Interesting article: Senior week or State playoffs?

[FP26]

Alright, perhaps nobody is too much of a generalization. There are a handful of schools here, Norco, Los Alamitos, Gahr, Great Oak, Huntington Beach, Grand Terrace and a few private schools that care about HS ball. All of those schools are coached by travel ball coaches.
For all of the students at the 400+ other high schools in the section the high school season is just a break from travel ball and a chance to play with a few classmates. Come May they're set to go back to their teams and prepare for Colorado and then PGF.
That's just the way it is. Unless you're at one of the tiny handfull of schools that emphasizes the sport and hires actual coaches to run the program you're stuck with a clueless teacher who is taking the 2k a year stipend to coach an athletic team in between grading tests and will play the kids whose parents volunteer the most.

I realize that California is a big state, and is a hotbed for softball talent. But this board is represented by the entire country (and some international folks). The popularity of high school ball varies from region to region, and sometimes within regions. I have mentioned before that DD's high school experience was not great, but that was because she was the only travel ball player on a team playing against stacked high schools. As a 7th/8th grader she was looking forward to the high school team, but it wasn't quite what she thought it would be. Meanwhile, good friends of ours were just eliminated in the state semi-finals, and had a great time. A few players that played on the travel ball team I coached won a state title and are still talking about it a few years later. It's a great experience for some, but not for all.

Added -- there are also several travel teams in our area whose entire purpose is to prepare the players for high school ball, not college ball. Not every player even wants to play in college. Some are simply focused on their high school experience and will say goodbye to softball once they graduate.

 

[lancergriffin]

Right and then you threw in about 2 or 3 not so subtle knocks against OK amateur softball for no apparent reason. By the way it isn't Oklahoma University, it is The University of Oklahoma...got it @J.Galt?

Why does it say OU on their football helmets then?

 

[_MIA_]

Why does it say OU on their football helmets then?

You are barking up the wrong tree on this one.

Peter Attar

www.ou.edu

 

[MNDad]

Why does it say OU on their football helmets then?

That's actually a good question.

And thank you for toning down your rhetoric in the last response about HS ball. .

 

[_MIA_]

That's actually a good question.

And thank you for toning down your rhetoric in the last response about HS ball. .

No idea why it says OU but my paycheck says The University of Oklahoma and that is all I care about

 

[Cannonball]

Alright, perhaps nobody is too much of a generalization. There are a handful of schools here, Norco, Los Alamitos, Gahr, Great Oak, Huntington Beach, Grand Terrace and a few private schools that care about HS ball. All of those schools are coached by travel ball coaches.
For all of the students at the 400+ other high schools in the section the high school season is just a break from travel ball and a chance to play with a few classmates. Come May they're set to go back to their teams and prepare for Colorado and then PGF.
That's just the way it is. Unless you're at one of the tiny handfull of schools that emphasizes the sport and hires actual coaches to run the program you're stuck with a clueless teacher who is taking the 2k a year stipend to coach an athletic team in between grading tests and that teacher will play the kids whose parents volunteer the most.

Have you stopped to realize that there are more states than yours? Have you stopped to realize that softball is different throughout the country? Have you stopped to realize that your little home-slice of Cali isn't representative of the whole country? In my area, HS ball is huge and people care about state championships. In my area the bad HS coaches are few and far in between. Yes, they are there but so are notable coaches who have staffs that are incredible. Saying "that it is just the way it is" is representative of your experience and a few others here. It is not representative of all here.

 

[lancergriffin]

And perhaps the girls at the school in question come from a state where prep sports mean so little that the school plans senior trips during the state playoffs

 

[OsDad]

You guys are arguing with someone who thinks recruits choose where to attend college based on who has the best selection of amusement parks in the area...

 

[CoachKevin]

And perhaps the girls at the school in question come from a state where prep sports mean so little that the school plans senior trips during the state playoffs

I will say that every College player profile shows their HS, and their HS accomplishments soooooo. Right or wrong, almost all just list which TB team they played on and very very few show any TB accomplishments.

 

[lancergriffin]

I will say that every College player profile shows their HS, and their HS accomplishments soooooo. Right or wrong, almost all just list which TB team they played on and very very few show any TB accomplishments.

Because the athletic departments follow the football formula as football is the sport that funds all the others. Football has, as of yet, no club programs that compete with the prep programs. But you are seeing more and more influence from the 7 on 7 leagues
Until last year, Universities were offering scholarships to softball players in middle and even elementary school....so how important was their high school program in that?