hs softball

Middle school suffering to...

At the middle school (in Wake County) where I used to help coach, the AD, who just happened to be the head softball coach, would have to talk girls into going out for the team. He would watch girls when they were throwing footballs around during gym and try to recruit anyone who was 'athletic' or just looked like they could throw a ball. I would also get my DDs to tell their friends to come to the camps and go out for the team.

We would get 25 - 30 come out for the team but most of them had never touched a softball before. When the team was finally selected, less than half had previous softball experience.

I like to think that we not only taught solid fundamentals but also instilled the love for the game in them. I would say >80% of the girls we coached went on to play in HS and a lot of them started playing TB as well.

Point is, like phreak stated, you have to start early and it takes everyone's involvement to keep it going.

 

Nice Post!

....'ol JavCat! Your reputation is known around here as a dad, who is called coach, because of your ability to get kids to enjoy the game, while they learn from you.
Thats hard to beat my man!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot......'ol Jav Cat does study the game.
He can take a group of kids and make it fun when maybe they lose, but at the end of the season, these kids are on top of the game, and compete with anybody.

 

SOOOOOOO...

.......and SWEEEEEET are Fishwords! But,...
...after further review, and in the veeeeeeery best interest of the kids, the Mr. January Association, has agreed that you, phreak have obtained the "right" to use any loooooong word you'd like.
Damn! Phreak!
What an awesome post!
IIIIIIIIIIIIII'M at a loss for words!
....other than, I appreciate everything that you've done coaching!

IIIIIIIffff you keep posting hall of famers, 'ol Braves might ask you for a recent pic......to put in the TBR calender as Mr. February, leap year only!

 

ENOUGH BLAME TO GO AROUND...

Face it folks, we all share some blame in the decline of H.S. Softball. How many times have we all criticized the Coach, the program, the A.D. and the talent level on the team. We have allowed our T.B. mentality as coaches, parents and players to overshadow the fundemental goals of high school sports.

Want to see H.S. softball get better? This season don't miss a game. Scream and yell in support of those girls. Scream and yell just as loud for the 7,8,9, batters as you do for the D-1 recruit batting clean up.

H.S. softball has a much different mission for our daughters than T.B. does. Support H.S. softball for what it is and not for what you want it to be...

 

You're reminding me of what those happy horses eat: haaaaaaayyy!!!

 

more to come out there

and ya'll in the Garner area are preparing to build another HS on the SE side of town off highway 50 south, I understand.
and the West Johnston area's next new HS is already under construction about 4 miles from WJHS, out nearer to the Cleveland and Polenta area.

more dilution of talent?? but will the HS's in this area remain 4A or bump back to 3A in future reallignments??

 

Harnett Central

We may have a unique situation at Harnett Central.
2008 graduated 5 players, 2 played travel ball.
Of the players who were on varsity last year and would expect to play this year, 6 play travel ball and 2 do not. The JV team has 4 TB players and could, likely, play varsity. Our freshman class has 5 TB players.
With this much talent many of the girls who do not play TB feel there is little chance to make the team or end up playing JV which lacks prestige. They don't seem to think the effort required to play is going to get them anywhere so they simply don't try.
You may see some of the same attitude, "I'm not nearly good enough to play with those TB players." The difference you have limited TB players. The long term answer is get more local girls involved. Get them at a younger age and get them to play together. I have for years tried to get players from our school involved. Tried to get them on same TB teams, and rec. teams.
Problem is its more like growing trees than growing corn. It takes several years to harvest.
You are right that the Challengers "develop talent", both my DD have been with them at one time. Too many TB teams are recruiting "superstars" already developed players, read tryout posts thats all they want. Not many are willing to invest in raw talent. There are no quick fixes, unless you can get "Superstar Sally" to move into your school district.

 

HS coach's job

isn't this where the HS coach must step in and do his/her job if they truly want to build a "program" instead of just field a team? They must make those non-TB players truly feel they are a vital part of the success of the program. Building chemistry between TB and non-TB players on the same HS team is also extremely important while shedding the drama that can build up.

 

The middle schools in our county

play girls soccer in the fall and softball in the spring. The high schools play both in the spring. My 4th grader loves both and will be able to play both in middle school but not high school. Do some soccer players choose soccer over softball once they're in high school? I've heard a local high school soccer coach say he wished they were played in different seasons because his soccer team would be much better with a few of the softball athletes. Also, if softball was played in the fall then some of the better ump's in baseball would do softball as well.

 

As a HS Coach , I could not agree more w/ Carsfan,Phreak and Marlin. THANKS! The High Schools do play a roll in the development of girls softball....it may be a little different than TB but we still have a purpose. We still get young ladies that have never played the game come out w/o gloves , shoes , etc....talk about starting with the basics..a challenge but rewarding and a lot of fun! Last year , we came close to winning it all with 4 Seniors(3 TB players)..that was a pleasure for 4 years and those players picked up the level and work ethic of the others. I am really looking forward to this year because we do not have a Pitcher or a TB player...our Ladies are going to have to develop thru hard work/put on their "big girl britches" and not be dependent on the more skilled players...who knows , we may even find a player or two that can play TB in the future...we are looking forward to the challenge of skill development with this group..just need to find someone who can get the ball across the plate and play solid defense behind them. I really enjoy this forum..keep up the good work!