The new calendar went up this week. Same structure as last year with the dates shifted, but a few of these windows sneak up on families every year, so here's the plain English version.

Heads up first: the current contact period runs through July 31. New calendar starts Aug 1.

Aug 1-9: contact period

Aug 10 - Nov 22: evaluation period, school ball only. Coaches can watch, not talk off campus.

The exception, and the one that catches people: six fall weekends where coaches CAN evaluate at travel and showcase events. Oct 17-18, Oct 24-25, Oct 31-Nov 1, Nov 7-8, Nov 14-15, Nov 21-22. If you're picking fall exposure events, pick inside those weekends.

Aug 28 - Sep 3: dead period

Nov 9-12: dead period (signing week)

Nov 23 - Jan 2: quiet period, with full recruiting shutdowns Nov 25-29, Dec 22-26, and Dec 31-Jan 2, plus a dead period Dec 9-12

Jan 3 - May 31: evaluation period, school ball only

Jun 1-11: dead period (tied to the WCWS, stretches if the series runs long)

Jun 12 - Jul 31: contact period

Two things versus last year. Spring evals run through May 31 now instead of May 25, and the summer contact period starts a week later. So next summer's window is shorter. Plan accordingly.

And the reminder that matters most: none of this stops your player from emailing coaches. The calendar governs what coaches can do in person, not what she can send.

Official PDF: https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/compliance/recruiting/calendar/2026-27/2026-27D1Rec_WSBRecruitingCalendar.pdf

My daughter currently swings a 32/22. I noticed during BP last night she isn’t barreling the ball consistently. I saw a Tony Gwen video once where he took the bat and put it at the corner of the plate and basically said, "That’s your spot, and you adjust from there." We did that and it backed her about 3 inches from where she usually stands, and she started hitting nukes consistently just from that adjustment. I don’t want to overcomplicate it for her at this age (9) with adjustments in the box. Has anyone else had to do this? Just for more context, she is cracking bats, and it’s always down close to the handle.

We’re a softball 12U travel team in Southern California. We pay $600 up front for startup fee and 150/month. Then each returning season $300 startup and $150/month. Also required to fundraise $300 per season. 10 tournaments and 5 scrimmages in spring. Is this average, high, low? What does everybody else pay? Just trying to figure out if it’s fair what we’re paying

Anyone have a recommendation for a softball pitching mat that holds up well on a concrete driveway? My 10U daughter wants to practice pitching outside, but our yard is too sloped, so the driveway is really our only option.

Hello - my daughter has primarily played infield, however she will be playing more outfield this coming fall season. She currently has an 11.5” Rawlings GG which she is confident with infield, but has issues in the outfield. Is 12.5” too much of a leap or goto a 12”.

Currently looking at Rawlings, Mizuno and Wilson but considering a custom. TIA

Little League officially (and some would say finally) disqualified Tulsa National Little League (Team Oklahoma) from the Southwest Regional tournament due to a lack of player eligibility documentation. As a number of folks here know, these complaints go back to last year, when Tulsa National finished 3rd at the LLSB World Series.

Louisiana (Eastbank LL) and Texas West (Greater Helotes LL) will play for the Southwest regional championship tonight.

Little League International statement on Tulsa National disqualification

Need some advice and help. I am looking for a decent glove for my 9 year old soon to be 10. She plays most positions except pitcher yet as her league rotates them. She currently uses Wilson fast flash cheap glove and it works just fine but she wants a new glove for her birthday. We have been thinking about investing in a decent glove for her. However unable to find one or rather understand which one to get. I did some digging in past chats and some ChatGPT and based on that it suggested Wilson a1000 or Rawlings liberty advanced or Bradley. Now I’m just not sure what size to get her. She was using 11.5 but I feel she will be growing out soon. So should I get 12 or need to find 11.75. All of these brands don’t have 11.75 in stock or even on order. Rawlings have infield glove which is 11.75 but I don’t want to get just one position glove yet. Also when I google gloves lot of times baseball ones pops up rather than softball. Are they same in Wilson a1000 or I need to make sure it is specifically softball fastpitch glove. Are there any other ones to suggest. Trying to keep under $250 max. A2000 is way too expensive and I don’t think she is ready yet. Not sure anything about Bradley. Any insights will be helpful. Now I understand at this age just need comfortable glove rather than expensive tag, however like I said this is all she wants for her birthday so we are thinking about it and something she can use for few seasons till she is ready for next level. Thank you.

Ok Reddit parents, I need your help. My 15yo daughter is a multi sport athlete. Heck, she played 3 basketball games this past Saturday, we drove 2 hours, played a softball game, 3 more softball games on Sunday and a 6 hour volleyball camp today. The problem is, her skin does not handle the sweat, dirt and grime at all.

