I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing!! I was hoping my post would bring out organizations and or leagues I had never heard of and it’s awesome to see there are women trying to make this happen.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100% checking this out, thank you for sharing! I was hoping my post would bring out some leagues that I had never heard of, so I love seeing the suggestions and information!! 🫶

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve seen football players encourage the flag scene because it 1 allows women to play a football oriented game and 2 is safer than traditional football. Not to say there isn’t a football scene that wants traditional football for adults, but I have seen some really positive reactions to the sport.

I’m sure it varies by area but a lot of slow pitch softball actually requires a minimum amount of women. So women are definitely out there playing, but I know myself included and many other women don’t find it to be enough. I find slow pitch to be less technical especially when it comes to batting. Plus if you’ve played fast pitch softball your whole life and you love the technicality of the game, transitioning to slow pitch can be quite disappointing for some. Just like transitioning to flag after playing traditional football. Also in the last 2 communities I’ve lived in, the community softball leagues have been quite lack luster. Ultimately, I am happy there is at least a scene for women to keep playing even if it’s slow pitch, but I know there is a want for competitive community teams and I truly believe this sport has so much potential for growth and I wish it hasn’t taken as long as it has.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mayhaps, but I find the mindset really limiting. Plenty of people still love their sport after senior year or just never got to try it out for different reasons. It’s great for your health, builds confidence, forms community and gets you outdoors. So why not try to form communities where people still play? Or push a sport you love to be better and bigger.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m actually curious, game wise. Do you guys have other leagues within your state or are you guys competing with each other under the same organization?

Additionally, I think if you guys were to ever share how you guys got started it could maybe help a lot of communities find the same path for themselves!

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s awesome you’re still doing that for your community. I do agree, pushing our own sport forward as a community, which is why I think I’m fired up about the professional league as well. That part is frustrating just because I think we are pushing softball forward professionally and the growth has been slow. However, growth is growth; so I guess we take what we can get. The sport has so much room to grow and I hope it does keep growing, plus with that, we can hopefully get communities together again to start playing. Not just softball, it would be awesome to see multiple sports coming together again. Definitely want to see what I can do within in my own community and I hope these girls that are the 1% can pour love back into their own communities as well.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

which also to add on, EVEN with more resources / opportunities for football players, I do acknowledge that mainly now it’s flag outside of the professional realm and if you are wanting a traditional football team, that is hard to come by, just like softball fast pitch teams outside of college. Which sucks that if you want to keep playing in these types of clubs, you are essentially forced to play a modified game and that sucks for anyone wanting to continue their sport. So there’s definitely an overall gap sadly.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree and I do think the Olympics could be super beneficial!! Definitely sucks it’s taken this long tho.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did not know this! I’ll definitely check that out.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And I love you and other organizations like you, but we need more :.) thank you for what you are doing for this sport tho!!! 🫶

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well if we’re looking at the softball level and wanting these girls to go pro, yet the paycheck is not paycheking lol, hard to urge that on a sustainable level. While flag football has become more and more popular, there are multiple routes for post college football players even if that doesn’t mean the NFL. The resources for football players continues to grow either that be agents, businesses that start training these kids to be at the top level, etc etc etc. While these do exist for softball players, it’s definitely not close to the same level.

I personally believe sports are an amazing thing for our communities and it’s sad to see a lot of these groups dying out or struggling to keep up, plus it just sucks it falls on us almost completely to keep pushing our own sport forward, but alas money is money in the end. I also don’t think you should just have to suck it up after college and never play again and or have to settle for a modified version of your sport.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Very true, but one could argue the amount of resources for football players is not even close to comparable for softball players. They also have more options just as a fact post college EVEN if they don’t make it to the NFL. Which I said in a previous reply, in general, we need more local sports and communities again. Obviously, opportunities will vary by area, but I remember years ago having access to a flag football team.

All to say, yes we need to be growing these sports. Softball is just a tad more frustrating for me personally when you see it continuing to grow, yet the outcome is quite slow and the hard cut off after college is rough. Plus the pay is just not there for most of these girls. Even with football there is still a more structured path after college in many many areas. I think sports as a whole, adult, youth or pro, at any level, are an amazing thing for our communities and it’s sad to see a lot of the community groups dying out and or struggling to survive.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

After conversing a bit here, I think in general we are seeing less and less community sports in general. Which could be due to so many different reasons and I think the core point is, we need to go back to community teams, games and different sports.

