Looking for some education on Softball please

Additional info requested and appreciated.

Would those of you who are very involved with softball please complete a very quick 10 question survey for me? Please feel free to copy and send the link to the survey to as many coaches and or parents as you can. We are trying to collect as much data as we can to potentially fund an Elite Softball Complex here in Charlotte.

Your feedback is truly important. Thank you for your time.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/softballtournaments

 

Most kids "retire" from playing competitive sports by age 13. That is a statistic not limited to softball, for the same reasons you state and others, like realizing that there are players more dedicated to the sport or simply enjoying it more than they do.

If we compare baseball to softball from an organizational perspective, there is the same lack of a unifying group in baseball. They have Little League, Babe Ruth, Pony, USSSA, & AAU, just to name a few. ASA has been around a long time, most of their tenure attributed to adult men's softball, but they have made great strides in organizing youth softball and their playing rules are the basis for most organizations. ASA does have a coach certification process. To play in ASA santioned tournaments, your team is required to have an ACE certified coach.

To get to the original questions on this thread, the most satisfying aspect of youth softball for me is seeing hard work pay off for the players who love the sport. The rest of my comments will be slanted towards the college bound player, as that is where my current focus is at, so there may be differences of opionion for players with a different agenda.

From a recruiting standpoint, there is no "magic bus" that will pull up and pick out a player who has done nothing to promote themselves. There is as much hard work required off the field as on it. Players will get out of it what they put into it. For the serious player who wants the opportunity to play in college, tournaments are all about being seen and showing off your talent to those coaches who you've fostered an interest with. And yes, I believe that softball takes a back seat to baseball most times, as it seems to do whenever comparing boys and girls sports.

For those who look for it, there are many opportunities available to play softball in tournaments attended by college coaches. A central "Cooperstown" like facility would be nice mainly from the perspective of having properly sized fields that do not utilize temporary fencing. If the intent is to create a venue where players are showcased, there are only certain time frames during the year that coaches are available to look at players, and the facility would have to cater to those coaches needs.

 

great stuff. thanks.

 

thought some of you might like this

In my research I came across this board

DiscussFastpitch.com - Softball Message Board


Seems like some pretty good posts in there. Might be another resource for all of you in addition to TBR.

Just thought I would pass along.