Attrition in the HS Program

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Our school will struggle to have JV and Varsity again this year...short by 3 players or more at this point. HC and Assistant taught skills they wanted to be done from watching the Olympic Softball team videos last year. Absolutely no winter conditioning, weight lifting at all last year. This year they did start doing things in January though. We have quit a few players who have stated they are not coming back, couple seniors and juniors. If everyone from last year came out: there would have been enough juniors and seniors to field the Varsity team, with no possibility for anyone sophomores or freshman to be considered. We have some that have stated that some of the underclassmen should be on Varsity over some of the upperclassmen due to being better players, working harder, would make the team better. But they don't believe the HC will do this from their past years experiences.
At one point last year they wanted the outfielders sliding on their knees to catch a fly ball! Didn't matter if they could get to it and catch it normal or make a shoe string catch.....they wanted them sliding on their knees and basket catching it at their stomach. There was no give or take on this at all with any discussion from players, it was a you do it or else! Now the girls know they can not make a good throw from their knees, but if they wanted to play they had to do it.
So we will see what this year brings.......hopefully alittle bit better leadership than last years seniors, who felt they needed to chew the reserve team a new a** for being run ruled in a game last year. Told them that was un-acceptable and looked bad for the school and the Varsity team. No positive motivation for these girls just a old fashioned butt chewing, that they made the Varsity look bad because of it. So I am keeping a open mind and really hope it will be more positive this year for all the players.
Good luck to everyone, hope all our daughters have a good HS experience and enjoy the game they love so much.

 

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Our school cuts players, not sure how many were previous non-players but my DD was one, her peers felt she was going to be on varsity; DD was told it was because of her history of injury. Nothing said about skills or how she compared to other players. (She is not currently injured, the shoulder was an issue her freshman year because the coach doesn't know how to safely and correctly condition pitchers.)
You have all read this before but I will restate: the child is a junior, runs on and off the field, is the last out of the dugout because she is cleaning up after everyone else; she is the go to for the other girls who have issues with hitting; she goes to practice even with a fever, the only game she ever missed was to attend her grandmother's wake and she made practice on the day of the funeral.
Her classmates, teachers, and summer team coaches have always considered her a leader and enjoy working with her. She is extremely coachable, accepts constructive criticisms and works hard all the time. She has never had an issue with a coach until high school, has repeatedly come home stating the coach hates her, doesn't like her, yells at her in front of everyone. Like good parents, we don't kiss up to the "coach" or interfere but discuss at home ways DD might handle the situation herself. DD has said on more than one occasion that she doesn't want varsity unless she gets there on her own merit. No child should ever feel negatively singled out by the adult in charge! Now I have to apologize to my child and admit that she was right. The house is like a funeral home and I have to parent her through this roadblock put in place by an incompetent and thoughtless adult. How much character building does one girl need?

Now the big questions: How many girls go on to play college ball without playing the last 2 years of high school? What goes on the player profile where high school should be? what does she say at college visits if asked about her high school experience?

 

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Interesting topic and an issue that I see in our school district. Last year, the HC decided to cut around 13 girls and only have a varsity team. That did not go over well with parents and players- how do you build a team once the upperclassmen graduate? You know how it goes...the ones that get cut (and I realize that is the nature of the beast), will not go out again... the juniors and seniors eventually graduate and then what do you have left? Each year, I see upperclassman (great players, I might add) decide against going out...Some serious players who have already verballed don't want to deal with the politics, so they opt out their junior and/or senior year. My DD is a freshman this year, so we'll see how it goes. The coach would not know me if she saw me yet... DD has to get it on her own merit. They will have to do it on their own merit when they reach college ball, if that is the route they want to take.

 

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Travelinmom ... sorry to hear about your daughter being cut, and feeling like it was done very unfairly. Unfortunately this does happen sometimes. It may or may not help you both to have a discussion with the coach to understand why ... have seen that work both ways. Do some girls play college ball who didn't play varsity in high school ... I am sure there are some. I'd wager to say that most of them would be playing D3 or junior college. A lot might depend on how good the high school team is as well as her travel team. PM'd you ...

 

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Our school cuts players, not sure how many were previous non-players but my DD was one, her peers felt she was going to be on varsity; DD was told it was because of her history of injury. Nothing said about skills or how she compared to other players. (She is not currently injured, the shoulder was an issue her freshman year because the coach doesn't know how to safely and correctly condition pitchers.)
You have all read this before but I will restate: the child is a junior, runs on and off the field, is the last out of the dugout because she is cleaning up after everyone else; she is the go to for the other girls who have issues with hitting; she goes to practice even with a fever, the only game she ever missed was to attend her grandmother's wake and she made practice on the day of the funeral.
Her classmates, teachers, and summer team coaches have always considered her a leader and enjoy working with her. She is extremely coachable, accepts constructive criticisms and works hard all the time. She has never had an issue with a coach until high school, has repeatedly come home stating the coach hates her, doesn't like her, yells at her in front of everyone. Like good parents, we don't kiss up to the "coach" or interfere but discuss at home ways DD might handle the situation herself. DD has said on more than one occasion that she doesn't want varsity unless she gets there on her own merit. No child should ever feel negatively singled out by the adult in charge! Now I have to apologize to my child and admit that she was right. The house is like a funeral home and I have to parent her through this roadblock put in place by an incompetent and thoughtless adult. How much character building does one girl need?

