Collectively, A Thread To Celebrate Our Kids Athletic Accomplishments (6 Viewers)

[Gally]

Sure seems that way. Any idea on how to put collective pressure on either side to break the impass?

I would like to see the governing body (CIF Central Section) come in and solve the issue. I would like to see them threaten to strip this umpire association of the state certification to umpire CIF sanctioned games if they don't abide by the rate structure that EVERY OTHER UMPIRE ASSOCIATION FOLLOWS for CIF sanctioned games.

At this point I don't think the AD's from the schools can do anything other than cave to the demands to bring the umps in and I don't think that is a good precedent to set for all other sports officials. It needs to come from the governing body for all high school athletics as the situation is at a standstill.

I really would have more sympathy for the umpires if they were getting like 50% of the pay of the league next door. Then I can understand trying to get back to "fair" pay compared to others in the area. But since the rate being offered is the HIGHEST IN THE STATE and the ump association has already agreed to umpire at that rate for other leagues in the area it really appears they are not doing this for money but to stick it to these 16 schools. Once that happened they lost all credibility.

 

[Chadstroma]

At an intrasquad meet right now that they added as there are several swimmers very close to making regionals so they are giving them an extra chance. My son is doing the 50 Free though it is unlikely he drops 2 more seconds he needs to make it. However, 2 seconds over the next three seasons should be a lock for him to achieve in 50 Free and prob add a couple more events to it by the time he ages out to 12U.

 

[The Z Machine]

My son scored 5 goals on Sat after only scoring 3 the week before (against the second best team in the league). The superstar kid I talked about hit a 25-30 yard free kick into the upper 90. Just too easy for that guy. I'll put the vid on discord.

I did sign my son up for Spring baseball after getting talked into it by his former soccer coach. It'll be a challenge for him as he's never really played before. He does need work on his throwing motion and to learn how to catch a baseball properly. He's not so stoked about it.

We also went to see a futsal game that his buddy (2 years younger) was playing in for a club. I wanted to get a feel for what those events are like. Ran into the parents of a kid in his indoor team that was raving about the club that kid plays for. The club practices 2x / week from 7:00 PM, which seems really late to me. He wouldn't get home until 9:00 PM and we have to leave by 7:00 AM to get him to school. That doesn't seem like enough sleep to me.

 

[glvsav37]

Just finished my son's ice hockey highlight reel. I might add to it a little but I dont want it to be that long. It was hard to narrow down clips.
Added it to his personal site as well

thanks again @PIK95 and @Boston for the tips.

 

[Boston]

Just finished my son's ice hockey highlight reel. I might add to it a little but I dont want it to be that long. It was hard to narrow down clips.
Added it to his personal site as well

thanks again @PIK95 and @Boston for the tips.

Nice job...question out of curiosity...is the PAL your son plays for the new name for Police Athletic League (PAL) or is it something totally different?

 

[glvsav37]

Just finished my son's ice hockey highlight reel. I might add to it a little but I dont want it to be that long. It was hard to narrow down clips.
Added it to his personal site as well

thanks again @PIK95 and @Boston for the tips.

Nice job...question out of curiosity...is the PAL your son plays for the new name for Police Athletic League (PAL) or is it something totally different?

thx...yes. It was the Police Athletic league but at some point, IDK when or why, it changed. To keep it PAL they changed it to "Pride in Athletics League." However, "Pride" is taking on a social definition of its own, so I'm not sure how long that's going to stick.

 

[belljr]

Just finished my son's ice hockey highlight reel. I might add to it a little but I dont want it to be that long. It was hard to narrow down clips.
Added it to his personal site as well

thanks again @PIK95 and @Boston for the tips.

I guess I'm trash?

Fwiw it looks awesome but and this could vary by coach and sports but I've been told many hate the music backgrounds. Just one man's opinion

Still pretty awesome though

Eta : I see music was discussed previously so nevermind

 

[glvsav37]

Just finished my son's ice hockey highlight reel. I might add to it a little but I dont want it to be that long. It was hard to narrow down clips.
Added it to his personal site as well

thanks again @PIK95 and @Boston for the tips.

I guess I'm trash?

Fwiw it looks awesome but and this could vary by coach and sports but I've been told many hate the music backgrounds. Just one man's opinion

Still pretty awesome though

Eta : I see music was discussed previously so nevermind

sorry I completely forgot you sent me those vids as well. I've been sitting on this project for a while. My bad.

I tried to keep the music pretty basic but upbeat. I didn't want lyrics or anything I would need to "time" the clips to. I figure if a coach doesn't want to listen to it, he prob knows where the volume control is....esp if he hates music that much, its prob on mute already before he's watching any vids. lol

unfortunately, most clips have some raving parent screaming their head off, so I would rather the music.

 

[belljr]

Just finished my son's ice hockey highlight reel. I might add to it a little but I dont want it to be that long. It was hard to narrow down clips.
Added it to his personal site as well

thanks again @PIK95 and @Boston for the tips.

I guess I'm trash?

Fwiw it looks awesome but and this could vary by coach and sports but I've been told many hate the music backgrounds. Just one man's opinion

Still pretty awesome though

Eta : I see music was discussed previously so nevermind

sorry I completely forgot you sent me those vids as well. I've been sitting on this project for a while. My bad.

I tried to keep the music pretty basic but upbeat. I didn't want lyrics or anything I would need to "time" the clips to. I figure if a coach doesn't want to listen to it, he prob knows where the volume control is....esp if he hates music that much, its prob on mute already before he's watching any vids. lol

unfortunately, most clips have some raving parent screaming their head off, so I would rather the music.

No worries I wasn't actually upset

 

[skillz]

My son committed last week to Wichita State for track and cross country. It was the last official visit he took and he really likes the coach, teammates, and university. He looked at a few different schools - Division 1 and mostly Division 2 - and to be honest it got to be quite exhausting visiting schools and narrowing down choices since this Fall. Glad it is over and he can focus on what lies ahead. To be honest, I didn't think he would go so far away (13 hour drive from home) but after long conversations about it that's what he wanted to do. It's his life and he's carving his own path so I have to let him do what he feels is best and right for him. Very proud he was able to make this opportunity for himself.

Move in day will be tough one for me - he's my only child.

