Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by TDub on December 15, 2011, 9:49 am
72.243.105.140

I have recently been reading reports and statistics from softballs main governing organizations. From what I can tell the softball world. Which includes all the main associations has lost over 600,000 players in the last 4 years alone! So I'm wondering why this is and most importantly what you the current softball player thinks it will take to turn this around ?

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by VOR on December 15, 2011, 1:57 pm, in reply to "Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
207.225.153.251

Because there are no rec league anymore... Everyone is using shaved shit and the average guy who sees 10 balls a year, has to worry to much about keeping his teeth instead of having a few beers and having fun.. its really too bad too, i used to enjoy hanging out and playing with my jeans wearing buddies. that's just not reality anymore. You also used to as recent as 2000, be able to get in a league for $30-$50 a guy with a teeshirt. Now its $75 with no sponsors and the cheapest uniform is $35 bucks a shirt... With all that being said softball isn't that much fun. I'd rather play with my kids, and go to the bar after they go to bed.

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by wondering on December 16, 2011, 8:24 am, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
173.189.25.21

how can this be? I can't wait to see if TM50+ will try to convince is Don is the reason all associations and leagues are in decline! my local leagues have far less teams playing for the exact reasons stated above. heck 95% of those guys don't even know Resmondo is a team in Florida so I think the Don has little to do with that!

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by Enrico Pallazzo (The Real) on December 16, 2011, 9:37 am, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
71.55.150.0

Lets be real honest here. The decline of softball is because of the lack of a floating rubber in the conference.

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by TM50+ on December 16, 2011, 1:41 pm, in reply to "Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
64.134.222.188

Can you add some info to your 600,000 leaving number. What percentage of the whole does 600,000 represent? We know league costs have increased. We know equipment costs have stayed about the same? We know the population is getting older, and the younger population replacing the aged have less youth baseball playing experience. I can tell you the leagues I play in.... An Orinda league where we ump ourselves and the utrip Concord league have lost very few if any teams in the last four years. The Concord teams did have a problem with field availability.... As the Cooper theft has effected field lighting. I think Don and the FLOATING RUBBER stuff was cute....

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by The Mad Hatter on December 16, 2011, 6:00 pm, in reply to "Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
38.110.158.250

A few thoughts on why softball is on the decline. The economy has really hit folks' disposable income. There are less sponsors, less money to spend on equipment, league fees, etc. Folks that do have jobs are making less or taking jobs that require weekend work that impacts the ability to play tourneys. The younger generation isn't coming out and playing softball as much as the previous generations. Lots of factors here as well - video games and a larger variety of entertainment sources to draw folks away from softball. The sandbagging has really hurt the ability for softball to attract league teams that want to try their hand at the occasional tourney. I remember 15-20 years ago you can get a group of your friends and league teams in a tourney and actually have a good shot to possibly win. Now league teams are facing fully sponsored dri-fit uniformed teams with matching bat bags and are lucky not to be run ruled. So the jump between league team and tourney team has really increased, which has limited the ability of softball to attract new players. Attitudes have also affected people. It's not really a family affair anymore. Too many thugs/gangsters/attitudes playing ball. Directors and umpires who look the other way at cleaning things up or simply serve up useless rhetoric while raking in money. Rampant cheating with no consequences for the cheaters. Web sites and blogs with so much negative information it turns lots of people off. I still think it's a great game that can make a comeback in the future, but it would really have to change its model to better attract new players instead of continuing to cater to a select few...

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by Agree on December 17, 2011, 1:21 pm, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
209.213.30.251

Career E/Rec teams are a problem. Probably need to do away with that division and have D as the lowest division. If they don't do that, then do away with worlds for E/Rec, only have a state champion. Maybe only regionals for D. I also think having regional A/B teams and tournaments may inspire some of the lower class teams/players to play higher and allow for growth of the lower divisions.

