Size of players relative to performance

[nanotech14]

Well, if you look at the last two. Pitchers in the college WS, they were tall and fat. Looks to me that fat pitchers are what the college coaches are looking for, so SCDad looks like those girls weren't washed up by HS.

 

[SCDad]

Well, if you look at the last two. Pitchers in the college WS, they were tall and fat. Looks to me that fat pitchers are what the college coaches are looking for, so SCDad looks like those girls weren't washed up by HS.

Did I say pitchers were excluded?

Those pitchers were not fat either. They were highly tuned athletes, who have spent thousands of hours in the weight room. And yes, like I said previously, about 10 pounds overweight. Just like colleges want them to be.

They had grown women bodies.

The problem as I stated, is a 10 year old girl may have a body that looks just like these grown up athletes. The 10 year olds are not weightlifting, nor paying attention to their diet. But in their mind they look just like these pitchers, and they do at 10 years old, so they conclude they are just fine and don't need to do anything different.

How wrong they are. As very young softball players who are 10 lbs. overweight, become 20 lbs. overweight by 12. 30 lbs, by 14, and all but washed out at 16, unless they change their eating habits.

The female body changes that much from 10 years old to 20 years old. I have seen it, I watch it, and there is nothing to say to them but feel bad as they stay in denial until the very end, when it is too late.

 

[nanotech14]

SCDad, I guess you haven't seen any college games in a few years. That is more then 10 lbs a lot of those pitchers are carrying. It is good that they can be over weight and still play at that level. You are wrong about girls also, some girls can carry extra weight and eat better and be more active then the bean poles and still be over weight. It isn't always about eating right and activity. Some girls are just going to be bigger then others. My dd lettered as a HS freshmen in cross country this year and started and finished the season at the same weight she started, they run 3.1 miles and ran everyday. I watched the bean poles eat pizza and sweets like they were starving and my dd eat healthy and stay the same.

Also my dd was more then 10lbs over weight at 10 and is now 15 and didn't jump up like you say and washed up. She has not changed her eating habits. She was never into sweets and junk food, not saying she never had any, but you are so wrong, it isn't funny.

 

[wichita]

A lot depends on the coach, just look at the variance in the teams at the WCWS. You have some teams that seem to be all larger girls that concentrate on power hitting and you have other teams that have all smaller girls and utilize speed and slapping.

I would say its more size per position more than just size it's self. I know my DD is a SS and 5'4" tall and most mid to top D1 schools wont even look at her because of her size although there are a few Mid to small D1's looking at her even though she plays bigger than she is. I have been told by numerous coaches just my .02

 

[dadonachair]

If you take the postion on the field out of it and age. In this case both players are done growing and 18 years old. I think size does matter when schools are looking for players. I know I like players that are off the bus big. Think about the games when your kids were playing 12u and 14u. When you were facing a big strong girl swinging a Rocktec batting in the 4 hole you told your girls to back up as soon as she walked out of the dugout.

Take and have the same factors. Skill, heart, attitude, technique, speed, brains all of it being the same I bet the taller player wins the coaches eye. You take a girl that is 5'2" and a normal athletic frame there is only so much strength that she can have. Take a girl that is 5'10" tall with the same body type she is going to be stronger cause ahe is naturaly bigger. The taller player also has longer levers so they can have more whip in the arm when they throw so they naturaly throw faster. How many 5'0" tall girls can throw 60. I am guessing not nearly as many as 6'1" tall girls. Taller players are able to cover more ground in the field thanks to a longer wingspan. Look at players in baseball that lead the league in HR. most of the time they are big men. The longest hitters in golf are big tall men and women. I know there are exceptions to the rule but that is the rule. Bigger, stronger, faster = better in most peoples eyes.

 

[Vertigo]

Unfortunately, size does matter - but sometimes it can be very deceiving. Even at the 10U level, we had a girl who was almost a full year older than the rest of our team (Jan. birthday) and by all rights and means, appeared developed at age 11 (5'5, probably weighed around 125#). She was the tallest and thickest on our team; when she walked onto the field to hit, the other coaches would tell their players to back up. Sadly, this girl couldn't hit to save her life and could only play 1st base because she just didn't have the athleticism to play any other position. However, when she was lucky enough to get a hold of the ball in those rare instances, it looked impressive. Her parents decided to move her to a true TB team mid-season (typical story - parents thought she was better than she is), the TB team banked on her size (plus dad knew one of the coaches - she didn't make any other team she tried out for), and now they have her either on the bench or in RF if they are short players.

 

[Vertigo]

I'd take the smaller girl with the heart, competitive spirit, natural athletic ability and great game savvy over the bigger girl who can hit the ball a ton any day. As long as their defense is solid, they can be taught to bunt or slap their way on base. Long ball isn't the only way to win in FPSB.

 

[James Smith]

HS and under I would say size is less of a factor. Coaches are going to see the players and make a decision based on their ability, with the edge probably going to the bigger player.

Colleges cannot observe all the players in person and I can see them setting a size threshold for who they want to go see. The only way a smaller player might get on their radar is in a major tournament.

Edit: Or attend the school’s softball camp. If your DD attends Alabama’s softball camps, supposedly they have a size of player they are looking for, I bet they look at all the players regardless of their size.

I am probably wrong.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I hope softball stays as a sport where girls that have larger bodies can still thrive. I see plenty of college players with more than an extra 10 pounds. I doubt they are any less disciplined than their teammates, I am sure it is just their body type. Young women have enough body type pressure everywhere else. One of the things I like about softball is that there is room for girls like Dallas and Crystl, no pun intended. They get to be great at something not only in spite of what they see on TV, but possibly because of it to some extent.

 

[JAD]

You cannot "coach up" size or speed, so those are two physical characteristics that will always be sought out by college coaches.