 

[belljr]

My son committed last week to Wichita State for track and cross country. It was the last official visit he took and he really likes the coach, teammates, and university. He looked at a few different schools - Division 1 and mostly Division 2 - and to be honest it got to be quite exhausting visiting schools and narrowing down choices since this Fall. Glad it is over and he can focus on what lies ahead. To be honest, I didn't think he would go so far away (13 hour drive from home) but after long conversations about it that's what he wanted to do. It's his life and he's carving his own path so I have to let him do what he feels is best and right for him. Very proud he was able to make this opportunity for himself.

Move in day will be tough one for me - he's my only child.

He a junior?

 

[skillz]

My son committed last week to Wichita State for track and cross country. It was the last official visit he took and he really likes the coach, teammates, and university. He looked at a few different schools - Division 1 and mostly Division 2 - and to be honest it got to be quite exhausting visiting schools and narrowing down choices since this Fall. Glad it is over and he can focus on what lies ahead. To be honest, I didn't think he would go so far away (13 hour drive from home) but after long conversations about it that's what he wanted to do. It's his life and he's carving his own path so I have to let him do what he feels is best and right for him. Very proud he was able to make this opportunity for himself.

Move in day will be tough one for me - he's my only child.

He a junior?

Senior. He will be enrolling this Fall.

 

[belljr]

My son committed last week to Wichita State for track and cross country. It was the last official visit he took and he really likes the coach, teammates, and university. He looked at a few different schools - Division 1 and mostly Division 2 - and to be honest it got to be quite exhausting visiting schools and narrowing down choices since this Fall. Glad it is over and he can focus on what lies ahead. To be honest, I didn't think he would go so far away (13 hour drive from home) but after long conversations about it that's what he wanted to do. It's his life and he's carving his own path so I have to let him do what he feels is best and right for him. Very proud he was able to make this opportunity for himself.

Move in day will be tough one for me - he's my only child.

He a junior?

Senior. He will be enrolling this Fall.

I was just curious on the timing - is it common for XC to go this "late" into senior year? Just curious as I went through the process with my daughter for softball. I know each sport has different timings and each school/athlete is unique set of circumstances. I was just curious if he was late/normal/early compared to other Xc athletes. I just find it all very interesting

 

[skillz]

My son committed last week to Wichita State for track and cross country. It was the last official visit he took and he really likes the coach, teammates, and university. He looked at a few different schools - Division 1 and mostly Division 2 - and to be honest it got to be quite exhausting visiting schools and narrowing down choices since this Fall. Glad it is over and he can focus on what lies ahead. To be honest, I didn't think he would go so far away (13 hour drive from home) but after long conversations about it that's what he wanted to do. It's his life and he's carving his own path so I have to let him do what he feels is best and right for him. Very proud he was able to make this opportunity for himself.

Move in day will be tough one for me - he's my only child.

He a junior?

Senior. He will be enrolling this Fall.

I was just curious on the timing - is it common for XC to go this "late" into senior year? Just curious as I went through the process with my daughter for softball. I know each sport has different timings and each school/athlete is unique set of circumstances. I was just curious if he was late/normal/early compared to other Xc athletes. I just find it all very interesting

It depends. Most of the top tier guys make a decision Fall of Senior year during XC season. Colleges are able to start recruiting track and XC (and by that I mean coaches making direct contact with the student athlete) their junior year. Usually the kids will post junior XC and track times and by then the coaches will know if they want to make offers or not. My son had an injury about a year ago and had to miss his junior year of track season which set back his recruiting process because he didn't have the spring track times for coaches to look at. So he got healthy and put up some Fall XC times his senior year along with some indoor track times to show coaches how he's doing. Through all that he got his offer now and was able to sign.

Other kids he knows signed in Fall but, as I said, those were the top tier kids who are going to MSU, MIchigan - schools like that. Other kids have signed at smaller private schools, or Division 2 schools after XC season ended. So a lot depends on type of school and the athlete but kids sign from early Fall through end of senior year. There is more risk obviously waiting longer since scholarships and team slots fill up with other recruits. Technically track and XC athletes have until August 1 to sign. Last year, a friend of my son's waited until after track season of his senior year (June) to sign with Virginia Tech so sometimes people do wait until the end.

I compare it a lot to job hunting. You have teams/employers recruiting you and possibly others and a decision has to be made at some point about whether you want to go to that place, and if you wait too long a team/employer may just move along to another candidate if they are concerned about getting the spot filled.

 

[Chadstroma]

My son committed last week to Wichita State for track and cross country. It was the last official visit he took and he really likes the coach, teammates, and university. He looked at a few different schools - Division 1 and mostly Division 2 - and to be honest it got to be quite exhausting visiting schools and narrowing down choices since this Fall. Glad it is over and he can focus on what lies ahead. To be honest, I didn't think he would go so far away (13 hour drive from home) but after long conversations about it that's what he wanted to do. It's his life and he's carving his own path so I have to let him do what he feels is best and right for him. Very proud he was able to make this opportunity for himself.

Move in day will be tough one for me - he's my only child.

He a junior?

Senior. He will be enrolling this Fall.

I was just curious on the timing - is it common for XC to go this "late" into senior year? Just curious as I went through the process with my daughter for softball. I know each sport has different timings and each school/athlete is unique set of circumstances. I was just curious if he was late/normal/early compared to other Xc athletes. I just find it all very interesting

I guess it is a little different now with the transfer portal but it would be crazy to me for a junior in HS to choose their college. At that age, so much changes week to week let alone a whole year. I can't imagine most juniors in HS being capable of making a solid, good decision that they are comfortable with and stick with as a junior for such a big decision as where to go to college. Also the fact that they have a whole year of being a senior worth of competition to attract more recruiting. I suppose they can decommit but on the other hand, what if their production goes down and the school wants to go elsewhere or they get new coaching and pull the offer etc. It just seems odd to me if there are sports that have it standard for junior commits.

 

[CGRdrJoe]

I know it's D2 and club but my kid is starting D on the Cal State San Marcos Men's Lacrosse team. He transferred from Santa Barbara to San Marcos for school and then decided to try out for the lacrosse team, he hadn't played since high school 3 years ago. He started playing around 7 or 8 years old so the muscle memory has come back quick but the cardio is taking some time. That said he's basically played every minute so far except for when he had a penalty called on him for a cross check and another time after running back-to-back full field clearances. Looking forward to flying back down from the bay area to catch more games.

