Fast Pitch Softball Info (professional, leagues, ESPN, teams)

[ditchoc]

I have two grand daughters involved in fast pitch softball. I am pretty new to this and after searching the Internet I am amazed at the number of teams, leagues, tournaments, and associations and so on. The teams are frequently divided by age groups that start pretty young and go through high school. I am sure the dream of many parents is that their child will earn a college scholarship.

Many of these various organizations appear to be very professional with all kinds of leagues that are local, statewide, regional and national. As you might imagine it all comes at a price with travel time, practice, entry fees, buying equipment etc. that can escalate into to thousands of dollars. Some of these league games go so far as to be ESPN televised.

I think it is great that young kids can participate and learn life skills. It does concern me that many parents spend a small fortune getting involved even though their child may have little chance of obtaining the few scholarships that are out there. It concerns me that at least some of these leagues prey on parents, who may have a narrow vision of reality because they are blinded by love of their child, and are in the business primarily to grab as much cash as they can.

I have searched for league reviews or to see if there is some kind of oversight but find little. So I am wondering if anyone has some experience with all this? Are there any web sites that explain the fundamentals of these leagues and organizations, how they operate, who benefits, which ones are legitimate, and so on?