I need some thoughts and input...especially from you female coaches/players/parents out there who have been through this yourself.
My DD is 15 and has aspirations to play in college and beyond. She wants to play for a major DI who has a chance to make it to OKC, but is realistic about the chances and has kept her reasons for choosing universities focused primarily on academics. She currently plays on an 18U team that plays nationally and does a majority of the big showcase tournaments. Some schools have shown interest in her (ranging from the smaller NAIA to a couple P5). I can cautiously say that there are several who at least know who she is and will hopefully be engaging with her when rules permit. I believe she truly loves to play and is doing the things needed to through her own desire (maintaining high grades, practice, training, diet, studying, etc.). She does all of these things on her own without having to be prompted which tells me she has the personal desire and passion to do this. She also understands how grueling the recruiting process is (and will be) and that the effort required in a college of that level will be even greater.
However, this weekend she broke down and said that she never gets to do things with her friends and misses a lot because of softball. She also said it seems everything she does is for the future and not the present. This was the first confusing part since she seems to love playing now with her team, the traveling and everything about the game and is involved with several activities that are non-softball related. The main thing that prompted this was that she was offered a role in the school play she wanted and turned it down because it would conflict with 2 major showcases that coaches have said they are coming to watch her play in. She did turn this down on her own and her mother and I didn't hear about it until after the fact when she was upset. I believe she (we) have been good about scheduling times (especially weekends) off during a season so that she has the freedom to do what she wants and just be a HS kid (movies, homecoming, dances hanging out, slumber parties etc.). I do try to get her to shut down softball (except for once a week short hitting sessions and college camps) between Dec and Feb. During this time she gets involved with Winter school activities.
My question is this: should I try to explore this further and get her to open up about this more, or just leave it alone, stay supportive and chalk it up to being 15 years old and something that she just needed to vent about?
Thanks
My DD is 15 and has aspirations to play in college and beyond. She wants to play for a major DI who has a chance to make it to OKC, but is realistic about the chances and has kept her reasons for choosing universities focused primarily on academics. She currently plays on an 18U team that plays nationally and does a majority of the big showcase tournaments. Some schools have shown interest in her (ranging from the smaller NAIA to a couple P5). I can cautiously say that there are several who at least know who she is and will hopefully be engaging with her when rules permit. I believe she truly loves to play and is doing the things needed to through her own desire (maintaining high grades, practice, training, diet, studying, etc.). She does all of these things on her own without having to be prompted which tells me she has the personal desire and passion to do this. She also understands how grueling the recruiting process is (and will be) and that the effort required in a college of that level will be even greater.
However, this weekend she broke down and said that she never gets to do things with her friends and misses a lot because of softball. She also said it seems everything she does is for the future and not the present. This was the first confusing part since she seems to love playing now with her team, the traveling and everything about the game and is involved with several activities that are non-softball related. The main thing that prompted this was that she was offered a role in the school play she wanted and turned it down because it would conflict with 2 major showcases that coaches have said they are coming to watch her play in. She did turn this down on her own and her mother and I didn't hear about it until after the fact when she was upset. I believe she (we) have been good about scheduling times (especially weekends) off during a season so that she has the freedom to do what she wants and just be a HS kid (movies, homecoming, dances hanging out, slumber parties etc.). I do try to get her to shut down softball (except for once a week short hitting sessions and college camps) between Dec and Feb. During this time she gets involved with Winter school activities.
My question is this: should I try to explore this further and get her to open up about this more, or just leave it alone, stay supportive and chalk it up to being 15 years old and something that she just needed to vent about?
Thanks