HS Softball Started

[Cannonball]

HS softball started again for me on Monday. We had two days of tryouts and made our first cut yesterday after two days. We have never had a cut after 2 days before but there were a couple of players who were going to get hurt if they continued. One took a ball off the side of her head when a varsity starter threw a ball to her. The other young lady had school problems along with safety concerns in practice. I know that some school districts do not allow cuts.

Any stories you want to share from HS Tryouts/HS Season?

 

[Lance Steckler]

hearing that many schools are struggling with total numbers coming out. IE barely enough for 2 teams or strictly Varsity, as opposed to more players previous seasons.

Normal stories of the 'coach' that is clearly overwhelmed for the $$$ or daddy ball factor.

Or the HS coach that is already in triage mode with 1 solid pitcher, no catchers that can catch said pitcher, and only 13 bodies total (3 travel players) gonna be a long season..

 

[Orange Socks]

hearing that many schools are struggling with total numbers coming out. IE barely enough for 2 teams or strictly Varsity, as opposed to more players previous seasons.

Normal stories of the 'coach' that is clearly overwhelmed for the $$$ or daddy ball factor.

Or the HS coach that is already in triage mode with 1 solid pitcher, no catchers that can catch said pitcher, and only 13 bodies total (3 travel players) gonna be a long season..

DD's former HS team is off to an awesome start!

 

[FB Fool]

My DD started 7th grade this year which is the first year they are eligible for school ball in SC. Went to her middle school tryouts and the coach said you don't belong here. Goes to high school tryout the next day and made varsity. coach said id rather have her develop with me than JV. We've had two jamborees and shes played a bunch so hopefully she will get some playing time once regular season start next week. DD is physically gifted so she looks and can hopefully play the part, but the age gap and the bus ride conversations are concerning.

 

[tim_s]

We start the 18th here in Maine........but as of right now our fields are 100% snow free (albeit soggy)

 

[Gambler Bob]

hearing that many schools are struggling with total numbers coming out. IE barely enough for 2 teams or strictly Varsity, as opposed to more players previous seasons.

Normal stories of the 'coach' that is clearly overwhelmed for the $$$ or daddy ball factor.

Or the HS coach that is already in triage mode with 1 solid pitcher, no catchers that can catch said pitcher, and only 13 bodies total (3 travel players) gonna be a long season..

Just out of curiosity, what is the total enrollment of this school? Daughter's high school is in 1800-1900, that would be boys and girls. They field 3 teams, Varsity, JV, and a Freshman team.

 

[Cannonball]

Can't answer for Lance but the HS I volunteer coach at is 1,100 students. We had 25 try out. That was down from our typical 28-30. Then again, our HS is a state power in soccer and many of the girls who play softball in middle school play soccer in HS.

 

[Cannonball]

Here are some observations about HS tryouts:

• Coaches should not coach during tryouts unless safety is involved. The goals of tryouts are to assess what skill level players have and their overall abilities.
• I have seen tryouts where coaches want to comment on everything. For example, every swing in the cage. Players are doing their best with what they know and any attempt to change things might make things worse.
• The hardest part of tryouts is knowing that some players will have to be cut. However, it is kinder to cut them than to keep them for a season when all they do is practice and never get a chance to play.
• Tryouts have to be well organized. For coaches, there are opinions and measurements.
• I let players know that I might ask them to do a few things and that when one person is coached, they all are coached. For example, yesterday, during hitting, bats were lying in play and the next hitter was not picking it up. We were doing situational fielding and base running. I can't run over every time to pick up a bat.
• If freshmen are trying out, the tryout has to end on time.
• If there are any questions about a player's ability, get another look at them at the position that they most want to play.
• During tryouts, players will wear their TB uniforms to impress the coaches as to what level of play they play during the summer. Those uniforms really don't mean much given the various levels some of these TB teams now have.
• The way players carry themselves during tryouts screams as to what is in store for coaches during HS season. For example, one young lady was in the cage and she had swung and missed perhaps 12-15 balls from a machine at 55 mph. I asked her if she realized how she was missing the ball. (She was swinging under every ball.) Her response was that she has a hitting coach whom she is supposed to listen to and not the HS coaches. OK well, that won't go well. When every other player is killing the "meat pitch" and you can't hit one foul ball, you might be in real trouble.

These are just some observations. To be honest, I could type pages of observations but I'll leave well enough alone.

 

[lostcreek1]

Most of our HS has played 8-10 games.

 

[Dabears17]

Games started last week, but I've had two games I was supposed to umpire canceled due to field conditions. I got to do bases for a high school baseball game yesterday due to a reschedule. Definitely felt exposed not being behind the 2B or SS in the B and C positions.