Honest question

[radness]

I guess my point was, if travel ball took a bit of a back seat to high school, and emphasis was redirected to building high school programs, the level of competition there would increase,

In order to make high school ball more competitive everybody would have to be on board with
the best nine-play.

Suggestion ~Take a poll and see how many would agree with that in high school.

At least in travel ball there are different opportunities for people to fit in somewhere.
Whereas some people don't fit in at all at their High School.

 

[Eric F]

in my area, teams without TB players are teams with no chance to compete. They will show up and take their beatings. Regardless of division or league they are in.

My DD's league has 3 levels. Teams with all TB players, teams with a few TB players, and teams with no TB players. My DD's team is the one in the middle. Last year, only 1 game was not ended by run-rule. They went 6-8. It was their best record in at least a decade. The 3 girls that could pitch all graduated in '21, including a seasoned TB player who got a full NAIA ride. Unless a magical freshman unicorn TB pitcher shows up, we will be battling to not be in last place with the other teams who don't have a TB pitcher.

 

[KrisHur]

In order to make high school ball more competitive everybody would have to be on board with
the best nine-play.

Suggestion ~Take a poll and see how many would agree with that in high school.

At least in travel ball there are different opportunities for people to fit in somewhere.
Whereas some people don't fit in at all at their High School.

Saw that happen last year on DD's HS team. Coach keeps a small roster and plays his best. Two freshman who play rec were offered the opportunity to be on the Varsity with the understanding they would be there to watch/learn/practice or could play JV. They took the V spots, sat a lot, got to hit or pinch run a couple times. Parents were furious their DD's weren't playing but the girls didn't seem to complain much.

 

[Orange Socks]

My DD's league has 3 levels. Teams with all TB players, teams with a few TB players, and teams with no TB players. My DD's team is the one in the middle. Last year, only 1 game was not ended by run-rule. They went 6-8. It was their best record in at least a decade. The 3 girls that could pitch all graduated in '21, including a seasoned TB player who got a full NAIA ride. Unless a magical freshman unicorn TB pitcher shows up, we will be battling to not be in last place with the other teams who don't have a TB pitcher.

I feel ya bro! DD never got to experience the playoffs in her HS career. One year they were one win away from getting 4th place. Always missing a key player. One year the pitcher had sit out a year b/c of surgery. That same year, the stud SS parents kept her out b/c the coach needed her to pitch some and this is after she sat out the year prior for ACL surgery. The parents were not interested in her pitching at all. So she sat out.

 

[kennykozman!!]

In order to make high school ball more competitive everybody would have to be on board with
the best nine-play.

Suggestion ~Take a poll and see how many would agree with that in high school.

At least in travel ball there are different opportunities for people to fit in somewhere.
Whereas some people don't fit in at all at their High School.

In our HS program, players that get cut can and do EASILY find a travel ball team to play with. This gives each player an opportunity to get more reps and maybe make varsity in the future. LL here is about dead after Majors (12U).

I would say at 14U nearly any player that wants to can play for a travel team if they can throw and catch. If the family has the desire to look there are teams out there. This is a HUGE plus for travel ball. Some say its watered down but I see fun and joy at the local low level tourneys.

It is ironic really the travel ball giving HS kids a chance to improve, get reps and make a HS team.

 

[ang2bmd]

What are the benefits of playing college softball versus the negative impact on career preparation? How much money are the schools handing out? A professional softball career is improbable so what is the upside?

The upside for most players is 4 more years playing the game they love at the highest level they can. I'm 100% okay giving my kid 4 more years of that. Adulting pretty much sucks.

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[444]

Because TB is at a *NATIONAL* level and HS ball is at the local and at best state level where softball is not even close to the #1 sport at least in most states and has rec-level players who play multiple sports. TB separates the *serious* players from the casual players. DD ended up joining a TB team 2 states away (2.5 hrs o/w trip to practice!), since there aren't really any *national-level* TB clubs in our state where lacrosse and field hockey rules HS sports; DD HS team was actually ranked #1 in the nation and field hockey was #1 in the state.

FWIW, DD was the only TB player on her varsity HS team and was literally responsible for > 50% of put-outs her sophomore year from the mound! That's how much of a joke HS softball is in our state!

where do you find rankings for TB clubs thats is widely accepted?

 

[Orange Socks]

where do you find rankings for TB clubs thats is widely accepted?

try www.usclubrankings.com
It's not perfect, but it has been pretty accurate pre covid and for many years prior.

 

[ang2bmd]

Extrainningsoftball.com does a set as well...also not great but a general idea

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[PDM]

The level of play would suffer tremendously without travel ball (at least for the teams that were going to any good at all). By the very nature of the word "average" you are correct that most teams and players at travel tournaments are average for where they are playing. On a field full of good players, a good player is the norm. But, when you put most of those same "average" travel ball players on a HS ball field they jump out at you. I've seen it so many times; a player I saw as nothing special in travel ball simply stands out so obviously when they play with the average HS ball player.

I've seen travel ball players who don't stand out at all of the HS field. A high percentage of them. Travel ball, for the most part, is just a collection of players whose parents are willing to pay for their daughters to play more games. There is no real talent requirement, although most parents of girls with no ability probably won't make that jump. A really good TB team recruits from multiple HS teams so they will be better, but most don't have any magical quality in terms of talent or skills development. TB recruiters just want you to believe that to keep the players coming. All they really offer (on the plus side) is the opportunity to play more games and maybe get some additional instruction.