Tryouts???

[tim_s]

we lost at least 4" of snow yesterday, and I can see grass in patches in the OF, and the INF is a nice gray color......with the forecast we're seeing, might have a bare field by the weekend.......but it's gonna be wet as hell, and still another 3-4 weeks of snow potential lol

 

[HunterMO]

DD went through tryouts the last week of Feb for JH. 3-days; Wed, Thu, & Fri. This is her second year (8th grader) so she wasn’t as worried. The coaching staff puts on off-season open fielding/hitting sessions in the Sunmer and Winter. So they’ve seen a lot of her by the time tryouts happen.

Her JH had 30-35 girls show up. Which is enough for 2 squads as the HC runs smaller rosters. The “A” squad will mainly be last years 7th graders (now 8th) and should be good. As a "B" squad last year, they were as good as most A squad teams. As the group is made up of all travel ball players.

March is all practice. 5 days a week; 2 1/2 hours a day. Then games start in April. 2-games a week with a couple tournaments sprinkled in.

 

[uncdrew]

Because it was just about moving softball, not flipping softball and volleyball, which is the only way it could possibly work.

That's what pisses off my family. Volleyball is our second favorite sport, and in this crazy state they are both played in Fall.

 

[HunterMO]

we lost at least 4" of snow yesterday, and I can see grass in patches in the OF, and the INF is a nice gray color......with the forecast we're seeing, might have a bare field by the weekend.......but it's gonna be wet as hell, and still another 3-4 weeks of snow potential lol

I feel your pain. We've had off and on winter weather. We had a 3 day ice storm that kept the kids from school (and thusly from practice). The following week it was mid-70's so they got outside to practice. And this week they're back inside as it's in the mid-30's with more potential snow/ice coming this week. DD is fortunate that her school has an indoor facility as well as multiple gyms to practice in. But, nothing beats practicing outside on the field.

 

[DryHeat]

You have to be in the South or West coast then. I hope all is going well.

Indeed, Arizona. Season has been a little disappointing to start, but we have played really good competition and our SEC-bound pitcher was out for a couple games. They have already faced 3 D1 pitchers including two going to WCWS teams.

It's a good team looking to repeat or better last years semi-final appearance. They have a good mix of classes. I think this team would beat her 16u team which has a PGF Premier bid, mostly due to pitching.

DD is one of the lucky ones who is having a great HS experience. The scene in the state includes a lot of school spirit and tons of talent.

 

[Cougars]

Illinois tryouts started Feb 28th. Was close to 70 degrees saturday and my daughters team actually practiced outside. 1-2" of snow Sunday..... welcome to northern illinois.

First game is scheduled for 3/15, but who knows about field conditions. Forecast looks good for next week, but cold this week, so not going to be much drying out.

 

[CoachJD]

Illinois tryouts started Feb 28th. Was close to 70 degrees saturday and my daughters team actually practiced outside. 1-2" of snow Sunday..... welcome to northern illinois.

First game is scheduled for 3/15, but who knows about field conditions. Forecast looks good for next week, but cold this week, so not going to be much drying out.

This year I didn't even bother scheduling anything for the first week we can play games because we rarely get to play them. Good thing, too, because we won't get on a field during the first two weeks.

 

[tim_s]

I feel your pain. We've had off and on winter weather. We had a 3 day ice storm that kept the kids from school (and thusly from practice). The following week it was mid-70's so they got outside to practice. And this week they're back inside as it's in the mid-30's with more potential snow/ice coming this week. DD is fortunate that her school has an indoor facility as well as multiple gyms to practice in. But, nothing beats practicing outside on the field.

we have one gym......with the bleachers in it is slightly larger than a full sized basketball court......cage down one side.......we do have access to a smaller gym and a fitness room that is smaller than a classroom.....

we won't get outside until sometime between april 1-15 most years......right now the field is frozen, infield is half ice, outfield is maybe 65% clear of snow.....

we had a slight warm up a few weeks ago, we started to lose some of the frost in the ground (enough for frost heaves in the road, signaling the start of pothole season)

our next week looks like a fair amount of precip.......at least one night of 1/2" of snow changing to rain, a few other mixes to rain....only one night below 20, daytime highs running 30-48, trending towards the higher side

welcome to maine......and we are a ton better off here in central maine than those to the north - University of Maine Presque Isle is generally lucky to get 1-2 home softball games in each season lol

once we get past the first week of april or so, it is rare to get a significant snowfall.......of course, 2019 we got 10+" on april 8, so who knows

 

[Cougars]

This year I didn't even bother scheduling anything for the first week we can play games because we rarely get to play them. Good thing, too, because we won't get on a field during the first two weeks.

Yeah, it seems like wishful thinking, but I can understand the coaches hoping for the best, and cancelling as needed. I think they have 9 games scheduled for March.

I know before our group got to high school age, we didn't even schedule travel games until April 10th-ish.

 

[tcom963]

Sure but that doesn't guarantee anything. In fact, the HC also coaches TB as I did when I was the HC. We also have move-ins. We do a real tryout. Coaches have various skills and all but myself have played higher-level softball. I played men's fast pitch. The HC was my assistant when I was the HC. I retired then got another teaching/coaching position in another state. BTW, knowing what a player does in summer TB isn't a sure thing. TB is so watered down that some of these players only play local and have never seen quality pitching. Still, they deserve to have a "fair" tryout. Other factors figure in as well including grades and behavior. In school, if you can't keep the grades up and/or are in the office for behavior problems, you are not going to make this team.

Thank you for saying TB is watered down! One of our larger orgs has 38 14U teams in the state.... Some of the kids should be in rec.... but as long as the org gets the money