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by good point on December 17, 2011, 1:32 pm, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
71.161.44.168

2 very good pots there. Career e chasing a ring. When e was started, I kinda agreed with it. It was for new players getting to learn the game. In my opinion e should just be local tournaments, NO State or beyond. D should have ony a state and possibly a region but that is it.

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by Enrico...TM50+ on December 17, 2011, 3:11 pm, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
166.205.136.10

Get it right! It's... The FLOATING RUBBER! gotta put it in caps....

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by Enrico Pallazzo (The Real) on December 18, 2011, 7:40 am, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
71.55.146.186

Actually from what I have seen, E is not the problem. Those guys get bumped and actually stay in D. It's the guys that sit in D their entire lives after being bumped by every organization in the land and they repeat it. Check this out. This is a guy's playing history and it is real. Under bump the M stands for mandatory bump to the next class. Team Name Year Association Class Bump New STO 2011 USSSA D M C United Steel Supply/Alabama Elite/STO 2011 NSA D Fastlane Computers 2011 ASA C Vinntrans/HIG 2010 ASA D M C Scotts Tire Outlet 2010 WSL D M C Buchanan Stone 2009 NSA D M C STG 2009 NSA D HPG/Titans 2008 ASA D M C Mississippi Heat 2007 ASA D M C STG/Elite 2007 NSA D M C Easton Properties 2006 ASA D M C Easton Properties 2006 WSL D M C Brackins/All State 2005 ASA D M C

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by hey on December 19, 2011, 11:08 pm, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
71.51.123.141

When softball was at at its biggest and growing the most wasn't that before there were so many different divisions? What I mean is before they had a E division wasn't the game growing rapidly already? I thought because they had so many players they were able to create multiple divisions. I know for me personally when me and my group of friends started playing most of the tournaments we played in just had 2 divisions. It was pretty much a upper and lower division. Even then we never had a shot at winning the lower but we loved playing. There was always a few teams you thought should be playing in the upper but it just never seemed to be a huge issue. There seemed to be more festival type tournaments then as well. Most of the small towns in my area had softball tournaments. Nowadays none of them do. Pretty much only the softball complexes hold softball tournaments for the most part.

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by DW on December 20, 2011, 9:11 am, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
98.27.169.32

Yes, that is the way I remember it as well. I had a 'D' team and the Wednesday before the weekend you could look in the newspaper and pick out any of about 6 tournaments to go to per weekend just in the Cleveland area. The baby boomer generation is now 47-70 years old and younger people have many other entertainment choices and the sponsorship doesn't have its big tax break anymore.

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by TM50+ on December 20, 2011, 3:58 pm, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
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Softball was much healthier when the utrip Directors were monitoring the Divisions and trying to make it as easy as possible for SPONORS/teams to move up with very limited player personal changes and cost increased. That's all but been ignored in the Don era and.... Softball is swirling down the toilet.

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by Enrico Pallazzo (The Real) on December 21, 2011, 9:36 am, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
71.55.146.186

I agree with that however most other associations have joined in on the party. Here is the NorCal USSSA B player list. http://www.norcalusssa.com/reclass_b_players.cfm Tim isn't that your backyard?

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by Enrico...TM50+ on December 21, 2011, 10:59 am, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
166.205.136.103

Yep.... That pretty much sums up Dan Browns demise as far as being a great softball man. He worked hard to build a great norcal program and has allowed Don to flush it down the toilet. I don't know what Dans softball number was..... But Don found it. Dans not alone though.... The entire utrip Board has been neutered. And softball continues to swirl down the toilet because of the Don era.

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by DW on December 21, 2011, 12:19 pm, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
98.27.169.32

And those 3 haven't even played 'B' the last couple years.

Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?

Posted by Enrico Pallazzo (The Real) on December 21, 2011, 2:37 pm, in reply to "Re: Your opinion on softballs overall decline?"
71.55.146.186

Sure they have. It's called C there.