Here we go.... HS Softball Newbies

[coolstuff]

DD is an incoming freshman hoping to make the HS team. The official callout was cancelled because of the weather, so the coach distributed callout packages to last year's teams and to some freshmen, and asked the girls to spread the word to others who might be interested. DD got one delivered to her with her name typed on the top. I emailed this coach one time to ask about open hitting in the fall, which DD never attended because of volleyball, so I'm a little impressed he remembered that she's interested. (She goes to a 5A school that won the state softball championship last year.)

So here we go... open hitting on Saturday afternoons, practices start the first week of March, first games tentatively scheduled that weekend (man, it could still be freezing around here!!!) We've already had a taste of HS sports during the volleyball season, but for some reason I'm nervous about this because she's (we've) invested a lot more into softball.

Any thoughts, tips, suggestions, encouragement?

[softball_parent]

Take your chair, sit in the outfield, bring a book to read, keep your mouth closed, let your daughter handle any problems or concerns with the coach herself, recognize that there are politics and that your daughter may not play where or when you think she should, that playing time often goes to the seniors for no reason, other parents think their daughters walk on water even when they could not hit the inside of a barn and enjoy the ride as best you can remembering that it has it pros and cons. Playing with friends and seeing their name in the paper can be fun. Sitting on the bench because you are a freshman could not be fun. I know a school where freshman automatically played JV no matter how good there were. When my daughter played only 2 freshman made the team, she and another player and it was very uncomfortable. Also if you daughter is going to college to play for the most part high school has very little if any determinant on that outcome again depending on where you live.

[Comp]

My daughter was a 4 year varsity starter on a very good team that was in the state tournamnet every year and won state her senior year.

Be prepared for a HUGE age difference in the girls. Playing club ball you usually only see a 1 or 2 year age difference on a team, but as a freshman you could have a spread of up to 5 years, in some cases the older girls could even be 19. Along with this you are going to have the typical bad influences of the things the older girls do as compared to what the younger girls are used to being around.

If your daughter ends up being a starter over an older girl, you can also expect there to be a fair amount of animosity with both the players and parents. In our case, my daughter was not given a chance to play in the first game and only got a chance to play in the field 1 inning the 2nd game. There were 3 seniors that played the positions in these 2 games and they all thought they were going to be the starters, as well as the parents. Daughter was given an opportunity to start in the 3rd game which was a fairly high profile game with a good team. She made several good plays in the outfield and ended up 4 for 4 at the plate. She was given the starting position for the rest of the season and was immediately given the cold shoulder by the 3 girls. Her mother and I were also treated pretty poorly by the parents of the 3 girls.

But, being given the chance to be on the varsity team of a good progam is also a very good experience for your daughter. All the years of hard work she has put in have paid off and is being given the opportunity to show it.

[StatManKC]

We went into a very similar situation my DD's freshman year. She was one of only two freshmen that made varsity. She is a pitcher. She pitched behind two seniors for most of the season, and played 1st base. I reminded her about the politics and seniority that come with high school sports, and she was happy in her role.

Keep in mind that the under-class players are going to be treated like dirt no matter how good they are. It's just the way the hierarchy works in high school. Girls can be very catty when someone tries to steal their spotlight.

She slowly earned the respect of her upper-class players and her team mates selected her as newcomer of the year as a freshman.

She became the starting pitcher her sophomore year, and the team won the 5A state championship. Her team mates selected her as MVP her sophomore year.

It was worth being humble for one year...

[hotwheels]

Are we talking about high school softball????

[jofus]

At our HS, the coach is in her third year this year. Our school has won several state championships in softball over the years, so there is a little pressure I imagine. Both of her first 2 years, they have started out terrible, then turned it around about halfway through the season, and made it to the state tournament, although they didn't win the championship either year.

Last year (her second year) she said that too many parents complained about playing time her first year, so she only kept 18 girls total (9 starters varsity, 9 starters jv) I heard from another parent just the other night that this year she is planning on not even having a jv team, only a varsity team, and is only going to carry 15 girls or so

My DD is in 8th grade this year, hopefully the coach comes around or gives up by next year, but I'm not optimistic.

[Tucson]

You are getting a lot of good advice here.

What are you going to wear? j/k

If your DD makes JV, don't look at it as a slight. My DD loved JV. She pitched and parents actually came up to her and thanked her for getting them some wins. I guess there had been some lean years.

But, there were girls showing up for try outs that had never played before. (Not the case, for you.) So, there were some pretty bad outfielders.

DD had a good coach and got into the "patches for a letterman's jacket", thing. I had never been to a HS, where the girls wore the same jackets as the boys.

Good luck and I hope she has fun. Those 4 years fly by.

[Cannonball]

Some great advice here. My dd started last year as a frosh. Comp's post is a VERY GOOD READ! Did I mention read Comp's post?

[GIMNEPIWO]

None of mine made Varsity right away ... played JV their 8th and 9th grade years ... and I saw it as a good thing although they didn't always agree ... on JV they played and on Varsity they would have been riding the pines ... ( I'm guessing ) ... when they made Varsity they played ... In our case the HS Coaching was not all that it could be ... but I understand that is not always the case ... so, enjoy it where ever she lands and take many many pictures ...

[wadeintothem]

Takes pics and post em to hey bucket!

not enough people do that.