She wears Nike Pro’s under her softball and basketball uniforms and elbow pads during volleyball. She uses cleansing wipes before the long rides home to try and get ahead of things until she can get in a shower but, the back of her legs (she’s a catcher as well) and her arms under elbow pads become really irritated.

Any advice on how to mitigate this? Thx

Edit: I appreciate everyone’s response. Just some more context.

I’m not sure why I added this past weekends schedule. I should have known that wouldn’t have been received very well. This is not the norm. It was the last tourney of the season for both basketball and softball and then school volleyball started today.

I do understand that the body can react to overwork and stress but that’s not the issue here. It’s not the catchers equipment either because it happens when she doesn’t catch as well. Heck, it happens after a normal school practice. I do believe it’s probably friction? She just showed me the back of her knees that are irritated from the volleyball knee pads today too. Seems to be anything tight on her skin.

I was just hoping someone had gone through this themselves and found something that worked. Thx

Long story short: One of our sister teams has a coach who can't continue in the fall so the team is reforming a bit. We have a chance to pick up a kid to replace a player who's headed to 14U, with the caveat that it'd cause org drama if we were to try and grab their ace or best hitter or etc.

We haven't seen them play much in person, but looking at their batting stats I see one kid that I think they really undervalued. She doesn't hit for power, but over the spring and summer (a fair number of ABs) she consistently has a high OPS and takes 6+ pitches in almost 40% of her plate appearances. But for reasons I can't figure, they bat her 8th or 9th and routinely sit her on Sundays.

I realize a lot of gamechanger stats are screwy because of parents doing parent things, but wouldn't those sorts of stats still be telling (particularly if you're comparing them apples-to-apples to other kids on the same team)? Are there any others that you'd pay attention to? Or am I kidding myself and they're all basically worthless?

Mostly me ranting but since no one likes rant posts, we’re going to turn this into a post your own Bush League attempts.

Perspective final 6 of a 12u USSSA Nationals tournament

Two instances first the coach comes out to tell the ump he’s intentionally walking our 4 batter. Batter begins to walk to first when the ump says defense has to throw the balls. Ok, batter gets in the box catcher stands and steps out for the first two then decides to attempt to K her with three strikes. Our 4 batter doubled with a gap shot.

A bit later in the game our batter check swings resulting in ball 4, ball goes over catcher and our runner takes 2 in continuation. Sideline shouts foul ball and our girl steps off two to come back to the plate and gets tagged out.

We won in the end.

My kid has been going through tryouts, looking for a team with more circle time (her current team has 6 kids vying for pitching roles, and it's a homegrown community team where people have been friends since they were little, so lots of spreading around time, etc.)

We carefully vetted local teams for the upcoming season and have decided on a team that has a coach with a good track record of developing kids.

They had a tournament this past weekend and we were invited to come play. My kid got substantial time and did well.

Going into the 3rd game, I see this dad getting up in the coaches faces and being pretty animated. He's crashing out, hard and after about 10 minutes of agitation, tells his kid to pack it up and leaves the dugout before the game is starting.

Apparently, this was about playing time as his daughter wants to pitch, but has a slower arm and tends to get rocked.

I've specifically asked the coach about all the kids on the roster that seem to want pitching innings, and he's told me those kids are claiming the role, but I don't need to worry about my kids time.

Should we back out? I have mixed feelings.

The coach did make a point of tell us after the game his POV on it.

Experienced non-parent coaches. No AI slop flyers. Just a family-oriented organization that teaches girls to win with grit. Helping get the word out for tryouts being held this evening, 7/20, in Carmel, IN.

Looking for ideas on how to repair this shoe. This rip started after the first wear and has obviously gotten worse. Always happens in this spot and with all brands of cleats.

Are there any softball leagues that play on North Meadow Central Park? Just moved to the city and live close by. Wanted to play for fun on the weekends of available.

Saw people playing with a shirt that said VOLO. When I googled it’s like a pay to play service for some leagues.

A little backstory…. my daughter was offered a spot last year on a team that ended up folding because they couldn’t find enough players. She tried out for them again this year. Is it taboo to ask that they have enough players for a team before accepting a spot?

