I see this as a good thing as the game has exploded in popularity. This has created more opportunities for the kids to play more games more competitively. Will most of these players go on to play in college? Of course not, but depending on where you live, the rec ball can be so dumbed down it's unbearable.
I was talking to parents in Dublin who told me their rec league doesn't even keep score at 12U!?!?! We entered our 7 year old in a 10U fall rec league thinking it would be good for her to play up and get better competition. What a joke. She actually pitched and was the ace. She's only 7 (and small for her age) and the 11 YO catcher couldn't even catch the ball (we're talking 33-34 mph here) much less throw it back to her. It was VERY BAD rec ball. I'm sorry I can't make this up.
But look around. There are a lot of clinics, books, DVDs, that people are taking advantage of to get better and improve the level of play.
There are also different levels of travel tournaments. If a team is on the weaker side but wants to get away from rec they can still play the less competitive neighborhood tournaments. If they think they can hang with the elites there are more competitive tournaments. The performance on the field has to speak for itself.
That being said, yes a lot of people are still looking for players. At the same time, how many quality players are not even thinking about softball right now? Probably more than most people think because your better athletes go into volleyball, then basketball, and then in March start thinking about softball.
Again, I don't think this is a bad thing.
