Batbusters Coach Mike Stith says he’s seeing this problem in play today, and it’s causing athletes and coaches to get away from the fundamentals of the game.
Check out this video and let us know what you think.
Coach Stith begins by saying that the sport might be getting too big. But he said he realizes that it’s providing many girls with opportunities to play.
But Coach Stith feels that the sport is focusing too much on recruiting and getting girls committed to college. Check out the video and hear what he has to say.
Softball Nation 
I coach, you are exactly right, if you’re good enough, they will find you!!!!
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What a joke. Parents and players are trying to work within a system that the college coaches and people who are long term in the game have created. Boo hoo – players aren’t competitive or somehow ‘less skilled’. Rubbish – there is just SO many more travel teams and travel girls that the range is so much wider an there is more players for the elite players to play so they are more spread out.
We – like 99.99% of parents and kids are temporary in this environment. I have one daughter. When she is done, I likely wont be back in the travel softball again. She doesn’t have time for the system to fix itself or adjust or whatever – she has need NOW. College coaches turn up for showcases and the big nationals, so she better be there. The imaginary ‘I am good so I will be found’ is just that – imaginary. Just hoping someone sees you because you put the work in? Really? How exactly? Hoping a D1 coach drives past a field she is practicing on? Or playing some local tourney?
The new ‘rules’ wont make things better – they will make it worse as now there is fewer days to be seen so the ‘big’ showcases will get bigger and the panic of who gets in and who gets better fields gets worse. Oh and college coaches get to move more of the recruiting to ‘on-campus’ which gives them more opportunity to directly make some extra cash out of players who are mostly unsure if they are being recruited or not because technically they can’t be told. So benefits to the big showcases and college coaches.. but I don’t see how this is going to be better for the players? I mean most of the good travel players are doing something softball 7 days a week – just how much more development can we actually fit in?
the NCAA and the coaches could easily just do a ‘no recruiting until they are Juniors’ rule and enforce it or some other way to fix the same garbage they whine about year after year. But no, instead they are out there offering ‘verbals’ to 13 and 14 year old kids who haven’t even reach high school yet knowing full well they have committed the same scholarship to 10 different players in the hope that when they are juniors one of them might be still worth actually signing to a 25% scholarship and may me vaguely interested in one of the major their university offers (assuming they haven’t moved on to a new job or been fired in the meantime).
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Including scholarships… you have a better chance of being seen if you’re playing on a good team or even against a good team. But you still need to be proactive. “If you’re good enough, they will find you” only works for the blue chip or top 1% so therefore a fallacy for most. (with some exceptions)
Enjoy the game, constantly get better, compete, help team win & be proactive if you want to play in college…
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I coached for 24 years in the same small town on windermere Florida,5 state titles,3runner ups,10 top ten finishes.Including a runner up.3 men in M.L.B.One young man now is the Denver Broncos Quarterback.Iam sick of it all.I grew up in norther kemtucky as a Big Red machine team.I have coached the same style in both sports.Fundamentals with a proven practice regment.Two days on field ,one day on conditioning.One day of team building.Ive seen it change so much that it has taking the fun,and respect out of the game.Recuit 20 kids for 9 spots,college camps eber week for $.Showcases everyweek for $,Now we have big name organizations selling there ne all over the country for $.Iam going back to my small Tennessee Mountain town of 1100 people.Iam give free clinics,and just started there little program.Most people cant afford to travel 15minutes to take their kids to play ball.I think your right on !!!!Think you for stepping out of the regular and voicing your opion.Were getting were parents know more then me.Walked away before i hate the sport i love.Lets get it right.College coaching jobs are dime a dozen.Coaches flip flop ever year.Now were getting college coaches hating on travel coaches on social media.I replied to a college coach that repeatedly bashed travel ball parents,players,and coaches.He went off on me like his word is god.Hes flipped schools three times in three years,wonder why?Had a coach try to recuit my cather to a D1 program in the Mountain of North Carolina.Shes gone.Three new coaches in five years.Got a great kid in south Florida,coach wont let them talk to their parents when they played in central Florida.I build families and relantionship with my players and parents.My daughter had four full rides at top D2,and great D3 programs.Played for a south Florida travel club in here sophomore year.No family atmosphere at all.Travel all over country only to become sick of the game.Parents so hyped of recuiting that it was such a negative environment.Team and parents were so pressured to excell the fun was sucked out of her by med season .Ive seen the respect of the game slowly fad away.Jyst my opion!But we need some grounds rules for sure.Thanks again for stepping up.
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