Wondering about SoCal HS players

[6to4to3]

Do players in SoCal even play for their HS teams or just stay on with their club teams? What is the general rule of thumb for y'all down there in the softball mecca?
thanks

[hotwheels]

Yes, 99% of the kids play for their HS teams...Their travel teams will generally go "DARK" and hold practice a couple times a month on the weekends...

Our team will go dark right after Valentine's Day weekend and then we'll practice a couple Sunday's each month...Then in May, we all pick it back up again...

Serves as a great break for the travel coaches...

[DDG]

Yes, 99% of the kids play for their HS teams...Their travel teams will generally go "DARK" and hold practice a couple times a month on the weekends...

Our team will go dark right after Valentine's Day weekend and then we'll practice a couple Sunday's each month...Then in May, we all pick it back up again...

Serves as a great break for the travel coaches...

Agreed. Even if the HS program "has issues", almost all will be playing for them.

FYI - We go dark from mid February to mid April.

[Makina]

Yes a majority of travel play with HS unless they decide to play a spring sport like track. In San Diego they go completely dark - travel cannot do anything with players. In the So. Cal region they can practice on Sunday with team. Players cannot play in any organized games including scrimmages, friendlies and obviously no tournaments.

[Bigplay33]

Is their a specific date high school and travel cannot over lap, or is the line drawn in the sand once league play starts for high school ball? I'm in So. Cal.

[dodgerblue]

I believe 2/12/12 would be a safe date.

[WCV 12]

Players may continue to play travel up to first scrimmage date for High School-
This year official date is Feb 25th- Than a travel team may practice all they want
just cannot participate in a officiated event.

[artomatic]

Regarding Southern Section CIF (socal), a travel team can practice any day of the week, including Sunday. They just can't do anything during a high school team function during the dark period.
Example, high school team is having a team dinner on a Wednesday night, travel team wants to practice, a player can't practice. There are also certain high school coaches who have their own rules about no practicing with travel teams even on Sundays, so I guess the players at those schools have to tread around political issues in those cases.

Most socal travel teams practice Sundays because High School teams can't do anything on Sundays.
My kid's travel team doesn't do much until around April. Even then, their travel practices are pretty light and short, more to stay in touch. Not much throwing, etc, since the girls are playing Monday through Friday and some Saturdays for high school.
I think there is a rule that if a high school coach is also a player's travel coach, he can't coach her at all in travel during the dark period. If someone can confirm this, please do.

In San Diego, I've heard the reason they can't practice at all during high school is due to the "Tom Dodd" rule. That guy would have brutal 9 hr practices on the weekend, and the girls would show up at school Monday sore and bruised...Schools complained to the district, and the rule of no travel functions at all during the dark period was created. This is what I've heard anyways. I don't have any facts to back this up, but it's pretty common knowledge.

[as the world turns]

There are, however, teams that I have seen in the past, that advertise that they won't go dark and that their players will bypass their high school season in order to stay competitive and sharp for the summer season. This is usually code for: we have a bunch of players that were cut from their high school teams.

[Imperial SB Dad]

It is my understanding that some 14U teams are all 8th graders or a mix of 8th and 9th graders and these teams are the ones that don't go dark. This makes more sense than a team that has high school aged players not going dark.

In my limited experience, I have never heard of an older team 16U or 18U not going dark and players skipping their high school season. I guess It could happen though.