Travelball; Are We In Trouble?

daboss

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With all the posts about tournaments struggling to get officials, gate fees, parking fees, canceled tournaments, exposed marketing gimmicks to draw attention, and stay to play tactics, has the sport hit a wall we can't overcome?

With all the things going on in the world I sense a higher level of frustration than I have ever witnessed in the game. I doubt that it's only in Fastpitch. I have been aware of some of the practices in volleyball and basketball for a while now. Those sports require field-house type facilities making it easier to fleece consumers. It appears TD's have figured out a few ways to increase the profit potential with careful planning and hidden costs over and above the entry fees. Capitalism at its finest.

Privately owned facilities have been doing this kind of thing for years. The marketing strategy was so juicy even parks and recreation departments pitched it. They championed county and metropolitan officials as an alternative to fund their own departments instead of asking for more money from the yearly budget.

Although some of the differences come back to the officiating thing. Private parks, in many cases, have their own working staff. Those officials are dedicated to working the games at that park and in return receive pay or perks that make it attractive. I'm sure there are more angles being entertained but I'm simply trying to make a point.

For organizations to survive what is happening in our sport, you're going to need to make some difficult choices. You may need to play less. Schedule less tourneys and perhaps look for league play that will quench your thirst of the game. Raise you fees. Quit............

Look, I don't want the game to die. I know that the majority of the families that support their kids cannot afford to continue to bleed money trying to keep up with all that's happening in the game. This isn't funny. There are a lot of very talented young ladies out there that will never see their full potential if the game continues on this path. It'll become a game only for those with real money.

Lastly, I'd like to make an observation. There's a huge increase in motivated people getting involved to profit from the game. More are willing to run their game than are willing to work the game. I've said for the longest time that volunteers are a rarity and the demeanor in this country has turned to a "What's in it for me" attitude. Volunteer. Give back to society. Encourage others to do the same. Be appreciative and show those willing to do it some respect. We need this or the game is lost.

Posting these thoughts of my own is like preaching to the preacher. Most of you are the givers in society for our game. I'm not calling you out. I'm calling out America in general.

If you want to see a change, change the way you see things.

That is all.
 

TheSoftballZone

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I would have said no last week. But when TD’S believe or think they can get away with having 16u girls in a showcase play on a soccer fields. I believe,
I would have to say yes the girls are in trouble. And I agree with HITTER23, it’s about greed and money.

if anyone else has any pictures of the girls playing on a soccer field please share them or send them to me.
 

finfan365

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I don’t have a picture but our left fielder nearly ran into a soccer goal chasing down a fly ball
 

CARDS

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I would have said no last week. But when TD’S believe or think they can get away with having 16u girls in a showcase play on a soccer fields. I believe, I would have to say yes the girls are in trouble. And I agree with HITTER23, it’s about greed and money.
if anyone else has any pictures of the girls playing on a soccer field please share them or send them to me.

Wow what tournament was this? I hope the format was communicated to the teams prior to the event. How did they handle WP / PB or, even field set up with lines?

If weather was an issue I could see doing whatever to try to get games in but to plan on having an event billed as a "showcase" and not even have a field seems a little odd.

I can say this though; In Ohio nothing surprises me... We played in a lot of states KY, TN, PA, ILL, IN, GA , OK and they all had top notch softball set up facilities. (I would say overall TN has the best venues and set up for softball).

As far as Ohio a lot of the places we played at were decent and set up for softball but there were several parks / events that had baseball setups with pitchers mounds and backstops a half hour walk from home plate or, they advertised 200' fencing and softball set up for showcase or state level events only to use men's softball fields, some were even open fields and 65' bases.


As far as the current state of the game, from what I can see it is on a decline (at least in SW Ohio). The cost to play and practice is forcing many teams / families away.
A lot of winter practice facilities have closed down or the prices are so high the average team cannot afford them.

Around the I275 loop the foundational fastpitch recreational leagues are drying up in most of the communities. Even the large recreational facilities and the catholic leagues are seeing a drop in the number of teams they can field for softball. A/B/C level and HS Spring, Fall and Summer leagues have been going away the past 10 years. Causing teams that are looking for league play to make long hauls on a week night.

A lot of HS in the SW Ohio area are struggling to field teams at all levels. Some are only fielding varsity programs even at the big school DI levels.
Just 10 years ago we had 8 or 9 parks in the area that offered leagues and weekend tournaments. Now we are down to 2 that have regular sanctioned events.

All of this also contributes to the drop off in pitching. Watching the OHSAA DI and a couple others even with the step back / start back rule the pitching is not the same overall quality as 5 to 6 years back.
I guess the good thing is with more balls in play the extra reps on defense has catching and other positions improved but there is still the competition for players with BB, VB and Soccer sports that honestly require less skill sets to master and are cheaper to outfit and find practice locations.

On a side note: There is a HUGE investment going in on Springdale Road on the border of Colerain/Springfield townships.
Hero's Sports park is putting in all turf fields set up like the Cal Ripken experience locations. Hopefully the investment pays off and teams support the investment and they move to set up some softball fields that can be used for men's slow pitch and set up for fastpitch events.
 
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