| SOFTBALL TIPS |
|
|
|
| SITE STUFF |
|
|
|
|
ARCHIVES
|
| • |
June 26, 2005 |
| • |
July 03, 2005 |
| • |
July 10, 2005 |
| • |
July 17, 2005 |
| • |
July 24, 2005 |
| • |
July 31, 2005 |
| • |
August 07, 2005 |
| • |
August 14, 2005 |
| • |
August 21, 2005 |
| • |
August 28, 2005 |
| • |
September 11, 2005 |
| • |
October 02, 2005 |
| • |
October 09, 2005 |
| • |
October 23, 2005 |
| • |
October 30, 2005 |
| • |
November 06, 2005 |
| • |
November 13, 2005 |
| • |
December 04, 2005 |
| • |
December 18, 2005 |
| • |
December 25, 2005 |
| • |
January 08, 2006 |
| • |
January 15, 2006 |
| • |
January 29, 2006 |
| • |
February 05, 2006 |
| • |
February 12, 2006 |
| • |
February 19, 2006 |
| • |
February 26, 2006 |
| • |
March 05, 2006 |
| • |
March 12, 2006 |
| • |
March 19, 2006 |
| • |
March 26, 2006 |
| • |
April 02, 2006 |
| • |
April 09, 2006 |
| • |
April 16, 2006 |
| • |
April 23, 2006 |
| • |
April 30, 2006 |
| • |
May 07, 2006 |
| • |
May 14, 2006 |
| • |
May 21, 2006 |
| • |
May 28, 2006 |
| • |
June 04, 2006 |
| • |
June 11, 2006 |
| • |
June 18, 2006 |
| • |
June 25, 2006 |
| • |
July 09, 2006 |
| • |
July 16, 2006 |
| • |
July 23, 2006 |
| • |
July 30, 2006 |
| • |
August 13, 2006 |
| • |
August 20, 2006 |
| • |
September 03, 2006 |
| • |
September 10, 2006 |
| • |
September 17, 2006 |
| • |
September 24, 2006 |
| • |
October 01, 2006 |
| • |
October 08, 2006 |
| • |
October 15, 2006 |
| • |
October 22, 2006 |
| • |
November 12, 2006 |
| • |
November 26, 2006 |
| • |
December 31, 2006 |
| • |
January 14, 2007 |
| • |
January 21, 2007 |
| • |
January 28, 2007 |
| • |
February 04, 2007 |
| • |
February 11, 2007 |
| • |
February 18, 2007 |
| • |
February 25, 2007 |
| • |
March 04, 2007 |
| • |
March 11, 2007 |
| • |
March 18, 2007 |
| • |
April 01, 2007 |
| • |
April 08, 2007 |
| • |
April 15, 2007 |
| • |
April 22, 2007 |
| • |
April 29, 2007 |
| • |
May 06, 2007 |
| • |
May 13, 2007 |
| • |
May 20, 2007 |
| • |
May 27, 2007 |
| • |
June 03, 2007 |
| • |
June 10, 2007 |
| • |
June 17, 2007 |
| • |
June 24, 2007 |
| • |
July 01, 2007 |
| • |
July 22, 2007 |
| • |
July 29, 2007 |
| • |
August 12, 2007 |
| • |
August 19, 2007 |
| • |
September 02, 2007 |
| • |
September 16, 2007 |
| • |
September 30, 2007 |
| • |
October 07, 2007 |
| • |
October 14, 2007 |
| • |
October 21, 2007 |
| • |
November 04, 2007 |
| • |
November 18, 2007 |
| • |
November 25, 2007 |
| • |
December 02, 2007 |
| • |
December 09, 2007 |
| • |
December 16, 2007 |
| • |
January 13, 2008 |
| • |
February 17, 2008 |
| • |
February 24, 2008 |
| • |
March 02, 2008 |
| • |
March 09, 2008 |
| • |
March 30, 2008 |
| • |
April 06, 2008 |
| • |
April 13, 2008 |
| • |
April 20, 2008 |
| • |
April 27, 2008 |
| • |
May 04, 2008 |
| • |
May 11, 2008 |
| • |
May 18, 2008 |
| • |
May 25, 2008 |
| • |
June 01, 2008 |
| • |
June 15, 2008 |
| • |
June 22, 2008 |
| • |
June 29, 2008 |
| • |
July 06, 2008 |
| • |
July 13, 2008 |
| • |
July 20, 2008 |
| • |
August 03, 2008 |
| • |
August 10, 2008 |
| • |
August 17, 2008 |
| • |
August 24, 2008 |
| • |
August 31, 2008 |
| • |
September 07, 2008 |
| • |
September 14, 2008 |
| • |
September 21, 2008 |
| • |
September 28, 2008 |
| • |
October 05, 2008 |
| • |
October 12, 2008 |
| • |
October 19, 2008 |
| • |
October 26, 2008 |
| • |
November 02, 2008 |
| • |
November 09, 2008 |
| • |
November 16, 2008 |
| • |
November 30, 2008 |
| • |
December 07, 2008 |
| • |
December 21, 2008 |
| • |
December 28, 2008 |
| • |
February 15, 2009 |
| • |
February 22, 2009 |
| • |
April 12, 2009 |
| • |
April 19, 2009 |
| • |
April 26, 2009 |
| • |
May 03, 2009 |
| • |
May 10, 2009 |
| • |
May 17, 2009 |
| • |
May 24, 2009 |
| • |
May 31, 2009 |
| • |
June 07, 2009 |
| • |
June 14, 2009 |
| • |
June 21, 2009 |
| • |
July 05, 2009 |
| • |
July 12, 2009 |
| • |
July 19, 2009 |
| • |
August 02, 2009 |
| • |
August 30, 2009 |
| • |
September 06, 2009 |
| • |
September 20, 2009 |
| • |
October 04, 2009 |
| • |
October 11, 2009 |
| • |
October 18, 2009 |
| • |
November 08, 2009 |
| • |
November 15, 2009 |
| • |
November 22, 2009 |
| • |
November 29, 2009 |
| • |
December 27, 2009 |
| • |
January 03, 2010 |
| • |
January 10, 2010 |
| • |
January 17, 2010 |
| • |
January 24, 2010 |
| • |
January 31, 2010 |
|
|
| SOFTBALL LINKS |
|
|
|
Let's Go Watch A Game!
