If I only knew then what I know now....

[Blind Squirrel]

I almost never spoke to my kid's coaches aside from the occasional comments when they walked by me. I figured they had so many parent heads up their arse that adding mine to the mix wasn't going to make it any easier for them to take a crap. What I should have done is ask each of DD's coaches when she joined the team to please let me know when they saw particular pitches or pitch sequences that fragile snowflake had trouble with. That way I could have told her hitting coaches. I think that contributed to some of her hitting struggles her freshman year. I'm such a freaking 'tard that I didn't realize that until I heard what the book on her was before conference play even started. She had specific weaknesses that could have been worked on years earlier.

Squirrelus Denseasaurus

[Rippinrider1]

"Talent sets the floor; Character sets the ceiling."

Bill Belechek

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

Tim Tebow

[Cannonball]

If I knew then what I know now, I would not have changed one thing. My dd had a great career. She had outstanding teammates who will be life long friends. She played for a Coach who was not only her coach but also a mentor for life. She now holds several school records. Her team was ranked #1 in the nation. She was a 2 time All American and a Scholastic All American. She will have a degree that she has always wanted and to top all of that off, she had fun.

Per my wife and I, were were blessed to get to watch all of that with a set of parents who rooted for all of the team and not just for their kid. These same parents have been such a great support system for the entire team. Coach mentioned that of the 7 seniors, not one senior parent ever called, email, or complained to him about playing time or anything else. How could our softball experience get better than that?

[jonriv]

Even though I saw a vast majority of my daughters game, if I had to do it all over again I would have found a way to see them all. You never realize what you have until it is gone. Thank God for the pictures, video etc so I can continue to live in denial!

[Tyler Durden]

Hey JonBovi, I was watching The Ice Storm last night; it starts out with the kid taking the train from Grand Central up to New Canaan, and it got me thinking of those Key Parties you used to throw out at your New Canaan mansion back in the day. Good times.

[jonriv]

Hey JonBovi, I was watching The Ice Storm last night; it starts out with the kid taking the train from Grand Central up to New Canaan, and it got me thinking of those Key Parties you used to throw out at your New Canaan mansion back in the day. Good times.

Very funny However the times depicted in the movie predate me by a few decades. When that movie came out I was riding in my friends Trans Am down Hempstead Turnpike on Long Island Fun to see the movie as some of the set locations still are around. Friends of our live in the house from the movie. Both Stepford wives movies were also filmed in New Canaan(which was the inspiration for the book) I have heard rumors that key parties still go on, but I have not been to any

[as the world turns]

I wouldn't have signed up on this freaking site, I thought they gave away toasters after 1000 posts.

[as the world turns]

But when you hit 4100 posts they do give you "Call me Kate" make up kits

[swells9232]

I've talked with college coaches that asked me about players they liked on the fireld. One of their first questions were "what is their gpa/sat scores".

I've always told my DD "3.5 or above" and if she loved the game she would play college ball. I've been lucky enough to see my promise come true. She found a D1 school that fit her desired major and offered a great internship. She understands "You play college for 4 years, but use the degree for 40, Whats more important? "

Advice I would give is older 12U is a good time to start TB. Jump from rec to TB could be eye opening and being an older helps with skill level. 12U to 14U is a big jump, so when your DD gets use to TB, she will be in the 14U level.

Don't stress if they are not committed by their 9th or 10th year HS (This is usually reserved for major D1 sec/pac12 schools). 11th grade, make sure they are in the bigger tournaments; PGF nationals, IDT, Champions Cup, D9 etc. Don't waste your money on 3rd party recruiting sites, make your daughter write your letters to the college coaches from their emails and call the coaches themselves.