Are we all getting less girls playing?

[John T]

My organization has seen a one team per level growth spurt this year (Baseball numbers are down about one team/level) in a town of about 25,000. In my opinion the #'s tend to reflect how the older teams are doing and how much exposure they are getting. The young ones look up to the older girls and want to follow in their footsteps. We put a premium on the older girls working with and mentoring the young ones and it is paying off for us.

 

[CoachKevin]

In our area (Oregon) it seems it isn't the number of kids playing.... it's the number of new teams forming, which causes other teams to keep what you get just in order to play. Just near the Salem area I can think of at least 8 teams in 1 age group (14U). I can't tell you how many 14U teams are playing with 9 players on the roster because they can't find more players.

 

[EP Dad]

Lacrosse has eaten at the numbers for both baseball and softball in our Minneapolis suburb. A couple of the suburbs west of us seem to be thriving though.

 

[SnocatzDad]

Our local association has grown from 2 or 3 teams in 2004 to averaging 12 teams in 2010 from 8U-16U. We also have about 4 teams per grade level of in house (Rec) softball. Local HS team is going to state again this year, 3rd time in coaches 10 year run they made it to state and I believe that has helped draw kids to the sport as they see that as a point of community pride that we field excellent softball teams every year. At 14U and 16U many of the kids leave the local association to play for club travel programs, but they all reunite and play HS ball together. I think the growth has been in part due to our growing population, and now that has stablized and I would expect participation to stabilize as well. Our overall Metro (twin cities) participation seems to increase each year by about 10% at least it has for the past 5 years. We have areas that are losing teams every year as well, but demographically that matches school closings and aging populations in those areas. Young families with children tend to spread out in an every widening ring around the twin cities and some of those first ring suburbs are now filled with families whose children have grown and not enough kids to keep school open.

 

[stephanie]

ours keeps getting bigger....
we had 20 teams at 10U this season. 20 teams at 8U also.
It gets smaller at 12U, because most of the better players have found a select team to join, as rec just isn't doing it for them anymore...and at 14U, girls who haven't found a travel team, are doing what Ray said: finding something that they are better at...
That being said, our travel/select programs in this area are numerous!!

 

[SoftSocDad]

Where we lived in SoCal, the rec program was excellent, but it was a relatively closed community. They weren't aggressive in recruiting beginners, because they didn't have to be. It was something people wanted to be a part of and there seemed to be a 'blood in/blood out' sort of arrangement. According to the stories, a high percentage of the girls who joined at age 5-6 were still playing in the league in 12u and even 14u. The all-stars were competitive, but the only serious players they 'lost' were the ones who needed to play ASA ball full-time (I didn't know what that meant at the time!) in order to better prepare for the HS team tryouts.

Here in our NorCal community, though, we have a big drop-off from 8u to 10u, a bigger drop-off from 10u to 12u, and then huge drop-offs after that. We tend to get a 16u team every other year. Didn't have one this year and won't have one in the fall, but should be able to field one next spring. There hasn't been an 18u team in years.

We have about the same number of 6u and 8u teams, but at least half the girls who play a season or two of t-ball do not move on to play 8u. So, roughly half the girls in 8u have 0-1 years of experience. The games are difficult to watch, and it's evident that many of the girls - and parents - are bored, so they end up leaving the league. More than once, when I've asked parents about coming out again, the response has centered around how lack of organization and boring games made it too inconvenient for them to 'waste any more Saturdays' with softball.

One of the main differences between the two areas is the involvement of the older girls. Down south, a few of the HS players *loved* coming back and doing a couple of clinics each year. Up here, however, the girls don't really want to, but will begrudgingly do a paid clinic. They did one this year and I think there was one back in '08. Nothing in '09.

My DD enjoys watching the better 10u pitchers, but questions why some of the girls in that division aren't able to make plays in the field. Nevertheless, she's really excited about moving up, because she is inspired by the older pitchers.

IMO - and this is something I intend to take up with the board - there's nothing inherently wrong with paying girls to come help conduct skills clinics, but our league should be paying that cost. $50 x 4 girls = $200. Passing this cost on to the girls in our league with a $10/person fee is a bit ridiculous, especially since the clinic wasn't scheduled until after the kids had already paid $90 or so to join the league.

I was prepared to leave the league after this past season, but have decided to give it another go this fall and again in 2011. Softball in our town will never thrive if the best players and most dedicated parents continue to jump to other towns or travel teams as soon as the girls turn 9-10 years old. After giving it much thought, on balance, I really don't think my DD will be hurt by taking 2 months out of her life to play rec ball.

 

[ronaldos]

Baseball is far less complex than softball. But many people discover that playing softball reduces your risk of serious injuries.
Compared to baseball, softball is less physically demanding and requires slower throws. Girls switch from baseball to softball when they decide to forgo severe injuries while participating in sports.

 

[Lance Steckler]

i think that the total number of girls playing is roughly the same. BUT there are so many more teams around. Talent spread thinner and thinner.

 

[Towny9]

Baseball is far less complex than softball. But many people discover that playing softball reduces your risk of serious injuries.
Compared to baseball, softball is less physically demanding and requires slower throws. Girls switch from baseball to softball when they decide to forgo severe injuries while participating in sports.

Would love to hear how you think baseball is “far less complex”? Leading off and holding runners on itself is a huge hurdle some teams never figure out.

 

[radness]

Calif = More teams. So much so there aren't enough fields for teams to practice on.