High School Daughter loses interest due to HS Program

[HAMMER]

Ya, I feel everyone's pain ! Politics are big part of our h/s program as well, but to there defense not many options for the coaches to pick from. If you have skills they will use you I just have to laugh when they determine on how. They will cater to the parents that hang on the fence and are at every practice giving there advice on how to run the team, Oh and are the biggest supporters $$$$ of the fundraising club.

We have had some go D1 but they were big time travel ball players and that is what got them there rides ! They sure crowded around with there chest out when the picture is being taken on signing day for the paper ! LOL

Could have worse, over all not bad for h/s coaches. I would like to see them support some type of off season travel for the h/s team -jv program to build the sport at our school. How do most schools handle that ?? I here y'all talk about the varsity team traveling before the season starts. Is it without the h/s coaches? is it a parent taking charge ? What ?

[DonnieS]

How do most schools handle that ?? I here y'all talk about the varsity team traveling before the season starts. Is it without the h/s coaches? is it a parent taking charge ? What ?

You have to do it without the h/s coaches. Usually some parent takes charge - I had been coaching for awhile and had 5-6 of the h/s kids playing on my travel team and since the coaches love me so much - I did it.

I try to follow what they played the year before and what they do in practices - but can not talk to the coaches at all about the team, we call them the summer varsity team. No coach is around when we practice - we ask them to come to the tournaments we play in but only one does, his kid is on both my travel team and the varsity team.

[SnocatzDad]

That's interesting Donnie, Is that your HS rules that the coaches can't have contact in the summer? In MN they are allowed to coach them through the summer all the way through ASA Nationals week, but then can't coach them again until sometime in March, so parents pickup the slack for the preseason indoor Dome team (formed similar to yours, best guess for varsity, no guarnatees)

[DonnieS]

That's interesting Donnie, Is that your HS rules that the coaches can't have contact in the summer? In MN they are allowed to coach them through the summer all the way through ASA Nationals week, but then can't coach them again until sometime in March, so parents pickup the slack for the preseason indoor Dome team (formed similar to yours, best guess for varsity, no guarnatees)

The way the UIL rules are understood by me and the way we interpret them, is that the h/s coaches can not work with/ coach etc. outside of h/s season. During the h/s year, most of the kids take Softball as their p/e class and work on basics at school.

So thats what I do like you said - I try to interpret where the kids should play as I understand from a h/s perspective and try to get them as much game time as I can working together. But like most guys who do this, my word means nothing to the h/s coaches.

[DonnieS]

Rootingforsis I have to agree with everything you said especially the upper classmen part I just hope Its not to the point that my dd wants to quit. By the way are any Heybucket people going to the High School Tourney in Roundrock the 9-10 of Jan.

Yep - I will be there coaching the TM Cherokees.

I withdrew the TM Cherokees from the tournament - 18 degrees to start the day on Saturday and 22 degrees to start Sunday. This tournament is one I want us to play for years but like I told the TD, cant fight mother nature.

[coolstuff]

This discussion is kind of scaring me because DD's HS team is coached by a guy who's been coaching the team forever and is definitely old school. Nothing and I mean nothing better interfere with softball, and that includes travel ball which he hates with a passion and makes his feelings very clear to the team. DD got into a tussle with the HC for missing a game for a choir performance even though her JV coaches approved it. DD almost quit choir but the choir director raised a stink, and the principal of the school even told me "sometimes I have to reel (the softball coach) in." But I have to give DD credit for guts. The HC sent out an e-mail telling the players "don't bother signing up for a travel team" because he intends to start a summer team (no details provided). Some travel girls just e-mailed the coach and told him they had already signed up for a travel team (his e-mail went out in early September - obviously not aware of the travel ball calendar.) DD went to talk to him face-to-face. He ragged on travel teams and told her that if another player who chooses to play for his summer team is a better player at DD's position, then that player gets preference over DD. (What's the odds of that happening?) DD came away determined to show the coach how much she has improved from last year (and she has) and there was no way anyone was going to be better at her position. This HS coach has had some great success and just recently so there's not much to criticize except for the way he treats his players, not only the travel ball girls. None of the girls like him. The funny thing is he starts the travel ball girls because they are, naturally, the best players he's got.

I've been somewhat afraid that DD will say she's done with softball because of this guy, but she is not a quitter and is using this coach as a motivator to be a better player.

[Black Mamba]

DonnieS did the TD say anything about maybe moving the tourney to another date, or do they plan on having it despite the weather.

[18'sdad]

DonnieS did the TD say anything about maybe moving the tourney to another date, or do they plan on having it despite the weather.

I am not Donnie, but I will do my best to answer. The way I understand it is the tournament will be played this weekend. They cancelled one of the pool games and moved bracket game times up so they could finish earlier on Saturday to try and beat some of the weather. I agree with Donnie you can't fight Mother Nature. Our team will still be there on Saturday. I don't know how effective any team will be or how much you will be able to judge the talent level of your team in that kind of weather. Good Luck to all who come to Round Rock.

P.S. If you can make it past the morning I hear it is going to warm up to a sweltering 40 degrees.

[DonnieS]

If we lived there, probably try to hang in, but in these times, spending lots of bucks and then trying to play in conditions that we wont see during the season at all - doesnt make sense. We did this about 5 years ago and I swore I would never do it again (high 38 low 33 type of day) , plus ruined two bats. There is a pretty big difference between down here on the coast and up in the central texas area. They were telling us to wear our cold weather gear - a lot of the kids just dont have cold weather gear, or they buy it on their annual or bi annual ski trips - and doesnt work for softball anyway. These arent poor kids, just dont use coats very often. My girls spent NY day at the beach.

I am disappointed, I love to see us compete against the big dogs, and I just heard a rumor that says our school is going to move down to 3A next year, we have been 3A size for some time but for whatever reason, they kept us in 4A. So the schools (and kids) I had hoped we would face, will be in the 4a and 5a brackets.

We are losing 5 varsity starters to graduation and the kids below are not active travel ball kids so going to be very different. K hasnt played on weak teams, either travel or school, really ever so it will be a challenge for her, to keep her focused on her pitching. Plus going to 43 feet, will put more pressure on the defense, so oh well.

We had a group of kids, almost our neighborhood gang, that had played together since Pony League All-Stars, about 7-8 years old on up. The kids were spread across 2 travel teams, I had/have 7, a team across town had 2 of the kids who were the varsity here at TM. Good kids and families too - fun to coach. I have a great picture on a plaque I got, 7 - 8 years ago, the first big win, a pony sectional that qualified us for whatever came next, regional probably. We finished at 1 in the morning, there are 12 goofy grinning girls, and two bleary eyed exhausted coaches. Doesnt get any better.

[Black Mamba]

18's dad thanks for the info, we also will be there as far as I know some parents are starting to complain about the weather but we should make the trip.