H.S. numbers down?

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Thoughts on the effects of some schools going to "pay to play" fee and the econmic downside to this? Also, I asked my daughter that dropped HS ball and she gave me the additional thought that it becomes boring when the competitive nature is not there.

 

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Could it also be people having less kids than 15 years ago?

 

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Hey that's a good point. My P's had 5 and everyone I know has 2 or less. . .not very good odds.

 

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Hey, you know us and we have 3 kids. Actually we are backwards, my parents and my wife's parents only had two kids and then we go and have 3. LOL

 

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Hey, you know us and we have 3 kids. Actually we are backwards, my parents and my wife's parents only had two kids and then we go and have 3. LOL

But dude, you still have time to have more. It would be just a small, well medium age gap. Plus you now have built in babysitters for the next 10 years. LOL

 

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I have 3 kids, all DD's. So I'm doing my share :lmao:

 

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My numbers are up and will increase in the next two years. Also, you travel people(which I am one) get over this High School/ Travel Ball! In the end we all do this for the Girls and hope something good comes from it for them!!

Mike North
Westland

 

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4 here, but god only gave the girls the athletic ability...

 

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Springfield's numbers are up. There is enough to field a freshmen team if we had one. I think it starts at Rec Ball. If you have a good program and get the numbers there and the kids are having fun, they come out for High School ball. The problem is, as Uber said the girls start to specialize is certain sports. Some girls move to travel and work on there game and pass the Rec Ball players. My dd stopped playing v-ball and basketball and totally concentrated on softball. I think it has paid off. She's not bad, but there is always room for improvement.

 

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My numbers are up and will increase in the next two years. Also, you travel people(which I am one) get over this High School/ Travel Ball! In the end we all do this for the Girls and hope something good comes from it for them!!

Mike North
Westland

Get over what? I'm not following.

 

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I know that the numbers at Greenville HS are supposed to be up this year. I hear that they will have around 10 to 12 more then last year once everyone shows up.

Also the 7th & 8th grade teams have right around 30 players so hopefully they will keep the numbers up for a while.

 

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Our school has as many girls coming out as ever, however, the depth is better because more girls are playing travel ball. They have seen that the successful players play travel and realize that travel is part of playing at the Varsity level.
Travel helps high school and high school helps travel. Softball should be about having fun playing for your city/school and playing at the highest level (travel). It's all good.

 

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Uber, I don't think he was referring to you, I think he was referring to the guy said he'd take travel ball over h.s. ball due to more colleges checking you out. I know you understand Uber, but I don't think most do, colleges aren't hanging around tournaments every weekend looking for the pot of gold. Number 1, less then 5% of ALL h.s. players will play at the college level, of that group, VERY VERY few will get full ride scholarships. Most will get partials, academic help etc. at a a school that may cost 20000.00 a year, and end up still paying 10000.00. It's incredible to me what people sell, and what people buy when it come to this subject. I coach h.s. and travel, and the biggest difference is the level of commitment. H.S. 6 days a week for 3 months, plus conditioning pre-season etc. Plus h.s. ball has way more pressure. I think thunder road hit the nail on the head, the casual player isn't around. Problem is, these "casual" players sustain JV/F programs that allow serious players to develop at a proper time earlier in their career.

 

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Maumee Softball, well said. I love the part about pressure. The kids have to walk around school the next day after a loss.

 

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The pressure in softball depends on what level you play at travel, If you play in College exposures and top tournaments ie: Stingrays, Firecracker in Colorado, Music City Hits, those types of tournaments i guarentee you the pressure there is as great or greater than HS ball, the only difference i would make is playing late after the regular HS season is over like going to state.The more there is riding on it the more pressure there is. Go play in a Tournament like Chattanooga where every SEC coach is represented and half of them are burning a hole in your back when your at the plate or on the mound, heck I was a nervous wreck setting in the dug out, i cant imagine the pressure the kids are going thru.
Our HS season begins Feb 23 with conditioning and pitcher/catcher and the regular season ends on April 30th, Thats 7 weeks not discounting them going to sectionals, district or so on. Now coaching both also i spend the other half of that equation with travel and those kids that have decided that they want to play after their HS carrear has ended will normaly play 10 months out of the year, so to me the travel is a larger commitment. In no way am i discounting HS ball or the importance of it. and yes i agree that sometimes its hard to fathom what parents will buy into. But both avenues have their uses and their pros and cons and in my opinion a kid needs both to get to the next level

 

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there's no doubt, pressure can be felt at any level, including summer travel. Big games are big games. But from my experience, in h.s., every game has a degree of pressure, because kids go to school the next day, face their peers and teachers, and with the scores in the paper, representing your school, not just a team, creates pressure [for coaches too!] I don't think h.s. is more important then travel for a kids's success, I think they go hand in hand. But the level of commitment is MUCH bigger with h.s. IMO, my opinion only now! 6 days a week, with only 25 of those days getting to "play" is a huge commitment for kids these days especially, MANY distractions.

 

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We had thirty show at our first meeting, averaged ten at open gyms, twenty at conditioning and will end up with about twenty-three total in the program when we start practice this week. That's just about average for us. I've heard the laundry list of excuses. One of our pitchers missed 50% of our pitchers and catchers practice due to "work, illness, family issue, and a missing physical". One of my co-workers said "What are you going to do, cut her? Your short of players as it is." Yea, dedication is an issue.

 

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D-II school in NE Ohio - numbers are down too - we'll be lucky to field a JV and Varsity team. If you don't have a winning program, the other activities take precendent. Makes it hard for the coach to turn it around.

 

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there's no doubt, pressure can be felt at any level, including summer travel. Big games are big games. But from my experience, in h.s., every game has a degree of pressure, because kids go to school the next day, face their peers and teachers, and with the scores in the paper, representing your school, not just a team, creates pressure [for coaches too!] I don't think h.s. is more important then travel for a kids's success, I think they go hand in hand. But the level of commitment is MUCH bigger with h.s. IMO, my opinion only now! 6 days a week, with only 25 of those days getting to "play" is a huge commitment for kids these days especially, MANY distractions.

well said. i think most who are not fans of high school softball are probably in programs that are smaller and or are full of politics and or are coached by a teacher trying to pad his/her retirement. i can definitely understand this.

however... if you're lucky enough to have your daughter in a competitive program with a solid coach then high school softball is "da bomb". i love that there is no time limit. every game means something and the strategy of the full game is played out. i prefer h.s. softball over travel ball. i also like battling the elements that are presented. a 48 degree blustery tuesday afternoon levels the playing field real quick. i think it tests all aspects of the athletes game especially the mental part. i love looking in the paper the next morning and seeing my DD's name in the box score. (sorry i just do).

crosley

 

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I agree with you Crosley. If your in a decent program and up High school ball is awesome. I love being able to any day of the week going and watching a high school game, the unpredictability of the games and the sense of community.

I love travel as well, but they are 2 different animals. Each has its positives, each one would suffer tremendously without the other.