Now the big questions: How many girls go on to play college ball without playing the last 2 years of high school? What goes on the player profile where high school should be? what does she say at college visits if asked about her high school experience?

I know 1 girl who has a full ride to a Junior College, a Senior and has never played for her HS. She got into a fight her Freshman year with the coach and has run track since. She has D1 talent but JC grades.....so she has 2 years to get her grades up and I suspect she might transfer up a few levels. Lefty slapper outfielder.......extremely fast.

I know another who was on Varsity and a Starter for Frosh and Soph years and then new coach comes in and she rode the bench for 2 years and still played in college.

I have a few more.....moral of the story is that you do not need HS ball to play in college.

 

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A person posing as a "coach" that has absolutly no ability to actually teach anyone anything will not only drive away talented players and decimate the program, but can cause permanent injuries to a player & ruin the only sport a girl has loved her entire life. As long as this person is in charge, things will only get worse until the program no longer exisits.

 

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Many on here point the finger towards coaching being the single number one reason girls stop playing HS softball. There are definetley instances where coaches are the reason, but certainly not to the ratio at which discussed here. Only around 40% of girls continue in sports after the age of 16 where as boys are around 60% ( dont qoute me on exact percentages just showing signifigant difference) It is just fact that girls commonly give up on sports before boys do. This distinction is not do to poor coaching, it simply is the standard culture in female athletics. many of the reasons were stated earlier such as social activities, work and relaizing earlier then biys that they are not going to play in college. Although this is not true for all girls and boys, being considered an athlete in highschool is a much bigger priority for boys than it is for girls. That, in my opinion, is the biggest reason why we see many girls stop playing their junior and senior years.

 

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Many on here point the finger towards coaching being the single number one reason girls stop playing HS softball. There are definetley instances where coaches are the reason, but certainly not to the ratio at which discussed here. Only around 40% of girls continue in sports after the age of 16 where as boys are around 60% ( dont qoute me on exact percentages just showing signifigant difference) It is just fact that girls commonly give up on sports before boys do. This distinction is not do to poor coaching, it simply is the standard culture in female athletics. many of the reasons were stated earlier such as social activities, work and relaizing earlier then biys that they are not going to play in college. Although this is not true for all girls and boys, being considered an athlete in highschool is a much bigger priority for boys than it is for girls. That, in my opinion, is the biggest reason why we see many girls stop playing their junior and senior years.

A lot of good illustrative points here, and previous post generally sum up a lot of parental viewpoints. High school softball is definitely a unique animal, and until parents and players accept that fact, the road is going to be rough. It IS NOT travel ball!! The expectations should be placed on a different scale. High school softball MAY be a rewarding and/or learning experience, but it takes effort. The learning I speak of is not necessarily learning to throw, hit, run, catch or pitch; but rather how to deal with difficult human interactions - the "difficult" coach, or the clique of players that seemingly exclude your daughter from the reindeer games. IMO, this is a time when your daughter should be learning to deal with difficult life situations she will encounter when high school sports are only a distant memory. So, the coach is a known clueless jerk - do you reinforce your daughter (and others), or do you rise above and take the opportunity to help/teach her to manage the situation? Do you help her to look at the bigger picture behind the high school athletics experience, or are you just focusing on the small trees and briars in the foreground?

Just like excellent travel organizations, there are many excellent high school programs, which didn't happen overnight. They didn't get that way by luck. It takes leadership and an active group of volunteers with a positive attitude. In the end, it's what you make of it, not just what's on the surface.

