how much is too much?

[softball_chic_12]

this will be one of the hardest years in my softball career. i'm a freshman. i will be playing high school, 14 &under, 18 & under, a tournament team, a fall ball team, and i have clinics for high school and tournament ball, then there is also all of those practices in between. i'm mainly a pitcher, a catcher, a back up shortstop and an outfeilder. i know this year will be tiring, but fun. after talking to other players who were recently in my position i learned i will be playing somewhere around 150 games....maybe more. i was wondering about your thoughts with this. have i bitten off more than i can chew? does anyon have a limit on how many games there DD plays?

 

[GOINGDEEP]

this will be one of the hardest years in my softball career. i'm a freshman. i will be playing high school, 14 &under, 18 & under, a tournament team, a fall ball team, and i have clinics for high school and tournament ball, then there is also all of those practices in between. i'm mainly a pitcher, a catcher, a back up shortstop and an outfeilder. i know this year will be tiring, but fun. after talking to other players who were recently in my position i learned i will be playing somewhere around 150 games....maybe more. i was wondering about your thoughts with this. have i bitten off more than i can chew? does anyon have a limit on how many games there DD plays?

My DD is a freshmen too this year and will be doing all that you have mentioned. This is a tuff time in your life, this is when I have seen some dig down deep and succeed and some call it quits. If you truly love this game and have the desire to get just a little better each time you take the field, you will be just fine. Being a truly dedicated softball player is hard. Especially for a teenage girl who wants somewhat of a social life too. My DD played 130+ games last year. But you will have breaks, a weekend off, and rainouts, and sometimes they come at the perfect time. Because we all need a day off from time to time.

Good Luck.

 

[softball_chic_12]

very true...thaks. good luck to your DD too. i know i have barely any social life, which sometimes is best when you are a teenage girl. lol. and i do realize that if i want to be better i have to play and practice a lot. being dedicated is hard, but i think it's worth it. i'm just worried. i don't want to be one of those girls who does so much of one thing and then gets sick and tired of it.

 

[sluggers]

You need to be talking about this with your parents and letting them know how you feel, and really discussing this issue with them. Daddies tend to want to live their sports fantasies through their daughters, and sometimes we aren't the best listeners. But, Daddies really do care.

What ultimately does make a difference in your life is your development as a human being. If you want to take some time off and do something different than play softball, then you should. I suspect you have a lot of talents. You should develop them. (Your education is much, much more important than softball.)

I will tell you a story, if you don't mind. My DD played basketball in HS against Candace Parker (yes, the Olympic, Rookie of the Year Candace Parker--a very nice young lady). Candace was not the best HS athlete in our town. Another young lady was the best athlete in town. Her parents decided that she should be a swimmer and a soccer player. So, for her entire childhood, she played soccer and swam. From the time she was 5 YOA, it was swimming practice and soccer practice. She was very, very good. A couple of things happened, and she lost interest. She was good in HS, but she didn't really enjoy it. She never played in college--and, to be honest, she didn't miss anything.

Two of my DDs were wildly successful playing sports in college. Playing in college is fun, but that is it. On senior day at the softball field, you might get a plaque but they don't tell you the secret of life and you don't sign a million dollar contract. My kids loved playing the sport, but don't let anyone tell you that sports is the be-all end-all of the universe. It isn't.

Back to your question--if your goal is be the starting shortstop for UCLA, then, yes, you probably have to play 150 games a year as well as being incredibly talented and very, very lucky.

If your goal in life is become a doctor, then you need to go to science and math camps, and cut back on softball.

My DD (the all-conference D1 softball pitcher who played for a good, not great, college softball tam) play 150 games a year in HS? No, she did not. Her teams probably played in 80 to 100 games, and she pitched probably 75% of the games that her teams played.

Ultimately, this is NOT your parents decision or your coach's decision--it is your decision.

 

[DonnieS]

this will be one of the hardest years in my softball career. i'm a freshman. i will be playing high school, 14 &under, 18 & under, a tournament team, a fall ball team, and i have clinics for high school and tournament ball, then there is also all of those practices in between. i'm mainly a pitcher, a catcher, a back up shortstop and an outfeilder. i know this year will be tiring, but fun. after talking to other players who were recently in my position i learned i will be playing somewhere around 150 games....maybe more. i was wondering about your thoughts with this. have i bitten off more than i can chew? does anyon have a limit on how many games there DD plays?

