Diamonds of the South

[patches]

Sounds like you are a part time softball parent is it to hot up there to play more than two games a day ! ha ha ! Don’t waste your time ever coming to the south to play softball It doesn’t sound like the girls from up there could even handle the winners bracket ( not that they would ever see it ). Keep making sure everyone is having fun on your league teams and make sure not to push them to hard . Ok pumpkin !

Wow hammer, sounds like you invented the game in the South. We would love to see you in Sioux Falls, if you can make the cut. Ya know us dumb hillbillies from INDIANA, we will probably need a little help with the rules. With us only playing rec softball! Golly gee could you help us out?

[HAMMER]

Sounds like you are a part time softball parent is it to hot up there to play more than two games a day ! ha ha ! Don’t waste your time ever coming to the south to play softball It doesn’t sound like the girls from up there could even handle the winners bracket ( not that they would ever see it ). Keep making sure everyone is having fun on your league teams and make sure not to push them to hard . Ok pumpkin !

Wow hammer, sounds like you invented the game in the South. We would love to see you in Sioux Falls, if you can make the cut. Ya know us dumb hillbillies from INDIANA, we will probably need a little help with the rules. With us only playing rec softball! Golly gee could you help us out?

Keep jag1 on his own thread and his coments about kids he knows nothing about to his self !

[jag1]

definitely the kings of smack.! (it's all in good fun..!)

[looking in]

Hammer,
jag has a real good view on travel kids!! His dd can play at the "A" level!! Come play some ASA in Indy, bet you'll be surprised!! The only PT Softball Parent is because we have snow!! Many of girls have come south, and come home with 1st place dust collectors!! Where are you going to nationals??
Indy Fastpitch

[HAMMER]

Hammer,
jag has a real good view on travel kids!! His dd can play at the "A" level!! Come play some ASA in Indy, bet you'll be surprised!! The only PT Softball Parent is because we have snow!! Many of girls have come south, and come home with 1st place dust collectors!! Where are you going to nationals??
Indy Fastpitch

I know there are some great players and teams in IN. It must be tough to be able to stay prepared for the spring and summer with the weather ya'll have to deal with in the winter.Softball for the girls that play travel ball is a life style down here and it is a passion for these girls. Most of the girls I know play year round with pitching coaches, hitting coaches & even fielding coaches starting at a very young age. Do allot of girls burn out yes, but the girls they stay in it are very prepared to play at very high level of play. In just the Houston area there are 4-5 tournaments on any given weekend ( even in the winter ) to choose from to enter and that is if you dont want to drive very far. It has become a softball hot bed in the south. These girls have great oppertunity to become great at softball if they choose to. I'm not saying that kids in your state cant compete with kids in our area but I'm sure they dont have as much oppertunity at such a young age year round. This is why the level of play is so tough in the southern states starting at such a young age. Any girl from any state that decides they want to play a sport at a high level will find a way to get it done. Come to ASA or USFA nat. tournament and see girls throwing in the mid to low 50's and girls hitting balls out of the parks at 10u. I dont care where you're from that is impressive. That has become common every weekend in the Houston area. That is at the 10u level. Is this common in your area at 10u ?
Tell me a little bit about the play in your area. Just seems that the ASA holds most of there nat. in the south for a reasson ( I'm sure because the number of teams are greater in the south ).It would be great to play some of the teams from the north, but that does not usually happen until the girls get much older and play in collage showcase tournaments.

[Blind Squirrel]

Stratos,

Players can learn from game experiences, but they don't get better playing games. This is one of the biggest fallacies that parents have. If a player wants to get better, or a parent wants to see their dd get better, then they should encourage them to practice, not play 40-50 games during the summer.

Players don't get better playing games? Have you ever, one time, heard a pro (or even big time college) player or coach say that players don't get better by actually playing? Name one. Provide the link. Ever hear players/coaches talk about seeing great practice players who don't perform in games? How could that possibly be? Why do some MLB players coming off extended time on the DL play games in the minors when they could just practice with their MLB peers? What could possibly be the point?

It isn't a fallacy. It is common sense. As is the importance in development of both practice and actually playing in games. I've watched too many kid's skills deteriorate/plateau because Mommy/Daddy wanted to tell folks their kid played for a big name team and the kid rode the bench 95% of the time. Very sad to see.

John

[coolstuff]

Stratos,

Players can learn from game experiences, but they don't get better playing games. This is one of the biggest fallacies that parents have. If a player wants to get better, or a parent wants to see their dd get better, then they should encourage them to practice, not play 40-50 games during the summer.

Players don't get better playing games? Have you ever, one time, heard a pro (or even big time college) player or coach say that players don't get better by actually playing? Name one. Provide the link. Ever hear players/coaches talk about seeing great practice players who don't perform in games? How could that possibly be? Why do some MLB players coming off extended time on the DL play games in the minors when they could just practice with their MLB peers? What could possibly be the point?

It isn't a fallacy. It is common sense. As is the importance in development of both practice and actually playing in games. I've watched too many kid's skills deteriorate/plateau because Mommy/Daddy wanted to tell folks their kid played for a big name team and the kid rode the bench 95% of the time. Very sad to see.

John

I think everyone is saying the same thing just need to put it together and it makes sense.

In order to improve as a player, an athlete needs to practice, compete, and train. Any one or two of these cannot be separate from the others. True: playing only a lot of games and not practicing or training won't help an athlete to improve. Nor does practice alone. Nor does training alone. All three need to be present.

I believe what Hammer says is true. In southern states where the weather cooperates, there is more opportunity to do all three. Here in northern Indiana, there is a period of time when softball had to go indoors. Indoor practice facilities are a premium. Hitting is the most common practice when we go indoors. Some fielding drills can be practiced but that is limited. There are indoor tournaments but IMHO that's just not the same as playing outdoors.

We've been to tournaments where the girls from Texas, Cali and Bama were awesome to watch. There is some really good players from there and they obviously have worked hard at it.