My DD was entered into the draft tonite but withdrew. All the teams vetted her heavily about if she was drafted would she play. She was very interested. While doing her research about being in the NPF she reached out to current players By the time she spoke to a lot of players, she decided against the NPF and is now in contact with Italy and Japan. She spoke to 2 current players that had good things to say, but the one girl she spoke to really killed her desire to play in the NPF. The current player really was negative about the conditions that the players had to endure while on the road. They were pretty much just herded into a city and played, then got back into minivans and on to the next venue. She said if she is going to be treated that way she would rather it be in a different country where she could at least take in some cultural highlights. From speaking to the Americans that have played internationally, they all have had the same story. Great experience and great folks to work for...
Just her opinion
BIG difference in oversees and in the US. This owners do not make much money and in some cases lose a lot of money ask Joey(Akron) her life savings for the love of the game. They do the best they can with the revenue stream they have. Besides the usssa pride which is owned by the richest man in softball (He owns ussssa) the other owners do not have that kind of money to sink into these programs. Also we do not support these teams on a large scale as you can see by the lack of interest on this thread. Now there are many reasons why, but one of the big ones is travel ball and rec ball games are the same time they play the season, and there is also no national TV. I'm sure there is more , and I could be a little off but you get the picture.
Oversees ball. Plan and simple the facts are they are owned by huge corporations that probably use it for a tax right off to some extent. Also the Japanese are more passionate about our players treat them like rock stars!
They way I took your post is that they don't treat them well, but I think your off base. They do the best they can with the revenue they have.
I feel like these girls play for the love of the game in the USA and to give back not for the money because I know they do not get paid much. There lifestyle is more like a A or AA major league ball player.
Sorry for the long rant and all the bad grammar I'm just trying to help people understand a little bit more of why and how there is a difference. If people want to change this get out to the games and support the sport!