 

[Chadstroma]

I know it's D2 and club but my kid is starting D on the Cal State San Marcos Men's Lacrosse team. He transferred from Santa Barbara to San Marcos for school and then decided to try out for the lacrosse team, he hadn't played since high school 3 years ago. He started playing around 7 or 8 years old so the muscle memory has come back quick but the cardio is taking some time. That said he's basically played every minute so far except for when he had a penalty called on him for a cross check and another time after running back-to-back full field clearances. Looking forward to flying back down from the bay area to catch more games.

That is impressive to go from not playing for 3 years to playing collegiately! No reason to add the disclaimer on that- it is an achievement and worthy of celebrating the accomplishment!

 

[ex-ghost]

My son committed last week to Wichita State for track and cross country. It was the last official visit he took and he really likes the coach, teammates, and university. He looked at a few different schools - Division 1 and mostly Division 2 - and to be honest it got to be quite exhausting visiting schools and narrowing down choices since this Fall. Glad it is over and he can focus on what lies ahead. To be honest, I didn't think he would go so far away (13 hour drive from home) but after long conversations about it that's what he wanted to do. It's his life and he's carving his own path so I have to let him do what he feels is best and right for him. Very proud he was able to make this opportunity for himself.

Move in day will be tough one for me - he's my only child.

He a junior?

Senior. He will be enrolling this Fall.

I was just curious on the timing - is it common for XC to go this "late" into senior year? Just curious as I went through the process with my daughter for softball. I know each sport has different timings and each school/athlete is unique set of circumstances. I was just curious if he was late/normal/early compared to other Xc athletes. I just find it all very interesting

It depends. Most of the top tier guys make a decision Fall of Senior year during XC season. Colleges are able to start recruiting track and XC (and by that I mean coaches making direct contact with the student athlete) their junior year. Usually the kids will post junior XC and track times and by then the coaches will know if they want to make offers or not. My son had an injury about a year ago and had to miss his junior year of track season which set back his recruiting process because he didn't have the spring track times for coaches to look at. So he got healthy and put up some Fall XC times his senior year along with some indoor track times to show coaches how he's doing. Through all that he got his offer now and was able to sign.

Other kids he knows signed in Fall but, as I said, those were the top tier kids who are going to MSU, MIchigan - schools like that. Other kids have signed at smaller private schools, or Division 2 schools after XC season ended. So a lot depends on type of school and the athlete but kids sign from early Fall through end of senior year. There is more risk obviously waiting longer since scholarships and team slots fill up with other recruits. Technically track and XC athletes have until August 1 to sign. Last year, a friend of my son's waited until after track season of his senior year (June) to sign with Virginia Tech so sometimes people do wait until the end.

I compare it a lot to job hunting. You have teams/employers recruiting you and possibly others and a decision has to be made at some point about whether you want to go to that place, and if you wait too long a team/employer may just move along to another candidate if they are concerned about getting the spot filled.

Out here in Washington the top runners have been signing over the past month. For some reason very few signed in the fall. University of Washington, NAU and Stanford have been the popular places the top runners have signed with. UW is building a crazy program.

 

[acarey50]

I know it's D2 and club but my kid is starting D on the Cal State San Marcos Men's Lacrosse team. He transferred from Santa Barbara to San Marcos for school and then decided to try out for the lacrosse team, he hadn't played since high school 3 years ago. He started playing around 7 or 8 years old so the muscle memory has come back quick but the cardio is taking some time. That said he's basically played every minute so far except for when he had a penalty called on him for a cross check and another time after running back-to-back full field clearances. Looking forward to flying back down from the bay area to catch more games.

That’s awesome - how does he like it at San Marcos? Quite a few of my son’s friends are likely going there. My son got in as well but is leaning towards SDSU, though still waiting on UCSB, UCLA and Cal Poly SLO before making a final decision.

 

[acarey50]

Amazing CIF quarterfinal game last night in Southern Section D1. We won on a buzzer beater tip in to knock out one of the more powerful private schools.

My kid hit the game tying 3 with a minute left. Hit a bunch of clutch shots throughout the game, it was an amazing atmosphere for high school basketball.

Our kids were pissed to start the game as one of their coaches, during the pregame introductions where starters will shake hands with refs and opposing coach, said to him - “Great season so far, too bad it ends tonight”. Classless act by a coach so they got what they deserved. A player wants to talk trash, go for it, but for a coach to be saying that is garbage.

OC Register Article - this is paywalled but should allow the 3 free articles, but in case, article is quoted below (from phone so excuse formatting)

ANAHEIM – It was the play of the game in what might be the boys basketball game of the year.
Made by perhaps the Orange County player of the year.
Canyon sophomore Brandon Benjamin’s putback beat the buzzer and beat JSerra 58-56 in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinal playoff game Tuesday at Canyon High.

Canyon (25-5) will play at Eitwanda (25-4) in the semifinals Friday night.
By reaching the semifinals Canyon qualified for the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs that follow the CIF-SS playoffs.
The final 25 seconds went like this …

With the game at 56-56, JSerra’s Everett Bryson missed on a drive. Canyon’s Connor Leonard got the rebound and dribbled quickly to the frontcourt. Benjamin, a 6-5 sophomore who plays like a 6-9 senior, was anchored at the baseline three feet outside of the key to the right of the key with two JSerra players on him, unsuccessful in their attempt to move Benjamin out of the area that is his basketball bed.
“I was just thinking ‘Give me the damn ball,’” Benjamin said.
A couple of passes later the ball was tossed to Benjamin there. Benjamin did his usual drop-step, turn-and-knife-through-the-double-team move to put up a close bank shot that was no good, the ball caromed off of the rim and Benjamin sprung quickly to get his right hand on the ball and bank it in as the buzzer sounded.
He finished the game with 32 points and eight rebounds. Benjamin made two 3-pointers on five attempts. Going into Tuesday’s game Benjamin had attempted 26 3-pointers and had made six of them.
Canyon senior guard Johnathan Carey scored 17 points including 5 3-pointers, all of which were momentum shifters.
Canyon senior forward Tyler Toward scored nine points. He made two 3s in the fourth quarter. He was 1 for 5 on 3s going into Tuesday’s game.
JSerra 6-9 junior forward Sebastian Rancik led the Lions (22-9) with 15 points and eight rebounds with three blocked shots. Bryson and Aidan Fowler scored 12 points each, with Bryson scoring eight clutch points in the fourth quarter.
JSerra is No. 2 in the Orange County Top 25. Canyon is No. 5.
Benjamin explained how Canyon’s success comes from more than just the team’s clutch shooting and its trademark hustle and hard-nosed defense.
“We grew up with each other,” Benjamin said. “It’s a special bond. Friends for life. Basketball brings us together and it means everything,”

Benjamin on Friday scored 27 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists in Canyon’s 73-64 Division 1 first-round win over Crossroads.
“And then he does this?” said Canyon coach Nate Harrison. “If he’s not the best basketball player in Orange County, I don’t know who is.”

