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Reasons your athlete needs to be playing high school softball…even if they don’t want to be.
1. Creating an every game matters mentality - the high school play off structure is similar to the college one. Every game matters throughout your season and builds upon the previous one to get your team to play offs. The three days to win a championship and have another opportunity to win another one next weekend just doesn’t provide the same experience.
2. You don’t get to choose your high school coach like you do your travel ball coach. You must find a way to overcome adversity with a coach you don’t “like” or always agree with their philosophies. Do you check out and just count the days to the end of the season or do you make the best of it and control your controllables? You might not agree with your college coach or your college teammates someday, learning how to adapt to different philosophies NOW will help you in the future!
3. It might not be a team of super stars. How do you respond to playing with athletes who may not be as talented as you are? Are you a leader and step up to help them or do you just show up and do your job and leave?
4. Representing your community with athletes growing up in the same community is something you only get to do once. Your team being in the local paper. Being cheered on by community members you might not necessarily know but are alumni of your program. Games being attended by younger athletes who will wear your jersey someday.
5. If the life lessons your athlete will learn aren’t enough for you to encourage them to play high school softball it will make them more likely to play at the next level. Right, wrong, or otherwise a college coach is less likely to look at an athlete who doesn’t play high school softball. They want to see you overcome a tough situation, be a good teammate in tough moments, and know that you won’t quit when the going gets tough.
1. Creating an every game matters mentality - the high school play off structure is similar to the college one. Every game matters throughout your season and builds upon the previous one to get your team to play offs. The three days to win a championship and have another opportunity to win another one next weekend just doesn’t provide the same experience.
2. You don’t get to choose your high school coach like you do your travel ball coach. You must find a way to overcome adversity with a coach you don’t “like” or always agree with their philosophies. Do you check out and just count the days to the end of the season or do you make the best of it and control your controllables? You might not agree with your college coach or your college teammates someday, learning how to adapt to different philosophies NOW will help you in the future!
3. It might not be a team of super stars. How do you respond to playing with athletes who may not be as talented as you are? Are you a leader and step up to help them or do you just show up and do your job and leave?
4. Representing your community with athletes growing up in the same community is something you only get to do once. Your team being in the local paper. Being cheered on by community members you might not necessarily know but are alumni of your program. Games being attended by younger athletes who will wear your jersey someday.
5. If the life lessons your athlete will learn aren’t enough for you to encourage them to play high school softball it will make them more likely to play at the next level. Right, wrong, or otherwise a college coach is less likely to look at an athlete who doesn’t play high school softball. They want to see you overcome a tough situation, be a good teammate in tough moments, and know that you won’t quit when the going gets tough.