Is high school ball benefical

here is an example that I am aware of what is mentioned above: player is only real pitcher on squad.. there are three games scheduled in a week. "Coach" asks player, in addition to having to pitch the full three games, to pitch batting practice twice that SAME week!!! This is pitching for 5 STRAIGHT days and is expected to pitch all 7 innings of the games she starts.

Pitcher asks to opt out of second batting practice. "Coach" questions players heart.

All the ALTRUISM in the world people isnt going to change the reality of what some kids endure.

ps: this was a mediocre team going nowhere in conference etc.

 

I've seen it too..."coaches" with egos blaming the players when they lose. I know a coach who spent two days of practice before an important game teaching the girls how he wanted them to run out on the field and line up for the National Anthem. When they lost the game due to a big part of him not knowing the rules he made them run poles on their opponent's field to humiliate them. He should have been running with them but running can't help stupid.

 

how about this one: day before big game with conference rival "Coach" has the girls come to practice in old clothes. They are going to play in the mud and make mud pies. Logic being that having "fun" will take pressure off. Next day rival beats team badly.. due to incredible talent disparity, excellent program and coaching. "Coach" berates team for "folding" everytime they see "XXXXX" on opponents jersey in post game huddle.

Keep in mind that team in question was incredibly thin and could not afford any injuries (trouble putting a glove at every position) with no JV squad and only 11 girls on varsity.. yet they are running, sliding, playing tug of war etc on a surface where falling slipping etc is part of the "plan" of preparation for the BIG game!

 

You guys must have perfect jobs. These experiences are great opportunities to teach life lessons on how to get along with unreasonable people. Should we teach our kids to avoid potentially unpleasant experiences or to face them and make the best of it.

 

yes player above should have pitched all 5 days.... Interesting that you would have allowed player to risk a career ending injury in the above scenario all to teach a "life lesson". As I said in my first post you "endure"... dont confuse.. at the same time light must be shed on the absurd.

The reality is your approach is what is wrong with so much of our society. Reasonableness is not demanded, the best is not required and we end up with a dumbing down of our entire country because of it!

ps: in the "real" world i know of no one who puts up with "unreasonable" for very long. If you have a job where you endure the unreasonable day in and day out and it doesnt affect the rest of your life and your family you are a truly remarkable human being.

 

Sorry didn't make my point clear. What I meant was that so many play only a year and give it up. My point is we have really gotten away from the real reason we should want our kids to play and that is to just have fun. But so many parents are trying to relive their youth through their kids and want to brag that their kid got a scholarship that they take the fun out of it.

 

The bad example "coaches" mentioned in previous posts HAVE to be exceptions. Not many players and parents would tolerate the described behavior very long before some would be complaining to the appropriate people in charge of the program.

There are many good coaches. Not all coaches are bad. The overwhelming majority of coaches are good. Good does not necessarily mean they have the same skill levels as the top recognized coaches in the state. Not all programs are going to compete at the same level.

If a program is as bad as posted above it wouldn't be long before they wouldn't have a program. Or a different coach.

It isn't always about winning. I know of teams that lose year after year but they always field a team and year after year I see some of the same faces and some new faces--coaches and players. I see the effort to win. I see them trying just as hard as the teams that win year after year. What I don't see are unhappy kids.

I wish every player on every team we play would hit a home run over the fence--but we still win by one run. That would make me happy.

But if we can't win the State Championship we're going to have a good time trying; even if that includes parading on the field to honor the flag or wallowing in the mud.

 

interesting reading

Duke man if you are a Duke fan. You are likely the 1st I could agree with about SB. (goheels) Coaching in HS is likely the #1 or #2 point on the SB team. And the other, having players that want to be there with desire to play hard with passion and not just to be seen. A HS Jr or Sr should not be out there if they don't know what a 3-2 count or what a cut off means. Success on the field and in the coaches box brings a lot of benefits. There is another thread about HS fields on here and I sent my college senior the pictures and she could not believe how impressive that would be to a 6th or 7th grader coming up to play there and for a coach like they have. My 7th grader thought that the field was a college field. Here in Stanly Co we have nothing like that for SB. But... then you take a coach that only shows up for about 2 hrs or less and then goes out with the guys or girls for few cold ones afterwards then see the results. Soon you will begin to see the kind of product that is put on the field.
With that you will see how HS softball then becomes beneficial to the girls and then to the school.

Look at Independence and Butler football as a type of standard to gauge a FB program by. I don't know how many HS are in Meck CO, but how many have dominating SB programs? Many schools make the play-offs in NC, but if every year in Raleigh we have the same 5-7 schools show up out of 16 and likely win or finish 2nd, "there is your gauge". AND there is where your girls will feel and see the benefits of HS softball. I love to watch successful teams and then other teams that work hard and begin to be successful also........

Just my

stan

 

As a coach that coaches both high school and travel ball, I can see both sides. It is hard to tell a kid that showcase or travel ball is not good when they see 3-6 scouts at every game they play in. I think showcase rises the level of competition and thats what we all want. To play the best.

However I will agree that alot of parents think that their kids are better than what they are. But I will say that parents are a big cause of the players attitudes. The parents treat the sport like it is all about their child and then their child starts believing that and starts acting on it.

Then when it comes to High School ball no you dont see scouts at every game and then the parents start saying that this is not work it or it is a waste of time due to this. That is when the problems start because once the parent says that most of the time the child believes it and they have the "all about me|" attitude and that will hurt a team.


Showcase you play to be seen
High School you play as a team for a goal.

 

I agree with everything you said here ^... sometimes when a "Coach" teaches a subject thereby holding a position that is hard to fill the administration prioritizes the classroom over any failings on the athletic field and nothing is done despite light being shed on serious issues for fear of losing someone who in fact may be promising in the classroom but totally unqualified by temprement to be involved in athletics. There are usually multiple levels to any scenario.