Are we all getting less girls playing?

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Dec 4, 2009
236
0
Buffalo, NY
I was just wondering how everyone numbers have been as far as kids playing baseball/softball? With the competition of other sports and kids picking one sport to play at a younger age have the amount of kids playing decreasing? My organization had 700 kids playing in age groups from 4 to 19 when I left in 1995. Because of what I know to be poor administration this drop to 185 in 2005. We are back to 250 this year.
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
I've definitely seen it in my area. I was actually scheduled to coach a 16U team that didn't get enough players, then had the same problem with a 12U team.

A few years ago the organization I was with had six teams at five levels. This year it's down to one team. Some of that was internal issues. But there are also just fewer kids to choose from.
 
Feb 26, 2010
278
0
Crazyville IL
We seem to have the opposite trend this year. We normally have enough players come out for 1 team per age group. This year we had enough for 2 10u teams for the first time in a while. Course nothing that happens in our area seems to match up with anywhere else.
 
Jan 18, 2010
4,284
0
In your face
Our has exploded in the southeast. Last few years in 12u 14u we were lucky to have 6-8 teams in each. This year I have not seen a tourney within 150 miles of here with less than 10 teams in each. Some as many as 14-16 each age group, each tournament.
 
Jun 5, 2010
5
0
Were my daughter plays we had 48 10 and unders and about the same numbers in 8 and under and the 6 and under had 30+ same with the 12 and under however the ages above the 12's dropped.All in all I would say there is around 200 girls in the softball program I'm really not sure about the baseball side of things.
 
Jun 5, 2010
5
0
Our has exploded in the southeast. Last few years in 12u 14u we were lucky to have 6-8 teams in each. This year I have not seen a tourney within 150 miles of here with less than 10 teams in each. Some as many as 14-16 each age group, each tournament.

I agree in the Southeast Softball seems to be exploding I think alot of it has to do with the Universities around the Southeast doing well.
 
May 10, 2010
256
0
I live in the south and our league has about 700 kids. The problem here to me is retention. The younger age groups are huge and get smaller to 14u. Around here its more about winning instead of learning and getting better. I blame the parents mostly. They mostly want to complain instead of getting involved. This has created a league of haves and have nots. Kind of a recreational competetive league. If that makes any since.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
The younger age groups are huge and get smaller to 14u. Around here its more about winning instead of learning and getting better. I blame the parents mostly.

At 14 YOA, most kids (boys and girls) start drifting away from organized sports. Kids are not quite as helpless and mindless as parents make them out to be. They figure out that they aren't good enough to start in HS but they are good enough to be in band, choir, etc., and they end up doing that instead of hanging out at the softball/baseball field.
 

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