by Dave
Thursday, June 30, 2005
 | | Photo by Elizabeth McConchie |
If you're like me, chances are pretty good that you really enjoy a well played game of baseball. Watching good hardball or softball is a really fun experience. I introduced my kids to professional hardball by taking them to see the New York Yankees against the San Francisco Giants. The seats cost me somewhere around $210 and by the time we were done with souvenirs to mark the occasion and food to make it more enjoyable, I had dropped a total of $500. We lasted until the fifth inning because it was hot and the kids had enough baseball for one day. We did get to see a steroid induced homerun off the bat of Bonds but I don't think the kids really understood. They only knew that they were hot. So we jumped in the car and fought the traffic for two hours.
MLB is great and the minors do not offer the same degree of hero worship but dollar for dollar minor league baseball is a decent alternative to the high prices of MLB. I took the kids to see a low-class-A game which cost $12 per seat for the best view in the house. Food and souvenirs were less than half the cost of comparables at an MLB game. But I have to tell you, the best bargain for your entertainment dollar is the amateur game.
During the spring we were able to find any number of good quality high school games within a few minutes driving from our home. There is generally no charge for these games unless they are championship ones but even then the charge is usually nominal. You can sit or stand just about anywhere around the field. The games we saw had about 2-300 fans in attendance. We brought beach chairs and found that we could set up shop right next to the center field fence. We could have sat along the base lines or within the infield but I like to have space and the kids could get up and stretch, not to mention run around like kids, every inning. It was very comfortable, free, and great fun.
Now that school is out, we have made another discovery. There are a ton of ASA teams in our area. Most of these have a variety of age groups including 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, and even 23U. These teams are always hosting tournaments in which teams from several states are in attendance. Sometimes there are really big tournaments in which teams from ar far away as New York, California, Texas, and Michigan compete. The level of play is extraordinary. It is entertaining even to me, a long-time veteran of just about every level of baseball.
My kids are pretty young and just learning the game. High quality amateur softball is possibly the best way for them to get to know the game. They get to see the way every player moves on just about every pitch. They observe baserunners leading, stealing, taking an extra base. In general there is nothing like watching somebody who is years ahead of you play a particular sport. The way they move, the things they do all teach a young player how to play the game.
I can remember as a youthful baseball player, my father brought me to see what was then called "county ball" where numerous big time college and high school players competed during the summer months they were not with their school teams. I would watch the way the catcher snap a throw to second or the way the shortstop fielded a ground ball. I remember watching the various hitters to see how they approached each at bat. It was a tremendous thrill but I also gained a huge amount of valuable information. My father explained the infield fly rule to me while I could see runners on first and second with nobody out on a pop. I can still hear the ump yelling "infield fly" at the top of his lungs and wondering what the heck he was talking about. Obviously it was an infield fly. I can't even begin to count the various lessons I learned in this fashion.
Finding amateur games can take some work on your part but once you figure out how to locate them, you have a life-long ticket to entertainment and free softball lessons for your kids. The problem is that these junior ASA teams are set up for the kids, as they should be. They do not try to bring in fans. Typically even at a high school game the majority of fans are parents of players. ASA games are almost exclusively watched by parents. You really have to find places on the internet and in your local paper where these things are announced. The web is probably better than the paper as many of these are never mentioned even after they are over. So your first step is going to be to locate the teams in your area. You can do this by simply searching places like ETeamx or LeagueLineup which make trade by hosting web sites of many amateur teams. You also should check the web sites of every local newspaper to see if they have a youth sports section or even forum online. We have a site in my state which has both and sometimes there are tournaments posted there. Even when there is nothing posted a quick message asking if there are tournaments in this or that time frame is usually answered pretty quickly.
You should be able to find good youth softball games in your area or within a reasonable drive. If you are having trouble locating one, you just need to be persistent and use a little creativity. I can almost guarantee there are games near you. If you have no success finding them, try taking a nice little drive to all the available fields in your area on a Saturday around noon or even earlier. Tournaments usually will be played towards the end of the week and into the weekend. If there is a field or complex near you that has a reputation of being very good, try there first. Whatever way you find some games to watch, make sure you bring along chairs, a cooler full of water or whatever you like to drink (but don't bring alcoholic beverages - this is for your kids) and maybe even snacks. Many tournaments last all day long and often there is no snack stand. In any event, I highly recommend amateur softball and wish you good luck in finding some near you.
 
|
|
|
