I suspect for many if not most of these great or elite talents they achieve what they do almost in spite of any formal instruction. That is, they are such talented athletes that simply devoting their time and attention to a particular skill is enough, over time, to achieve mastery of that...
When you look at higher-level D1 teams, the best ones (those in the Top 25, say) have a fielding percentage of .960 or better. The very best teams (e.g., Oklahoma) consistently have fielding percentages of .980+. They make mistakes, which are part of the game, but not very many. I'd say the...
Am here in cold weather Northern Virginia and originally from the NE. Just anecdotal, but many of my DD’s softball amigas—whether they are playing in college or not—all want to head somewhere warmer, which tends to mean somewhere between the Carolinas and Florida. This includes my younger...
Patty Gasso seems to do fine carrying a roster of 20 girls (+ or -) every season. Sure she could carry 25 or 30 if she just wanted extra girls to shag balls or clean up the practice field.
UW is a Top 10 team with 17 girls on their roster.
The potential for athletic money or wearing a jersey for a top program is one thing, but I just saw a small D3 school carrying a roster of 31 girls. Those on the bottom half of the roster pay tuition and help the school, as I've come to learn, meet Title IX requirements/guidelines (% of female...
Our HS is somewhere around 2300-2400 students and we seem to consistently get about 30 girls to come try out, usually enough for a full Varsity and JV roster. I think all the girls on Varsity are playing or have played travel ball at some level, several at the regional and even national level...
It is similar in VA. Limited to 20 regular season games. Plus playoffs, which could add up to another 9 games, depending on how you were seeded. We play our first scrimmage game on Thursday. Was supposed to be last Saturday but got rained out. Regular season starts next week.
This happened with a girl from our HS. Athletic girl who decided not to play in college and attends University of Washington. She decided to walk on her Sophomore year—this season—and actually made the team! Super cool. Expect that she will have the opportunity to pinch run and enjoys being...
I hear what you are saying, but how does a level 5 or level 6 girl (assuming a 1-10 scale) end up at Florida State or LSU or other elite, say, Top 30 programs? Don’t these high-level coaches all know the national teams and national tournaments where presumably the level 8-10 players are...
Do you have thoughts on why you think that is or what precisely is lacking? Is it velo? Something else? And do you have a sense of whether this is a new phenomenon?
Softball seems more popular than it has ever been, which you would think would lead to even more girls playing and thus a...
This is very wise advice. Around the time my DD was entering HS, I suggested that we go all in on pitching because it was difficult, time wise, to keep up with everything and improve. She said no. She wanted to keep hitting and fielding. So, we did, despite the compromise of focus it...
I was watching the game against Georgia and couldn’t believe the number of free passes given up. I didn’t think the ump’s zone was really the issue, a lot of the pitches were not competitive in terms of location.