by anonlooker » Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:56 am
This post got much longer than expected, so I came back to the beginning to apologize in advance as I stumble down from my soapbox. What follows is my take on the OP, the blogpost, and some (dreaded) advice based on our experience in softball. Feel free to skip it, as I offer no panacea for the questions that plague softball parents, only some wee thoughts for the OP.
Back in the early days of Heybucket it was fairly common to put a newbie poster on blast, but these days not so much, so I had to read the blog to see whats prompting such derision. And... yeah.
It's easy to quibble with many of the particulars in the blog, but the overall gist with respect to softball - don't come into this expecting your kid will get a full ride to college - is pretty good advice for other newbie parents. If your kid is playing on a PGF caliber team, then she's probably playing with other kids getting some scholarship money, but overall in the sport (especially if you include HS softball players) that level of athlete is pretty rare. So you get that point, in a wayward sense.
What the OP misses is the leverage that softball (or almost any sport) can provide when looking at college opportunities for your kid, and that's significant. It really can't be overstated, but you have to understand the process and be clear on what you realistically want from it for your kid.
He also misses the softball "cultural mindset" (if you will) that dictates everyone playing travel ball is going to college. For non-athletes the question is often "Are you going to college?" but in travel ball circles, that's a given, and the question becomes not "if" but "where," which is significant because kids who understand they are college bound early in the process are much more likely to maintain a higher level of academics. (don't have a source for that) Simply being around like-minded high-achievers tends to rub off (not only in sports, of course.)
For that reason, I believe that if your kid plays a relatively decent level of travel up through 18u, she will have the skills and the academics to get some help going to college, somewhere, either scholarship money, or some leeway in the admissions criteria, usually a combination of the two. (admittedly, being in SoCal may bias my opinion here.)
When we started in travel, our coach told me it would take at least three years before I understood what travel ball is all about. As much as I've tried, I'm still not sure I get it. I know what worked for my kid, but I also know that every situation is unique. I feel for the parents who bring their kid into an environment where 14 year olds are being asked to commit, but on the flip side, that same environment presents a tremendous amount of opportunity for everyone.
The vast majority of 12u parents aren't going to understand the process very well, and would be wise to understand that. Few will understand the imperative "let go," meaning "let your kid grow without standing over her shoulder at every turn." Trust me, it's imperative.
Back to the OP - all those statistics don't mean crap. Don't allow "probabilities" to dictate your decisions. They will limit you, and worse, they will limit your kid. At 12 years old, neither of you know what she is capable of. Have a goal, work to further that goal every day, until you either achieve it or set a new goal.
Lastly, as a 12u parent - and I'll be blunt - you really don't know enough about softball to export that knowledge to other 12u parents, which is ultimately the source for all the derision you're getting in response to your post. Relax, let go, enjoy the journey while you can.
P.S. in all my years on Heybucket, with all of the many members, I've found maybe a dozen who consistently offer good advice. I'm not one of them, but would like to think I've learned a few things from them. The OP isn't one of them either. Rather than write too much, read and listen too much. There is plenty of wisdom to be gleaned from this site, but you'll need to separate the wheat from the chaff, and that can't happen when your fingers are moving.
Ask questions, even stupid ones, GAFSOH, and otherwise put your keyboard away and STFU. You're in 12u FFS, and like it or not, around here, that makes you the village idiot. We've all been there. Even Sam, who now knows everything. Just ask him. Even when he's wrong, he's right - you just don't know it yet. The sooner you understand that, the better off you'll be.
Bon voyage.
Don't worry about tomorrow. You did that yesterday.