JSerra looked like it might run away with the game early, taking a 14-5 lead. Carey then made his first 3-pointer to give Canyon a needed lift. JSerra took a 16-12 lead into the second quarter and had a 28-25 advantage at halftime.
The Lions had an eight-point lead in the third quarter. Benjamin converted a three-point play and Carey made another 3 to keep Canyon close. JSerra’s lead was 40-36 going into the fourth quarter.
Canyon took its first lead of the game 43-42 on a Carey 3 early in the fourth quarter.

Howard made his two fourth-quarter 3s and a lunging, hangtime scoop shot by Benjamin countered the baskets Bryson and Rancik produced in the final eight minutes. A 7-foot runner in the lane by Rancik got JSerra a 56-53 lead.

Carey tied it 56-56 with a 3 at 1:06.
What followed was Benjamin’s will-power buzzer-beater to get Canyon the win and bring a huge celebration of players and Canyon’s large and loud student section.
“Credit to JSerra,” Harrison said amid the bedlam. “Rancik took over. He’s a great player but we had the best player on the floor tonight.”

 

[CGRdrJoe]

I know it's D2 and club but my kid is starting D on the Cal State San Marcos Men's Lacrosse team. He transferred from Santa Barbara to San Marcos for school and then decided to try out for the lacrosse team, he hadn't played since high school 3 years ago. He started playing around 7 or 8 years old so the muscle memory has come back quick but the cardio is taking some time. That said he's basically played every minute so far except for when he had a penalty called on him for a cross check and another time after running back-to-back full field clearances. Looking forward to flying back down from the bay area to catch more games.

That’s awesome - how does he like it at San Marcos? Quite a few of my son’s friends are likely going there. My son got in as well but is leaning towards SDSU, though still waiting on UCSB, UCLA and Cal Poly SLO before making a final decision.

He likes San Marcos, lives closer to school and it's quieter than Santa Barbara. Isla Vista was a bit too much for him and he realized he wouldn't graduate college if he stayed as he couldn't say no to going to parties. I went to SDSU and San Marcos is definitely quieter and cheaper so as a parent I'm definitely glad he is there now.

 

[belljr]

My son committed last week to Wichita State for track and cross country. It was the last official visit he took and he really likes the coach, teammates, and university. He looked at a few different schools - Division 1 and mostly Division 2 - and to be honest it got to be quite exhausting visiting schools and narrowing down choices since this Fall. Glad it is over and he can focus on what lies ahead. To be honest, I didn't think he would go so far away (13 hour drive from home) but after long conversations about it that's what he wanted to do. It's his life and he's carving his own path so I have to let him do what he feels is best and right for him. Very proud he was able to make this opportunity for himself.

Move in day will be tough one for me - he's my only child.

He a junior?

Senior. He will be enrolling this Fall.

I was just curious on the timing - is it common for XC to go this "late" into senior year? Just curious as I went through the process with my daughter for softball. I know each sport has different timings and each school/athlete is unique set of circumstances. I was just curious if he was late/normal/early compared to other Xc athletes. I just find it all very interesting

I guess it is a little different now with the transfer portal but it would be crazy to me for a junior in HS to choose their college. At that age, so much changes week to week let alone a whole year. I can't imagine most juniors in HS being capable of making a solid, good decision that they are comfortable with and stick with as a junior for such a big decision as where to go to college. Also the fact that they have a whole year of being a senior worth of competition to attract more recruiting. I suppose they can decommit but on the other hand, what if their production goes down and the school wants to go elsewhere or they get new coaching and pull the offer etc. It just seems odd to me if there are sports that have it standard for junior commits.

So softball coaches timeline is similar to skiplz mentioned it's Sept 1 or Oct 1 junior year. Most studs especially pitchers will verbal the fall of their junior year. Some legacies will verbal then also. Obviously some others will verbal if they are offered to their one school. Then for the rest, it starts sporadically winter/spring junior year, then you will have a big chunk in the summer and fall senior year. The verbals will sign their NLI for D1/d2 November of senior year.

You will then have a lot of D2/d3 fall of senior year that goes into winter. Usually by March there will be another smaller round mostly d3 with some D2 and even some d1s to make spring senior signing day. After that it's a handful of kids making it to end of school year

That's been my experience, obviously there's exceptions etc

 

[Andrew74]

My 11yo son has wholly taken to football. He told me last night, “I want my job to be either a football player or small animal vet. They both pay well.” I was like, “sounds good.”

 

[Andrew74]

I wanted to see if anyone has some advice. My son just finished a 6 week class with the local HS football coach where they learned fundamentals of weight lifting. It was very light weights, if not plastic bars and the like. My son is interested in lifting some, but I’m not sure how to approach it with an 11yo who hasn’t hit puberty yet. Anyone with some rec’d reading?

 

[El Floppo]

grew up in CA... I've never heard of San Marcos. Is that new?

 

[belljr]

grew up in CA... I've never heard of San Marcos. Is that new?

San Dimas kicks their *** because San DImas football rules@!@

 

[Jaysus]

My son committed last week to Wichita State for track and cross country. It was the last official visit he took and he really likes the coach, teammates, and university. He looked at a few different schools - Division 1 and mostly Division 2 - and to be honest it got to be quite exhausting visiting schools and narrowing down choices since this Fall. Glad it is over and he can focus on what lies ahead. To be honest, I didn't think he would go so far away (13 hour drive from home) but after long conversations about it that's what he wanted to do. It's his life and he's carving his own path so I have to let him do what he feels is best and right for him. Very proud he was able to make this opportunity for himself.

Move in day will be tough one for me - he's my only child.

He a junior?

Senior. He will be enrolling this Fall.

