Baseball/softball- how do kids here compete with kids in warmer climates

[Anonymous]

Kids are obsessed with baseball/softball but the teams only play in fall/spring (with "conditioning" in the winter). So they don't play in tournaments/games for about four months. DD wants to play softball in college-- but is there any chance to compete when I'm guessing teams in the south can play year-round (or most of the year).
Are there leagues (in NOVA) that do play more of the year?

[Anonymous]

I'm not aware of any leagues in NOVA actively playing through the winter months due to weather and fields being closed but if your child is interested in playing in tournaments there are organizations that run tournaments in Florida and other warmer states that individual players can sign up for, such as Game Day USA.

That said, I think it's actually good for kids to get a bit of a break so they don't burn out. Also gives them a chance to explore/try other sports.

[Anonymous]

Same way kids here compete in ice hockey and snow skiing -- they are at a structural disadvantage.

[Anonymous]

They can't really compete. There's a reason you see CA, AZ and FL girls on most college rosters. It's not impossible though. Find an indoor facility to practice batting and pitching, if that's her position. At least you can keep up in that aspect.

[Anonymous]

For baseball the pitchers are helped by winter breaks.

If she really really wants to go that far, put up a net in your garage for hitting during the winter and focus on conditioning. Find a league that does winter practices in a school gym or one of the area facilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For baseball the pitchers are helped by winter breaks.

If she really really wants to go that far, put up a net in your garage for hitting during the winter and focus on conditioning. Find a league that does winter practices in a school gym or one of the area facilities.

Who does indoor practices around here (nova?)

[Anonymous]

This is why kids around here can become “DMV good,” but they’ll never be “Texas/Florida good.” That’s a whole ‘nother level, and it does have a lot to do with being able to get out on the field year-round.

OTOH, overuse injuries are happening more and at younger ages than ever before. So having an enforced break is good.

Winter is a good time to get stronger and faster, and to improve fundamentals through cage work, etc. Any travel organization is going to have an off-season training program. Plus there are tons of private coaches out there.

[Anonymous]

There are lots of good players in PA and rural VA, at least for softball.
My kid is a softball player. In the winter she does team conditioning plus goes to D-bat pretty frequently plus cleared out our basement playroom and set up a net at one end for pitching practice.
Plus it’s really not that cold here so no reason you can’t do outdoor training at least through December and pick back up in March. Most pitchers have private trainers, even the really mediocre ones. My kid is not great—not competitive for a college spot and she did all this so I assume anyone competitive for college is doing at least this over the winter break.

[Anonymous]

I have a baseball player who will play in college - he’s a junior now. He usually has played basketball in the winter, which is really good for preventing overuse injuries and building strength and conditioning. He is a pitcher and started throwing again in January.

This year he decided to train specifically for baseball all winter and not play basketball for the first time. He throws most days, with a bullpen twice a week and sometimes throws to live batters. All of this indoors - there are multiple facilities.

Sure, kids in Florida and Texas have more time to play. Overall the competition is better. But if your kid just wants to play in college, and they are a good high school player, there will probably be options. If you look at the rosters of D3 basketball or softball teams in this area they are not stacked with kids from far away states. They are regional. So your kid isn’t competing against a Florida kid for a roster spot at St Mary’s, or U Wooster, or Mary Washington. If they want to play at UVA or UMD-CP…yeah, they have to be might-go-pro good. But D3 - there are options!

[Anonymous]

I was a college baseball player that grew up in the area. I'm realizing that I might have been a bit of an outlier for my age, but I took the winter to do tons of tee work in the basement. One can put the ball in all different areas of the zone and see how your swing works. There isn't any velo from a pitch for you to run into something by accident, so you really have to have your swing synced up to get that loud sound. And I figured out what location of pitches were my turbo zone.

Then when pitchers started throwing bullpens indoors I would stand in for dry swings (no bat) and just track pitches. It would build an ongoing memory bank of what pitches looked like and where they ended up, without any swings and that made it easier to concentrate.

But I realize this might not be very "fun" for a 14-15 y/o compared to hitting the field in Pensacola in January.

But I was also the 9 year old manipulating the family satellite dish to find baseball games to record certain players swings (on VHS and low def!).

And I whole heartedly agree with others that the winter break is good physically but especially mentally to avoid burnout. That's a real thing even in this region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For baseball the pitchers are helped by winter breaks.

If she really really wants to go that far, put up a net in your garage for hitting during the winter and focus on conditioning. Find a league that does winter practices in a school gym or one of the area facilities.

Who does indoor practices around here (nova?)

Most (all?) of the travel teams. Agreed with the suggestion of playing basketball, great for general fitness. Then hit off the tee on a regular basis or set up a schedule with a hitting coach.

[Anonymous]

Can they blow my mind ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They can't really compete. There's a reason you see CA, AZ and FL girls on most college rosters. It's not impossible though. Find an indoor facility to practice batting and pitching, if that's her position. At least you can keep up in that aspect.

Fairfax County public schools just had two students taken in the first round of the MLB draft. For one county to account for two first round picks indicates that they are competing just fine

[Anonymous]

Practice and condition indoors. Baseball games are mostly standing around. You don't need to be out on the field all year to get good.

[Anonymous]

We live in AZ now and my kids play baseball and softball. Teams CAN technically play year round 12 months per year here- but they usually don’t. Pre high school, most teams play fall and spring - with a 2 month break in both winter and summer (usually Dec/Jan and mid June-mid Aug or so). High school aged teams never play in winter and are off Nov-Jan or so (just conditioning). My 13yo’s team schedule this year is: Aug-Nov for fall ball, late Jan-late May for spring ball. Summer off. This is pretty typical for our area and age. My high schooler plays spring and summer ball, and a short/light fall ball schedule. Winter off.