I agree with these guys, like GD says, some will rain out, other things will happen. The most important thing about this year is - have fun. Be sure the teams you have choices on (not school) are teams full of people that you enjoy being with, if you are lucky like my girls have been most of their school time, the school teams have been the same way. I'm a daddy with one playing d1, another hopefully being looked at, and both enjoy the game. Thanks to God, the older's team is where the coaching staff believe the same way - they work the girls hard - and the girls have fun - they work hard on getting the kids to make the best out of this team sport. They all pull for each other - from coaches to trainers to kids. So hopefully your year will be you working harder than ever but having more fun that ever. And dont miss homecoming at school or the sweethearts dance or any of that stuff - those things are as important or more important than softball practice, not maybe a game, but hopefully your coaches will schedule around those events.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

You have to be alert to overuse injuries. You are risking tweeking an ankle or shoulder, because at you age especially, you need some recovery time.

I have seen DD get run down from too many activities, and softball was only one of them.

In HS, you need to make certain that your grades are as close to 100 %, as you can get them. I don't see when you are going to study.

As a parent, I would ask "How are we going to afford all of this?" and "How are you going to get there?"

I wish you the best.

 

[StacieM]

Wow - that is a lot! I know that in parts of the mainland US 100+ games a year is not unusual. Here in Hawaii, though we have fabulous weather for playing softball, our game load is not that heavy. I can't imagine practicing for that many teams! Definitely make sure that all this playing is something YOU want to do. I know I love softball and I loved playing, I'm just not sure that many commitments in that many areas is something I would have enjoyed year long.

Definitely go ahead and talk with your parents. Remember, like others said, grades are very important too. Will you be putting that much emphasis on your academics as well?

I'm not sure how your seasons will run, but hopefully they do provide you with a bit of a break here and there. I wish you the best! My DD will be a freshman next year too. Right now, with here, I'm focusing more on her academics and physical fitness. Softball is a bonus - she needs to makes sure she keeps her priorities in line before I let her dedicate that much to this sport. She actually doesn't have anywhere she could play right now even if she wanted to (we're between seasons for her age group), so she does have time to focus on other things besides softball from time to time.

 

[SnocatzDad]

That's actually a great way to prepare to play in college. If you can't find time to keep your grades up in HS with that schedule, then how will you make it when you do that plus some in college while taking tougher courses?? My DD attended a college camp a few weeks ago and got a little turned off to the idea of playing in college when she heard there was 15-20 hours of practice in the offseason througout the school year. She told me she is concerned that she won't be able to do well in college courses while practicing that much. I told her that was a very mature way to look at it, and I wouldn't blame her if she decides not to, but that isn't really more time than she spent per week swimming for her HS in the fall and she stayed on the honor role through that. There are also colleges that don't work that much in the off season that might be a better balance for her but you might sacrifice how competitive a program they are. Lots of things to be thinking about over the next few years as you plan how to spend your college years. Whatever you decide I think it's good to have a plan on how to stay active to maintain good physical and mental health throughout your college years.

 

[druer]

First of all I highly commend you for being such a bright young lady that you are seeking advice from those you know have "seen it all before" instead of just being a typical teenager who thinks you have all of the answers. From this post, and others I'm sure that everyone of your coaches is going to be blessed.

My fear for you would be that 1 or 2 of your coaches approach to the game would be different than that of the others and you will end up confused with different plans of how to play odd situations and that confusion will do more harm than playing that many games might benefit you.

Biggest advice would be to be sure to get your hands on as much sound advice on nutrtition as you possibly can. You cannot put your body through that much practice and game play, but only take care of it like a girl playing half of those games. Something will have to give if you don't and usually it becomes your immune system. Marc has tons of great stuff out there, as do I'm sure many others. Take care of your body and your body will take care of you. Your body will also "talk to you" and tell you at the point where you need to step back and sit something out, so listen to it.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Dragoncoach]

If any of these teams understand your schedule hopefully they will let u miss some practices. Also I recommend a diet of 5 servings of veggies (sweet potatoes, brocolli, lettuce, etc) 3-4 fruits per day, also lean meat, (chicken and fish). Id be drinking 3-4 cups of green tea per day. Get plenty of rest. stretch after warm ups. Best wishes Eric!