The State of Softball with Sue Enquist (Jan. 15, 2015)

[BT3100]

The wife and I made a decision 2 years ago that we were going to "invest" in off season professional coaching for our kids.
We take my 11 year old daughter and 8 year old son to a local "baseball academy". We pay $120 for both to have a one hour session per week. $30 for a 30 minute lesson. They do fielding and hitting, son does pitching every other week.
I know that's expensive and this does not include the money we spent on DD's travel team and the work she does with her team. We also pay $25/wk for her pitching lessons. Our kids have made such great progress with these winter workouts and have excelled in their sports. We have cut back in other areas and have told DD that she may not be able to play other sports as the time and money commitment would be too much. We do have them play Flag Football in the fall. It's a great sport and keeps them in excellent shape. I know many parents that don't have the time or skill to help their kids improve. We live in PA and you can't do any outside work here for at least 4 months per year. We think the investment is worth it but understand that some may not.

 

[BT3100]

Part of the reason recreational participation is dwindling because many parents are chasing the carrot and that is not attainable from rec ball. OTOH, the smaller rec programs lead to a smaller feeder field from which to draw players into travel ball.

Last year we had 56 girls at tryouts for REC ball. This year the commish told us that so far, only 3 girls signed up. We have a week left for sign ups but... 3?

 

[3bmama]

My dd is 10. Softball is her favorite sport. There a 2 rec leagues near us, 1 offers 6 games, the other offers 8. That's it. No tourney, no all stars. $80 for 8 games is a lot of money. We went with the 6 games for 40, but that wasn't enough softball, especially when you decide you wanted to be a pitcher. And the competition was... Not good. The one rec league did standard 10u, etc. The other was 3rd & 4th grade. The difference in talent between the few good girls in the league(dd played 1 year at 9, before we realized it was less than desirable) and the rest of the league was horrifying. The coach was ok. Really Nice guy, not bad at all. We had to find a travel or competitive as it's referred to here, otherwise she would have never improved. It could be bc we are in the KC metro area so you can play a full tournament schedule without leaving town. By 10u you are choosing softball or soccer, bc of overlap. My daughter's other preferred sport Is Volleyball, it overlaps with softball. I have 4 kids. I can't run her to 2 activities in the same season, plus pitching lessons. She also doesn't like being over scheduled. It used to be that I would play Volleyball in the spring, Softball in the summer, basketball in the winter and have time to run a couple of track meets when nothing was in season. You just can't do that anymore, and it actually makes me sad.

 

[1bucketmom]

It used to be that I would play Volleyball in the spring, Softball in the summer, basketball in the winter and have time to run a couple of track meets when nothing was in season. You just can't do that anymore, and it actually makes me sad.

This....... I think it's important that kids get to play a variety of sports and other activities; use of different muscles, exposure to different kids and coaches and makes them more well rounded. But, it's almost impossible.
That is truly sad.

 

[Greenmonsters]

It look me less than 5 minutes to find the following in Facts: Sports Activity and Children | Aspen Project Play.

Most of our largest sports are seeing major drop-offs in participation, as organized opportunities consolidate around the most talented, committed or well-resourced players. Among children ages 6-12, participation rates have declined in basketball (down 3.9 percent since 2008), baseball (14.4 percent), soccer (10.7 percent), softball (31.3 percent), and football (29 percent). Some newer, smaller sports have seen increases; lacrosse, most notably. Hockey, due in part to major policy interventions, has reversed declines. But on balance, millions of kids and teens are fleeing sports.

Anyone know if the Aspen report considers just rec or if it includes travel/AAU participation? Not so much at 6-8, but I wonder if the numbers for the 10-12 age don't reflect so much as a drop in the total number of kids participating sports, but rather a decrease in the number of kids participating in multiple sports due to specialization?

One thing that struck me about the Enquist interview was her excitedly talking about the ability for players to pursue SB year round. At the younger ages, that specialization might be contributing to the problem?

 

[CoogansBluff]

... I wonder if the numbers for the 10-12 age don't reflect so much as a drop in the total number of kids participating sports, but rather a decrease in the number of kids participating in multiple sports due to specialization?

Good question.

 

[BobInMadison]

I've noticed a huge drop off in the quality of rec ball players around here in just the past few years.

As recently as 2012, the local LL was able to field 3 competitive 14u teams and a 16u team. DD #1's rec ball team was as good as some of the weaker local TB teams, and won most of their games. DD #1 made the 14 u all-star team, and they were able to come in 3rd in one of the two tournaments they played. The 12U and 10U teams were even better.

In 2013, the local LL only had 1 14U rec ball team, and they lost every game. I can't remember if they still had a 16U team. No all-stars for 14U. The 12U all-star team was pretty good. DD #3 was on a 10U all-star team that won a tournament.

2014, no 16u team, only one 14u team (lost every game they played), and only a few of the best 14U and 12U TB players even played at all. DD #3 was the starting pitcher for the 12U all-star team, and they lost every game they played in 2 tournaments.

The local rec ball league is still the feeder for the local TB teams. As recently as a couple of years ago, the TB players would still play rec league. Not so much these days.

 

[Sparky Guy]

The local rec ball league is still the feeder for the local TB teams. As recently as a couple of years ago, the TB players would still play rec league. Not so much these days.

Players used to do that until they found out it was nonplus for everyone involved. The TB players were not challenged and the REC players were over-matched. Nothing was gained by it.

This winter my DD and I are working with a group of kids from a rec league. I know I'm going to have to talk with the parents and give them the "It's not fair." speech. These kids have been working on their pitching all winter long and I know they will over-power the rec kids and the parents are going to hear about it because the other kids can't hit them.

 

[chinamigarden]

I saw a dad throwing to his 8 ish yo DD, the other night. Kudos to him for trying, but he was tossing the ball verrrry slowly and she was attempting a basket catch. I learned to catch, by playing every day. That is another thing that is missing. Two little kids can take an $8.00 soccer ball and go play in the yard. With softball, they might break a window.

Thinking back to my kids playing in the yard. My son played baseball my DD of course playing softball. Both played soccer. I never had a window broken by a baseball or softball. In fact nothing damaged. Soccer, 2 windows, 2 outside lights and a big dent in my barn door.

 

[chinamigarden]

The wife and I made a decision 2 years ago that we were going to "invest" in off season professional coaching for our kids.
We take my 11 year old daughter and 8 year old son to a local "baseball academy". We pay $120 for both to have a one hour session per week. $30 for a 30 minute lesson. They do fielding and hitting, son does pitching every other week.
I know that's expensive and this does not include the money we spent on DD's travel team and the work she does with her team. We also pay $25/wk for her pitching lessons. Our kids have made such great progress with these winter workouts and have excelled in their sports. We have cut back in other areas and have told DD that she may not be able to play other sports as the time and money commitment would be too much. We do have them play Flag Football in the fall. It's a great sport and keeps them in excellent shape. I know many parents that don't have the time or skill to help their kids improve. We live in PA and you can't do any outside work here for at least 4 months per year. We think the investment is worth it but understand that some may not.

It may be that this early specialization that is hurting youth sports. Kids who used to play in 2 or 3 different sports are now only playing 1. Our HS gives out a certificate to kids who participate in 3 or more sports. its of course the 3 sport athlete award. When my son was a junior in 2010 there were dozens of kids in 11th and 12th grade who qualified. I went to my dd's honors night last year and there were maybe 5. When kids specialize, the numbers of participation for all sports go down. Its not necessarily that there are less youth athletes or that lazy parents who are younger then us don't want their kids to participate... its that kids don't get to play more then 1 sport.