What's your motivation?

[1bucketmom]

The sad thing about those that focus on the scholarship......they can ruin the experience for their DDS and others. They are the ones that will "throw a child under the bus" to ensure their DD gets a spot. The team hop, the trash talk, they are genuinely lost people.

We got DD involved with sports because we were not going to let DD just sit around. We didn't care what sport she chose but she needed to do something. She tried various sports and landed on volleyball and softball. We also support her academic extracurricular activities as well. We know DD will go to college and softball has nothing to do with it. She has Ivy League dreams and they don't offer sports scholarships and require you to have a brain. ��
We fully expect to trade in softball gear costs for tutor costs to ensure DDs dreams come true.

So many scholarship chasers forget about the reason their DDs play.... often I wonder if they have actually thought about the costs of playing vs the cost of a tutor or saving for college??? I also think it funny that some scholarship chasers always have the newest cars, newest toys, hair and nails done, etc....but can't afford college???? LOL

 

[riseball]

The sad thing about those that focus on the scholarship......they can ruin the experience for their DDS and others. They are the ones that will "throw a child under the bus" to ensure their DD gets a spot. The team hop, the trash talk, they are genuinely lost people.

We got DD involved with sports because we were not going to let DD just sit around. We didn't care what sport she chose but she needed to do something. She tried various sports and landed on volleyball and softball. We also support her academic extracurricular activities as well. We know DD will go to college and softball has nothing to do with it. She has Ivy League dreams and they don't offer sports scholarships and require you to have a brain. ��
We fully expect to trade in softball gear costs for tutor costs to ensure DDs dreams come true.

So many scholarship chasers forget about the reason their DDs play.... often I wonder if they have actually thought about the costs of playing vs the cost of a tutor or saving for college??? I also think it funny that some scholarship chasers always have the newest cars, newest toys, hair and nails done, etc....but can't afford college???? LOL

I would not sell the gear too soon. One of my students is headed to Yale and although she has a brain, it was softball that made it possible. When it comes to Ivy League Dreams, if you play softball and have the academics you are one of the few. If you have just the academics you are one of the many.

 

[Il softball fan]

"However, what SHE likes is to just put on the gear and the headphones and take off running. "

Tell her to take care of her knees. Buy the best running shoes she/you can afford, and change them out as soon as they start to break down. See if she can go to a running clothing/shoes retailer that does stride evaluation, and they can recommend shoe inserts, and shoes that fit her foot/ running style. Knees can only take so much of that constant pounding until they give up. For me that was age 42. Did my last half marathon in the fall of 2013, and gave it up. Not a day goes by that I don't miss it. Nothing better than throwing in the earbuds and cranking up some music and just getting lost in the moment of nothing but me and the trail.

 

[grcsftbll]

I'm so jealous of people who like running.

 

[BobInMadison]

"However, what SHE likes is to just put on the gear and the headphones and take off running. "

Tell her to take care of her knees. Buy the best running shoes she/you can afford, and change them out as soon as they start to break down. See if she can go to a running clothing/shoes retailer that does stride evaluation, and they can recommend shoe inserts, and shoes that fit her foot/ running style. Knees can only take so much of that constant pounding until they give up. For me that was age 42. Did my last half marathon in the fall of 2013, and gave it up. Not a day goes by that I don't miss it. Nothing better than throwing in the earbuds and cranking up some music and just getting lost in the moment of nothing but me and the trail.

Good advice. Although recently I have been living away from my family, my DW and kids are all visiting a couple of weeks for Christmas/New Year's break. I will make sure I discuss this with DD #1 this evening. Running has been great for her. She was in a very stressful situation in HS: keeping up her grades, getting her test scores up, and she had a lot of anxiety about my work situation, which has been very stressful for the entire family. Running is a good way for her to clear all the stress and garbage from her brain, and use her energy for the things about her life she can actually control. Your advice as to how to prolong her running will be very helpful to her. Thank you.

 

[JAD]

Parents who's sole motivation is a college scholarship for their DD need to quit softball and invest that money into tutoring or a 529 plan, because there is exponentially more academic money available than athletic money for softball players. If you factor in all the costs of 5 years of TB and the number of players who play 4 years of college softball, and partial scholarships, I bet less than 1.8% of players see a return on their investment. That means 98.2% of players end up in the "red".

Play for the love of the game and quality family time, not for a scholarship....

I would not worry about being on a college exposure team until second year 14U/first year 16U. Most college coaches do not care how many times your DD has been to ASA or PGF nationals at 10U or 12U....

If your DD wants to play high end D1 she needs to be on a marquee TB team by first year 16U. Lower D1/D2 a good A-level TB team will suffice. D2/D3 make sure your DD is going to camps and let the coaches know she is interested.

If your DD really wants to play college softball and is willing to go where there is an opportunity and she is an A-level player, there will be a spot for her somewhere, but it may be in North Dakota (not that there is anything wrong with that....)

More players should consider the JUCO route then transfer after a year or two. It would save tons of $$$!

 

[riseball]

...More players should consider the JUCO route then transfer after a year or two. It would save tons of $$$!

Worked for us.

 

[JAD]

Worked for us.

Your DD should have written a BLOG about her JUCO experiences and shared it with future generations of softball players.....

 

[1bucketmom]

parents who's sole motivation is a college scholarship for their dd need to quit softball and invest that money into tutoring or a 529 plan....

Play for the love of the game and quality family time, not for a scholarship....!

exactly...........

 

[Anthony Vertuccio]

My perspective as a coach who has coached 12U to 18U...
12U...played for fun and learning the sport
14U... played for fun and learning the sport...start thinking of maybe playing in college
16U...played for fun and learning the sport...start thinking of playing in college becomes realistic
18u...played for fun and still learning the sport...playing in college is what you definitely want to do since going to college showcases and paying for them becomes expensive. If you don't want to play in college at this point then still play but on a team that stays local.
My big point....PLAYED FOR FUN NO MATTER WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IN COLLEGE