High school softball

[JayW]

Like I said, individual recognition is few and far between in TB. Only thing I can think of that would seem “impressive” is something like PGF/Alliance All-American. These bios are not designed to do anything but to “sell” the player to the general public..

If a kid wants to play HS and she is able to, then she should. If she doesn’t then she shouldn’t regardless of how it may or may not effect her recruiting journey.

Is that what Patty told you?

 

[_MIA_]

Is that what Patty told you?

Never talked to Patty in my life (even though she was waiting with me in the waiting room at the hospital when my son and her grandson were born on the same day )

Am I not allowed to form my own opinion?

 

[flash277]

Because it's really, really easy for a mid-level TB player to look like a stud in HS.
Resume padding.

Right!....DD's HS pitcher, a very good TB pitcher, threw 3 perfect games last HS season!......Fantastic you would say until you learn that two of them were against the worst team in the division and the other one was against the 2nd worst team. A shame the coach was even pitching her in those games, but DD's coach is a "best 9 play" coach first and foremost, but that's another discussion altogether.

 

[jdint]

Never talked to Patty in my life (even though she was waiting with me in the waiting room at the hospital when my son and her grandson were born on the same day )

Did you have Marcela doing drills in the waiting room? Loudly talking about 2 strike strategy?

Hey coach what da ya think?

 

[_MIA_]

Did you have Marcela doing drills in the waiting room? Loudly talking about 2 strike strategy?

Hey coach what da ya think?

Haha..Marcela was at home with her Lolo and Lola....plus it sounded like Patty was on the phone recruiting
so I didn't want to be accused by rabid OU fans of sabotaging her recruiting class.

 

[KrisHur]

If HS doesn't matter, then why does it get such detailed attention in the biographies of some of the best players in the sport???

B/c that's where the athletic honors are, also local press covers the games and you can add press clippings to DD's profile sheet. I agree that HS ball is a hodge-podge of skill but as in all things, the cream rises to the top - but not all get the honors they deserve. My DD was the only freshman to make the 2021 varsity team (well 2 other girls who play rec decided to take coach's offer to ride the bench to watch/learn and get to say they are on V instead of actually playing on JV). She was starting 1st baseman for all games, led the team in RBI's, made lots of clutch plays/hits (Coach even said she has the "clutch gene") but b/c she was a freshman coach wouldn't nominate her for any athletic honors - only gave them to the juniors/seniors.

 

[Strike2]

Because TB doesn't usually give out many awards which you can put in a Bio and look cool?

Getting one's name in the paper does seem to register with some coaches, which tends to happen much more with HS sports. If you're a player from a larger HS that competes with other large schools, being a contributor to a state championship season or getting "Player of the Year" or "All State" recognition are valid softball resume bullets that routinely show up in college player bios.

 

[Strike2]

I think listing the HS is more for fans/general public. Nobody outside of softball knows/cares who the batbusters or firecrackers are or what a sparkler or PGF means. They might be interested in where the player is from though and listing the HS lets people know this.

I dont think that they list it to tell people that they recruited the player based on HS performance.

The people who show up to college softball games most certainly know the difference. I'm not claiming that college players are recruited "based on HS performance", but the claim that HS has no relevance ignores the fact that many college softball programs DO pay attention to what happened there.

 

[JayW]

Never talked to Patty in my life (even though she was waiting with me in the waiting room at the hospital when my son and her grandson were born on the same day )

Am I not allowed to form my own opinion?

I personally believe that you’re much more likely to see a group of coaches from prominent universities at a Fall PGF tournament or showcase than at a high school game. Much more bang for the buck.

 

[Strike2]

I tend to lean towards the crowd that says HS stats are taken with a grain of salt as it pertains to college.

If you look at OU's roster, HS stats are listed for almost every player...some by year. That's the top program in the country, and its recruits certainly aren't all from the local area.