Why girls give up softball.

[grcsftbll]

What all the reasons boil down to really is that they aren't enjoying it enough for the sacrifices it requires. We're coming into that age now with our girls - we lost one in the spring because she wanted to try some other sports, and not be so involved in just one. My DD has watched how certain parents act and said, she's going to quit if her dad keeps acting like that. When they first start it's just a really fun game. As they get older the fun is less frequent, so if they don't have the competitive drive and love for the sport itself, why keep doing it?

Plus I don't know if it's like this everywhere but here travel ball is like musical chairs, not just every year but every season. We had half our team turn over between fall and spring. I've seen girls be on 3-4 teams in one year (fall + spring). I'm guessing most of these 10U and 12U players aren't driving these decisions to spend months bonding with a group of girls and learning to work together, only to be pulled off and taken somewhere else. It seems like we should learn our lesson early on about the greener grass. Not that leaving a team is never justified because it definitely is. Sometimes it's not a good fit. But I think the girls with the never-satisfied parents are probably more inclined to quit too. It would get really old, having to bond with a new team every couple of months.

 

[chinamigarden]

All sports both girls and boys suffer participation losses as the kids get older. The reasons are many. Look at your typical 10u team, half of them will be doing something else by 14u, many will be specializing in another sport.

 

[sbmom19]

I think that it is the sheer sacrifice that they have to make in order to excel. The countless hours of practice and every weekend at a softball complex. The evenings playing high school games. Missing dances, football games and evenings out with friends because of practice or games. Doing homework until all hours or in the car because the tournament/game/practice was 4 hours away. Sometimes friends aren't willing to take the time that the player is able to give them and move on to other friends that are around all of the time. And the same goes with the boyfriends.

When they get to the higher levels as teenagers they have to give up a lot in order to compete at that higher level. And girls are much more social than boys - many chose friends and boyfriends over sport. They have to want it bad...

 

[kjmpa]

Asked DD1 who played at collegiate level and now starting to coach. Bad coaching was something she’d add to the list.


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[mj1569]

Asked DD1 who played at collegiate level and now starting to coach. Bad coaching was something she’d add to the list.


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I would totally agree with this statement. Not only bad coaching but bad coaches period. My DD has had more than her fair share during the years. She has had coaches that have literally killed her confidence and desire to play. She struggles with confidence to this day because of one of them and she is about to be a senior in college.

 

[Cyder517]

#2 is parents riding their a$$.

Can be #1 depending on the parent


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[BT3100]

A couple days ago me and DS and DD stopped by the feilds behind our house. A few rec teams were hitting. 10-12 year old girls. They had the jugs machine cranked to 55.
Most girls were swinging threw or fouling off balls.
Swings we're horrible.. not being rude just truthful.
Coach came over to chat. Wanted some pitching help.. but asked me what I thought of a few kids swings.. I am by no means a hititng expert but saw hands dropping, bat wrapping.. etc.
I asked the coach if they do Tee work.
He said "na... They need need help with faster pitching they will see."

There you have it 20 girls who were having fun but most will never get better with the coaching to they are getting.

This guy is a great parent and I give him all the credit in the world for helping when no one else probably stepped up. But not sure he can help the girls.

 

[BobInMadison]

.................................

 

[YOCOACH]

IME, no matter why, the reason many girls quit SB is because it becomes work at some point and not so much the fun game that they grew up loving. For some girls, it may happen at 8U/10U due to over competitive parents. For others, maybe 12U/14U when they realize that they can't rely on their inherent athleticism to keep up and actually have to work to do so and yet, for many more, 16U/18U when they decide that they don't want to play in college or simply can't/won't due to their chosen major such as Pre-Med. Some girls will always love the game so much that the hard work they continuously have to put into it and their social sacrifices is the price they are more than willing to pay to be on the field because they continue to love the game that much and continue to have fun just being part of a team. Others....not so much. For them their social lives and other interests will eventually supercede the love of the game and especially, the hard work needed to stay at the top of their game which would take away from that.

Once the fun leaves something, it's just human nature to look for something else to replace it.

 

[sluggers]

Other than HS football, organized youth sports are designed to have kids are drop out.

My DD's high school had 2 freshman basketball teams, 1 sophomore team, and 1 varsity team.

About 50 kids tried out for the freshman teams. Only 30 made a team. Next year, there were only 12 sophomores on the sophomore team. Of the original 50 kids, only 3 played varsity. Of those 3, only 2 had substantial minutes on the floor.

IME, no matter why, the reason many girls quit SB is because it becomes work at some point and not so much the fun game that they grew up loving.

Some kids simply don't have the eye-hand coordination or the speed to play sports at a high level.

It doesn't matter how much they work...they simply ain't got it. And, if a kid doesn't have the inate ability to be good, she should find something else to do.

Softball is just a game.