 

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Our school cuts players, not sure how many were previous non-players but my DD was one, her peers felt she was going to be on varsity; DD was told it was because of her history of injury. Nothing said about skills or how she compared to other players. (She is not currently injured, the shoulder was an issue her freshman year because the coach doesn't know how to safely and correctly condition pitchers.)
You have all read this before but I will restate: the child is a junior, runs on and off the field, is the last out of the dugout because she is cleaning up after everyone else; she is the go to for the other girls who have issues with hitting; she goes to practice even with a fever, the only game she ever missed was to attend her grandmother's wake and she made practice on the day of the funeral.
Her classmates, teachers, and summer team coaches have always considered her a leader and enjoy working with her. She is extremely coachable, accepts constructive criticisms and works hard all the time. She has never had an issue with a coach until high school, has repeatedly come home stating the coach hates her, doesn't like her, yells at her in front of everyone. Like good parents, we don't kiss up to the "coach" or interfere but discuss at home ways DD might handle the situation herself. DD has said on more than one occasion that she doesn't want varsity unless she gets there on her own merit. No child should ever feel negatively singled out by the adult in charge! Now I have to apologize to my child and admit that she was right. The house is like a funeral home and I have to parent her through this roadblock put in place by an incompetent and thoughtless adult. How much character building does one girl need?

Now the big questions: How many girls go on to play college ball without playing the last 2 years of high school? What goes on the player profile where high school should be? what does she say at college visits if asked about her high school experience?

travelinmom I feel your pain. The reason I started the thread had its roots in a very similar situation with two players that were not liked by the HC for no apparent reason. Both girls had the traits described by you in your DD. In fact the two players in my district were either winners or finalists in the schools Archie Griffin award which recognized the best student athletes in their class. So these girls were the best of the best. The HC and her mafia didn't see it that way. No wonder so many question the worth of HS ball compared to TB.

 

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A bright side-my dd isn't asking for use of a gym to pitch 3xs a week, HS practice takes care of it.

 

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Many on here point the finger towards coaching being the single number one reason girls stop playing HS softball. There are definetley instances where coaches are the reason, but certainly not to the ratio at which discussed here. Only around 40% of girls continue in sports after the age of 16 where as boys are around 60% ( dont qoute me on exact percentages just showing signifigant difference) It is just fact that girls commonly give up on sports before boys do. This distinction is not do to poor coaching, it simply is the standard culture in female athletics. many of the reasons were stated earlier such as social activities, work and relaizing earlier then biys that they are not going to play in college. Although this is not true for all girls and boys, being considered an athlete in highschool is a much bigger priority for boys than it is for girls. That, in my opinion, is the biggest reason why we see many girls stop playing their junior and senior years.

Crush1, I wouldn't debate that in a general sense you are right, my view point is specific to a few individuals in one program. It's personal for me so everyone needs to understand where the poster is coming from. As I said before it is mental health venting for me. Hopefully the bad experiences and daddy ball politics in HS programs are in the very small minority. I am going to be quiet now.

 

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A lot of good illustrative points here, and previous post generally sum up a lot of parental viewpoints. High school softball is definitely a unique animal, and until parents and players accept that fact, the road is going to be rough. It IS NOT travel ball!! The expectations should be placed on a different scale. High school softball MAY be a rewarding and/or learning experience, but it takes effort. The learning I speak of is not necessarily learning to throw, hit, run, catch or pitch; but rather how to deal with difficult human interactions - the "difficult" coach, or the clique of players that seemingly exclude your daughter from the reindeer games. IMO, this is a time when your daughter should be learning to deal with difficult life situations she will encounter when high school sports are only a distant memory. So, the coach is a known clueless jerk - do you reinforce your daughter (and others), or do you rise above and take the opportunity to help/teach her to manage the situation? Do you help her to look at the bigger picture behind the high school athletics experience, or are you just focusing on the small trees and briars in the foreground?

Just like excellent travel organizations, there are many excellent high school programs, which didn't happen overnight. They didn't get that way by luck. It takes leadership and an active group of volunteers with a positive attitude. In the end, it's what you make of it, not just what's on the surface.

To paraphrase, s--t happens so **** it up.;&

 

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And my post was not an intent to give blame on those posting about their less than desirable HS situations, it was just to give my opinion to others, who might be reading and thinking, wow, girls quit softball all the time because of bad coaches, and give them another angle to look at why else girls stop playing sports in High school.

 

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unfortunately kids are different today then in the past, it's a "what's in it for me me" society today too many outside influences or interest to occupy their time now a days.

 

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High School sports is so much about coaching. We go to a very competitive High School. There is competition for girl athletes. I say the reasons for upper classman quitting (we had a lot) include:

1. Are they having fun
2. Losing interest/interest in other stuff
3. I will not get playing time
4. Senioritis
5. Won't help me with recruting much

I am a huge fan of HS softball and high school sports in general. I am finishing up my umpiring liscencing just to stay close to the game. I don't think that you can minimize the "having fun thing" hard enough.

 

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I am finishing up my umpiring liscencing just to stay close to the game.

That's SCARY ....

 

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That's SCARY ....

Pitchers dads make the best umpires, they can see a strike or ball from left field. LOL

 

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Pitchers dads make the best umpires, they can see a strike or ball from left field. LOL

I know I can, and its a damn shame that an umpire can't see it from behind the plate........