Schmick wrote:TheTownUSA wrote:Els489 wrote:My daughter is starting catcher on her travel team, and although she's on the varsity team at school, prefers not to play there. Not a fan of most of the girls and the program. How important is high school for coaches who are recruiting?
Thanks!
As is often the case here at The Bucket, a couple of our resident "experts" chimed in with their opinions without really qualifying the circumstances or even wanting to know them. Please forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do. There are MANY legitimate reasons why your daughter may not want to play high school softball. You didn't elaborate, so I will offer a couple of good examples.
For starters, time is a valuable commodity for serious students as they move up grade levels to their senior year. Not all high school programs are like Norco or Mater Dei, where they end their season expecting to play for the State Championship. Some programs are downright shitty, where the school's administrative assistant serves as coach/babysitter for various team sports, because they need the extra $3K that comes with the gig. Also, the "players" may not be playing the sport for love of the game, but more so for the PE credits, so they don't have to take PE after their freshman year. Some of the fellas on this forum may not know it, but there are some high school teams out there that would get waxed by a good 12U PGF premier travel team. That's a true story.
What's more relevant are these few things if she wants to play college ball. First, she has outstanding grades, SAT scores and is an all around good student, where the principal or another respected authority figure is willing to vouch for her in that regard. Two, she has shown some level of community service or extra-curricular activity to demonstrate she is well-rounded and not a self-absorbed A-hole. Lastly, she is an incredible athlete going up against elite talent, with the stats to prove it and a coach who will vouch for her attitude and work ethic. Also, that she can show initiative on her own without being prodded by her parents.
If she has these attributes, most college coaches will overlook that she didn't want to waste her time playing for a mediocre high school program that never demonstrated any ambition or desire to take even one of their teams to a Division IV playoff, and only fielded a team because they had to. If she can go yard off a TB pitcher that throws 70mph heaters, you will find that college coaches can be VERY forgiving.
In your effort to appear pompous and condescending you accuse the "resident experts" of giving advice without qualifying the circumstances.
The OP gave the circumstances when he stated his DD didn't like her HS teammates or the program.
The only assumption that the "resident experts" made was that "the program" meant the HS coaches.
Now that assumption is probably fair and accurate just like me assuming you're a douche who makes long-winded but highly irrelevant posts because you think they make you look smart and you can get in jabs at people you're jealous of, and you likely enjoy the smell of your own farts.
This may be the stupidest rebuttal of ALL TIME. So you're telling us that YOU don't enjoy the smell of your own farts? I call bullshit. Everyone enjoys the fragrance of their own farts. Coming at me with that weak sauce, you should be ashamed of yourself. Do your family a favor. Go close the windows, stick your head inside of a gas oven and then turn on the gas. Now wait 30 minutes and see what happens next.