My DD is a high school senior. We're right in the thick of things, but I've learned a few things so far along the way:
If your daughter ends up at a far reach school by some late in the game last minute pick-up slot, she may be the bottom-of-the-depth-chart kid, and you don't want that. I've been there. Traveling hundreds of miles and missing key classes to not play is not super fun. I did manage to scrape out a starting spot for myself by senior year, but I had to work extremely hard and completely change my position and style of play. The payoff was some fun and enjoyment senior year. Not an offer to go pro and earn a gazillion dollars. Looking back, I missed out on a lot of other things that my University had to offer. Was it worth it? I don't know, because I have nothing to compare it to. Maybe.
Thanks. This is *EXACTLY* what I try to tell parents. But, they don't want to hear it. Everybody thinks their kid is going to be batting 4th and playing SS as a freshman. (I've never understood this...the college kids practice softball every day, 5 days a week, 9 months out of the year. They are really, really good.)
I tried to explain this to someone about a year ago. I said his DD would have to work very hard, and that it was unlikely she would play much as a freshman. She would be a 19YOA kid competing with 22YOA women. The junior and senior simply aren't going to hand over their starting job to a freshman because she was "All-State" from Lake Wobegon.
He laughed and said, "You don't know how talented my DD is. She'll be the Big Dog pitcher as a freshman." His DD ended up with 22 innings last year.
The internal competition on good teams is fierce. If a kid is not ready for it, she'll be buried. Even if she is ready for it, she may not be good enough.
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