TB vs REC a perspective

[CoachKevin]

The HS season is about mid-way here in Oregon. The Varsity team is undefeted and ranked #1 in the State!!! This year the HS had 21 Freshman come out for try-outs, so the HS made a JV and a JVII team to accomodate the players.

Head Coach (meeting with the Summer coaches) said it was very easy this year where to place the kids. During warm-ups you could walk down the line and say she plays TB, TB, REC, TB, ect. It was that obvious, not to mention the ability to play.

Varsity - ALL players have TB experience
JV - 90% have TB experience
JVII - 0% have TB experience

At least in my hometown the REC program is horrible to say the least. The Summer Coaches have tried to work with the program to hold clinics in coaching/pitching/batting but all have come with opposition from the REC Department, so eventually we gave up even trying.

As I said in a previous post, when my TB Team was 10U and 1st year 12U they allowed us to play in the Middle School Division. I believe we lost 1 game in 3 years, they now do not allow this to happen.

Parents of the JVII players are now scratching their heads and wondering if their "star" REC player will ever make Varsity.

Question, why hold your DD back playing REC? Remember there IS a TB team that will fit with your DD.

 

[Dave D]

Coach Kevin,
Mcminnville? That has to be my guess. Amazing progress in that area in recent years. Either that or Glide. With a JV 2, I have to say the former. I second your point that, at least here in Oregon, there is a huge gulf between the programs populated by TB players and those who have no TB presence. Our local TB team put 9 of 10 freshmen onto their HS Varsity squads, mostly because few other local girls have ever played TB.

 

[starsnuffer]

Your question is silly. Rec is short for recreation. Kids play recreation softball because it's fun, it's a recreational activity. Kids don't play recreational softball to become great softball heroes or excel in the sport. They play because it's fun.

It would be silly to suggest that a kid that only plays rec ball, playing maybe 15 games a season, would be as good or even as close to as good as a kid who plays travel ball, playing typically 100 games a year. Even with the worst coaches in the world on the TB team and the best on the rec team, there's just no way to compare that level of experience and game time.

HS ball is a social thing that brings the worlds of rec and TB together, but more often then not team makeup has more to do with politics then talent. I've heard 100 stories of HS coaches that hate the local rec league so they wont' let the kids in the league play or start. . . another coach doesn't like the coach of the TB team so they won't play, ect. Luckily the HS season is the shortest of the 3 and usually has the worst coaches. .. the problem is all the dads who remember their HS glory days and think their kids will relive that HS glory. . . .. softball just isn't about that.

-W

 

[T Red]

I agree with CoachK. I think part of the problem is the impression that TB is expensive. It was my impression anyway. In my area there are quite a few TB teams that only travel about 2 hours at most. So you don't have to stay overnight.


I'll admit it's more expensive than rec but worth every penny so far.

 

[CoachKevin]

Haha W - The question isn't silly. As with most things (at least where I live) the perception is that, like T Red said, TB is far too expensive, which really isn't the case. Most parents involved with the Rec Department don't even realize there are other programs out there, that is until High School when it's way too late to try and catch up. Kids play REC because for the most part they don't realize what other options they may have, sure you get a small percentage that just don't care and want to play for the "fun" of it. I can tell you from this year, and talking to some of the JVII players, they now wished they played TB... so you tell me that the question is silly!!!

 

[CoachKevin]

Coach Kevin,
Mcminnville? That has to be my guess. Amazing progress in that area in recent years. Either that or Glide. With a JV 2, I have to say the former. I second your point that, at least here in Oregon, there is a huge gulf between the programs populated by TB players and those who have no TB presence. Our local TB team put 9 of 10 freshmen onto their HS Varsity squads, mostly because few other local girls have ever played TB.

We are working hard to try and change the perceptions, but it is a huge uphill battle. I believe this year we have 1 10U, 2 12U, 1 14U, and maybe a 16U team. The 10U and 12U programs are the real important ones, if we can continue to get kids in.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Some rec leagues, coaches, and parents expect the program to be little more than a babysitting service with cute uniforms and a snack bar.

There are, however, several rec leagues where the culture is very different. They make the learning fun, but they also make sure the girls are learning the game. Whether they enjoy it and decide to continue playing for a lifetime is up to the players, but at least the programs and coaches are doing all that they can to lay a solid foundation for whatever a player wishes to do later on in softball.

