High School Ball Mandatory?

[59Invicta]

59 what year is your daughter

Freshman

[exD1dad]

A freshman & she doesn't want to play?We've heard these complaints before, reread the thread, find the old one too. Go read some college rosters, do they EVER say "Suzie played for so & so & so & so Travel teams" NO even when they win a National championship all they say is that they won. What do they say ? Played 4 years of varsity of for...All league, all conference all state all whatever, team captain etc.

tjbd "Bad habits create bad softball" hahahaha only to the lazy, undisciplined or stupid who buy into it, it's harder to NOT to drop to the level that's lower than it is to rise to the level of being surrounded by studdetts. For that reason alone she should play. Now that kind of statement is just what I'd expect from you, & maybe there are a handful of players who go to the next level (that don't play HS) but as usual you exaggerate your point & look foolish.

Poster let her play & hit .800 & set records if she's so good & then be recognized on a National level

It gets harder & harder every year for girls to get noticed & committed. Playing for your HS is the norm, if you don't do it you're making a big mistake & cutting down on your percentages of being recruited, no matter who you play travel for.

[tbjd33]

tjbd "Bad habits create bad softball" hahahaha only to the lazy, undisciplined or stupid who buy into it, it's harder to NOT to drop to the level that's lower than it is to rise to the level of being surrounded by studdetts. For that reason alone she should play. Now that kind of statement is just what I'd expect from you, & maybe there are a handful of players who go to the next level (that don't play HS) but as usual you exaggerate your point & look foolish.

Foolish... Really? Ever heard of the phrase, "practice how you play!"? Now have you seen a highschool game? Even better have you seen a HS practice? I have... Many of them and most are filled with bad and lazy DD's. Now I only assume you've seen D1 softball game live or even better one of their practices. They are game speed my friend.

Now my point isnt to say I advocate not playing HS ball. My DD will absolutely play regardless because she wants too and is excited too. My case is it is a fact it is a growing trend DDs are considering not playing HS. For many reasons, possible injury, need to focus on grades, or maybe they do run track for improved speed. Point is this is happening and both DD's and their families look in that direction as verbals happen earlier. Lots of $$$ on the table?

Again, I'm simply offering an argument and not understanding/accepting it as a possibility is foolish!

[Pale Rider]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVWHa5cpMZo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[jonriv]

tjbd "Bad habits create bad softball" hahahaha only to the lazy, undisciplined or stupid who buy into it, it's harder to NOT to drop to the level that's lower than it is to rise to the level of being surrounded by studdetts

Great point here D1 So the message you want to send a coach is that I do not have any self discipline???

My DD was not happy with how practices had been run at her HS. When she and her friend became Captains. They developed a practice plan that was derived from their experience at TB and at various College Recruitment camps. The coach wound up adapting most of it. Its called leadership. Poster your DD can show some by trying to fix the issue instead of avoiding it. If she is that good, she might be the one to make the difference.

Foolish... Really? Ever heard of the phrase, "practice how you play!"? Now have you seen a highschool game? Even better have you seen a HS practice? I have... Many of them and most are filled with bad and lazy DD's. Now I only assume you've seen D1 softball game live or even better one of their practices. They are game speed my friend.

Your comparing a D! practice with HS??? Your kidding right?? You are also painting with a pretty broad brush. I know several HS teams in our area that have coaches that are also TB coaches- they run run their practices like boot camp, HS teams can run te whole spectrum(Also TB teams like Sam says) College programs also vary as well. I am sure you would be shocked at a D1 practice at an Ivy or patriot league school where a starter might not even be a practice because of a "gasp" class

For many reasons, possible injury, need to focus on grades, or maybe they do run track for improved speed.

There's a message. "Coach, I did not play on my HS team because I was focusing on my Grades" Coach, "So you can't play and keep your grades up?"

[Pale Rider]

Recent message I got from a PAC-12 Coach when I asked him about relevance of HS ball...exact quote,

"HS ball is weenie ball..."

[jonriv]

Recent message I got from a PAC-12 Coach when I asked him about relevance of HS ball...exact quote,

"HS ball is weenie ball..."

Stat-wise and level of play I think most would agree. As a measure of other intangibles different story.

I am not arguing that Hs ball is some high leve play etc. I do believe that it definitely provides value on several levels. Again, the grind of the schedule and having to balance studies and playing is better emulated in Hs than travel.

IMO not playing in Hs because it is beneath you and your too good is bs. I also think not playing is depriving your dd of an excellent learning experience. Being part of the community, leading your peers or learning how to deal with adversity are all skills worth learning.

[AlwaysImprove]

HS ball across the country is pretty varied. Also, the feedback is going to be widely varied, based on other experiences, which is what makes heybucket so great.

For us HS was great. The coach was great, we won state, the team was populated with year round select ball players, we were 12-13 deep, we had pitching. The coach was not only smart enough to stay out of the way. He was awesome at taking the young girls that were coming to the team, and teaching them to be young ladies. Teaching them to compete, have fun, and play the game for themselves, not the for the expectations of others.

The teams we played every week. Not so much. We would see select ball players playing for the wackiest coaches in the world. One coach was teaching kids to tag up on ground balls to the outfield.

