State of D1 Softball in NC

The City pulled out of an agreement when the money was already on the table. They offered up a park and then decided not to move forward. Hopefully it will get done before the start of next season.

 

chacha not sure I understand your question

 

That is not 100% true if we are talking about the same school, it is a mess, I seriously doubt it gets done before next season either no commitment, poorly managed.

 

Doing it right

Coach Lotief at Louisiana-Lafayette

On Attracting Homegrown Talent

Alongside her husband and co-head coach Michael Lotief, she has been able to maintain the high standards of the program with "hometown" athletes, affirming her belief that the state of Louisiana and East Texas is a hotbed for college softball.

"Most of the players on this team are 'hometown girls'," she said. "The coaches are hometown people. All of us, for the most part, were overlooked by the 'big' schools in the recruiting process.

"We had the courage to make a choice to defy the naysayers and conventional wisdom and stay close to home, near family and friends and pursue excellence," she added. "All of us came here with hopes and dreams. Add to that hard-work and solid preparation - it creates an environment where people care about each other - and add in a community where fans and families who support and believe in the dreams and hopes, and watch the dreams become reality."

16 LA homegrown girls on the roster.
Excellent program that does it right showing it can be done.

 

Ball vs Classroom

I'm not sure the basis on which you state "Not too many overwhelmingly strong schools (academically) in NC that also have softball." Aside from the Duke and Wake choosing to play softball doesn't eliminate many NC schools. I can't really think of schools that offer softball in neighboring states that are academically superior to our in-state options either.

My daughter opted to go out-of-state. We left the decision to her. I can guarantee that softball in combination the general atmosphere on campus (how well will I fit in there?) were the preeminent determining factors. After all, how many 16/17 year-olds are really able to objectively evaluate the comparative educational value any group of universities represent?

I've been involved in higher education (either as a student or professor) for the last 40 years. One thing that is very clear is that there are few students whose educational opportunities are limited by the university they attend. The education a student receives is far more dependent on what the student brings to the university than what the university offers.

Keeping these things in mind, I would say choosing a school because of the softball program is not necessarily a bad thing to do. The fact is that, particularly at the D1 level, softball will dominate the life of the student-athlete. If you don't believe it then you're clueless about what the sport demands. If the softball experience is not good it will likely taint any other aspects of the person's college experience.

 

One hundred percent agree with the above post many may disagree, but unless you had a child at a D1 school and know how demanding the program is you may not understand. My DD goes to a less then successful program, but that does not mean the team does not work just as hard as the neighbors to their left and right. And she has a demanding class schedule that she also embraces but it is hard and demanding all the way around, hopefully when she gets through this she will be prepared for the real world. Also the NC schools have as high an academic standard as any around.

 

Can anyone name the TOP players "all Americans" that have come from the state of north Carolina. Crystal Cox at unc, Megan Mathews, Kelly grieves, tenn,
Other great players that have played or play in the pros (actually played) Brittany McKinney from unc, other then these young ladies I have not heard of national players best in the country coming from the state. Until the players in the state are better the schools in the state will be average. This statement is not because of the college coaches but the travel ball coaches.
Teach the game, fundamentals and the schools in div 1,2 and 3 might win a championship.
All of the young athlete choose schools for different reasons (or should I state parents choose schools where they will be on tv and put their chest out)
Chelsea Leonard, doing a great job( didn't want to leave her out) may be the first nc kid to be in world series

 

Morgan Childers from NC. Top 25 in strikeouts and wins in NCAA history. Has more strikeouts and wins than anyone from NC in DI fastpitch history. She also played Pro Fastpitch.

 

Childress was an outstanding player at a mid major school but not an all American,
Was her pro career cut short, didn't see that she played for Akron last year.

Wonder why she didn't stay in state to play. It seems now if you don't commit in your soph year there is no money! Well some that do commit early change their mind a few times on schools! That must be from changing teams so much growing up! If you aren't playing start another team!

 

Did not say she was All-American, just naming a kid that did well coming from a small town in western NC that really didnt know much about fastpitch at all. She did play at Akron last year and was top 5 in the NPF in several pitching catergories. Her season ended due to injury. She has decided to move on with her career and start a family. We are very proud of her accomplishments. Just google her name with Akron Racers and you can probably find her stats. Not bad coming from a Mid-Major, LOL