The Competitive Levels of Softball
Picture this…….
It’s a beautiful Spring day. It’s 72 degrees and the sun is shining. You are sitting in the grass picking dandelions without a care in the world dreaming of the ice cream cone your mom is probably going to buy you in a couple of hours. Just then a big yellow ball flies by your head and everyone is screaming “get the ball Tammy”. You wake up from your daydream and realize you’re actually in the middle of a softball game and Jenny is now rounding 2nd base. Slightly dazed, you run after the rolling ball, pick it up and throw it as hard as you can back toward everyone else. The ball goes about 16 feet and starts rolling toward your teammate. She has to run out and pick it up, she throws it somewhere closer to the infield. Meanwhile, Jenny is now getting guided back into the third baseline by her coach headed for the plate, she got a little of course. 5 of your other teammates start running toward the ball as it comes to a stop….someone has to pick it up right? After the crowd of people around the ball clears, everyone sees that you actually ran all the way from the outfield to pick the ball back up and throw it again. Good hustle! Jenny trips over the plate, falls down and everyone cheers because that probably counts as a run. If you’re even keeping score. Who cares if you do? You’re 6.
Everyone’s introduction to softball is different some of us started when we were 5 or 6. Some started a little later. Regardless of when you started, each level of softball demands a little more out of you. Let’s go through the various levels and see what they entail.
We have recreation softball or rec ball. Rec ball is a great way for players to see if they love the game. You can play softball with your friends with a couple of practices per week. Once games start, practices usually slow down or stop altogether. Rec ball is great for players who want to enjoy the game and learn as much as possible. It’s usually coached by amazing volunteers who dedicate their time to giving players the best experience possible. We love rec ball. If you play well enough during the rec ball season you may be invited to play all-stars which takes the most talented rec ball players and puts them on teams to compete against other all-star teams. Now the competition starts to heat up a bit.
Travel ball usually fits somewhere in here but that is for a much different article because there are so many different types of travel ball organizations and private teams. We can get to that later.
Middle School ball is most likely the next step for most players. Your school team may have a team for 6th-8th graders although 6th graders usually have a tough time making the middle school team for various reasons. Don’t let that discourage you, you should definitely tryout for the experience and the chance that you will make the team! Middle school usually practices 4-5 time per week for a couple of hours. The games are played at your middle school field or you travel to other middle schools to play. Depending on the size of the middle school this might be the first time you actually have to tryout for a team. Meaning, there is a chance you won’t make the team if the Coaches determine your skill set is not suitable for that level of competition. This can be a tough time for young players who have never experienced this before. Honestly speaking it’s also a big time for players to stop playing the sport who get discouraged by not making the team and that is an unfortunate reality.
High School ball takes all of the middle school players and puts them at one High School. Now you’ve got 1 or 2, sometimes more middle schools combining into 1 high school. So those starting middle school players are now trying out for 9 spots on the JV and Varsity high school teams. This is where competition really starts to ramp up. Now you have the best players from surrounding middle schools competing for the same positions at the High School level. High school practices are usually 2 hours 5-6 times per week with 2, sometimes 3 games per week mixed in. Public schools play around 20 games and private schools can play up to 30 games per season. This is a tough reality for a lot of players as those border line middle school players will struggle finding a starting spot on the team or finding a spot at all. The High School coaches main goal should be to win. They are getting paid to put the best team possible on the field and be competitive each year. Sometimes their job depends on it.
If you’re in the very small percentage of players who are talented enough you might get to play in college. There are various levels of college but college softball is college softball. It’s a very competitive environment where your talent, work ethic and life balance are all tested. These Coaches are 100% paid to win and their job definitely depends on it. Now it’s a money factor. The colleges generate income from athletics and the more successful programs bring in more money. Therefore, the college must employ coaches who are in the business of building winning programs. The coaches don’t care who you are, where you came from or what your last name is. They will put the best players on the field at all times. Most colleges, in my experience, practice 6-10 times per week pre season and off season. These practices include workouts, team building activities, hitting sessions, fielding sessions, bullpens, small group sessions, team practices, study halls and classroom sessions. The season itself is very grueling with lots of travel. Sometimes by plane, sometimes by bus or team vans. A college softball program can play up to 56 games in a season. Some games are played in a tournament, most are double headers and then you’ll have single games as well. Practices still happens 6-7 days per week with sometimes very early more practices before classes. I’ll go into more details about college sports in a different article but that gives you a basic rundown.
The higher you go through the levels of competitive softball the more it demands of you. You have to work harder at each level pushing yourself more and more. You can use the people around you to push you or you can be self motivated. Whatever your goals are in softball just know it takes hard work and sacrifice to be successful. You may also feel some heartbreak a long the way. You can either take that heart break and quit or you can use it as motivation to build yourself an awesome softball story.