Softball teams with diversity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm assuming you mean "diversity" as shorthand for racially diverse, as in you don't want a team of all white girls.

I've been around softball for about 20 years as a coach and an umpire. The plain truth of it is it's a white girl's sport. Occasionally I'll see a team where there are some black girls, but it's rare and it's noticeable. Latino girls are even more rare because Hispanics generally discourage females from doing athletics -- I know this because a softball association I used to be a part of actively tried to recruit for players in that community (which was a sizeable one in our area) to no avail.

The reason softball is a "white sport" is money. Fields are more plentiful in the exburbs, which are whiter. And it's an expensive sport -- bats cost $400, for example -- so socio-economic factors are at play.

I wish I could tell you to go check out this organization or that organization, but I think it's really going to be a team-by-team thing. I'd just go to tryouts and try to get a sense for overall team vibes while you size up the racial components.

I will say there was one team associated with the Washington Nationals that might be more diverse, simply because it pulled from DC proper. But I don't know what age levels they're at. https://www.mlb.com/nationals/community/youth-baseball-and-softball

What, what??

I am Latina. Are you kidding? Quit it with the ridiculous stereotypes. Soccer is HUGE for Latina girls in MoCo. And volleyball, FWIW. Now, we’re also getting into softball and field hockey.

While I agree with you, PP is correct that softball is mostly white girls. Which is weird because MLB is FULL of latino men.

MLB is full of men from the Caribbean and Central/South America, not who grew up playing baseball in the US. My son is a senior and on all his teams across all of the years he has had one Latino teammate. One.

My kid plays softball in MoCo and there are a lot of families that are immigrants from those countries, as well as Japan and Korea where baseball is also huge, that put their daughter in softball. The softball dads are almost all guys who grew up playing rec baseball. I’m surprised your son didn’t have that experience but maybe you just don’t have the right mix of immigrants in your area.

This.

The best thing you can do for your DD is find a younger female coach who played in college. and who doesn't let Dads in the dugout

(I'm a 44yo dude who played HS baseball, who knows enough to stay out of the way of the coaches)

There are solid showcase teams in VA coached by dads. My kid was on team coached by a former college softball player who had been an amazing athlete, but who picked and chose favorites who got all the playing time (and despite what people will immediately assume, it was about who was friends with the coach's kid not who had the best attitude or worked the hardest or whatever - I'm not opposed to the good kind of picking favorites). I'm not sure why everyone automatically assumes dad coaches are bad. Ask around discretely, look at the results the team has, and judge each individual coach that way, not on their parenting status.

Obviously its not a hard and fast rule.

But when there is SO much Daddyball in this sport, one of the best ways to avoid it is to not have any Dads (or Moms) making roster or lineup decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking for 14u or 16u A/B. We’re in DC so somewhat flexible on location. Looking for a team with different ethnicities.

How odd to pick a team based on the racial make up of kids.

Have you spent years playing a sport always being the only person on your team of a different race than the rest of your team? If not, stay in your lane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I'm assuming you mean "diversity" as shorthand for racially diverse, as in you don't want a team of all white girls.

I've been around softball for about 20 years as a coach and an umpire. The plain truth of it is it's a white girl's sport. Occasionally I'll see a team where there are some black girls, but it's rare and it's noticeable. Latino girls are even more rare because Hispanics generally discourage females from doing athletics -- I know this because a softball association I used to be a part of actively tried to recruit for players in that community (which was a sizeable one in our area) to no avail.

The reason softball is a "white sport" is money. Fields are more plentiful in the exburbs, which are whiter. And it's an expensive sport -- bats cost $400, for example -- so socio-economic factors are at play.

I wish I could tell you to go check out this organization or that organization, but I think it's really going to be a team-by-team thing. I'd just go to tryouts and try to get a sense for overall team vibes while you size up the racial components.

I will say there was one team associated with the Washington Nationals that might be more diverse, simply because it pulled from DC proper. But I don't know what age levels they're at. https://www.mlb.com/nationals/community/youth-baseball-and-softball

What, what??

I am Latina. Are you kidding? Quit it with the ridiculous stereotypes. Soccer is HUGE for Latina girls in MoCo. And volleyball, FWIW. Now, we’re also getting into softball and field hockey.

While I agree with you, PP is correct that softball is mostly white girls. Which is weird because MLB is FULL of latino men.

MLB is full of men from the Caribbean and Central/South America, not who grew up playing baseball in the US. My son is a senior and on all his teams across all of the years he has had one Latino teammate. One.

My kid plays softball in MoCo and there are a lot of families that are immigrants from those countries, as well as Japan and Korea where baseball is also huge, that put their daughter in softball. The softball dads are almost all guys who grew up playing rec baseball. I’m surprised your son didn’t have that experience but maybe you just don’t have the right mix of immigrants in your area.

This.

The best thing you can do for your DD is find a younger female coach who played in college. and who doesn't let Dads in the dugout

(I'm a 44yo dude who played HS baseball, who knows enough to stay out of the way of the coaches)

This is partly true. Except just because some young woman played ball in college doesn't necessarily make her a good coach of young girls. Or a good coach at all. Different skill sets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking for 14u or 16u A/B. We’re in DC so somewhat flexible on location. Looking for a team with different ethnicities.

How odd to pick a team based on the racial make up of kids.

Have you spent years playing a sport always being the only person on your team of a different race than the rest of your team? If not, stay in your lane.

I would give you a standing ovation if I could!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking for 14u or 16u A/B. We’re in DC so somewhat flexible on location. Looking for a team with different ethnicities.

https://www.perfect-performancenova.com/outlaws-fastpitch-softball.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking for 14u or 16u A/B. We’re in DC so somewhat flexible on location. Looking for a team with different ethnicities.

https://www.perfect-performancenova.com/outlaws-fastpitch-softball.html

Thanks!