why is rec girls softball losing the girls ? Will travel Ball be next ?

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Dan ... with all due respect, I think your post is pretty harsh. You are right that if you're not playing travel ball these days, that its going to be hard to make most high school teams and compete. But I think you're off base to say that rec ball is all about "everyone winning". Rec ball is just that ... recreational. Your post sounds to me like you are saying if you aren't going to play a sport at its most competitive level, then don't play at all. Really? What's wrong with some of our youth playing for recreational and social purposes, not to mention the possible physical health benefits? Not everyone wants to put the time and expense into playing every sport they play at the most competitive level. For example, my DD focused on softball, but she also very much enjoyed playing CYO volleyball and basketball when she was in elementary school ... and I have to believe that other girls who are focused on another sport might enjoy playing some rec softball as well. It has nothing to do with "everybody wins".

One other note ... I hear and agree with your comment about rec leagues saying they play states and all, but competitive fastpitch does this as well, don't they. There are all the different associations, and some have A and B states and nationals, some have north and south states, and almost all of them have regional "nationals" or "world series", I guess so kids and parents and coaches can go home and say we came in x place at nationals?

sometimes harsh is like "the truth hurts". YES, I am very competitive and maybe thats where my veiws come from. Everyone has their own ideas and what they want for their kids and thats the beauty of this great country and the freedom we have. I only answered the posters question the way i see it. Many others might think i am crazy or harsh and thats cool with me!

 

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Dan, aren't the girls playing rec this year?

 

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Dan ... I am also very competitive, and I agree totally that the ability to express different opinions is one of the great freedoms we have. But I ask you ... do you still think that the purpose of rec ball is that everyone wins, or can you see any other benefits??

 

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remember the rule: There is always an exception. i wont get into details on OFC with this one Crystal. this is the 1% out of the 99% i was referring to. lol ;&

 

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YES, i see benefits from slow pitch, rec ball etc... but that wasn't the original poster question.

 

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Dan, aren't the girls playing rec this year?

many pitchers will play rec during the week in order to get more "game time" pitching in and to practrice pitches they won't get a chance to throw at travel ball without getting crushed.... . there are exceptions to every rule.

 

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many pitchers will play rec during the week in order to get more "game time" pitching in and to practrice pitches they won't get a chance to throw at travel ball without getting crushed.... . there are exceptions to every rule.

Dan, I am well aware of this, just as you are aware that my DD pitches. My point was, you were making it sound like rec ball is just low-level, evil softball in disguise. I would daresay that most of the parents on this board would not have known about TB had they not started in rec ball. I, for one, can say that when my DD started playing ball when she was 7, she was awful. She wouldn't have made the lowest level TB team. Things didn't click for her and she had no confidence until her 2nd year of "A" ball in OGSO. Unfortunately, the first TB team she ended up with, the coach played 3 tournaments and then decided to focus on his rec ball team, so we had to scramble to find another TB team. However, had it not been for playing rec ball and seeing one of the girls on her team wearing her TB stuff, she never would have had the desire or ability to make that transition.

Even though we knew about TB because my step-daughter was phenomenal catcher for 2 great TB teams, our DD wasn't ready for that kind of intensity and competition right out of the gate. She needed to find her own way and rec ball did that for her. She had a couple rec coaches who believed in her (Jeff Steiner, Bob Hughes, and Dave Smith) and they gave her the guidance and opportunity to come into her own and for that, I thank them.

 

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Dan, I am well aware of this, just as you are aware that my DD pitches. My point was, you were making it sound like rec ball is just low-level, evil softball in disguise. I would daresay that most of the parents on this board would not have known about TB had they not started in rec ball. I, for one, can say that when my DD started playing ball when she was 7, she was awful. She wouldn't have made the lowest level TB team. Things didn't click for her and she had no confidence until her 2nd year of "A" ball in OGSO. Unfortunately, the first TB team she ended up with, the coach played 3 tournaments and then decided to focus on his rec ball team, so we had to scramble to find another TB team. However, had it not been for playing rec ball and seeing one of the girls on her team wearing her TB stuff, she never would have had the desire or ability to make that transition.

Even though we knew about TB because my step-daughter was phenomenal catcher for 2 great TB teams, our DD wasn't ready for that kind of intensity and competition right out of the gate. She needed to find her own way and rec ball did that for her. She had a couple rec coaches who believed in her (Jeff Steiner, Bob Hughes, and Dave Smith) and they gave her the guidance and opportunity to come into her own and for that, I thank them.

i guess this forum can easily be compared to emails and texting in general--- words written without the reader knowing the emotions of the writer when you read it. you can read something and not really know how the writer is expressing their words emotionally and get the wrong feeling or idea and make assumptions from it that may or may not be correct or the way the original poster was trying to express. Happens ALL THE TIME.

Anyways, good luck to you and Maggie the rest of this season!

 

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many pitchers will play rec during the week in order to get more "game time" pitching in and to practrice pitches they won't get a chance to throw at travel ball without getting crushed

....so here comes little Suzie who normally get 2-3 hits per year, faces a travel ball pitcher who plays down in competition to work on their personal game.......I dont see how that serves either child in a positive way.

I see the same thing when a travel team plays their entire team in a rec league and they demolish the rec teams, then they go to a tournament and get demolished themselves because they are not doing themself any good by playing a far less competetive team.

The travel ball pitcher would better serve herself by going to a field with a few other hitters to work on her pitching.

 

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And good luck to you and the girls!

