Ideas- Increasing The Number of High School Games Allowed In A Week

I'm enjoying reading everyone's different take on this subject. I hope the ideas and discussion continues.

Just a couple of points. I tend to disagree somewhat with betterbatter as I think that travel ball and high school are both "real" softball. They just play under different circumstances.

If you took away time limits from travel ball games, then there would be no way as many teams could play in a tournament as they do now. That would mean fewer opportunities for the young ladies to play. In my part of NC there is nowhere near enough softball complexes as it is and you can only play so many games on a field in a day.

Believe me, these tournament directors don't make as much from holding tournaments as most people think they do. They have to try to balance the number of teams/games with their expenses. They should get a fair amount for the time they spend putting the tournments together and running them. It's when some directors who think that an hour and five minutes for a game is considered a "game" I start to think the $$ is getting in the way of their judgement.

I would also say I feel that most high school players use the high school season to get ready for the summer season instead of how betterbatter sees it. Most 16U and 18U travel ball games are more competitive than high school regular season games.

Last thing. At a past coaches clinic in TX, I heard Mike Candrea say part of the reason softball was being eliminated from the Olympic games was that the IOC looked at fastpitch softball as baseball for girls. I think the NCHSAA must see HS softball the same way as well.

 

TB ball is sooooooooooo much more competitive !!!!! That is the cream of the HS crop .The HS team that has the most TB players are usually the better teams, why ? Cause they spend all summer playing. Yes the clock stinks, but that is just a gimme.I have seen fans lined up, down both sides of baselines at TB games.I know my DD is a better pitcher, & hitter in TB ball. She can relax when pitching, cause she knows she has a good defense behind her, doesn't have to strike out every batter.Is a better hitter, cause the pitching is more consistant. You don't face a good pitcher 1 game, & a not so good pitcher the next.But I can say that this yr, we're very excited about HS ball as well as TB. Can't wait for it to start !!!!!!!
Happy New Year Everyone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I"LL 2ND THAT ..................... Tell Mo I said GOOD LUCK this High School season:newsmile62: :newsmile62: :newsmile62: Happy New Years Everyone !!!!!!!!!!!

 

4 play dates: 6 games max

I don't reply much here, but it sounds like some want to turn HS ball into tourney ball. I agree with you betterbatter... in HS athletes are and should be students FIRST! Once school is over, play the TB as much as you like, I'm all for it. Keep in mind HS ball offers a chance for girls to play that do not choose TB as an option (for various reasons- time, money, skill). A few things to consider:
Football players practice all week for ONE game (2-3 hr) on Friday night,
Basketball players play TWO-THREE games a week,
Tennis players play TWO-THREE matches in one week, and the list goes on...
my point is... FOUR games a week seems to be as good or better than other
programs are getting.
Bmac, sorry you feel competition at the conference level is not worthy of counting, but I'm sure every conference has its ups and downs. That's the charm of HS ball. It's great to see parents, the community, and local programs root for their hometown and homeschool team, no matter how good they are or what place in the conference they hold.
IMHO (which I'm sure some of you will attack)... 4 play dates a week with a 6 game max (25-28 season max) is a gracious plenty for the HS athlete. During school ..... a teenager (boys and girls) need to find time to study, physically rest and recuperate from daily practices/games, sometimes work for money, and be involved in community activites outside of their sport. These things help to develop an overall person.... just maybe the guidelines set down for athletics had a few of these in mind.

 

as

as I have stated before, TB should produce better teams than HS ball if you think about it. no geographical limits and ability to recruit being 2 main reasons.

the sky should be the limit for TB teams.

 

4 games plenty!!!

Great post. I think what we have here is some who play TB want to turn HS ball into the same thing. Why do you want to play more??? You start playing more and more you start to loose very valuable practice time. If your having problems at the plate you don't want another game the next day....you want to head to the tee or video and see whats wrong and fix it. You can't fix it during a game if its become a bad habit from playing constantly and not getting to work on the fundamentals of a swing. And these kids are students who like to play ball....not the other way around. They do have lives you know. HS athletics is great. How much community support is at a TB game. Most of the time.....no, almost all the time its just parents and a few friends. If you don't like the 24 game rule then DON'T PLAY. No one is forcing anybody to play. Don't get me wrong....travel ball is fine. It gives many girls opportunities to be "seen" which may allow them to play in college. It does make them better because of the competition they face almost every game. But thats not for the majority....be satisified with 24. I have had experience trying to change the minds of the "powers that be" before. If they want 24 then theres nothing you can do or say.....your wasting your time, it doesn't matter what every other state is doing, they don't care. But I do think they are right on this one. It has nothing to do with game times being longer or shorter...comparing to baseball...or what ever else anybody thinks. It comes down to they think 24 games with 4 max in a week is enough for a student They have to study, work, enjoy HS, ect.

 

I think what is wanted here is to be able to play at tourney or two and be able to play to the end. Lets look at the tourny down in Rock Hill, it is two days and all a NC team can do is play in the pool play part the first day, they can not come back and play the second day because they will have used up their games for the week and they also can not play on Sunday. Then there is spring break where a couple more games could be play but because of rules they can not play.

IMO, this is what most here are talking about. They do not want to be able to play games everyday they just want to be able to go to a tourny or two for a weekend and compete till the end.

 

Couldn't be put any better.

Now how can we get the NCHSAA to be reasonable and let the NC girls play in and attempt to win a tournament or two a season? Fastpitch softball isn't baseball for girl's and the differences should be taken into account when making decisions for softball.

 

A tourny or two would be fine. Unfortunately, the "tourny or two" would quickly become weekend tournaments ... with time limits ... rushed games ... overworked pitchers ... less time devoted to PRACTICE ... and on and on ...; in other words ... TRAVEL BALL.

HS ball is a great game that's getting better. At the upper levels, the fan base includes more than just relatives of players. Its not uncommon to see 150+ fans at games, especially later in the season. I've seen games between big rivalries where 1000+ showed up (not just 4A either). Most high profile programs are now getting press coverage, even TV occasionally. Lets not convert it to travel ball.

 

why

why enter a tourn. out of state if you know ahead of time that you won't be able to compete til the end for the championship?? go find a spring break tourn. or Easter tourn., or better yet host one of these that are allowed in NC.