by xyzdude » Thu Aug 06, 2020 6:31 am
[quoteIf you have to rely on a travel ball organization to get your daughter into college, you may want to reevaluate your priorities AND life in general. My youngest plays travel ball and hopefully will play softball wherever she attends college. All we know for certain is that softball will be a secondary consideration when making her decision on which college or university to attend.
Moreover, only 8% of high school softball players play college ball; less than 2% play D1 ball. Just like with travel ball, pitchers and catchers are in highest demand, so they typically get the full-rides, while most everyone else gets a partial. When you are awarded an athletic scholarship, it's not guaranteed for 4 years, and they pretty much own your life for as long as you hold it.
Point being, softball is a GREAT sport, but don't put all of your eggs in that basket to get your daughter through college. If you can grasp that concept now, it will save you a lot of disappointment down the road. It may even help to salvage your relationship with your daughter, so she actually wants to spend quality time with you when her playing days are over.][/quote]
This is a bit closed minded and some might even say a privileged point of view. There are certainly many students for whom playing a sport can be a huge factor in getting into and helping pay for college. There are so many degrees of this from the player who gets into a more academically challenging school than they might otherwise because of the influence of the coach to the player for whom an athletic scholarship allows them to go away to a school instead of perhaps doing community college or no college at all.
It is absolutely true that the choice of college should not be based only on athletic considerations, but not every child has the luxury or the choices to be picky all the time. And you should note, that the majority of high school graduates have no idea what they want to study or do with their life so the choice of college as far as having a particular program of study is probably not such a big deal for a majority of them.
Outside of elite level talent (and that unfortunately is a rare gift), the choice of a good organization may actually be one of the key elements in the ability to successfully navigate the athletic recruitment process for a softball player these days. Certainly there are other key factors like hard work, good instruction, supportive and OPEN MINDED parents, and academic success.
Lots of high school players do not end up playing in college - that is true of all sports. This in itself is not indicative of a flaw in sport or the current system it is simply an outcome that is attributable to many factors including the fact that lots of kids play sports in high school for fun. Not every child has the desire to play sports beyond high school for many reasons and that is perfectly fine. But please don't diminish those that do.
You also indicate that athletic scholarships are most often a one year commitment and that is mostly true, however you will find that it is the exception certainly not the rule for a player's scholarship to be dropped by a school for athletic performance reasons especially in a non-money sport such as softball. You also indicate that the program basically "owns you" for four years. No one should own your child ever. Teaching her to stand up for herself, find her own compass, and do the things that she loves and selects for herself are some of the most important life lessons to learn during the college years, and in my experience, sport can be a great learning source for those. Being owned by a coach or a team is a concept that I find particularly troubling for a women's sport and would encourage you to teach your daughter that there is a big difference in having a plan and working a plan, being dedicated, and motivated and working hard than being owned.
I'm sorry to say that while you are not entirely wrong in your statements, they are not nuanced enough to be accurate or helpful for folks struggling with this process (in my opinion).