Class C Spring Baseball proposal

[Alum-Ni]

I was curious and had to do some research. Apparently South Dakota is the only state that does not play officially sanctioned high school softball (though that is about to change). And regarding South Dakota, the state's largest schools would prefer to play in the fall when the weather is better and there are fewer conflicts with club teams. The smaller schools prefer to play in the spring because of less competition for athletes vs other sports. (SD ultimately chose to play in the spring.)

There are currently only five states that play in the fall, though it seems there is growing support around the country for changing to a fall model. And Mississippi apparently has some schools that play in the spring and others who play in the fall.

The states playing "fall ball":

Colorado
Georgia
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma

 

[highschoolfootballnut]

I was curious and had to do some research. Apparently South Dakota is the only state that does not play officially sanctioned high school softball (though that is about to change). And regarding South Dakota, the state's largest schools would prefer to play in the fall when the weather is better and there are fewer conflicts with club teams. The smaller schools prefer to play in the spring because of less competition for athletes vs other sports. (SD ultimately chose to play in the spring.)

There are currently only five states that play in the fall, though it seems there is growing support around the country for changing to a fall model. And Mississippi apparently has some schools that play in the spring and others who play in the fall.

The states playing "fall ball":

Colorado
Georgia
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma

Again like I said having softball in the fall is a weird Nebraska thing I dont get, the rest of the USA seems to get it BUT Nebraska just has this strange softball has always been in the fall thing. It makes zero sense and as you can see by the other 40+ states that play spring softball It is a strange thing that Nebraska does BUT in typical fashion I am sure that fall supporters will say the rest of the world has it wrong. Its almost comical

 

[Llama57]

Spot on. And how much better softball would be for the "non A" schools.

Has any member school ever proposed softball for the spring?

The 2 best teams in NE last fall were Class B teams.

Again like I said having softball in the fall is a weird Nebraska thing I dont get, the rest of the USA seems to get it BUT Nebraska just has this strange softball has always been in the fall thing. It makes zero sense and as you can see by the other 40+ states that play spring softball It is a strange thing that Nebraska does BUT in typical fashion I am sure that fall supporters will say the rest of the world has it wrong. Its almost comical

Umpiring is much better with fall ball. I'd say ~50% of the SB officials in my area also do JUCO, NAIA, & D2 softball in the spring. It makes the games a lot better when we get to have these umpires work the HS games.

But, back to the original post. Class C baseball is a great idea for competition reasons. I just believe there has to be a certain # (maybe 50) non-A teams playing before it makes a spit worth while.

 

[highschoolfootballnut]

The 2 best teams in NE last fall were Class B teams.

Umpiring is much better with fall ball. I'd say ~50% of the SB officials in my area also do JUCO, NAIA, & D2 softball in the spring. It makes the games a lot better when we get to have these umpires work the HS games.

But, back to the original post. Class C baseball is a great idea for competition reasons. I just believe there has to be a certain # (maybe 50) non-A teams playing before it makes a spit worth while.

wonder how those other 40+ states figure it out. LOL

 

[GoSkers3]

It seems as if a few people on here can't handle that their daughters friend is deciding to play softball rather than volleyball. I wonder if we could figure out where every sport gets their own season? But I guess we would have to wait until the majority of the US does it because we are supposed to be followers. Every sport could benefit from some athlete that is playing a different sport in that season - especially in smaller schools. The only season that makes sense for softball and baseball to move is summer.

 

[nenebskers]

The 2 best teams in NE last fall were Class B teams.

Umpiring is much better with fall ball. I'd say ~50% of the SB officials in my area also do JUCO, NAIA, & D2 softball in the spring. It makes the games a lot better when we get to have these umpires work the HS games.

But, back to the original post. Class C baseball is a great idea for competition reasons. I just believe there has to be a certain # (maybe 50) non-A teams playing before it makes a spit worth while.

Imagine how good football would be in the spring, volleyball in the spring, basketball in the summer, etc...if we could have NAIA and Juco refs for every sport!

 

[GoSkers3]

Imagine how good football would be in the spring, volleyball in the spring, basketball in the summer, etc...if we could have NAIA and Juco refs for every sport!

Imagine how good every sport could be if they could all be in their own season so "every" athlete could play!

 

[highschoolfootballnut]

Imagine how good football would be in the spring, volleyball in the spring, basketball in the summer, etc...if we could have NAIA and Juco refs for every sport!

again you argument just makes a more lets not do what every state in the union is doing and college

 

[Llama57]

Imagine how good football would be in the spring, volleyball in the spring, basketball in the summer, etc...if we could have NAIA and Juco refs for every sport!