I’m curious if this is common on other travel teams.
It seems like whenever a team loses, some parents and players immediately start blaming the coach, the lineup, or other players. But at what point do players look in the mirror? They’re the ones on the field. Sometimes a team loses because they didn’t hit, didn’t make routine plays, or simply weren’t locked in that day.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that when new players join, it can create tension. Is that just because players worry about losing playing time or their position?
What confuses me is that when a team barely has enough players to field a roster, some parents and players complain that there isn’t enough competition at their position to push them to improve. But then when the coach brings in another player to create competition and give the team more depth, they complain about that too.
Isn’t competition part of travel ball? I would think having someone pushing you for a position would motivate you to get better, while also giving the team protection if someone gets injured, is unavailable, or simply has an off day.
One last thing I’ve noticed is that many of these girls have goals of being elite players or playing at the highest levels, but I don’t always see the effort matching those goals. For many, softball seems to be limited to one or two team practices a week, with very little work outside of that. It makes me wonder if some families underestimate how much time and repetition it actually takes to become an All-Star-level athlete.

Have you seen this on your teams, or have you been part of programs where players actually embrace competition and hold themselves accountable?

When you team logo looks something like this, you are giving off maximum divorced dad energy

Hi all - I’m looking to join any rec co-ed or women’s slow pitch softball leagues for fall but don’t know where to start. I’ve googled but it seems like a lot of them you have to sign up with a full team - & I’m hoping to just join a team individually. I’m in Ohio City so would prefer somewhere nearby like Lakewood if possible but open to Parma, Cleveland Heights, etc.
Does anyone have any tips or links to help a girl out? Many thanks if so! 🥎

My daughter made a local travel team that is trying to transition to a high-level team. It sounds like great coaching so I accepted but I’m having second thoughts after getting more information. They are doing six tournaments in September and October, two of these are out of state and 3 to 4 hours away. There will be 9 to 10 tournaments in the spring and summer, three or four out of state. They practice twice a week for two hours during the fall and spring and summer and once a week during the winter. They also may add a few winter tournaments. The fee is about 3500. I’m more concerned about the cost and time for all this travel and about my daughter getting burnt out. It does not sound like missing for other sports is tolerated. She plays two other sports that would have to be decreased or cut. This is a good opportunity but does it sound like too much? Is this normal?

Sorry I k ow these are annoying posts… My daughter’s little hand me down CF. It still sounds good on a hit and the cracks feel superficial like it’s mainly the paint. It’s the first composite bat she’s used so I’m not too familiar with failure markers.

My daughter received offers from 4/5 teams she tried out for (10U). She has picked the team she wants. However, she liked several of the other teams she tried out for. Her current team (and the team she chose for this year) will not be an option for 12U. So she'll have to try out again for 12U and likely pick one of these teams she's turning down this year. I want to ensure we turn them down kindly and respectfully to keep the door open for next year. Thank you!

Hi all,

My 12 year old just started playing softball this spring. Totally new to the sport after many years as a high level gymnast and playing town league basketball and rec volleyball for a couple of years.

She left gymnastics because she desperately wanted more of a team oriented atmosphere, and felt like we were at the point of having to choose whether to fully commit herself to the sport. She doesn’t want to give up basketball.

Some of her basketball friends play softball as their main sport, and encouraged her to join the town league this year. She made the “all-star” team, which I didn’t think she would since she only just started playing. We got an email from a local travel/club team encouraging her to try out, and she made that team.

This is all moving very quickly. Based on the schedule information that was given, she will definitely still have time to play basketball in the winter, which is good.

An area of concern for me is private lessons. I’ve heard a lot of parents talking about them. In gymnastics, it was well known that private lessons were generally for maybe mastering one particular skill they need extra help with, or getting through a tough time like a growth spurt. Gymnasts should be able to develop within their primary gym schedule, and any gym selling the idea of regular or weekly privates is a red flag.

Feedback from all coaches so far has been that she’s a fantastic athlete, but her mechanics are raw and need some work. She primarily played short stop with town league and was their 2nd string pitcher. She said she loves short stop though, and wants to develop those skills as well as her batting skills.

Because she is so new to the sport, would private lessons make sense for her? Now that she’s been playing softball, my social media feeds have been slammed with local batting cages and chains that advertise for private lessons. I have no idea what is an appropriate cadence for private lessons in softball or even how to figure out which places are a money grab vs. legitimate coaching.

Any insight from experienced parents would be greatly appreciated!

My daughter is newly interested in softball. I signed her up for the local fall ball rec league. At her age I was playing competitive travel ball so I’m a bit nervous her skill set will be so far behind. We’ve been working on the fundamentals and she’s naturally athletic (plays basketball and now volleyball). Any tips from other parents? What size glove and bat should I buy?

https://www.si.com/onsi/softball/news/new-eligibility-protest-emerges-at-little-league-softball-southwest-region-tournament-2026-tulsa-national