Is it important to play high school ball

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My dd will play high school ball because....she simply wants to play with her school friends too. The only reason she wouldn't is if as said above, the pay to play fees are outrageous. This year Lancaster has $100 pay to play with a $200 cap.

 

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It has always been my belief that being given the opportunity to represent your high school in a positive way, in a sport you love and are committed to, is a responsibility freshman, JV and varsity players can take great pride in.

 

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I was told College's chase travel ball and showcase tournaments, yet HS is not necessary if your a "stud" but they look at High School ball as a support and committment to the betterment of a team environment and social skills for any athlete. Really dont know yet, my dd is an 8th grader, but where we use to be the D1, D2, and D3, do not follow the previous HS, but do shop some kids in the Conference, so you never know. If you love the game, then you will play is all I can say!

 

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My question for you is how important is it for girls to play for their high school team. I have heard different answers but would like some more input from those of you that have had daughters play college ball without playing high school ball. My daughter has played travel for 5 years. Played varisty for high school last year and lettered. But was wondering if colleges look at you if you don't play for high school. Any comments would be appreciated.

going back to the original post.....is dd not playing HS ball because she doesn't want to, pay to play, program is poor

or

Because dd happens to be good at another sport, another interest or commitment?

 

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This is a thread that was started in 2005, revived in 2006.

As some one else mentioned this horse has been beat into glue, this is not a new subject and the discussion in the following thread is as valid and timely as it was in 2005, FYI, many of the posters on the 2005 thread are a blast from the past of OFC!

Cliff

http://www.game-ex.com/vb3/showthread.php?t=5227

 

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It is not necessary to play high school softball to get noticed by college coaches, in fact, as many have indicated, it sometimes interferes. High school stats are at best unreliable and at worst down right fraudulent. Summer stats are more reliable depending on the tournament slection of the team.

My daughter is being recruited to play college softball w/o playing high school ball. We took her to clinics at the colleges she was interested in and that is where she was noticed. She was up-front when asked about high school playing. She also talked about her travel experience and that was more than enough to overcome her lack of high school ball.

IMHO most college coaches are going to trust there own eyes and instincts when choosing their players rather than the opinion of a teacher turned coach or worse.

 

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Even though the seasons are the same, college coaches have people to recruite for them at most schools. So don't let your decision base soley on this. They look at your high school stats and summer stats the more softball you play the better it looks. If you decide not to play high school ball I do agree that you have to make sure you put in even more work on your skills because your taking time away from playing in game situations. I am an X college player and my father is a college coach.

 

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It is not necessary to play high school softball to get noticed by college coaches, in fact, as many have indicated, it sometimes interferes. High school stats are at best unreliable and at worst down right fraudulent. Summer stats are more reliable depending on the tournament slection of the team.

My daughter is being recruited to play college softball w/o playing high school ball. We took her to clinics at the colleges she was interested in and that is where she was noticed. She was up-front when asked about high school playing. She also talked about her travel experience and that was more than enough to overcome her lack of high school ball.

IMHO most college coaches are going to trust there own eyes and instincts when choosing their players rather than the opinion of a teacher turned coach or worse.

You didn't state WHY your DD is not playing high school ball. As you speak to the college coaches, please share their reaction and responses to her reasoning. When my DD was in the recruiting pool, ALL the coaches were very interested in "how high school ball was going" - NOTICE - a VERY generalized question. They DIDN'T ask how many strikeouts she had, how many home runs, etc. etc. But they DID listen very closely to see if she was moaning and belly-aching about how bad things were going, or was she being positive about a rough situation. Looking at the forest, not the trees.

Stats are taken with a grain of salt. Sure, the generalized picture may help influence a college coach to take an initial "look-see", but in the end, it's the on field performance THAT THE COACH SEES IN PERSON that seals the deal. Stats - both high school AND select ball - can be (and often are) fudged, and the coaches know that. My suggestion to anyone in the recruiting process is not get so hung up on making your DD's stats look better than she really is. Put more focus on getting her into recruiting showcase tournaments and camps where the college coaches can see her with their own eyes, and let them be the judge of her skills.

 

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My dd was a freshman last season and played varsity, and I have to be honest, it was a disappointment. The practices were every night and they didn't effectively use the time. I had a difficult time finding time to get my daughter to her hitting instructor because 6 days a week were taken by the high school team. She did get to face a few really good pitchers, but over all, I think her skills declined. We had to work real hard after the season to get ready for summer ball. If your high school and staff is good, I guess it's a benefit, if not... well, then I think it's not. Her district doesn't have sports right now for this season, and I'm kind of looking forward to having time to work with her on skill development, and she'll have plenty of time to spend hitting. That was our experience.

 

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Daughter had a girl she played with in high school who was debating not playing high school ball after sophomore year and just play travel ball. Had more than one college coach tell If your daughter is her it was to benefit to play both. She ended up going D-2. As far as college coaches not seeing players during high school season, daughters team has had 7 girls the last 2 years go on to play college ( 2-D1 5 D-2) and cant tell you how many of their coaches I saw during high school season, they were there more than some of the parents. If the coach is interested, they will find a way to be there to watch.