I try & point out why I think the fall SB season works well & what the benefits of it are (I've had kids play the last 7 years of it). The main argument is "every other state does it a different way, so we MUST be doing it wrong".

The other argument: Would some of the SB girls go out for VB if they were different seasons, yes. Would more kids quit VB & softball because there were more girls out to compete with, yes. Not sure Class C teams would have 35-40 kids out for both sports, because now if you're not on varsity when you're a sophomore, a lot of kids quit.

Back again to Class C baseball. Does it hurt track, yes; but there are also kids that don't do track that could have a baseball opportunity now if more schools offered it.

 

[highschoolfootballnut]

I try & point out why I think the fall SB season works well & what the benefits of it are (I've had kids play the last 7 years of it). The main argument is "every other state does it a different way, so we MUST be doing it wrong".

The other argument: Would some of the SB girls go out for VB if they were different seasons, yes. Would more kids quit VB & softball because there were more girls out to compete with, yes. Not sure Class C teams would have 35-40 kids out for both sports, because now if you're not on varsity when you're a sophomore, a lot of kids quit.

Back again to Class C baseball. Does it hurt track, yes; but there are also kids that don't do track that could have a baseball opportunity now if more schools offered it.

You would think softball folks would not want to be up against the most popular sport in girls in Nebraska BUT maybe they dont know that

 

[HighPlainsCoach]

again you argument just makes a more lets not do what every state in the union is doing and college

Not necessarily disagreeing, but by those standards we should have nothing but geography determine state qualifiers, state finalists in football, etc.

 

[highschoolfootballnut]

Not necessarily disagreeing, but by those standards we should have nothing but geography determine state qualifiers, state finalists in football, etc.

NOT Comparable to when everyone in the world plays a sport in a certain season How many other sports are opposite of college or majority of every state

 

[HighPlainsCoach]

NOT Comparable to when everyone in the world plays a sport in a certain season How many other sports are opposite of college or majority of every state

I think it's perfectly comparable. How many other states utilize the goofy sub- state format, which besides costing folks money and dragging kids all over the state, only serves to change out 1 or 2 first round losers for 1 or 2 other ones? As for your question, i honestly don't know. I think Minnesota plays gbb in the fall and vb in the winter. Other than that, i have no clue. My only point is a person can't say "everybody else..." part of the time. It's either a standard or it isn't.

 

[highschoolfootballnut]

I think it's perfectly comparable. How many other states utilize the goofy sub- state format, which besides costing folks money and dragging kids all over the state, only serves to change out 1 or 2 first round losers for 1 or 2 other ones? As for your question, i honestly don't know. I think Minnesota plays gbb in the fall and vb in the winter. Other than that, i have no clue. My only point is a person can't say "everybody else..." part of the time. It's either a standard or it isn't.

I think seasons are way more standard than just about anything else

 

[mikeneujahr]

I was always under the impression that softball is in the fall to avoid hurting soccer numbers in the class A schools. To me it makes more sense to play softball in the spring the same as the NCAA does. It would be a huge benefit to C and D schools to move softball to the spring to help volleyball participation numbers.

 

[Ponchn7138]

Sad. Kids use to be able to play 4 sports in 4 seasons. Too many sports in just Aug-May. Move baseball and softball to the summer and let’s kids experience more! Don’t make them choose! No reason schools can’t sponsor teams during the summer season.

 

[abaxa5]

Club sports should be a zero factor when these decisions are made. Playing a sport year round represents a tiny minority of athletes for a reason. There is no reason for 4 sports in the fall and one in the spring for girls. We are just limiting opportunities for girls. Tons of softball girls would play volleyball if spring was softball and fall was volleyball. Just think how much better volleyball would be in "non A" schools. The more opportunities we can offer our students the better.

Once again, you have soccer and tennis. Yes it's only available for Class A&B and a handful of C schools but it's still 3 options

 

[highschoolfootballnut]

Once again, you have soccer and tennis. Yes it's only available for Class A&B and a handful of C schools but it's still 3 options

way less option in the spring so why not move to the spring

 

[Husker008]

Girls Sports (NSAA Options)
Fall: Softball, Volleyball, XC, Golf
Winter: Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling (new, 2022)
Spring: Track, Soccer, Tennis

Realistically, no matter how you change things, you are looking at 2 seasons with three sports offered and 1 season of 4. Summer Baseball/Softball is the only option that actually evens out the sports offered.

Or, you know, we could copy Iowa and allow students to participate in multiple sports in a single season.

 

[mgbreis]

Sad. Kids use to be able to play 4 sports in 4 seasons. Too many sports in just Aug-May. Move baseball and softball to the summer and let’s kids experience more! Don’t make them choose! No reason schools can’t sponsor teams during the summer season.

