Where are all the girls

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4carrs, Not the least bent out of shape. I can see what is and what isn't.

 

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WHOOOO A good pre winter fightin' thread. plenty of girls , too many teams. but it's the result of little league and jr leagues falling by the wayside. too bad travel is expensive, LL and jr league are next to free. MD

 

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fourts, ""This IS travel ball not Rec.League that's why travel has try outs and yes teams are having trouble filling there roster and don't kid yourself, coaches are taking kids that they normally wouldn't. If the "truth" is arrogant than there are a lot of arrogant coaches out there.""
Rec league here in SE Ohio consists of roughly 10 games with inadequate coaching. DD's 1st high school coach last spring was at best a top ten contender for worst coach in Ohio. Klump seems to have had the benefit of being able to experience a full "career" of as much ball and quality coaching as she desires. If her first 8 years of ball had consisted of the same experience as my DD she might not even be here on this thread. To sum up Klumps statement that many kids don't DESERVE a chance to play is beyond sensibilty. One final point I would make after seeing one season of travel ball. "If the powers that be limited travel teams to X number in the state" and made available to all poor DDs the training that the DDs here have had, many of the DDs here would be considered mediocre.

Using your logic; Top quality players in your area are choosing to play on mediocre teams and pass up the more competitive ones? Your way of thinking is a sure way to bring the sport down. (See my previous post)

The truth is, teams in these areas most likely were able to compete with 6-8 solid travel players these past few years. Now these teams can only draw 4 or 5 solid players to their tryouts so, they are forced to pick up weaker players and heaven forbid coach / instruct them.

If your team is sound and the organization is strong you should draw enough interest to get the better players to come out to your tryouts.

If quality players in your area or surrounding areas are passing up the opportunity to try out for quality team that in your area in order to go to a upstart or mdiocre teams tryout there must be a reason. I doubt that if the players passing up these tryouts are truely "travel material" it is to go to a team with less competition unless it is about $$.

 

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I am seeing more girls moving "down" to teams where they can play more, then up to teams where they can play more competitively. Others are no doubt changing teams or dropping out altogether because of financial considerations. 3dm is absolutely right that we have had a proliferation of teams in our area in the last few years, thereby diluting a lot of the organizations.

 

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I will say our organization has had very little movement due to finances/economy but we have adjusted accordingly. Part of the fundraising has helped that. Our biggest issue has been teams not staying together due to not being age specific... all 11's, all 12's, all 13's, etc.... part of our growing pains I guess and then we are rebuilding entire squads or almost 50%. We have since shifted to more age specific at the lower ages and that has and will help but not always the answer.

Can't say some didn't leave due to just not a good fit for the family but that is very very minimal and almost non-existant. Our struggles have been with getting girls that fit into a "coaches" specific needs or scope for what they have to fill. Quantity of girls is definately there. And many girls are trying out for several teams (which we encourage) and this can be misleading on the true quantity of girls available and then they take offers with others sometimes... normal cycles of player selection. Watered down ball has definately been showing up but I truly believe that as we (OHIO) continue to grow the sport and show them better instruction... it will work in our favor.
And the fact that the travel org's are extending the instruction to everyone and not just themselves has to have an impact from a development viewpoint as well as advertising that "select/travel" options are out there.

So... I stick to the team count as being an issue and not turning girls away. Almost a liberal view of....well.... instead of turning them away... let's turn "those" girls into team B. And then you have to find 4 more girls to fill in this "other" team. I've even caught us doing that. Set a "target" and stick to it... easier said then done. Next thing you know you have a ton of teams still looking....and I'm not going to touch the daddy ball.... that horse has been beaten and reincarnated 75 times. :cap:

 

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coachdennis, ""Using your logic; Top quality players in your area are choosing to play on mediocre teams and pass up the more competitive ones?" I cannot fathom your extrapolation? There are a couple of good teams in this area. No ""mediocre"" players could make these teams. There is not much else. Using your logic along with klumps am I to assume that my DD should just stay home and play with a Kenner Easy-Bake? By the way I just showed her these discussions. She seems to agree with me that she has a RIGHT to attempt to improve herself and play 50-60 games a year. I guess she's just stupid as well as mediocre. Maybe she won't make it to the Olympics like all your DDs but at least she can have some fun.
PS. She gets solid straight A pluses. 9 1/2 years and running.

