High School coaches wont let their players play

[TexasYellowBall]

Most of the posts in this link are saying that they have a daughter that wants to quit High School softball. Well .....let them quit and stop talking about it. If you and your dd hate HS ball so much. High School softball, " It is , what it is" , and nothing more. You get out what you are putting in. Quit playing and let someone else play that wants to play.

Everyone thinks that select is great. . . . . Today....I can not begin to tell you how many times I have been to a showcase and had to play 3/5 team that were horrible and had no business playing.

If you hate your High School coach for some reason, keep it to yourself and don't telling your DD. Instead make a life lesson out of it. We all know that as adults we have all had bosses and co-workers that we just have to deal with. Teach your DD, not to quit.

Give back to your community. Let your DD have fun with her classmates and stop complaining and bringing your program down.


My DD is a junior, and plays HS and practices select every week. DD has been to ASA Nationals every year since 12U, and she has committed to a D1.......OH and she would rather play High School then select. As a freshman she hated High School, but battled through the changes.

Embrace it or move on.

[Coach11]

Texasyellowball.....Amen!
You hit the nail on the head with select ball not being the be all, end all. Yes....its head and shoulders above HS ball.
I don't know what the talent level is like in other parts of the country. But here in the northeast, I too have been to tournaments where 3 of the 5 teams we faced didn't belong there.
The team I coached last year had a 13 player roster. Of that 13, half were legitimate travel ball players By that I mean they could play multiple positions and handle themselves at the plate. The rest were either competent at one defensive position, or posed some sort of offensive threat. We fared relatively well considering pitching was a major weakness.
When my daughter decided to look for elsewhere to play this coming season, we sat down and discussed this very issue. Of ALL the teams that we faced last season....which ones had more talent top to bottom than ours? We came up with a few that perhaps had a more even spread of talent. But those teams best players weren't as strong as ours. That realization was a bit of a surprise to her. But it was something I constantly pointed out to her over the years whenever she would complain about so and so not being good enough to play travel.

[DOG310]

New to this site, so this may be a "too tough" question, but here goes... What is the general status of NTX, outside the Metroplex (Mansfield, Coppell, SL, FM, Lewisville, Colony, Plano, Mckinney, Allen, Mesquite, etc). Do most coaches take advantage of what TB gives them, or do they try to prove their coaching expertise and refuse to allow the kids to practice w/the teams that made them want the kids to play for them in the first place (TB)?

[SnocatzDad]

How about HS coaches who won't let their players hit??? Our Varsity program has some weird dynamics. The head coach told the kids "I don't want anyone to ask me to hit at practice or when are we going to hit at practice". OK coach your in charge, that's reasonable, players don't get to dictate what goes on at practice.

Then find out that the 5 seniors on Varsity (3 very good players and 2 struggling) hit every single day at practice, but the juniors and sophomores on Varsity and JV hit one time a week last week. Now I know why the coach anticipated questions. I can count on one hand the number of weeks in the off season my daughter only picked up a bat once a week. Last year as a freshman my DD went 2 weeks in a row at HS practice without picking up her bat. It was a running joke every day I would ask her "did you guys hit today? " "No Dad, we didn't hit today."

Life's two short to get frustrated over something we can't control, so we just go with the flow and practice hitting twice a week outside of HS practice.

[mrs.buster]

So it would seem that for the most part everyone agrees tha HS ball in horrible & our DD's need to be big girls & just play.As a woman I can tell you all something you would not expect your little boys to play for or with substandard coaches & players.It would seem that some of you men still do not get it & never will.

[DonnieS]

I have been told that per UIL you must play on your HS team to recieve a scholarship, is there any truth to this?

NachoDaddy, who ever told you that is sfb. UIL, thank God, has nothing to do with kids getting scholarships, if they did, UIL would probably screw that up as well. UIL is a lot like the government, except worse.

[sbmomx2]

Both my DDs looked forward to HS ball -- playing with friends they've known since elementary school, representing the school and community, and playing for a coach that "played in college". Found out later the coach embellished. She sat the bench for one season of college ball and never played again.

After 2 weeks of tryouts/practice, the coaches finally got around to seeing who could actually hit a ball and who could pitch and catch. This was 2 days before first scrimmage. School pitching coach decided that the 2 returning varsity pitchers (both play on a solid travel team), needed to be taught to pitch and began trying to completely change their mechanics to a very little league style -- haven't seen anything like it since 10U.

As the season has progressed they have managed to have 6 injuries on the team -- all occurred in practice. One injury required surgery for the player. The coaches have screamed, cussed, threatened, and degraded players repeatedly. They tell players "if you have any concerns or questions, feel free to talk to us". HAHA! Players are chewed out and punished for that. Most of the Varsity is now just trying to finish this season and don't plan on returning. A good portion of the JV feels the same.

I had heard the horror stories of HS ball from many...But until this year, my family had not experienced it. All I can say is WOW! My DDs have decided to run track next year instead and work on building their speed up....Only 9 days of HS ball left!!!!

[monkeysmom]

sftballmom in reading your thread I honestly thought wow, her daughters must go to my DD school. I too read the threads on HB...don't take it seriously, it is all political, join the booster club and make a large donation etc. I have tried to make myself not take it seriously but my family is also counting the days.