I was just curious on the timing - is it common for XC to go this "late" into senior year? Just curious as I went through the process with my daughter for softball. I know each sport has different timings and each school/athlete is unique set of circumstances. I was just curious if he was late/normal/early compared to other Xc athletes. I just find it all very interesting

I guess it is a little different now with the transfer portal but it would be crazy to me for a junior in HS to choose their college. At that age, so much changes week to week let alone a whole year. I can't imagine most juniors in HS being capable of making a solid, good decision that they are comfortable with and stick with as a junior for such a big decision as where to go to college. Also the fact that they have a whole year of being a senior worth of competition to attract more recruiting. I suppose they can decommit but on the other hand, what if their production goes down and the school wants to go elsewhere or they get new coaching and pull the offer etc. It just seems odd to me if there are sports that have it standard for junior commits.

So softball coaches timeline is similar to skiplz mentioned it's Sept 1 or Oct 1 junior year. Most studs especially pitchers will verbal the fall of their junior year. Some legacies will verbal then also. Obviously some others will verbal if they are offered to their one school. Then for the rest, it starts sporadically winter/spring junior year, then you will have a big chunk in the summer and fall senior year. The verbals will sign their NLI for D1/d2 November of senior year.

You will then have a lot of D2/d3 fall of senior year that goes into winter. Usually by March there will be another smaller round mostly d3 with some D2 and even some d1s to make spring senior signing day. After that it's a handful of kids making it to end of school year

That's been my experience, obviously there's exceptions etc

There is a Senior transfer at my daughter's school who is signing for (what I believe is) a USCAA school today. I do not know anything about the girl, but she is coming from a high school with one of the best programs in the area. I feel kinda bad for her joining my daughter's team

 

[Chadstroma]

I wanted to see if anyone has some advice. My son just finished a 6 week class with the local HS football coach where they learned fundamentals of weight lifting. It was very light weights, if not plastic bars and the like. My son is interested in lifting some, but I’m not sure how to approach it with an 11yo who hasn’t hit puberty yet. Anyone with some rec’d reading?

I am in NO way an expert but I have already told my sons (9 and 7) that he won't be doing heavy weight lifting until they get much older. From my previous reading it seems 13 is usually the youngest age to do more heavy weight lifting and before that it should be focused on strength training which is what the HS coach is (rightfully from what I have learned) focusing on. High rep/low weight. I don't have any recommendations on what to read. I didn't read any book or anything when I looked at this but mostly sought out good (reputationally) medical based articles on the internet and then after that looked up some stuff from personal trainer types.

 

[Chadstroma]

My 11yo son has wholly taken to football. He told me last night, “I want my job to be either a football player or small animal vet. They both pay well.” I was like, “sounds good.”

My youngest (7) son wants to be a "football doctor". My FIL who is a retired doctor has said that he will pay for all the schooling for any of the grandchildren that want to be a doctor... so heck buddy... go for it! I mean, if you can go through all that schooling without any debt and be a doctor of any sort... you are set for life. I am fully encouraging and backing that. His older brother wants to play in the NFL.

He also previously told me "Dad, I want to coach". Seriously.... what 7 year old says that want to coach even before playing. And it isn't like he is unathletic or anything. I made him an "assitant coach" for his brother's basketball team I am coaching and what they has really meant was that he would help me run some drills or take part of some drills.... as a 1st grader, he impressively was able to keep up with the 4th graders. We run a "3 loose" drill where there are three lines. I drop, bounce, throw, etc the ball and hit the whistle- they scramble for the ball, whoever gets it is on offense and the other two are on defense (they offense can pass to the me to help get open). I put him, the other coaches 2rd grader and one of my kids that is not athletic in.... my intention was more about letting the 4th grader get a win as he doesn't against the other 4th graders... my son beat him to the ball and scored.... the 4th grader came to me right after sad and said "I even get beat by a 1st and 2nd grader... totally backfired on me. Another fun point was that at the end of each practice, they all get a chance to shoot a free throw. If they make it, then no running. If it is missed then everyone does a full court sprint and we go through the whole team. On of the earlier practices, went through the team and for the last one I had my son come up. I allowed him to be closer to the hoop... he shot and made it and the 4th graders rushed him and cheered him... starting to pick him up to put him on their shoulders which I stopped because they could have ended badly but my son ate it up. Anyways... my kid is funny one. I signed him up for this 6-7 yr old league, total developmental thing, and he said to me before my other sons basketball game "Daddy, I am not ready yet" because I think he expects the competition to be at a 4th grader level.

 

[The Z Machine]

"Daddy, I am not ready yet"

That sort of thing melts my heart.

 

[Chadstroma]

Just got a call from the swim club. They want him for the regional team for relay. Both 10U 200 Medley Relay and 200 Free Relay. They want the same team as was at conference so they need to get the 4th swimmer to give the thumbs up as the other two are already at regionals for individual events. If the 4th swimmer can't go then they will not field a relay team at regionals.

His reaction was kind of like... meh... his mother and I were trying to get him to understand how awesome it is. Out of like 100 or so swimmers in the club only about 40ish make conference and only about 10ish make regionals. He is making regionals in 10U in his first season as a 9 year old.

 

[Gally]

Four games into the season and my son's team is 4-0. Big win last Friday against the cross town rivals. My son got the start on the mound and went the distance with 2 ER (4 total), 9 hits, 1 BB, and 7 K's on 100 pitches (a bit much but his arm is in good shape and his mechanics didn't suffer). He also went 1-3 at the plate with a sac bunt.

He is now 6-13 on the year with 2 doubles. On the mound he has two complete game wins with only 2 ER in 14 IP. 10 K's, 1 BB, and 14 hits.

Next game next Saturday.

 

[The Z Machine]

We were out of town this weekend along with superstar kid (who was in FL with his family). My son's team lost 9-5 in their playoff game and will play for 3rd next weekend. He wasn't too bummed about it. He knows that his team was the best during the regular season and that he and the superstar kid were the reason his team was so good.

 

[Chadstroma]

We were out of town this weekend asking with superstar kid. My son's team lost 9-5 in their playoff game and will play for 3rd next weekend. He wasn't too bummed about it. He knows that his team was the best during the regular season and that he and the superstar kid were the reason his team was so good.

That first part has me confused.

 

[Jaysus]

We were out of town this weekend asking with superstar kid. My son's team lost 9-5 in their playoff game and will play for 3rd next weekend. He wasn't too bummed about it. He knows that his team was the best during the regular season and that he and the superstar kid were the reason his team was so good.

That first part has me confused.

my guess is that "asking" appears to be an auto-correct typo... maybe for "skiing"?

