Question for DukeDog4 and others whose girls have completed collegiate careers

I agree with this statement. My daughter is a HS senior this year and has played since she was 10 with the dream of possibly playing at the next level. However, since deciding on studying nursing and looking at many schools and programs and repeatedly being told that a nursing program and playing ball at the college level are so difficult to manage, she has begun to entertain thoughts of not playing the sport she loves.
She has made the statement that even though she loves softball, nursing is what she will be doing for the rest of her life.

 

Coach:

Do some coaches view turnover as a good thing? It frees up scholarship dollars from someone that may never play and allows them to bring in another freshman that may be a star?

I know it happens in other sports in moderation. Is softball different?

 

Women's sport are different in general . . .

. . . because of biology. Male athletes often don't reach physical maturity (unless your Greg Oden or Lebron) until they are 20 or so. Many girls reach their 'athletic maturity' much earlier. In fact, mother nature may begin working against certain girls past about age 16 (a peak at mom will give the college coach a clue). Not sexism, just biologic fact. What this means is that freshmen female athletes are usually far more a 'finished product' than their male counterparts. In fact, my experience tells me if a collegiate softball player is not regular by sometime in her sophomore year it's unlikely she ever will be. Coaches know this and players eventually come to realize it. The outcome is players exiting or 'being exited' to make room for the youngsters.

 

Good job! Education first--absolutely!

 

Correct

The sophomore year is the test....if your not getting quality time by then,
you might never.... Also, as DukeDog stated, watch out for the freshman class.

My obligation is to put the best team on the field... which has nothing to do with class rank. If I fail to do that, then it becomes apparent on the field..the other thing... the girls know who should be out there... Their pretty smart in assessing talent...usually allot smarter than their parents...

This being said, the best team on the field will vary by the opponent. A successful program allows everyone to have a part of the success.

Turnover is always gonna be a factor....kids lose interest, or are unwilling to work to make themselves a starter... also, I have seen plenty of kids that were playing 80% of the games, still leave, due to the commitment and time issue..

The season is a sprint... In HS, you play 23 games from the first of March and the end of May, then playoffs.. My collegiate schedule starts mid Feb, and the conf tournament if the 3rd weekend in April. We will play approx 45 games, and travel the east coast.. Basically play 2x as many games as the HS season, in half the time... all while holding down a college workload...

And this is D3...

You better love it

 

My daughter decided to forgo her senior year in collegiate softball and will graduate early (in 3 1/2 years). As mentioned earlier, there are very few opportunities in softball after college and she was ready to move on with her career. She has already received a job offer and plans to stay involved with the game. A few that decide not to play (particularly in their senior season) are able to complete their degree requirements in the fall. The many years of softball developed many skills that she has used to be such a focused and driven individual. These will be an asset to any employer and will carry over into all aspects of her life and career. The game provided her the opportunity to receive her education which is the ultimate goal afterall.

 

Answer from former D1 player to Pujols5

My personal experience (I'm 27yo now and played D1 ball from 2000-2003)...

I love the game more than life, but I knew, even when I was 18, like most girls do...that playing can't last forever...and it's only 2nd to a good career and life for yourself post-college.

This being said, I chose my school based on academics...I knew I wanted to go to a school with a great reputation for the major I wanted to pursue. I got accepted and received scholarships in my community and an academic scholarship through the school. I tryed out and walked onto the school's D1 program and worked my butt off every day. I'm a busy person by nature so I loved the challenge of balancing softball with academics. I had THE BEST experiences of my life playing college ball...it taught me how to deal with more life experiences than anything I have ever been a part of, heck, I even learned what it meant to have dignity and respect for myself and others because we all knew deep down that we had earned the chance to play at the next level and put on that collegiate uniform every day.

I would never take back the 3 years I played ball, yes only three, I did quit my senior year...because of a coach who has since been "released" from the program. I went through an emotional roller coaster with my head coach. She believed that we should all stop by her office every day and talk about our lives with her (which I thought was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard, and of course, I didn't oblige). I worked my butt off for 2 years as a walk-on to finally earn a spot as a starter my junior year, and to receive scholarship money for the sport was an added bonus! And then, I quit before my senior season because of unanswered questions on her end. How could I be the only girl on the team having a multi-hit game and then get benched for the next 3 games? How could I be a part of a back-to-back home run to win a ball game and then be benched the next week and a half? How could I work SO hard and be punished for my efforts? It was the hardest decision of my life, when I confronted my coach before the senior season and asked her those things. When she couldn't answer those questions, I knew it was time to move on and start coaching...so that I could instill everything I had learned from my amazing hitting, fielding, and strength and conditioning coaches into the next generation of ballplayers.

So, as a long answer to your question =), I would say if your daughter wants to play college ball, GO FOR IT!!! It will be the best experience of her life. I have SO much more to say about it, but I'll stop so this post doesn't become too long. I would say that the head coach, though, can make or break your daughter's role on the team...unfortunately. Dealing with the head coach is probably factor number one for girls who don't play the whole 4 years. But there were other reasons too in my experience, girls quit b/c of boyfriends, school troubles, but basically what it came down to was girls that didn't want to commit themselves to that level of ball and what it required, and who put other things as a higher priority than ball, quit. So yes, I would say there was a large number of girls who did NOT play the whole 4 years. But, is there a way to balance school, softball, social life, and even working part-time, DEFINITELY. However, at the end of the day...a good academic school and being on a campus with a major that you like and take an interest to, is the most important thing. In my opinion, everything else can fall into place after that.

 

pearls...

Duke.. as you always do you have some real pearls of wisdom in your posts... especially the no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow statement and the fact that, for a large % of girls playing, their bodies change so much at 15/16 that they "grow" out of their athleticism.

These are just facts that arent easily told or explained to those with 12 +/- year old players. If you have a young player I suggest you memorize a lot of what Duke posts... not only has he experienced it but he has a gifted analytical mind.

There are so many things working against a female athelete... much more so than the male IMHO.