High school softball

[Rick M]

Hell, last year, my DD's HS team wouldn't have a single bownet or any decent balls if I hadn't purchased them myself and donated them to the team. I expect to be donating more balls again this year.

DD’s school has a similar, centralized booster club for all sports. Sounds like donating specific items might be better than just cash if you want to directly benefit a single sport/team.


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[sluggers]

It may be more common in the teams at the very elite end of the spectrum, but for the majority who aren't going to top-25 D1 schools, the big waves of commitments I've seen have been fall of Sr year, with many of those contacts being made the previous summer.

Yep...there are a lot of signings in senior year.

Contrary to popular belief, college coaches are not all-knowing. They tend to chase the same players, and when those players sign they have to find other players to fill the void.

And, of course, you have players with unrealistic expectations who are waiting on an offer from UCLA that never comes...so, they start scrambling for scholarships.

 

[sluggers]

I expect to be donating more balls again this year.

If anyone has spare balls to donate, it is you.

 

[Eric F]

If anyone has spare balls to donate, it is you.

Being that I'm a married guy, I have to get permission from DW before I do anything with my balls.

 

[BB875]

This is an important point. It doesn’t surprise me that a kid who rakes at PGF would have a tough time against significantly slower pitching.

DD’s team played a showcase this past fall, and we drew one of the best teams in the region. They jumped out to a quick double-digit lead, so we sent out pitcher #3 in the third. She barely breaks 45, but she tied that best-in-class team up in knots. They couldn’t touch her.

Congrats to your DD, BTW!

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I agree to a point. But, that is definitely a strategy against power hitting teams - throw your junkball pitcher... It works for a reason.

Yes, congrats!

 

[Eric F]

I agree to a point. But, that is definitely a strategy against power hitting teams - throw your junkball pitcher... It works for a reason.

Last summer at TC Nationals, we started our 40mph pitcher against Batbusters Stith. Their hitters were off balance and miss-hitting everything. It was glorious...until the second time though the batting order - LOL.

I've seen the same struggles against slow pitching with my DD.

 

[_MIA_]

It was glorious...until the second time though the batting order - LOL.

With good hitters that is usually the case. A couple of teams OU faced last year had kids who threw slower than what they normally see. First time around they had some issues. Second time around not so much..

 

[BB875]

With good hitters that is usually the case. A couple of teams OU faced last year had kids who threw slower than what they normally see. First time around they had some issues. Second time around not so much..

True! Ya gotta know when to make the switch. (if there is an option! )

 

[flash277]

Maybe but honestly her TB coach is waaaaayyyy more demanding and a "Bobby Knight" type of coach than her HS coach - but who knows? Toward the end of HS last year she came home crying and said - I'm not sure I want to play in college..... I asked her if this was because she was sucking and she just looked at me and said "I'm not having any fun" - duh kid, neither am I, lol. Of course we had commitments for the summer lined up with her TB team as well as camps scheduled and paid for so I told her she needed to finish the season and attend everything as scheduled and if after summer was over she felt the same way we would certainly discuss options. First tournament she hit a few HR and her average was back up and lo and behold she was back in the "playing in college" game, lol. I will say - people will scoff but I do think she tends to play at the level of her competition and competition wasn't that high in HS.

Maybe she just faced bad pitching. For some reason really good hitters have a hard time hitting bad pitchers. DDs travel team once played a powerhouse hitting team. Her coach put in the 4th pitcher, who wasn’t good at all. They won 3-1 since other team was frustrated with the weak pitches coming in, they couldn’t adjust.

 

[trojans75]

No doubt players provide the input, but the HC ultimately decides what will be included in the player bio. If HS doesn't matter...at all...why does ANYONE care enough to devote any attention to it in college? The obvious answer is that it does matter, at least to an extent.

I'm guessing Patti Gasso really doesn't care what's on the Oklahoma Softball webpage as long as it's not defamatory or anything like that. I'd also be willing to be bet that Patti Gasso could not tell you which High School most of players attended but can tell you which TB team they played for. Using hometown/high school on the website does not in any way equate to that's how the coaches are recruiting them rather it's a simple way to notate where a player is from. It's really as simple as that.