 

[Chadstroma]

We were out of town this weekend asking with superstar kid. My son's team lost 9-5 in their playoff game and will play for 3rd next weekend. He wasn't too bummed about it. He knows that his team was the best during the regular season and that he and the superstar kid were the reason his team was so good.

That first part has me confused.

my guess is that "asking" appears to be an auto-correct typo... maybe for "skiing"?

That makes sense.

@The Z Machine Wait... you took your son and the superstar kid... apparently the two best kids on the team.... out of town during playoffs? Man, the coach must HATE you.

 

[The Z Machine]

We were out of town this weekend asking with superstar kid. My son's team lost 9-5 in their playoff game and will play for 3rd next weekend. He wasn't too bummed about it. He knows that his team was the best during the regular season and that he and the superstar kid were the reason his team was so good.

That first part has me confused.

my guess is that "asking" appears to be an auto-correct typo... maybe for "skiing"?

That makes sense.

@The Z Machine Wait... you took your son and the superstar kid... apparently the two best kids on the team.... out of town during playoffs? Man, the coach must HATE you.

Both kids were out of town (city schools had a 4 day weekend last weekend) on separate trips. It was stupid for the league to schedule the first round of playoffs on a date when a good 1/3rd of the kids weren't going to show up.

I've been looking at clubs again, but that's for the youth soccer thread.

 

[Chadstroma]

We were out of town this weekend asking with superstar kid. My son's team lost 9-5 in their playoff game and will play for 3rd next weekend. He wasn't too bummed about it. He knows that his team was the best during the regular season and that he and the superstar kid were the reason his team was so good.

That first part has me confused.

my guess is that "asking" appears to be an auto-correct typo... maybe for "skiing"?

That makes sense.

@The Z Machine Wait... you took your son and the superstar kid... apparently the two best kids on the team.... out of town during playoffs? Man, the coach must HATE you.

Both kids were out of town (city schools had a 4 day weekend last weekend) on separate trips. It was stupid for the league to schedule the first round of playoffs on a date when a good 1/3rd of the kids weren't going to show up.

I've been looking at clubs again, but that's for the youth soccer thread.

I read that as you took the other kid on your trip- lol.

Yea, same here. Our school had a 4 day weekend. Had 6 kids for our game Sat that ended in a tie on a team we should have easily defeated. One of our other teams for our school (4th grade) had to call up two 3rd graders to play because they were missing so many.

Luckily playoffs start Friday.

 

[Chadstroma]

My daughters volleyball team won the championship game for their league. A good group of girls. I think half of them had not played volleyball at all before the season and they started out rough. They made huge improvements in skill level but their big part of their team was being a team.

Playoffs were over the weekend. They were in two leagues, the first league they were the 6th seed and the other the 1st seed. The league where they were the 6th seed they played first and were just flat. Looked horrible. They got stomped.

There was a couple of hours between that game and the next game. The first set, they again just looked like they kept the same from the last game and lost badly but then the second set they woke up and dominated and then they took the 3rd set easily as well. Their second game was competitive but they were in command the whole game. Came back for the Championship game on Sunday and they dominated with a quick two set win.

My son swam in regionals this weekend as well for the 200 Free Relay and 200 Medley Relay. Their team ended in last in both but it is still pretty impressive to me that he made regionals even on a relay team in his second season. He was close to making regionals for 50 Free and 50 Fly and expect him to make it this upcoming season. I believe that if he didn't miss so much practice time in swim due to football and then basketball, he would have easily shed the times and made those this season but that is life as a multi sport athlete.

 

[Nigel]

My son is 6 weeks into his college lax career, up at 5:15am most days to be dressed and ready for fall-ball practice by 6. They really do own him, huge commitment, but he loves it. He played middie (two-way/short stick) his entire youth/HS career, never touched a long pole. But there it was waiting for him in his locker the third day of practice. Stick is taller than he is. Coach told him "we've got big plans for you Nigel Jr". No complaints, embraced the challenge, and by all accounts has been tearing it up. Whatever the path is to getting on the field asap when the real season starts in Feb, he is happy to take. He's got scrimmages against two teams this weekend that I'll be going to - will be telling as far as how "in the mix" he is for PT in this new role. Can't wait!

Three games into the regular season and it's going better that we could have hoped from a playing time standpoint. He's one of four poles seeing regular time at close D (does not start, but first guy rotating in). When not playing close D he's getting some shifts at LSM and is a regular on the wing for faceoffs. He's a scrappy little bugger, causing turnovers, scooping groundballs , pushing transition. If you ask him the highlight thus far was scoring his first NCAA goal in a game played in heavy snow this past Sunday. For me, it's how evident it is from conversations with other parents at games how much he's impressed everyone in the program early on. "What # is your son?...oh, the kid who switched from middie to long-pole? Joey told me all about him." It's been a similar conversation the first time I've met pretty much every other dad. And watching him interact socially with teammates and coaches at post-games, it's obvious how how well-liked and respected he is. It's been an absolute blast to observe. Team had a tough opening loss but a couple of good wins since and is really starting to jell, hoping the good times continue to roll on all fronts.

 

[Drunken knight]

My son is 6 weeks into his college lax career, up at 5:15am most days to be dressed and ready for fall-ball practice by 6. They really do own him, huge commitment, but he loves it. He played middie (two-way/short stick) his entire youth/HS career, never touched a long pole. But there it was waiting for him in his locker the third day of practice. Stick is taller than he is. Coach told him "we've got big plans for you Nigel Jr". No complaints, embraced the challenge, and by all accounts has been tearing it up. Whatever the path is to getting on the field asap when the real season starts in Feb, he is happy to take. He's got scrimmages against two teams this weekend that I'll be going to - will be telling as far as how "in the mix" he is for PT in this new role. Can't wait!

Three games into the regular season and it's going better that we could have hoped from a playing time standpoint. He's one of four poles seeing regular time at close D (does not start, but first guy rotating in). When not playing close D he's getting some shifts at LSM and is a regular on the wing for faceoffs. He's a scrappy little bugger, causing turnovers, scooping groundballs , pushing transition. If you ask him the highlight thus far was scoring his first NCAA goal in a game played in heavy snow this past Sunday. For me, it's how evident it is from conversations with other parents at games how much he's impressed everyone in the program early on. "What # is your son?...oh, the kid who switched from middie to long-pole? Joey told me all about him." It's been a similar conversation the first time I've met pretty much every other dad. And watching him interact socially with teammates and coaches at post-games, it's obvious how how well-liked and respected he is. It's been an absolute blast to observe. Team had a tough opening loss but a couple of good wins since and is really starting to jell, hoping the good times continue to roll on all fronts.

