High school numbers

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I have talked to several high school coaches in central Ohio. ?They have said that their numbers are down this year. ?I for one am having trouble getting the numbers up. ?Any one else experiencing this problem? Could it be that kids today have to much on their plates.

 

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Third straight year that my HS team (Northmor) will not field a JV team.

 

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Ther are a number of factors that go into this and it's different for each school. Some girls want a change of pace and try track. There's senioritis where the upperclassmen just want to coast to the end of the school year with no extra burden or effort. Other girls do both fall and winter sports and are tired by the time spring sports come around. Finally if a school has a program that has been experiencing a lot of losing or instabillities for whatever reason it pushes girls away. I may have missed some other reasons but the point is I don't think it's any one thing, you would have to know a particular school's program well to really have a clue.

 

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Our numbers have hovered around 30 each year. It appears that is where we've leveled off to and we'll be right around that for at least the next few years.

We're a Div. I school, but we have to battle lacrosse and select soccer for players. Lacrosse alone gets about 50-60 girls and the school district pushes lacrosse at our expense in middle school. I don't think it gets many of the top athletes, but it does kill our numbers. Also, we've required a lot more of a commitment to play varsity than had ever existed at the school in the past, so we lose a lot of the social type players. I've learned not to worry so much about numbers, but about quality.

I understand numbers are generally going down around the Ohio Capital Conference each year. I gather fewer and fewer are having three teams and some schools will barely be able to have JV teams.

I think the reasons for this are (1) with more girls playing travel, the middle level or lesser players realizing they are never going to play varsity and drop out after their freshman year instead of after their sophomore or junior year; (2) lacrosse getting into more and more schools; (3) more and more students holding jobs.

 

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Coming from a dad that listens alot :-X I have talked to many parents and the most common thing I always hear is there is not alot of talent in the school ball program. Not in all cases but in more than a few. I see that when girls play for a period of time in school programs they get to used to the medium level of play and when it comes summer and spring Sometimes you have got to start all over again. I know that school programs are not where all the talent is but maybe if the (Coaches) (Schools) ( Not All) would not worry about the 2500 extra dollars they earn and take there program more serious the numbers might not be so low. Jmo. Also I think we will start to see more 14u and 16u in the years to follow being played in the time school ball is in. Due to the fact of More competitive play for our Daughters Thats what it is about anyways ( For most of the girls that want to be Great).

 

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The number of participants in athletics in general is down. ? Too much work for too many kids. ? It takes a lot of work to be successful at the hs level in any sport. ? Many players do not get a starting position because they are not as good as the person starting and so they quit going out. ? ?In hs there is only one team per school and if you don't prepare yourself you won't win your spot. ? In travel ball if you don't prepare yourself there is a team for your level out there. ? Yes there are super teams in travel ball just like there are in hs but the notion that that all travel ball is more competitive than hs is ludicrous and snobish. ? On my dd hs team every starting varsity player will be a dedicated player that plays travel ball in the summer, ? this holds true for the ?jv as well. ? The travel team they play may not be the greatest but, ?they are not the greatest player. ? Now yes there will be parents who complain because there kid dominates the local rec league but can't crack the starting varsity lineup, ?these are the ones likely to drop out an go find a travel team to play for during the hs season. ? My dd enjoys both hs and travel ball, ?as I think most good players do. ? Bottom line is that it takes more dedication and effort than many kids are willing to put out.

 

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Our numbers have been pretty consistent last 3 years. We are DII and have about 50 girls going out, and will be able to field varsity, JV and freshmen teams.

 

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timac, if I understand your post, are you saying that nowadays if a kid "doesn't make it" they just quit? The way I understand it, nothing has really changed over the years about who makes any varsity sports team. Then, the best of the group who made the team usually get the most playing time (discounting politics, of course).

Maybe kids are getting soft? What has changed in general about high school sports over the last, say, 50 years that kids aren't as committed? Is it ALL sports, or just softball?

By the way timac, I'm in NO WAY saying that is what you and yours are doing. I'm just expanding on your observations.

 

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Yes Sammy I am saying that many kids just don't want to put the effort into a competitive sport. There always have been and always will be a core group of players with the needed talent and dedication needed to play hs sports, but most kids are not willing to sit and watch while others play. Several schools in the area have had trouble fielding a football team due to the lack of interest and to be honest I would not encourage my kid to go through all the practice and effort when there is no chance to get significant playing time. This is not a problem in travel ball since there are so many teams that there is always somewhere to play no matter how good or bad you are.

 

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I for one think there are changes that affect high school sports, that are affecting numbers across the board, not just in softball. Pay-to-play is one. For a teen-ager that might have a high interest in the "being part of the team", paying for that privilege tarnishes that feeling a little bit. Players have so many more choices today, not just among school sports, but also other activities. The associated part of that is every activity wants its participants to be dedicated to that program, whether it be a sport, the school play, etc. There should be room in a school for the kid that has more then one talent, and it should not be perceived as a lack of dedication.
The role of parents is another. Not all parents subscribe to the theory, and certainly don't teach their kids, that if you aren't playing, you need to work harder and get better, it can only be politics, or the stupidity of coaches. Instead of learning how to handle adversity and the benefit of improving your skills for something you want, they simply drop out. The role of society in general is also a factor. By the time your child has reached the high school level, you have probably witnessed literally thousands of sporting events. Many parents and students, don't then choose to support any sports that do not involve their child/them. At one time, going to watch a high school football/basketball game was as much a social event as a sporting event regardless of the teams record. In my community, it is less every year. My point with that is that it becomes less of an honor/status symbol just to be part of the team then it used to be.
One fools opinion