I've mentioned this a couple of times before, but I'm an extremely competitive person and coach, something I'm not willing or able to divorce myself from just because I coach a rec team. I don't see my players as being the kids who got dropped off so that mommy and daddy could go get a massage. I see them as young women who really want to learn as much as they can about the game and how it is played and who enjoy the added benefit of learning how to compete.

I was shocked the other day when a player hit a slow grounder to 1st and then stopped halfway up the line and started towards the dugout. I did not yell directly at her, but did yell at the team to remind them that we never, ever call our own outs, not even in practice. I don't care that it's 'just rec'. Lack of hustle is never tolerated, nor should it be.

A mom from another team sorta laughed at me yesterday when she saw me scouting an upcoming opponent. I had my DD there with me taking a look at some of the batters. I only commented one of them and aside from that let DD do her own assessments.

My girls will not play 100 games this year, but some of them are ready for the next level, which for us is all-stars, and some of those girls could compete for playing time on some of the decent TB teams in the area if they wanted. By season's end, they'll have an even greater awareness of the game. I won't get to coach the girls who age into 12u, but I hope they all want to return to rec next year, and if they do, I guarantee our league will be that much better because of it. If we then lose that top level talent to TB for 2nd year 12u, in my mind, it means that the league, my coaches, and I have actually done our job.

 

[starsnuffer]

Haha W - The question isn't silly. As with most things (at least where I live) the perception is that, like T Red said, TB is far too expensive, which really isn't the case. Most parents involved with the Rec Department don't even realize there are other programs out there, that is until High School when it's way too late to try and catch up. Kids play REC because for the most part they don't realize what other options they may have, sure you get a small percentage that just don't care and want to play for the "fun" of it. I can tell you from this year, and talking to some of the JVII players, they now wished they played TB... so you tell me that the question is silly!!!

TB is expensive. It isn't about the money. Money is meaningless. TIME is important, it's all we have, and TB is a huge TIME commitment. A lot of people have other things going on, and don't want to comitt the time to travel ball, and we can't fault them for it. Perhaps they're playing other sports, maybe they like having family BBQ every weekend, maybe dad takes daughter fishing and that time is special for them. . . whatever it is, we can't impose our sense of worth on others.

Trust me, I coach travel ball, my kids play, I love it and wouldn't do it any other way . . . but it isn't for everyone, no matter how "good" it makes the players.

-W

 

[Momo'sDad]

TB is expensive. It isn't about the money. Money is meaningless. TIME is important, it's all we have, and TB is a huge TIME commitment. A lot of people have other things going on, and don't want to commit the time to travel ball, and we can't fault them for it. Perhaps they're playing other sports, maybe they like having family BBQ every weekend, maybe dad takes daughter fishing and that time is special for them. . . whatever it is, we can't impose our sense of worth on others.

Trust me, I coach travel ball, my kids play, I love it and wouldn't do it any other way . . . but it isn't for everyone, no matter how "good" it makes the players.

Yeah, take the money out of the equation, because time is the real limiting factor. You can always make more money, but can never make more time. My daughter has a 1-hour warm-up before her 2 90-minute games each week. She has a single 2-hour practice and then 2 additional hours of practice scattered throughout the week. Her mother loves softball and loves watching our child excel, but although she recognizes that our DD puts in more hours than most kids, she also questions whether it's 'too much'. She marvels at our daughter's skill level relative to other girls in the league, but doesn't always have a firm appreciation for or understanding of the hours and hours of practice outside of team practice required for her to be as good as she is.

I'm having a great time coaching her right now and may even coach in the fall and I'm already looking forward to having her for 2 more spring seasons, after which I would proudly albeit sadly turn her over to 1 of you TB guys. I wish the same degree of fun and togetherness for other moms and dads out there going through a sporting life with their own children.

 

[bobbyb]

I totally agree with Starsnuffer and Momo's Dad....TIME is the big issue. I like Momo's dad approach to rec ball too. Thats what it should be about! Hats off to you...you are doing whats right for the girls in rec! Some will learn to love it, have fun and some will move on. Some will stop playing all together but most will always remember the fun.. and appreciate you!