Remind me which school he is attending



Daughter is about to start her HS season this week (@ Berkeley). Last year she transitioned from attack to D. This will be her first true year as D and learned a lot this summer/fall. Will likely play M/D this year. Love seeing her extend plays in transition. We have known the new coach since club and he know how to use her offensive skills. Can't wait

 

[Chadstroma]

My son is 6 weeks into his college lax career, up at 5:15am most days to be dressed and ready for fall-ball practice by 6. They really do own him, huge commitment, but he loves it. He played middie (two-way/short stick) his entire youth/HS career, never touched a long pole. But there it was waiting for him in his locker the third day of practice. Stick is taller than he is. Coach told him "we've got big plans for you Nigel Jr". No complaints, embraced the challenge, and by all accounts has been tearing it up. Whatever the path is to getting on the field asap when the real season starts in Feb, he is happy to take. He's got scrimmages against two teams this weekend that I'll be going to - will be telling as far as how "in the mix" he is for PT in this new role. Can't wait!

Three games into the regular season and it's going better that we could have hoped from a playing time standpoint. He's one of four poles seeing regular time at close D (does not start, but first guy rotating in). When not playing close D he's getting some shifts at LSM and is a regular on the wing for faceoffs. He's a scrappy little bugger, causing turnovers, scooping groundballs , pushing transition. If you ask him the highlight thus far was scoring his first NCAA goal in a game played in heavy snow this past Sunday. For me, it's how evident it is from conversations with other parents at games how much he's impressed everyone in the program early on. "What # is your son?...oh, the kid who switched from middie to long-pole? Joey told me all about him." It's been a similar conversation the first time I've met pretty much every other dad. And watching him interact socially with teammates and coaches at post-games, it's obvious how how well-liked and respected he is. It's been an absolute blast to observe. Team had a tough opening loss but a couple of good wins since and is really starting to jell, hoping the good times continue to roll on all fronts.

What does middle to long poll mean?

 

[Drunken knight]

My son is 6 weeks into his college lax career, up at 5:15am most days to be dressed and ready for fall-ball practice by 6. They really do own him, huge commitment, but he loves it. He played middie (two-way/short stick) his entire youth/HS career, never touched a long pole. But there it was waiting for him in his locker the third day of practice. Stick is taller than he is. Coach told him "we've got big plans for you Nigel Jr". No complaints, embraced the challenge, and by all accounts has been tearing it up. Whatever the path is to getting on the field asap when the real season starts in Feb, he is happy to take. He's got scrimmages against two teams this weekend that I'll be going to - will be telling as far as how "in the mix" he is for PT in this new role. Can't wait!

Three games into the regular season and it's going better that we could have hoped from a playing time standpoint. He's one of four poles seeing regular time at close D (does not start, but first guy rotating in). When not playing close D he's getting some shifts at LSM and is a regular on the wing for faceoffs. He's a scrappy little bugger, causing turnovers, scooping groundballs , pushing transition. If you ask him the highlight thus far was scoring his first NCAA goal in a game played in heavy snow this past Sunday. For me, it's how evident it is from conversations with other parents at games how much he's impressed everyone in the program early on. "What # is your son?...oh, the kid who switched from middie to long-pole? Joey told me all about him." It's been a similar conversation the first time I've met pretty much every other dad. And watching him interact socially with teammates and coaches at post-games, it's obvious how how well-liked and respected he is. It's been an absolute blast to observe. Team had a tough opening loss but a couple of good wins since and is really starting to jell, hoping the good times continue to roll on all fronts.

What does middle to long poll mean?

Defensemen use longer sticks for a defensive advantage.

A midfielder plays offense and defense. The coach will make situational substitutions to have more long poles on the field (long stick midfielders) to strengthen the defense

 

[Jaysus]

My son is 6 weeks into his college lax career, up at 5:15am most days to be dressed and ready for fall-ball practice by 6. They really do own him, huge commitment, but he loves it. He played middie (two-way/short stick) his entire youth/HS career, never touched a long pole. But there it was waiting for him in his locker the third day of practice. Stick is taller than he is. Coach told him "we've got big plans for you Nigel Jr". No complaints, embraced the challenge, and by all accounts has been tearing it up. Whatever the path is to getting on the field asap when the real season starts in Feb, he is happy to take. He's got scrimmages against two teams this weekend that I'll be going to - will be telling as far as how "in the mix" he is for PT in this new role. Can't wait!

Three games into the regular season and it's going better that we could have hoped from a playing time standpoint. He's one of four poles seeing regular time at close D (does not start, but first guy rotating in). When not playing close D he's getting some shifts at LSM and is a regular on the wing for faceoffs. He's a scrappy little bugger, causing turnovers, scooping groundballs , pushing transition. If you ask him the highlight thus far was scoring his first NCAA goal in a game played in heavy snow this past Sunday. For me, it's how evident it is from conversations with other parents at games how much he's impressed everyone in the program early on. "What # is your son?...oh, the kid who switched from middie to long-pole? Joey told me all about him." It's been a similar conversation the first time I've met pretty much every other dad. And watching him interact socially with teammates and coaches at post-games, it's obvious how how well-liked and respected he is. It's been an absolute blast to observe. Team had a tough opening loss but a couple of good wins since and is really starting to jell, hoping the good times continue to roll on all fronts.

what has it been like as a parent watching games? Are you able to attend them all in person, or do you have to watch them online somehow?

 

[CGRdrJoe]

My son is 6 weeks into his college lax career, up at 5:15am most days to be dressed and ready for fall-ball practice by 6. They really do own him, huge commitment, but he loves it. He played middie (two-way/short stick) his entire youth/HS career, never touched a long pole. But there it was waiting for him in his locker the third day of practice. Stick is taller than he is. Coach told him "we've got big plans for you Nigel Jr". No complaints, embraced the challenge, and by all accounts has been tearing it up. Whatever the path is to getting on the field asap when the real season starts in Feb, he is happy to take. He's got scrimmages against two teams this weekend that I'll be going to - will be telling as far as how "in the mix" he is for PT in this new role. Can't wait!