 

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FYI, many of the posters on the 2005 thread are a blast from the past of OFC!

Daryl and my all-time favorite proud parent, softball taxi.

 

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One of my students was approached after she lost a tough district final game by a college coach. He was impressed how she handled herself after a loss and looked for no excuses or blame. He knew what he witnessed and he asked her to visit. She accepted a full ride. If you can judge talent and commitment the level of play means little!

 

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The important question for those that are indicating the importance of HS ball is, when did they first become aware of the player?

I would offer that if the college is local and in close proximity to the location of the game, then there are in some cases, coaches at the game, if however you want to be seen and there is travel involved by the coach, then it is more likely that they will wait until there is an event that would bring several players that they have an interest in.

Remember there are restrictions on coaches regarding travel and frequency of recruiting trips.

I understand those of you that feel strongly about playing HS, I also know that for every story mentioned about a coach that recruited and offered a girl during the HS season, there are many more coaches that spend very little time or could care less about the players HS participation.

Having said that, and opened up inevitably a big can of worms, I will relate a game I attended several years ago in early April in Northern Kentucky, specifically I was there to speak to the coaches attending on behalf of the players they were there to see. The schools were, Louisville, Miami, and Kentucky. This is an exception and as you have read above it hasn't changed my feelings.

I would support my players NOT playing in HS on a case by case situation, and, as long as they have a plan prepared to work on their skills during the Spring, whether this is on a specific team set up for players that don't want to play HS ball, or whether it consists of training schedule that will help them.

Please note, I have insisted that players play HS ball in most cases, simply because they have no alternative, and it will teach them the discipline necessary to work for the type people that many of us must work for at some time in our careers. But I have felt bad for them and the HS situation they must deal with.

I may just revive the idea of a spring team for anyone that wants to play, workouts and a couple trips to GA or TN, where select teams play in the spring at 18u.

Any Interest?

 

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I have coached some varsity sports at the HS level, and many things on MS levels. For me, my girls playing travel ball is to make them better for HS ball. I want my daughters to play on a team in HS that makes a run in the state tournament.
I coached some kids a few years ago that made it to the state finals, ironically, the year after I was through coaching them (insert jokes here). I quit coaching because my kids were young and I was away from them too much. The boys I coached made it to the state finals in basketball and lost to LeBron James and Akron SVSM. It was the most fun I have ever had watching sports. I knew all those kids and felt like I was a part of it.

That is what I want for my kids. I want them to have that experience in high school sports.

Trying to win a state title in high school should be everyone's dream, IMO.
It's just the way I look at it.

 

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My daughter has already committed to a college. She wants to play HS ball because they want to compete for a league championship and possibly a state championship Also she wants to play ball with all the girls she grew up with and played for her school (GO PERRY). I have also seen college coaches at many of our HS games over the last few years. Kent, Akron, Bowling Green, Malone, Walsh, Lake Erie, Clarion, Miami of Ohio just to name a few off the top of my head. Some of them to see players from the other teams, but some to watch our girls. Either way, you are in front of a college coach!
The difficult decision for us (mom and dad) was spending the money to travel this year to showcase tournaments when she already has verballed.

 

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I may just revive the idea of a spring team for anyone that wants to play, workouts and a couple trips to GA or TN, where select teams play in the spring at 18u.

Any Interest?

Hey CincyStorm ... just saw your post from Sept. Did you get any Interest?

 

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Being that there are not many very good club teams out there I would say that a good High School resume would compliment a summer season. Such as the player winning several awards in its schools confrence. Also the high school season is a great tune up to get ready for the summer season.

Nothing better than beating up on some sub-par pitchers!:yahoo:

 

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had 3-4 inquiries.

 

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My question for you is how important is it for girls to play for their high school team. I have heard different answers but would like some more input from those of you that have had daughters play college ball without playing high school ball. My daughter has played travel for 5 years. Played varisty for high school last year and lettered. But was wondering if colleges look at you if you don't play for high school. Any comments would be appreciated.

My Opinion is?... yes, she should play for her HS if she is able.
Playing for ones High School helps build their college profile/resume and that will only help her in her quest for a college scholarship opportunity. (The player also gets to support their school/community in sport).

I know there are politics involved in some circumstances and granted most quality 14U travel teams could compete or beat most HS varsity teams (at least in our area). I also know most communities "may not" be like ours but; High School athletics are supported well here (as is the athletes that participate) and that makes it more enjoyable for everyone.

Expectations are "high" when the stud freshman joins the team and everyone looks to see what numbers are going to be put up. (Even if they are a little tainted by the competition). The thing is your DD is building memories along with her college resume. As for the posters that state why risk injury for school ball? Injuries can happen at any time any place.
Personally; I am not a big believer in living life in a bubble. In fear of injury to myself or that my DD may get hurt playing against what I fell is weaker competition. I tell her to play every inning of every game "hard" as though the competition is the best and it will reduce the injury risk and you will stay on top of your game.
I know not everyone feels the same way I do and I respect their opinion however; I am not too sure most competitive people or college coaches would feel the same.

 

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I know this is an old thread but I saw this and didn't know if anyone else had run across it. http://stacktv.stack.com/video.aspx?videoID=4848080001_295