 

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Sammy!! Are you kidding 50 years ago there were 3 sports for boys and that was it. I think they were just cutting the bottoms out of the peach baskets about then. LOL ;D
I think JoeA had a great point. There is beginning to be a gap between travel ballplayers in high school and non travel players. There has always been a gap in ability, but now there are more playing travel that are filling the 24 varsity and jv spots. This is warding off participation by the have nots. Ten or 12 years ago not all your pitchers had coaches and today it's almost a must and a lot of the girls have hitting coaches. In short, the specialization of sports is probably what is knocking down the numbers in individual sports

 

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Agree, and well said DogsDad.

Lots will disagree with me, but I'll give my "unpopular" opinion of the root of the problem anyway. IMO, there is very little reason for a 10 yr. old to spend the whole summer on the road at softball tournaments, let alone train year-round at one sport. My DD's college coach opened my eyes to that, and after giving it a lot of thought, I absolutely agree. Now why would a college coach buck the "feeder system"? Wouldn't that be cutting your own throat?

After that revelation, I gained a whole new respect for this coach, and a few others who have the same opinion. They truly must be putting the kids first if they would be this honest.

IMO, dwindling numbers at the high school level is caused by one MAJOR problem. NO FUN. The younger kids aren't having as much FUN. These kids do not THINK like adults. A 10 or 12 year old is NOT looking down the road for a college scholarship (thank goodness!) - they are looking at having fun with their friends in the game they are playing TODAY. When a fun game becomes drudgery and work for kids that young, the fun goes away. Then they want to go do something else - the pool, another sport - but they KNOW they don't like softball anymore.

There is an appropriate age level to "up the intensity", and it varies with every kid. Some can't get enough at 9 years old, but some burn out before 12. The key is finding the balance. The only way a girl is going to make it through to high school sports is if the game remains a fun and exciting challenge for her, with success mixed in with failure and learning. But it's still a game - and keeping it fun is key.

I don't blame the influx of "foreign" sports at all. Because if the softball crowd is doing their job - keeping it fun and exciting - why would a kid want to leave for another sport? For fastpitch to survive, coaches and parents of the younger players must find a balance of fun and learning - as perceived by the kids, not the adults. Then the numbers will return to the older age ranks.

 

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girls get their license... some get part time jobs... some get boy friends... some girls want to spend the time with their friends... do not want to be at practice 6 days a week ... just to list a few reason #'s are down.

 

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hermom - the diversions you mention have been there for years - since I was a kid (and that was a LONG time ago). Has something changed in the last few recent years to make these temptations more attractive than before?

I guess a question to ask is "Are girls being lured away by something else, or are they being driven away by something in the sport itself?".

 

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I agree with those of you that say the commitment to the teams is huge! ?This definitely drives away the players that are doing because they like it and want to have fun. ?The dedicated ones, aka the ones who love the game are the ones that you see all of the time. ?The lure of driving, boys, and a job pull the first mentioned group away from the game. ?I also think that if more fun is had by the ladies more would stay around. ?Sometimes the intensity of the HS game is too much for them. ?HS ball should be played to win but they need to still have fun. ?It should be used as a warm-up for summer ball. ?Just IMHO. ?;D

Our HS will have a varsity, JV, and JV B/Freshman team this year. ?So our numbers are fine. ?Our biggest problem is having enough pitchers to keep 2 talented pitchers on each of these teams. ?Is anyone else having problems getting a lot of pitchers?

 

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A quality battery is the lifeblood of most high school teams. It allows a coach to scatter weaker defensive players around the field. It's painful to watch a high school team with a meatball pitcher getting crushed, then cringe at the inevitable fielding errors. IMO, the key to having strong pitching starts at least by 6th grade (11-12) with a strong feeder program and a dedicated high school coach.

Learning to become an effective pitcher is greuling work. It's no wonder so many quit before they become proficient. IMO, every girl that starts is a potential pitcher, just like baseball. They gradually weed themselves out, but you MUST make it fun and rewarding at a young age, or they'll quit before they even get started. My DD had a pitching coach at a young age that made it fun for her. She eventually outgrew him, but it was an important phase - it kept her working at it.

Barring injury or illness, one strong experienced travel ball pitcher can carry a high school team to a state championship. But a second pitcher is good insurance, and you also need to constantly be grooming an incoming pitcher to fill the ranks.

 

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Ours are down this year. Most of the problem is the $400 PTP fee. We have taken a BIG hit at Freshmen level w/5 players. We had 3 teams last year V,JV,JB-B (w/35 players) but it is looking like 25 players for this year.

We do have good numbers at the JH level.If they stay with it, and the PTP fee goes down to $100 next year, this should be a 1 year player reduction and we can get 3 teams again.

 

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We now have 10 players on our HS team. Hopefully the numbers will increase in the upcoming years. We have two 12U teams, two 10U teams and one 8 U team. Hopefully these you girls will continue to play. We have several parent who have revitalized our rec program and are interested in growing it. In addition, several of the younger players and their parents have expressed an interest in travel ball. The unfortunate is that the track numbers will suffer. Life in D-4, ain't it great!