do is provide the transportation. We also have several free private schools. These require good academics but athletes take priority. Most of these are Tech HS and require you to take a career track so it doesn't appeal to everyone.

My DD's practices for HS are very lax and not physically demanding, no conditioning, no weights and she is usually behind home plate without gear catching the throws in from the infield so the coach can hit another one. That's why our TB team continues with practices because honestly HS ball is about the sense of school pride and not much else.

 

[4KidsDad]

How do HS sports generate revenue...?

 

[djcarter1966]

Textbook apples to oranges comparison. HS sports are a big business generating millions of dollars in revenue. You need understand the big picture. In Texas it is a multi-million dollar business with the CEO paid in excess of $250K.

In a FEW states High School FOOTBALL is big business. TX, FL and CA football can be big business...all other sports just like in college are net losers.

 

[djcarter1966]

How do HS sports generate revenue...?

When your football stadium holds 10 to 15K you get your answer