One thing about HS ball. It is really the first time that the parent has no input into the situation. Into the coaching, into what tournaments they play, into who will be the teammates. In our area, the kids that are better, usually have a parent that is pretty good at figuring things out. Finding the right other kids to be on a team with, doing some complex math on level of team and dd ability to play at that level and how much play time DD may get on that team. Saw quite a bit of the same in SoCal as well. It is a learned behavior.

So first off, sit down with yourself, I recommend at a sports bar with an NFL game on, maybe the Seahawks tonight. Make damn sure that DD apprehension to playing HS ball, is not reflective of your apprehension to how HS ball is run. She has likely gotten to know and trust your ability to pick teams/coaches, and this new approach is already going create uncertainty.

As an incoming Freshman, people often go the wrong direction on this aspect. Returning as a Sophomores, this often becomes one of the more welcomed aspects of HS ball. It actually becomes a relief that you had nothing to do with who is on the team, who is coaching, snacks, etc. You just show up enjoy, cheer your kid and the team on. It becomes rather nice, and I becomes the model of how you should have been doing it all along.

HS ball is really when you see a lot of players that are marginal, but have done a great job of team selection getting a bit exposed. That kid who is championed as a pitcher on one of the great select teams in the area. Turns out she was kind of 1B, or number 2 pitcher. Now in HS, they have a savvy senior, they try the freshman in a few varsity games, but it is pretty clear. That senior may not be as skilled, but 4 years of learning how to get by on what you got has her doing pretty well. So championed pitcher ends up on JV.

I think HS ball is also that chance for the player to learn how to be on a team, that is much more run by the team. HS juniors and seniors tend to have a pretty strong thoughts about how a team should run, so there is more on the team leadership. This can be good and bad at times. But even when it is bad, it is actually good for your kid to get some exposure to how older teams form up leadership. It is an environment she needs to learn about.

The challenge is that there is enough of a collision between parents loosing control issues and HS coaches that are so bad. It is hard to advise on your specific situation without knowing more.

For me, you say the team is not that strong. I would still encourage you give HS ball a chance. Not saying it is a requirement. I still think of it more as an opportunity to start let her learn grow develop out from that parent umbrella. If you approach it as such, going to be hard not to get a win.

I think this is the thread that others were referring to: http://www.heybucket.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=64075&start=10

[jonriv]

AI that was one of your best posts if not the best post on HB!!!! Awesome!!!! 59 heed his advice

[artomatic]

This

There's a message. "Coach, I did not play on my HS team because I was focusing on my Grades" Coach, "So you can't play and keep your grades up?"

and this:

One thing about HS ball. It is really the first time that the parent has no input into the situation. Into the coaching, into what tournaments they play, into who will be the teammates. In our area, the kids that are better, usually have a parent that is pretty good at figuring things out. Finding the right other kids to be on a team with, doing some complex math on level of team and dd ability to play at that level and how much play time DD may get on that team. Saw quite a bit of the same in SoCal as well. It is a learned behavior.

So first off, sit down with yourself, I recommend at a sports bar with an NFL game on, maybe the Seahawks tonight. Make damn sure that DD apprehension to playing HS ball, is not reflective of your apprehension to how HS ball is run. She has likely gotten to know and trust your ability to pick teams/coaches, and this new approach is already going create uncertainty.

As an incoming Freshman, people often go the wrong direction on this aspect. Returning as a Sophomores, this often becomes one of the more welcomed aspects of HS ball. It actually becomes a relief that you had nothing to do with who is on the team, who is coaching, snacks, etc. You just show up enjoy, cheer your kid and the team on. It becomes rather nice, and I becomes the model of how you should have been doing it all along.

HS ball is really when you see a lot of players that are marginal, but have done a great job of team selection getting a bit exposed. That kid who is championed as a pitcher on one of the great select teams in the area. Turns out she was kind of 1B, or number 2 pitcher. Now in HS, they have a savvy senior, they try the freshman in a few varsity games, but it is pretty clear. That senior may not be as skilled, but 4 years of learning how to get by on what you got has her doing pretty well. So championed pitcher ends up on JV.

I think HS ball is also that chance for the player to learn how to be on a team, that is much more run by the team. HS juniors and seniors tend to have a pretty strong thoughts about how a team should run, so there is more on the team leadership. This can be good and bad at times. But even when it is bad, it is actually good for your kid to get some exposure to how older teams form up leadership. It is an environment she needs to learn about.

The challenge is that there is enough of a collision between parents loosing control issues and HS coaches that are so bad. It is hard to advise on your specific situation without knowing more.

For me, you say the team is not that strong. I would still encourage you give HS ball a chance. Not saying it is a requirement. I still think of it more as an opportunity to start let her learn grow develop out from that parent umbrella. If you approach it as such, going to be hard not to get a win.

I think this is the thread that others were referring to: http://www.heybucket.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=64075&start=10

I think the biggest problem some parents have is they don't have any control or say in how HS ball is run. Kind of like college ball, and then to some degree, work and life...especially those who feel they know it all and are used to trying to manipulate things and making sure everyone knows how awesome and smart they are.