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

[obbay]

First of all, kids don't have as much time to play as they used to. I'm not talking sports, I'm talking PLAY! And when it does come to sports, the nfl promotes the Play 60 thing which is good except that I don't remember the last time my daughter had 60 minutes in a weekday to play anything!

2nd- speaking for my area only- softball is a difficult sport compared to the others. In soccer a whole lot of kids are playing at once and the game follows the ball moving up and down the field. Same with basketball. Softball training originates as tee ball and then when it actually becomes softball, almost every coach is a male that is completely unfamiliar with Fastpitch AND coaching girls(myself included) and it is treated like 'baseball for girls'.

The game involves a lot of thinking and the execution of a lot of different skills, whereas The games where you are shooting at a goal to score pretty much keep it simple and as such are easier for young minds to get. In softball, the player needs to be patient and ready to react in a fraction of a second.
All that said, our little league softball numbers are dropping- most notably in the U16 senior league. Reduced from 6 teams to 4 and those teams experience significant fluctuation in players showing up for games, let alone practice. We have expanded to incorporate other towns into the league.

 

[Jojo]

One thing you might try doing is holding pitching clinics for multiple girls at one time to teach them the basics. I did that for several years here with our local rec league and a couple of others when I worked out of a facility that encouraged it.

You're not going to make them aces, but you can at least them going and help them become competent at getting the ball in the strike zone without resorting to bowling or just chucking it in there any old way. A few might want to move on to individual lessons, but even if they don't the games should be more fun for all the girls, and pitching should be a positive rather than negative experience.

Group lessons help keep the cost down.

Ken, I may try that this year.
I do free clinics to the local leagues every year and I'll get like 10-15 kids show, I'll hold it for an hour but run it to 1 1/2, due to to many kids. I know they are not getting enough time.
I think this year I'll try a sign-up through the league, and do hour segments. Great idea!
I bet that will work a lot better.

 

[JJsqueeze]

We can hang wring all we want as softball people but I think the simple fact is that the pace of the diamond sports is not meshing well with the frenetic pace of ADD America. This is not a bad thing IMO, just because sheer numbers are going down does not mean that overall quality has to. Coaching quality is better, the college game is better. Fewer players staying with it, but better players IMO and better coaching with the advent of new technology, better use of video etc.

So just because the popularity is decreasing does not mean the game is getting worse.

MLB world series viewership numbers are a telltale sign IMO....

World Series television ratings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[CoogansBluff]

I would set up pitching clinics when I helped run a rec league a couple of years ago. It was a big help.

How much do the instructors charge?

I found that many of the good instructors saw it as an immediate money-maker, which I get the need to make a living. However, as we see rec numbers declining, it might be that more professional coaches see this as a necessary marketing tool that will pay off more later than now.

 

[Jojo]

I would set up pitching clinics when I helped run a rec league a couple of years ago. It was a big help.

How much do the instructors charge?

I found that many of the good instructors saw it as an immediate money-maker, which I get the need to make a living. However, as we see rec numbers declining, it might be that more professional coaches see this as a necessary marketing tool that will pay off more later than now.

I think the local ones around here charge around $25 a kid with 20-30 kids showing up for an hour.

I do mine for free.

 

[NorthMS]

One thing you might try doing is holding pitching clinics for multiple girls at one time to teach them the basics. I did that for several years here with our local rec league and a couple of others when I worked out of a facility that encouraged it.

You're not going to make them aces, but you can at least them going and help them become competent at getting the ball in the strike zone without resorting to bowling or just chucking it in there any old way. A few might want to move on to individual lessons, but even if they don't the games should be more fun for all the girls, and pitching should be a positive rather than negative experience.

Group lessons help keep the cost down.

I've been debating this. I'm by no means a pitching coach, but as much times as I've spent here and working with my DD, I've picked up some basics. I wouldn't charge a dime, but I was thinking about focusing on the 8u girls. You just can't learn to pitch in a few months.

 

[Jquick823]

What is the issue with kid pitch? The BB's? Watch some 14U "C" ball, it's a walk fest. Yes I know "C" ball is a baby step above REC at times but in order for pitchers to get better they need to work at it. The better pitchers in my area have been pitching since they were 6-8. Most pitchers and catchers play rec for the extra work, not a better place for a catcher to block at than a rec ball game IMO.

One thing I didn't see for a reason why there's a decline was the recession. Many people went into debt and extras like rec sports are not affordable especially in my area.

Also there's a large increase in "New" travel teams. Almost all orgs have a 10U but everyone has a 12U and some have 2-3 at each age group.

 

[riseball]

I would be interested to hear how the data was collected that supports the conclusion that not only was there a decline but within a specific age group. Not sure how you would even go about such a task without relying on some very convoluted data. Until then I would view any of this with a high degree of skepticism.

 

[mm'spapa]

Maybe needs a new thread. I wonder what Sue Enquist thinks about the 13 yr old pitcher who just verballed to UCLA.

 

[Indiana]

One way that our local rec league has combated the dreaded walk-fest has been by bringing out the tee after four pitched balls. This is at the 10U level only. After four balls, the batter gets one swing off of the tee. If the batter hits the tee, she is out, even if, in the process of hitting the tee, the ball travels some distance. There is no bunting allowed off of the tee - the ball has to travel a minimum distance. If the batter swings and misses, she is out. My daughter learned to pitch in this 10U environment, and it was very helpful. She never had to worry about "just throwing strikes" because the tee would give an extra chance. A flawed swing would cause the batter to either hit the tee or swing and miss, resulting in the dreaded "tee strikeout". Stealing was not allowed during the tee scenario. Think of it like a free throw in basketball.

There was one situation in which the batter was a very strong girl - my DD threw four balls and out came the tee. The batter took one swing and the ball went straight back towards my DD like a rocket. Luckily DD has quick hands and got her glove up. The force of the ball hitting into her glove actually knocked DD backwards onto her rear end. The umpire was so shocked that he walked out to the pitching circle, took the ball out of DD's glove, looked at it, put the ball back into DD's glove, patted DD on the head, then called the batter out. So that's maybe a safety issue. I think they've since changed the rule in that the pitcher has to back up a fair distance before the batter takes her swing. (the 10U rec pitching distance was 30 feet). Plus most young pitchers wear masks now - something that was pretty rare seven years ago. Overall, though, the tee rule was a good one - it let the pitchers learn to pitch, it kept the game interesting, and it kept things moving.