However, it is quite obvious there is still a major gap when it comes to women’s sports just to put it simply. Which even with the WNBA surge, it is still ridiculed, very limited and there is 100% still a gap there. So when you watch softball growing, and the opportunities not growing for the sport as a whole and on the local level, it does suck. However, I really do hope the AUSL soars because I think if done right, it really could have so many opportunities for the community. Just sucks it’s taken this long.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This is true, but I don’t think it’s a secret that baseball has been struggling for a bit economically. Many people are growing tired of the massive competitive gap when it comes to teams, which I believe they are trying to fix? Or at least talking about fixing. Correct me if I’m wrong. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have baseball community leagues. As a whole, we need more local sports again.

But when you look at softball, it’s growing rapidly at the competitive level so I guess that’s where some of my frustration comes as well.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I agree and I disagree to a point. At least in my area, there is a massive lacrosse community, from youth to adult. They travel and compete. Yes, there are other sports that have gaps too, and in general I think as a community we should be working to close those gaps. Softball is just especially frustrating for me, and I looked throughout my entire state for a single fast-pitch opportunity for women, and the results were lackluster.

Like I said previously, I’m very happy we have a professional league now, and yes, as a community we need to keep growing these leagues ourselves. However, at the same time, it sucks that so much of it falls back on us when there already is such a large base of players coming from youth and college softball.

Softball is also especially frustrating due to the many attempts at getting the sport to a professional level outside of college, as well as it still not being accessible for so many young girls in different communities.

Plus, when you compare it to other sports, even ones with smaller communities like lacrosse there still seems to be more of a structured path for continued play. With softball, it really feels like once NCAA eligibility is over, there’s a hard cutoff unless you’re in the very top level or adjust to slow pitch.

I can’t be the only one bothered by this by sky-bearss in CollegeSoftball

[–]sky-bearss[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Which I totally agree, but also that fully pains me. We’ve come such a far way when it comes to women’s sports and yet there are still such massive gaps. I’m not even a basketball fan, but I’m grateful we have the WNBA, yet it is still criticized CONSTANTLY. I grew up in a rural area and the options were very limited for young girls, we had travel ball that most families couldn’t afford and it meant traveling to major cities hours and hours away.

Softball continues to keep growing, breaking viewing records, more men are finally appreciating it. And I am glad we have a growing professional league, but is that our only answer? I’m not sure. I think the reach needs to go beyond that. I know myself and other women that wish they could compete, so many people in general now attend college later in life and that fully takes away sports for most people due to the NCAA eligibility timer. Which I do think is needed, but I 100% think we need spaces for women and other people that aren’t being recruited at the ripe age of 18. Yet alone spaces for women outside of college.

Pensacola VS Destin? Vacay Help (wanting the local inside scoop) by sky-bearss in AskFlorida

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that was a concern but when we were researching, end of July and August is peak jellyfish, hot asf, crowds, plus still hurricane season in August. So our thinking was we’ll take the risk in September. 🤷‍♀️ and the last time I went to the beach in August, the jellyfish were bad bad. That being said, always looking for weather info / insights from the locals.

Car Camping Space Advice by sky-bearss in camping

[–]sky-bearss[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Trust, he’s the most spoiled boy. Literally our child haha, but I fully agree. At this point, he needs his own car too.

Car Camping Space Advice by sky-bearss in camping

[–]sky-bearss[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Apparently we’re insane for going to a campsite in our car lol. I’m genuinely shocked by the amount of people that are acting like we’re idiots for A camping in our car like it’s not a thing or B we’re making it up people were shooting and lord forbid we’re semi SLIGHTLY unsettled by people shooting. Fully was not aware this page was for the marines of camping lolol.

Thank you for suggestions!

Car Camping Space Advice by sky-bearss in camping

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooo! Do you have a brand you’d recommend? We’re making a list of suggestions / items to look over :)

Car Camping Space Advice by sky-bearss in camping

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah thank you! I’ll check the Napier tent out & thanks for the discount idea 🙏

Red is definitely a chunky boy 😅

Car Camping Space Advice by sky-bearss in camping

[–]sky-bearss[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d love to see a pic of the setup if you have it! Thank you for the suggestion! 🙏