Grades and T/B

Charlie's coming from a different direction. He's not going to waste his time evaluating a player who has poor grades.

But I don't believe he's saying that if a DD has bad grades that she shouldn't play softball.

 

I have personally witnessed this on a couple of occasions.

One of the finest kids I know was forced by her desire to play softball to pull a grade up to make it to the college level. I really believe if it hadn't been for softball we would be one public school teacher shorter in the future.

 

I agree, but at what level do you continue to play. There is a mixed bag out there. We were told at a tryout once that school was no excuse to miss a weekend practice and my DD walked. It's not her fault she gets a loaded assignment an Thursday or Friday and spends the weekend putting it together.

And then you get the, "...if you are not interested in playing at the next level (college) then you should not be playing travel ball..."

I agree with Phreak that....yes, if a kid wants it bad enough then they need to get priorities straight, and that's when sports can make a difference.

But......I don't know....seems there needs to be an absolute paradigm in there somewhere for grades and level of play and it needs to be enforced, if not for anything other then the player.

One last thing though.....say you have another competitive player on a team who does get it down in the classroom. Does she still ride the bench for the player with bad grades? If a player and parent doesn't have the common sense to know they need to hit the books, they really don't have anyone to blame but themselves.

 

You should play as long as you're able and willing to play; at whatever level.

If you benefit from your ability that's a bonus. I'm with central-d somewhat in that you enjoy the moment. That doesn't mean you neglect other parts of your life. You have to have balance. That's the key.

Different feet for different feats! (I think that's an original.)

 

game for life

you are correct.....
there are many levels of play..... some have requirements
but it is a game for life....

 

The Game is exactly what it says" A Game".Our jobs as Coaches is not strictly on making better ballplayers.Our jobs are also to make the ballplayer A better citizen for their communities.Sports teaches alot of kids
Alot about discipline,ambition,competitive,determination behaviors.It does not teach A player how to speak to a future employer.With the coaches having alot of influence with their players.Their focus should not be limited to sports,as A winning prospective.Any Coach that does not care about their players education are probably the ones that get players coming around games after they finish playing drunk,high,or asking for money.My organization even checks Rec Players grades.Sports are A privilage.Education is a necessity.and as being one that is going back to school at my age to better my career.Is also one of the players that says"wish I would have taken my education more seriously when I was younger".

 

Grades or ball?

Grades win hands down...ask my children. Their teachers and coaches knew my standards were higher than the ones the school had for them when it came to their grades. As long as they did their best, they were allowed to play but if the grades slipped they'd either miss a practice or two to get help or they wouldn't have played at all. It made them manage their study time better. But that's just my experience.

 

YEA

That is being a parent that cares and one willing to help their child make the right decisions for their future! Nice job

 

Grades, grades, grades

Grades come first. My daughter has always been a straight A student so it's never really been a big issue. Now that she's in middle school her homework assignments and class work is much more difficult. Her mom and I agreed that we'd settle for A's and B's due to the rigorous schedule of school and TB. If she gets a C she's not playing ball until the grade comes up. There are many TB teams that require A's and B's to be a part of their team. Having this requirements sends the right message; sports privelages are to be earned in the classroom.

 

No doubt that good grades have a high priority but I'm not sure there are too many, if any, TB teams that require A's and B's to be on the team.

I know there are some really good players that are much better on the field than in the classroom; especially at the HS level.

I've known of cases where players were not allowed to play by their parents because of grades. In HS, of course, you must maintain your grades in order to be eligible to play. But it certainly isn't all A's and B's; rightly so.

Hard work and success usually go hand-in-hand. Grades and performance will usually reflect that. Grades are an indication of that hard work; not the final definition of a player or their ability to perform on the field or in the workplace.