Posing the question about the purpose of playing college softball….

[ang2bmd]

Different strokes for different folks. For 99% it’s their last few years in the game they love so why not go for the pinnacle if you are talented enough and worry about what comes next later. You’ve got the rest of your life to “work” you’ve only got a few years to play.


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[radness]

I think $$$$ nowadays may have more to do with possible NIL money than scholarship dollars..??

Is there a projection of how much NIL money will be?

 

[radness]

Fouts can't do it alone. Alabama needs a couple of good arms with styles that complement Fouts.

True, even the best defense needs a great offense!

 

[_MIA_]

Is there a projection of how much NIL money will be?

No idea what kids get for softball or if they are leaving because of it but I would guess that if it were for money (which I don't think is true), it would be that vs scholarship $$.

 

[Orange Socks]

The players that transfer for one year always intrigue me. Look at Sam Show. She transferred from A&M to OkSt. Rumor is players were miserable under Jo Evans. Heard that she blew up on the bus after the Super Regional loss(alleged coaching decisions) to Florida and might have said some inappropriate things. Show said that she wanted to have fun playing the sport she loved. She was also known to be a prima donna, but aren't most pitchers. LOL. Families have NO clue what's ahead of them when they send these kids to many of these D1 programs.

These kid's so called "dreams" of playing at the D1 become a nightmare and it happens at other levels too. They don't realize that practices that they thought were supposed to be 3 hours are actually 5 hours with the coach showing up an hour after warm ups so they don't go over their allotted time and then leave with the kids working on pitching, hitting, etc. for another hour. How about the bus ride home after a bad series? Instead of stopping for food, they drive all the way home. They have not eaten since breakfast! Have heard this several times.

Coaches make the situation unnecessarily miserable. Their jobs are on the line. How about these mid majors that schedule P5 opponents in pre season and mid week games? For the most part it does not go well. The coach's ego gets bruised and they take it out on the players.

We hear about the high profile players that enter the portal trying to find a better situation. What about the rest that don't find a spot? How about the players that chose their school, but were never gonna get playing time? Did they over estimate their skills? Happens all the time. I spoke to a d3 coach years ago and he told me that he offers spots to players that will never see the field! Choose wisely! Find the right fit. Be realistic. Playing 4 years (any sport) in college is a daunting task and the odds are not in your favor.

 

[Cougars]

Is there a projection of how much NIL money will be?

My completely uneducated guess is that softball NIL is pretty limited currently. However given the "wild west" of NIL/transfer portal in football and men's bball, I could see a few schools trying to buy their softball roster. A few wealthy boosters decide that Texas absolutely must be better than OU, and the checkbooks comes out....

 

[nikkilugi]

No idea what kids get for softball or if they are leaving because of it but I would guess that if it were for money (which I don't think is true), it would be that vs scholarship $$.

I agree - I also don't think it's about the scholarship money for the players. Maybe for Mom & Dad but not the players. There certainly has been talk of "buying" players in other sports (cough cough looking at T A&M) by butthurt coaches (cough cough looking at Bama) so it wouldn't surprise me if wealthy boosters who love softball and have a business pony up some money for players to beat their rivals. Probably won't happen at the mid-major level but definitely can see that happen at the P5 level for sure...... I do think for the players it is mostly about winning though. Why else does a player walk on to a P5 championship team with no scholarship bypassing actual scholarship offers elsewhere (also P5 schools - just not championship schools). Yes I know a women's gymnast who did this exact thing. Yes she earned a scholarship after her freshman year and she also now has multiple national championship rings along with a hand full of conference championship rings. Winning is pretty cool and if you can get any undergrad degree because you will move on to grad school then, why not??

 

[Nimrod]

Mental health is No. 1. Softball is a full-time job for college players, and it shapes their lives, so they'd better put themselves in a position to enjoy it, surrounding themselves with teammates/coaches they want to be around and who make them better as people. It's not like they're dropping out of school. They're just changing schools. And every school that has won a national title this century has provided a pretty good education. There's nothing wrong with transferring for the chance to play for a winner. Playing in a WCWS is a pretty good educational experience in its own right. That said, obviously not every transfer decision turns out to be a good one. Changing teams and schools is stressful. Most players are better off staying put, and most do.

 

[Orange Socks]

I agree - I also don't think it's about the scholarship money for the players. Maybe for Mom & Dad but not the players. There certainly has been talk of "buying" players in other sports (cough cough looking at T A&M) by butthurt coaches (cough cough looking at Bama) so it wouldn't surprise me if wealthy boosters who love softball and have a business pony up some money for players to beat their rivals. Probably won't happen at the mid-major level but definitely can see that happen at the P5 level for sure...... I do think for the players it is mostly about winning though. Why else does a player walk on to a P5 championship team with no scholarship bypassing actual scholarship offers elsewhere (also P5 schools - just not championship schools). Yes I know a women's gymnast who did this exact thing. Yes she earned a scholarship after her freshman year and she also now has multiple national championship rings along with a hand full of conference championship rings. Winning is pretty cool and if you can get any undergrad degree because you will move on to grad school then, why not??

Cross posting.

 

[wheresmycar]

I think it's more about playing time, and Seniors coming back for a 5th year, and the kids playing behind them, don't want to wait another year for the #1 spot.