High School vs. Travel Strategy

[default]

I have not seen many High School teams be as aggressive as the travel teams we see in summer and it makes me wonder if some average teams could be above average teams if they would stop being so conservative.

The delayed steal is rarely seen in high school ball as is the suicide squeeze or the good old fashioned straight steal.

Don't get me wrong, I love watching the high school games, but it sure would be a lot more interesting to the players and parents if the high school coaches would add a little hot sauce and spice things up a bit.........JMHO ? :-?

Am I alone on this ??

 

[default]

No

 

[default]

Hmmmm, doesn't sound like the schools I know. ?:-/

 

[default]

One consideration may be that each night a high school game is one and done. You either win or lose. Unlike a weekend tournament where you have your pool games and then double elimination. You can afford to be a little more aggressive in a tournament type setting.

In a one game per day high school schedule you basically have to make everything count just a little bit more. Maybe a better way to look at it is that the return may not be worth the risk.

Don't get me wrong I am all about more aggressive play. However the teams that win consistantly I am sure play the game a little closer to the vest. As an example, I have watched two teams play the past few years that are both pretty good teams. The one team is known to play it pretty close to the vest and they have had a lot of success. The other team tends to play a little more wide open and they go out of their way to try and make things happen. Over the past few meetings between these teasm the more aggressive team must have had 8 - 10 players thrown out either trying to straight steal or delay steal. They may have been successful once or twice over that span. No doubt those 10 outs could have been put to better use in hind sight.

 

[default]

Just give me some of the athletes to be able to "spice" it up a little. :'( ?I'll spice with the best of them then.

 

[default]

Great question. I see plenty of both high school and travel and I see mostly Tressel-ball softball no matter whether it's spring or summer. Unfortunately - I suppose - in softball your defense can't score runs or even get you in a position to score.

There certainly are times to play it close to the vest, but in the normal course of things I think it's usually better strategy to open it up. Plus it's more fun. If I have a girl who can run, rest assured she won't be held back one bit.

 

[default]

There certainly are times to play it close to the vest, but in the normal course of things I think it's usually better strategy to open it up. ?Plus it's more fun. ?If I have a girl who can run, rest assured she won't be held back one bit.

I Like your style Joe !!

 

[default]

joea i think the key to you thoughts are "if i have a girl who can run". in travel ball a team will make sure they have girls who can run, in hs you have to take what is in the local talent pool. at my dd's hs i have seen the game played both ways depending on who trys out. plus many teams are not blessed with a coach of your experience even though i think most coaches give it their best shot with what they have and most time that is pretty good.

 

[default]

I think it has to do with the coaches as well allowing the aggressiveness. My daughter was a freshman last year on varsity. The head coach would not let her hit left or slap. She kept asking and about half way thru the season they started to let her do it. After that, the coach would say, do whatever you want, just get on base. She loves to mix it up because she is a switch hitter and slapper. The coach also let her steal whenever she thought she could and didn't yell because she got out once or twice. She will almost always steal on the first or at most 2nd pitch. She wants to see what the catcher's arm is like. Sometimes they get her out, but most of the time they don't. And she loves the delayed steal.
Anyway, my point is that high school coach at first was conservative, then let her be aggressive.

 

[default]

Comparing high school ball and travel ball is like comparing the proverbial apples and oranges. You can't say an apple is better because you can make a pie with it and you can't say an orange is better because it has dimples. Each type of ball has strengths and weaknesses. Developing the strenghts and learning how to face challenges makes an athlete better.

Hot sauce is yummy, but it isn't necessarily a positive thing to add to my orange juice.

 

[default]

Lady Cougar How True. I have three girls on my 14U team, faster than any player we have in high school. This gets back to what many of us keep saying. Many high school teams don't have travel ball players playing for them., nor do they have coaches that have the skills that Shayne, Joe A and others that have coached travel ball. Granted not all High School teams are the same. Pitching is a bigger issue in high school. That is why I go to Ashland each year to Wendy's and East of Chicago to see the best High School teams play. It is more like travel ball. If you want to see great high school ball , I suggest a visit. You get to see some of the players mentioned on this site.

 

[default]

Having the speed is key - but one point that hasn't been mentioned is the time limit in summer ball. You can't afford to wait for the "right situation" when there's only an hour and 15 min. to play. I think that leads to more aggressive game mgt. from summer coaches. However, I've experienced some pretty bad HS coaching that is beyond close to the vest. I'm sure they're doing their best, just don't have the personality or ability to make the game enjoyable for most girls. You'll have that when teachers get jobs ahead of more qualified coaches. JMHO

 

[default]

When I coached HS I found the biggest difference is the mix of the players. For example, on the travel team I had 12 girls that "can do" where on HS I may have 4 or 5 with travel experience that "Can do" and 7 or 8 without travel experience that "Can't do".

For the HS team, you do what you can with the mix you have. You can aggressiveness with the "Can dos" and hope that the "Can't dos" learn enough along they way to elevate their game closer to the "Can dos" level.

Does that make sense or have I confused the ____ out of everyone.....

 

[default]

crystal clear, capitan!

 

[default]

In high school you will see which of those "can dos" are also "can leads" and "can motivates." You will also find the coaches that can take what they have been given and turn it into a winning team because they don't have the option of picking from the best around.

These girls and coaches must work within the facilities, budgets, demographics, school districts, and rules put before them and turn it all into a winning season. I think they deserve the utmost respect and by no means deserve to be criticized because they may not always use the same strategies that travel ball uses.

There are differences and they should be embraced, not held up as evidence of which is better.

To all the coaches out there, both travel and high school,...

Thank you!