There's next to no P4 talent here. You get a couple every few years and that's it. You can count on 1 hand over the last 10 years the girls that start in P4. Tons of lower level players though and nothing wrong with Juco, D3, NAIA, etc.
Is that a lack of overall talent or lack of select teams
It's a population thing first, then it's sufficient training, dedication to training, and there are no real top end teams here. Money is a big problem too. There are no facilities that compare to the top states. That's not to say we don't have folks trying or decent facilities, it's just not the same thing. We have one MS kid that contributes much and a second who pinch hits some. OM doesn't have it any better. USM has a terrible program with a couple MS that play much. Juco is good but this is D2 Juco here. Carey and Belhaven have good programs for their levels.
Of course it doesn’t. But MS private schools and public schools playing in different season hinders travel teams from practicing together and playing fall ball.
There aren't any top shelf travel programs in MS. Plenty play in big tournaments but almost none are in the top level of those.
That’s always the case. With all due respect I’m not making fun here, I’m asking the questions, because I don’t know.
My girl plays for Mississippi Elite 18u. There are some good programs like Fury Platinum and Firecrackers but the original point is it’s not TOP level. That’s true. It’s getting better but it’s not there yet. The Divas teams and the diamond dolls teams are ring tournament teams. They serve a purpose for lower level players and are fun in their own way. But you want your kid on a showcase team.
I don't really see an issue with this in softball, as you don't see the UCL injuries there. As long as by 'gym' you mean strength training, and as long as the practices have a lot of movement, rather than standing around.
Sounds like it's a combo of all of it. Slow pitch probably didn't help (never understood this), small state population (and a large part that doesn't play softball), and the lack of coaching.
It’s different now with all the travel softball teams from DeSoto County feeding players into the high school teams. Hernando just won the state championship after being close the last couple of years. Lewisburg is pretty good too.
We went through this with my daughter. She traveled and played on highschool team. She didn't play slow pitch. It destroyed timing and......
Sounds like somebody needs to get Brett Favre on the phone and see if he has any leftovers from the volleyball arena
I know people hate to think of it this way, but also Ole Miss with their CWS run last year.
Yep. Also, Southern Miss went in the late 90s before fastpitch was a recognized sport in MIssissippi.
Texas seems to be what California was from the 60s to 90s. A lot of good jobs, middle class affordable, lot of people moving there, so sports was a big deal and produced a lot of players. And a lot of smaller colleges benefitted (Pepperdine, Fullerton, Irvine, etc. along with the big ones). Except there ain't nothing else to do in Texas but play sports, so it obviously produces even more talent.
Well you can add to that.
California people are pouring into South Texas I know that. I meet new ones all the time. They are super nice folks. I notice a TON of softball talent comes from CA.
There was a time where softball was a California and everyone else sport. The Pac 12 dominated for years because that's where the talent was. Now Texas and Florida have just as much or more talent than California.
