What is the goal to all of this?

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sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
Gotcha. My sister (who is 43) played amateur softball in MA which I guess was some sort of precursor to TB. She played local teams from nearby towns but then ended up playing in some National tournament in Oklahoma (hey go figure) at the end of the year..may have been an ASA national tournament in Tulsa? She didn't play softball in college, but probably could have (probably D2). Instead she chose to play D1, albeit small conference (Patriot leage), volleyball.

In the early 1990s, women's fastpitch was played, more or less, only in Arizona, West Texas, SoCal, Chicagoland and Massachusetts. Other than U So.Carolina and Louisiana Lafayette, the southeast was a huge softball wasteland.

Oklahoma was (and is) the HQ of ASA softball. ASA softball was literally the only game in town until the mid 1990s. There was only one national fastpitch softball tournament...the ASA tournament.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
In the early 1990s, women's fastpitch was played, more or less, only in Arizona, West Texas, SoCal, Chicagoland and Massachusetts. Other than U So.Carolina and Louisiana Lafayette, the southeast was a huge softball wasteland.

Oklahoma was (and is) the HQ of ASA softball. ASA softball was literally the only game in town until the mid 1990s. There was only one national fastpitch softball tournament...the ASA tournament.
Yeah that was the first time my sister had been on an airplane..I cannot remember the year. She may have been like 12 or 13 so maybe 1987 or 1988?? They got their asses kicked too if I remember correctly lol!!
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
Our journey has been a short one. My DD only started softball two years ago. I mean seriously. It was her first time to touch a softball. 😂 She’s 14 now. Fourteen! Also, she’s pitching! Talk about hard work and perseverance! This is why I’m not delusional. I absolutely know she is late to the party. But, she has evolved into a decent player. Not elite. But decent. Decent enough to be part of a TB team for a short period of time recently, until she chose to not do it. It just wasn’t for her. Maybe it was the team/coach that turned her off, maybe not. She held her own on the team. She can at least say she tried it, and won’t feel like she has missed out on something. Had we started her at 10U, maybe her journey would be different. Maybe not. Hindsight, you know?

TB isn't for every player, or every family, and lots of factors go into making it work. What matters is that they are having fun. For some, fun means competing at a high level, and they are willing to do all the hard work it takes to play at that level. For others, having the sport consume them isn't fun at all. There is no judgement about which is a better road. Just enjoy the road you're on.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,133
113
Dallas, Texas
Yeah that was the first time my sister had been on an airplane..I cannot remember the year. She may have been like 12 or 13 so maybe 1987 or 1988?? They got their asses kicked too if I remember correctly lol!!

Yeah...that happened to everyone outside of California. The California teams were light years ahead of the rest of the US. No one could compete with them. The ASA used stupid 2-game elimination format with no pool play...so a lot of teams were done after the first day.
 
Jul 14, 2018
982
93
<<Standing in the corner insisting "I'm Not Delusional!!" :ROFLMAO:

I am one of the silly people whose DD has been playing travel since first-year 10U, and has been footing the bill for private lessons, and travel, and TB teams for a few years now. I have no misconceptions about my daughter's skill level -- there are no scholarships in her future.

What she does have is a love for the game, and a love for spending the weekend with her teammates and being a part of something bigger. When she started TB, she had some clear shortcomings. I see the lessons and practices as a way to keep her on the field and playing a game that she loves.

I did have one abiding vision of the future with regards to softball that I still cling to. Being a girl in high school can be tough, and I wanted my daughter to have a built-in crew of peers that she could always rely on. She's still in middle school, but her teammates have been that group who always have her back, even when the mean girls show their fangs. To me, in the short term at least, it's that social aspect that means more than anything.

ETA: The time we spend together is worth every penny.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
Well hell now i'm confused. :)

Sluggers has been around the block more times than I have, and knows way more than I claim to. What he is saying may very well be the case much of the time. But it isn't the case all of the time. My DD is a D3 pitcher. She receives some nice academic $ but cannot receive any athletic $. It is possible that the coach helped freshen the pot, per se, but that was not communicated to DD if she did.
 
Jan 27, 2010
1,871
83
NJ
No. Two girls on my 23u travel team play for a D2. Both received small scholarships, but they are still paying quite a bit on their own.
We had a fast as lightning CF and lead off hitter that got 80% from a D2 and I thought that was pretty good. Yes she was that fast. So many times teams thought they had a hit only to have her appear in view and rob them of the hit. LOL.

From my experience, if your DD is a starter on a team that plays the Firecracker or PGF Nats or just plays the main fields or complex at Team NJ or NE's Finest, she can play in college somewhere. Might not get to be choosey but she can play.
 

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