Again... fantasize about all the changes you like, but HS baseball is NOT getting moved to the summer in Nebraska. It simply will not happen.

 

[ClkTwr2011]

Again... fantasize about all the changes you like, but HS baseball is NOT getting moved to the summer in Nebraska. It simply will not happen.

I agree. Nebraska sits at #1 or #2 in Legion Baseball participation nationally. This is because the Nebraska American Legion Baseball Committee is a powerful group. Nothing will disrupt that. And why would they want to?

 

[jonh142881]

Once again, you have soccer and tennis. Yes it's only available for Class A&B and a handful of C schools but it's still 3 options

The number of schools in Class A and B are the vast minority in Nebraska. The overwhelming majority of the schools in Nebraska are C and below. Class A & B are different worlds in comparison. Tennis and Soccer? They don't exist in most Nebraska schools. Not critical of those sports, they just aren't in the vast majority of schools. I would throw swimming into that mix as well. In boys basketball, there are 60 A & B schools TOTAL. In Class C1 & C2 there are 110, D1 & D2 there are 110 more. Don't base the state on 60 schools when you have 280 total. Class C baseball/softball should be a spring sport imho.

 

[highschoolfootballnut]

The number of schools in Class A and B are the vast minority in Nebraska. The overwhelming majority of the schools in Nebraska are C and below. Class A & B are different worlds in comparison. Tennis and Soccer? They don't exist in most Nebraska schools. Not critical of those sports, they just aren't in the vast majority of schools. I would throw swimming into that mix as well. In boys basketball, there are 60 A & B schools TOTAL. In Class C1 & C2 there are 110, D1 & D2 there are 110 more. Don't base the state on 60 schools when you have 280 total. Class C baseball/softball should be a spring sport imho.

my question is why can't they just pass baseball at the NSAA level for class C and if your school has a strong Legion program and you do not want to step on that clubs toes, just dont start baseball at your school ?????

 

[jonh142881]

There are no issues with spring baseball and Legion baseball. The two issues on this thread have been the inequity with softball in the fall when it should be in the spring. The second is the discussion of adding class C baseball. Both make sense to me, not sure adding C baseball will interfere with anyone's legion program over the summer.

 

[abaxa5]

The number of schools in Class A and B are the vast minority in Nebraska. The overwhelming majority of the schools in Nebraska are C and below. Class A & B are different worlds in comparison. Tennis and Soccer? They don't exist in most Nebraska schools. Not critical of those sports, they just aren't in the vast majority of schools. I would throw swimming into that mix as well. In boys basketball, there are 60 A & B schools TOTAL. In Class C1 & C2 there are 110, D1 & D2 there are 110 more. Don't base the state on 60 schools when you have 280 total. Class C baseball/softball should be a spring sport imho.

I get your point but to compare it to swimming is far off. Swimming there is only one class with Class A and only a handful of Class B schools with some co-ops in there such as the Elkhorns, Papio, Beatrice/Norris/Fairbury. Both soccer and tennis have 2 classes with numerous Class C schools competing in both

 

[jonh142881]

Anyone hear that the NSAA is saying Class C baseball wouldn't start until SPRING 2024?!?! No one was told of this when the voting was taking place. That's going to mess with a lot of schools' plans.

 

[jonh142881]

Now it comes out that it really IS going to be for next spring 2023. Wow, this was not communicated well....TWICE

 

[highschoolfootballnut]

Now it comes out that it really IS going to be for next spring 2023. Wow, this was not communicated well....TWICE

come guys know how it works, once it passes all areas, no matter what it is It will come out the very quickest possible I can only assume you hate this because your a track coach or a club sport legion baseball guy

 

[jonh142881]

I'm neither, I think Class C ball is good, and I think softball should be in the spring, and I think making any decisions for any sport for the whole state based on Class A is wrong, because the are a tiny group of schools in our state. Most schools in our state are C and D and its not even close. I also support kids being able to do multiple sports, which right now at most schools in Nebraska is not an option.

 

[ClkTwr2011]

Approved today, begins next season.

 

[TC53]

NSAA soccer is in the spring to protect football. Other states almost all play fall soccer, but no one here is pushing for that move to match the nation.

I guarantee you that participation in softball and volleyball today combined (even in small schools) outstrips participation in just volleyball in 1990 or 1980. If it ain't broke....

 

[highschoolfootballnut]

NSAA soccer is in the spring to protect football. Other states almost all play fall soccer, but no one here is pushing for that move to match the nation.

I guarantee you that participation in softball and volleyball today combined (even in small schools) outstrips participation in just volleyball in 1990 or 1980. If it ain't broke....

I think high sports seasons should be played at the same time as the college seasons for that sport