Just when I thought it couldn't get stupider...

[Westwind]

The crazier the parents the shorter the softball careers will be.

 

[radness]

One of the things I liked about coaching softball was that it was generally low key, not a lot of dad's invested in their daughter's career like you see in baseball.

Where is that 'low key' perspective from state/city?
Dads not as involved???

LOL was that a Twilight Zone episode? Where you had Low key parents involved in travel ball/rec.

Here in so cal
While there is a lot of variety of Team Dynamics here now, there have always been higher-strung people/parents involved in softball.

Would never have called anything in travel ball Low key

 

[radness]

We did the same thing minus the first look camp. We always held "tryouts" for every age and for basketball as well. It wasn't necessarily about stacking a team but trying to get them as balanced as possible. Granted we followed that up with pre and post season tourneys and USSSA had 6U All Stars as well.

To add to that,
its an opportunity for coaches/parents to see what kind of personalities are going to be showing up.
Similar to teachers often have meet and greet day. It's more to see what kind of kids are going to be in their classroom when school starts.

 

[Nimrod]

Actually, travel ball can be so crazy—especially at younger ages—that maybe I wouldn’t recommend it all.

Reminds me of Venus & Serena Williams. They didn't play junior tournaments because their dad said it was too expensive and time-consuming. They just trained and played pickup matches with better players, then turned pro.

Of course, softball is a team sport, so I guess that wouldn't be completely practical. But I do think players could develop more quickly with less travel and less team drama if there were more opportunities for organized local ''pickup games'' or scrimmages or batter-pitcher matchups that limited travel and expense and drama that went along with travel ball and travel teams.

 

[radness]

Reminds me of Venus & Serena Williams. They didn't play junior tournaments because their dad said it was too expensive and time-consuming. They just trained and played pickup matches with better players, then turned pro.

Of course, softball is a team sport, so I guess that wouldn't be completely practical. But I do think players could develop more quickly with less travel and less team drama if there were more opportunities for organized local ''pickup games'' or scrimmages or batter-pitcher matchups that limited travel and expense and drama that went along with travel ball and travel teams.

Or if
People can realize that softball is a sport and separate that drama is something people drag around with them everywhere...

Playing games is in my opinion a critical part of developing as a softball player.
Would agree that playing good doubleheaders a lot frequently instead of going and traveling to a tournament is beneficial. However tournaments have a place in competition against variety.

 

[Eric F]

Has she verbally committed to a college yet?

 

[John T]

If you think baseball is bad for parents try hockey!!!! In my opinion there is nothing like it. The money is the insurmountable problem in all of this…”I paid all that money so my kid should be the star”.

 

[JOHNN]

We have this each year for rec ball but only for 8u and up. Since we draft the teams, its the only way to try to evenly put players on teams. Its very informal and low stress for the girls but they are graded A, B, and C, and blind (kids that signed up but didnt go to the show day) based on skill level and the week after all the coach's get together and draft.

For the most part the teams are pretty even but lately we’ve started having coachs that tell really good players to not show up so they can pick them as a blind

 

[Eric F]

But I do think players could develop more quickly with less travel and less team drama if there were more opportunities for organized local ''pickup games'' or scrimmages or batter-pitcher matchups that limited travel and expense and drama that went along with travel ball and travel teams.

What you describe are called "friendlies". Typically, teams play 3-4 games (80-90min ea). I suppose this varies with what part of the country you live in, but in So Cal, pretty much every weekend, you can find a friendly event to play in within an hour drive. While these are important for developing in-game skills, learning to handle the pressure of games that matter for something is also part of developing as a player.

 

[sluggers]

We did the same thing minus the first look camp. We always held "tryouts" for every age and for basketball as well. It wasn't necessarily about stacking a team but trying to get them as balanced as possible. Granted we followed that up with pre and post season tourneys and USSSA had 6U All Stars as well.

I get that...but a secret first look for 6YOA dedicated players seems a little over the top.