 

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"and made available to all poor DDs the training that the DDs here have had",
"Moscow","Hillary"? I can't quite make all of the pieces fit yet. Is there more to this?
I thought Klump was a little harsh, maybe she should have thrown in a JMHO. It sounds like spill-over from something else. JMHO

 

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Waaaaaayyyyy too many teams. Alot of teams are having to pull mediocre talent from the rec leagues just to be able to field a team. I have seen quite a few players who have no business being on a travel team, but teams are taking who they can get not who they want or need.
When I was younger, you had to be GREAT to be on a travel team, not just good, great. There weren't that many teams in the area and they only took the best of the best. I played with some very good players who didn't make the travel teams. Now you don't even have to have too much talent, you just have to have enough money and enough patience to keep going to try-outs until someone picks you up.

"and made available to all poor DDs the training that the DDs here have had",
"Moscow","Hillary"? I can't quite make all of the pieces fit yet. Is there more to this?
I thought Klump was a little harsh, maybe she should have thrown in a JMHO. It sounds like spill-over from something else. JMHO

I didn't view Klump to be rough at all....right on from what I know (which I already know isn't much). Same thing I experienced about baseball when I was in the game... you had Storm Club and Midland in Cincy...now the teams are pouring out of every orifice.

 

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I thought Klump was a little harsh, maybe she should have thrown in a JMHO. It sounds like spill-over from something else. JMHO[/QUOTE]

I agree

 

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"and made available to all poor DDs the training that the DDs here have had",
"Moscow","Hillary"? I can't quite make all of the pieces fit yet. Is there more to this?
I thought Klump was a little harsh, maybe she should have thrown in a JMHO. It sounds like spill-over from something else. JMHO

Flatline have to agree with you Klump was a little harsh. The days of only the best playing travelball has been over for years!

 

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Flatline have to agree with you Klump was a little harsh. The days of only the best playing travelball has been over for years!

I guess they say that in California and Florida too... rhetorical just cause I don't know the answer. Mabye the folks from out west will chime in....

Are the premier teams in OHIO saying this? They probably have enough sense to not be in this pool splashin' around with us. Maybe I'm missing the point and the only one agreeing with Klump on this.

And no... my team isn't stacked with unbelievable talent at every spot. I have to coach them and happy as heck to do so (just as they do at all levels). Just have (I thought) a view of the different levels of travel ball and maybe that's the distinction. Rec Ball, Travel Ball, Premier/Gold Ball... 3 levels maybe? Just maybe? Ok... I need a lifeline here...

 

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Everybody has to start somewhere JMHO

 

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Flatline, ""I thought Klump was a little harsh, maybe she should have thrown in a JMHO.""
My DD has been "cheated" about everyway one can be in softball. So, yes, I am touchy. She's better than mediocre and might be pretty good if she had the opps many here have had. Her first at bat this summer for her travel team was a rocket line drive to right that tailed hard away from the fielder. Our scorer ruled it an error. The scorers DD hit a sluggish shot straight to the same fielder who missed it. What do you know? It was a hit!
If one really wanted some added competition in travel ball get government grants for the inner city girls that are conspicously absent. Grill them with the best coaching for a few years and see what happens.

 

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Lester, ""Just have (I thought) a view of the different levels of travel ball and maybe that's the distinction. Rec Ball, Travel Ball, Premier/Gold Ball... 3 levels maybe? Just maybe? Ok... I need a lifeline here... ""
That's the ticket. The thought crossed my mediocre, poorly punctuated brain but I thought another front in the war zone might be too much.

 

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Oh boy!

 

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Parma..., In our area we have had a huge increase in the number of teams/orgs over the past couple years. Let's look at the last 5 years alone, we have had the following teams/orgs begin: Your group, MC Madness, Stealth, Storm, Ohio Elite, Lady Oriles, Explosive, West Creek, Elyria, Up-to-Bat, Diamond Dolls, Team Cuyahoga x 2, etc.. (Forgive me if I left anyone out, not intentional at all)

We have a limited talent pool of both players and coaches in our area and it is begining to cramp some orgs. Then you have other orgs that have had HUGE expansions this year (despite not having coaches for the kids) and it's a receipe for failure.

