High School vs. Travel Softball

The North Carolina Fast Pitch Coaches Association, which is not associated with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, and is primarily made up of High School coaches, has missed the mark. Putting the “State Games - High School All-Star Tournament” on the same weekend as one of the biggest College Showcase on the Eastern Seaboard, makes no sense. I’m not at all sure the organizers of the High School event were aware of the conflict. For those that were in Columbia last year, we know how many college coaches were in attendance, and those in attendance at the All-Star games did not see the same college coach turn out. I have talked to several college coaches this year, and they are all in agreement that they will be in Columbia and not in Greensboro. Therefore, where should the softball players be?

Although there are several excellent High School softball coaches in North Carolina, the vast majority are less than knowledgeable about the game, or how to assist a player in getting recruited. Again, not wanting to argue with the High School coaches, but if you're going to accept this role and responsibilty, at least put forth some effort to get your players recruited. First and foremost, please notify your local papers of games, stats, etc...and don't get me started on coverage of softball in the Raleigh/Durham area. That thread is coming up shortly. Put yourself to this test: if you know a player that has been recruited to play softball in college, ask their High School coach the name of the coach at the college where the player will be attending. As an added test and a more conclusive one, ask the college coach if they know who the coach is at the High School and whether they have ever had a conversation about the player.

The organizers of the High School event should be ashamed to force teenage girls to make such a difficult decision, when the consequences could have far reaching effects on their future. What would High School Softball be without the travel ball player? What would High school Softball become if there was no Travel Ball?

High School Coaches should work with the Travel Ball Coaches. We are willing to work with you for the sake of all the players that have dedicated much of their lives to the game we call Fast Pitch Softball. If concessions are not made, ask yourself who the losers are. If answer is "the players", we need to examine the reasons we coach.


I am and I do have....

 

1) If you were and you did you'd post with your real name

2) Were they too big to post in the thread dedicated to this subject or was that just your ego?

 

I can't resist

any Longer. I watched the last post on this subject and refrained from posting, but I feel I have to make a comment on the subject.

Bear with me on this, it will take a minute to get to the point. While I know that the majority of coaches both TB and HS have the girls best interest at heart, I must point out that there are truly only a dozen or so schools in each division that I would consider to be elite teams with great coaches. We all know where those programs are, and so do the parents. As is evident by the number of families that have moved to a specific program because they felt the HS program where they lived was not what they wanted their DD's to be a part of. Virtually all of the TB teams that play at the Showcase events are the elite of the elite programs. The vast majority of those young ladies committed to TB way before HS. And no disrespect to the HS coaches questioning the commitment factor, but ask a college recruiter if they want to spend the time and money to see a team win a 58-0 single game, with the girls hitting left handed, and walking off the base early to end the inning to try and save face for their opponent. Or do you think they will want to attend a tournament to see that same girl play 3-4-5 games against some of the best players in the region and sometimes the country.

I see this from both sides because I am a TB coach and I also volunteer my time to one of the local MS programs that is/was in dire need of help. I was asked only after an outside head coach was named, ( a week after school started) because absolutely no one would take the job from the faculty. The new head coach took the position mostly because she wanted to make sure the program did not shut down completely. Several weeks into the season she asked me if I could help her get the girls hitting a little bit. After the season had ended, a few of the girls and their parents asked me for some advice on the best way to improve. I instructed them to tryout for a TB team and continue to work on the skills we taught them in the last few weeks of the season.

As a TB coach I have instructed my girls to commit themselves to their HS programs during the spring, and come to practice/play with us when they can. However, as a coach (forget about with TB or HS) if she has been playing for me (or the organization) for the past four years (or more in some cases) and we have helped mold her into the player she has become I take a little bit of offense when the HS coaches think the TB coaches are out to undermine their program. I have seen first hand what negative effects some HS programs can have on a good player. Until the school system takes softball serious enough to not just offer a Head Coaches position up to the faculty member that is friends with AD we will continue to have problems like this. Also, remember that the overall vast majority of TB coaches (head, asst., or otherwise) are not compensated in any way shape or form. They do it strictly for the love of the game and to assist the girls realize their dreams!!!!! Before you hammer me about the slight stipend that you receive for coaching HS remember it's way more than nothing. I'm not complaining though, my compensation comes from seeing the success of our girls (individually and as a team).

If you look back at one of my previous posts you will see that I completely support the HS programs. I think that there is more to the HS program than just the athletic side of it. If the young lady can excel in athletics and academics at the same time it says a lot about her character. No matter how good or bad the HS athletic program is, the athlete needs to demonstrate how well she handles adversity and how well she interacts socially with her team.

With that said maybe we as coaches should look at how we interact with one another and "LEAD by EXAMPLE". If any coach makes negative comments about the other coach how do you think the girls interpret those comments.

Go ahead and start flaming, I got the Fireman below to put me out!!!!!

 

Wow...I'm almost speechless with the arrogance of this statement

Since this is a High School website, it begs to ask the question: Why is FP softball the only sport that Travel Ball interferes with the High School season? Why are tournamemts being scheduled during this time? It would seem that if TB tournaments were not scheduled during the HS season, there would be no conflicts and it would answer this bold statement, "If concessions are not made...we need to examine the reasons we coach."

I've heard it mentioned many times the "us vs them" attitude....now you know why.

Until the softball community gets together and act as one versus splintering about who is more important HS or TB then you will never realize the true strength that the community can have. It must be inclusive in its importance.

It was brought up in this thread about media exposure in the Raleigh area. Although this is a huge problem in every metropolitan city, if this is important to you and you are wanting "the light" to be shined from your paper, it will be from your HS teams, not your Travel Ball teams.

 

There Is No Issue Here !!

I say just pick one !!! Again there is no way to make everybody "HAPPY" ,END OF STATEMENT !! If you want to play in the tournament "DO IT", if you want to play in the State Games "DO IT", and as far as teenagers making a decision that's what is wrong with our kids now days, we make all the decisions for them. Most teenagers are spoiled,and don't know how to make decisions.....'' IT CALLED GROWING UP!! '' My kid has twice the things I had and every convenience under the sun..''How about yours ?" Braves is right ,the softball community needs to come together. If you think you can schedule the ''State Games" at a better time join the organization and give POP some of your ideas..."WORK TOGETHER FOLKS!!"

Guru

 

Life is a series of choices.....make them and don't look back.

 

Outstanding!!!!!

 

BTW

what are the dates of the HS championships this year at Walnut Creek?

 

To Best Of My Knowledge

It's always the first weekend in June !!

Guru-----