 

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....so here comes little Suzie who normally get 2-3 hits per year, faces a travel ball pitcher who plays down in competition to work on their personal game.......I dont see how that serves either child in a positive way.

I see the same thing when a travel team plays their entire team in a rec league and they demolish the rec teams, then they go to a tournament and get demolished themselves because they are not doing themself any good by playing a far less competetive team.

The travel ball pitcher would better serve herself by going to a field with a few other hitters to work on her pitching.

Or playing "up" in rec league.

 

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....so here comes little Suzie who normally get 2-3 hits per year, faces a travel ball pitcher who plays down in competition to work on their personal game.......I dont see how that serves either child in a positive way.

I see the same thing when a travel team plays their entire team in a rec league and they demolish the rec teams, then they go to a tournament and get demolished themselves because they are not doing themself any good by playing a far less competetive team.

The travel ball pitcher would better serve herself by going to a field with a few other hitters to work on her pitching.

maybe.... depends on a lot of things. #1 we are not talking about an ACE or #1 pitcher here. It's not true if the travel pitcher is 3rd in rotation on her travel team and the rec league you play in also has travel players on them who can hit very well. Game time experience cannot be bought and pitching in a game is different than pitching to a few girls at a field with no pressure. IMO - not the same thing and always depends on the situtaion at hand.

 

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I would bet many of the rec ball naysayers daughters would have a very different opinion if asked. Most girls play for a love of the game and their harsh opinions of rec. ball come from the constant badgering of parents about how terrible the coaches and level of play is to the point they start saying it themselves and believing it.

Suggestions to parents...Keep your mouth shut if your daughter is enjoying herself!! If you feel she is ready to move on, then make the suggestion and enlighten them about the wonderful world of travel ball...but don't blast the "grassroots" of this wonderful sport...your just making yourself look foolish!!! True lovers of this sport will be supportive of all levels of play, and if you feel otherwise then you are a part of the problem and not the solution!!!

 

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I hear what your saying, i really do. I tend to keep it simple at my house, my daughter can always use more reps at the plate, but im not about to let her possibly hurt someone or face no competiion by playing rec. If your good enough to play tournament ball then you only play tournament ball. If your not good enough to play tournament ball only then maybe you should be playing rec. Playing both in my house wont work but i understand it works for some...

 

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True lovers of this sport will be supportive of all levels of play, and if you feel otherwise then you are a part of the problem and not the solution!!!

Awesome comment...why didnt i think of that !

 

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....so here comes little Suzie who normally get 2-3 hits per year, faces a travel ball pitcher who plays down in competition to work on their personal game.......I dont see how that serves either child in a positive way.

I agree but but a developing travel ball player who would like to pitch may be a better chance for Suzie to see strikes. My biggest gripe with rec is the pitching is weak, at least in our league. If a travel ball pitcher is working on throwing "junk" pitches she has no business pitching in rec. My DD does both but doesn't have a chance to pitch in travel ball.

 

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SWO, primarily the west side of Cincy, is deep in slow pitch and rec ball. Really is holding on but not sure if the numbers are up or down. Don't think its as deep on the east side. Got this reaction from our recent ASA meeting. They couldn't believe it. I said, believe it... really hurts our fastpitch pool of talent at the younger years. 10u is brutal down here... and to get 8u going is like drumming up ice cube sales in Antarctica....

 

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Because on the most part, they don't teach them anything.... being an ASA District Commissioners and Director of the Wizards (20 tournament teams), I see both sides and hear it from the parents every week how awful the rec programs are. Typically it is even worse if the rec program is run by the city. Seems like City rec departments are more interested in numbers. It is a proven fact that if the kids learn something, the numbers will go up..... but rec departments don't want to go to that extra effort to teach. I know plenty of travel ball coaches that would love to do clinics in the rec. department for free. Two words, "Brick wall"!!!!

 

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Ricky ... first of all, I meant to ask this before I posted the first time but, in the title of this thread, you state that rec is losing the girls, but you didn't list any source or link to prove that.

Secondly, I'll probably get a lot of grief for this statement but, if we really want to answer that question, I don't think a lot of the people that frequent here are qualified to objectively answer it. What do I mean by that? A lot of the posters here I will (affectionately) label as "travel ball snobs". They believe they know more about the game than anyone and everyone who coaches high school, rec ball, etc., and that their daughters (or the players they coach) are all going to reap the benefits of this knowledge and travel ball experience, and one day be receiving athletic scholarship offers from a multitude of schools. They are so focused on a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that they fail to realize that the real benefits for the majority of the girls who play this sport are an opportunity to play the game well, an opportunity to form friendships and bonds with friends and family that will sometimes last a lifetime, an opportunity to learn a lot about life, and an opportunity to just have a lot of fun along the way.

Having been involved in one form of travel ball or another myself for the last 14 years, no one loves it more than me as I am still doing it on a volunteer basis even though my DD no longer plays, and I personally think travel ball is maybe the best way to reap the benefits I mentioned above, but we need to understand that the time, expense and prioritization required to play travel ball is not for everyone and that rec ball serves many purposes for those who can't or choose not to travel. Rec ball numbers may drop, but it will never go away.

 

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I'm doing research on softball on all level of game all the time.

And I've noticed a decline in numbers of girls youth softball program over the last 5 yrs.

But the question came up due to the many rec/youth league program I talk with
over the last 5 months. The most extreme cast being a local youth program that has went
From 198 girls in 2005 to only having 3 girls sign up in 2012.