Too many folks wanting to do things their own way instead of getting involved with something existing and making it better. Why keep reinventing the wheel, improve it!!!

Hey we started in 2003,,,6 years ago going into our 7 year in 2010

But i think the amount of girls coming out to play is a very good thing. to many girls are only playing rec because they do not know about travel or can not afford it. its better for girls to get out in the travel world, to get good coaching, to play great teams, and then decide if they truely want to continue on this path.

It only takes an AVERAGE coach to coach GREAT players, But it takes a GREAT coach to teach, train and to inspire the AVERAGE player.

 

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I think, for some, this conversation may smack of elitism when talking of travel ball. Just as there are DI colleges, DII, etc., there will always be different levels of competition in athletics.

The Rec ball, travel ball, either or scenario doesn't work, because there are girls, who while not well-schooled in the game, desire and deserve a chance to learn to play to the best of their abilities.

Our dd didn't start playing until she was 10, and tried out for travel ball after playing rec for two years because she was frustrated with the level of play on her team. She didn't know if she was good enough, but she made an "A" team for the '09 season. She decided she wanted to be a pitcher, and after a year's worth of hard work, made a 14U travel team as a pitcher this past August for next year.

As people who love fastpitch, we need to encourage more girls to play ball. The more who play, the number of better, and even more top-flight players will be developed. The level of competition will raise for everyone.

When my oldest dd (now 28) started in the first fastpitch summer league in Elyria, we were in awe of the teams from the Akron area. But the success in recent years of teams from Elyria, LaGrange, Wellington and Columbia has proves again that everyone can improve and excel -- they just need the chance to play. Their success has sparked even more girls here in Lorain County to dream of being diamond queens, and how to get to be the best they can be.

 

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coachdennis, ""Using your logic; Top quality players in your area are choosing to play on mediocre teams and pass up the more competitive ones?" I cannot fathom your extrapolation? There are a couple of good teams in this area. No ""mediocre"" players could make these teams. There is not much else. Using your logic along with klumps am I to assume that my DD should just stay home and play with a Kenner Easy-Bake? By the way I just showed her these discussions. She seems to agree with me that she has a RIGHT to attempt to improve herself and play 50-60 games a year. I guess she's just stupid as well as mediocre. Maybe she won't make it to the Olympics like all your DDs but at least she can have some fun.
PS. She gets solid straight A pluses. 9 1/2 years and running.

You must have me confused with another poster. On the contrary, just like in most areas we have new teams, good teams and very good teams they all have their place in Fastpitch. The teams/organizations that have produce strong teams in the past in our area will produce strong teams in the future because, as players develop past what their team can offer they generally look to move up. You obviously misread my post or did not see my previous post on this topic. Yes, I think your DD deserves the opportunity to play the same as all other DD that have the desire to take their game to the next level whatever that may be. BTW, Great Job on the grades this will help her more than softball.

Lets face it, This subject is not new. Everyone wants to be the Yankees and most posters on this message board have provided useful information on this topic. However; some on this topic rather than face the real issue and ask why are the players passing us by? They believe their player sortage is due to an oversaturation of teams to become the next Yankee team so, they recommend someone limit the number of teams etc in order to fill their needs and not the overall needs of the game.

 

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I think by Spring everything will balance out. Some teams will fold, and some will merge. It happens every year. I must agree, grades are the most important. Softball can only take a person just so far. Grades will help carry them through life.

 

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I believe that it all depends on the young lady who wants to play. If you take what some of you are calling a "mediocre player" who has the heart and desire to play hard and gives everything she has. Can be just as much a asset to a team as someone with extreme talent. And you never know with proper coaching and encouragement that mediocre player may just turn out to be a diamond in the rough. I applaud those coaches willing to take a chance on someone like that. Because I have lived through that experience with my own DD. She came out of a rec ball league ,tried out for a good team. They saw something they liked and now she is with a very good and established organization with a starting spot and hitting lead off. All because someone was willing to take a chance on her.