Three games into the regular season and it's going better that we could have hoped from a playing time standpoint. He's one of four poles seeing regular time at close D (does not start, but first guy rotating in). When not playing close D he's getting some shifts at LSM and is a regular on the wing for faceoffs. He's a scrappy little bugger, causing turnovers, scooping groundballs , pushing transition. If you ask him the highlight thus far was scoring his first NCAA goal in a game played in heavy snow this past Sunday. For me, it's how evident it is from conversations with other parents at games how much he's impressed everyone in the program early on. "What # is your son?...oh, the kid who switched from middie to long-pole? Joey told me all about him." It's been a similar conversation the first time I've met pretty much every other dad. And watching him interact socially with teammates and coaches at post-games, it's obvious how how well-liked and respected he is. It's been an absolute blast to observe. Team had a tough opening loss but a couple of good wins since and is really starting to jell, hoping the good times continue to roll on all fronts.

what has it been like as a parent watching games? Are you able to attend them all in person, or do you have to watch them online somehow?

OMG JAYSUS> HI

I can't speak for Nigel but I've been lucky enough to watch my son's first 2 games online (youtube) and I hope they have all the games on there. I'm flying down from NorCal to SoCal tomorrow to watch his Friday/Saturday games in person. I'm not sure I'll find another chance to fly down and watch him again live until their D2 conference championships at the end of April. Ironically when they played at UCLA the feed UCLA put out was constantly dropping connection but his home game at CSUSM was perfect so hopefully that's the case for the rest of the year. College lax even at D2 is so much more intense with the fans as you now have drunken college friends out there talking so much **** but it's more fun than the over-bearing parents at high school games.

 

[Chadstroma]

My daughters volleyball team won the championship game for their league. A good group of girls. I think half of them had not played volleyball at all before the season and they started out rough. They made huge improvements in skill level but their big part of their team was being a team.

Playoffs were over the weekend. They were in two leagues, the first league they were the 6th seed and the other the 1st seed. The league where they were the 6th seed they played first and were just flat. Looked horrible. They got stomped.

There was a couple of hours between that game and the next game. The first set, they again just looked like they kept the same from the last game and lost badly but then the second set they woke up and dominated and then they took the 3rd set easily as well. Their second game was competitive but they were in command the whole game. Came back for the Championship game on Sunday and they dominated with a quick two set win.

My son swam in regionals this weekend as well for the 200 Free Relay and 200 Medley Relay. Their team ended in last in both but it is still pretty impressive to me that he made regionals even on a relay team in his second season. He was close to making regionals for 50 Free and 50 Fly and expect him to make it this upcoming season. I believe that if he didn't miss so much practice time in swim due to football and then basketball, he would have easily shed the times and made those this season but that is life as a multi sport athlete.

We got notified today that the Mayor will be giving the girls an award from the city. My daughter didn't believe it when I told her I had to show her the email before she would believe me and finally replied "What? That is so weird."

 

[Nigel]

My son is 6 weeks into his college lax career, up at 5:15am most days to be dressed and ready for fall-ball practice by 6. They really do own him, huge commitment, but he loves it. He played middie (two-way/short stick) his entire youth/HS career, never touched a long pole. But there it was waiting for him in his locker the third day of practice. Stick is taller than he is. Coach told him "we've got big plans for you Nigel Jr". No complaints, embraced the challenge, and by all accounts has been tearing it up. Whatever the path is to getting on the field asap when the real season starts in Feb, he is happy to take. He's got scrimmages against two teams this weekend that I'll be going to - will be telling as far as how "in the mix" he is for PT in this new role. Can't wait!

Three games into the regular season and it's going better that we could have hoped from a playing time standpoint. He's one of four poles seeing regular time at close D (does not start, but first guy rotating in). When not playing close D he's getting some shifts at LSM and is a regular on the wing for faceoffs. He's a scrappy little bugger, causing turnovers, scooping groundballs , pushing transition. If you ask him the highlight thus far was scoring his first NCAA goal in a game played in heavy snow this past Sunday. For me, it's how evident it is from conversations with other parents at games how much he's impressed everyone in the program early on. "What # is your son?...oh, the kid who switched from middie to long-pole? Joey told me all about him." It's been a similar conversation the first time I've met pretty much every other dad. And watching him interact socially with teammates and coaches at post-games, it's obvious how how well-liked and respected he is. It's been an absolute blast to observe. Team had a tough opening loss but a couple of good wins since and is really starting to jell, hoping the good times continue to roll on all fronts.

what has it been like as a parent watching games? Are you able to attend them all in person, or do you have to watch them online somehow?

I've been to all three and I hope to attend them all but a couple of mid-week away games will be tough. Most are available on ESPN+, a few on other league-affiliated networks. The games are definitely more intense that HS or club, more cutthroat for sure. As the parent of a freshman you feel fortunate if he is getting playing time, but also sweat every mistake he might make as you know the leash is short. Rosters are 50+, while in a tight game less than half of the boys get on the field. Coaches jobs are literally on the line so you know playing time is earned. No more daddy-coaches.

 

[PIK95]

My son scored 5 goals on Sat after only scoring 3 the week before (against the second best team in the league). The superstar kid I talked about hit a 25-30 yard free kick into the upper 90. Just too easy for that guy. I'll put the vid on discord.

I did sign my son up for Spring baseball after getting talked into it by his former soccer coach. It'll be a challenge for him as he's never really played before. He does need work on his throwing motion and to learn how to catch a baseball properly. He's not so stoked about it.

We also went to see a futsal game that his buddy (2 years younger) was playing in for a club. I wanted to get a feel for what those events are like. Ran into the parents of a kid in his indoor team that was raving about the club that kid plays for. The club practices 2x / week from 7:00 PM, which seems really late to me. He wouldn't get home until 9:00 PM and we have to leave by 7:00 AM to get him to school. That doesn't seem like enough sleep to me.

What's the futsal club? I forget where you are.

My son is going to be trying out for futsal national team in like ten days. The high school coach destroyed his motivation to play sports anymore, so he's not in TOP fitness. I have been slowly putting him back together mentally, and he should make the pool. They name the team in the summer after a final tryout. He is 4/4 on getting into colleges, so he is feeling good about that. He is doing some college camps after getting emails from coaches which is great. Should be a busy spring for us. I hope his confidence holds. Four months out and I am still furious over the HS situation. Grr

 

[PIK95]

M

T

What does middle to long poll mean?

The coach will make situational substitutions to have more long poles on the field.

That was always my role.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Snotbubbles]

My daughter just got cleared by the ortho doctor to return to softball activities.