Some people shared their concern about softball’s decreasing popularity at DVHS because not many people are aware of this sport. There has only ever been one team: the varsity team. Some stated softball isn’t what comes to mind when people say they play a sport, they most often think of basketball or soccer. There are concerns arising that people aren’t even aware that softball is a sport played at DVHS.
“Baseball kind of overrules softball, and I feel like not a lot of people play softball. It’s not recognized at many schools,” freshman Yaazhni Anburaj commented.
Students have shared their knowledge about softball. Some knew of the sport, but weren’t sure about how the game was played or that it was played at DVHS. There were some who didn’t have much knowledge about the sport or didn’t even know there was a sport called softball.
“I’m not really familiar with how it’s played, but I’m aware of the fact that it’s kind of similar to baseball,” freshman Sritha Yaramaka said.
Unlike softball, some shared their concern that more know about soccer or tennis. Some expressed that these are well known sports played around the world and recognized by many people at DVHS, as well as others who don’t attend the school. Some expressed their concern about how softball isn’t discussed much and doesn’t have international recognition.
“Softball might not be as well-recognized or well-known as other sports at DVHS because of the amount of promotion of the sport outside of DVHS and in the world,” senior softball player Marisa Rhee said.
Some said the amount of promotion softball gets as an international sport or even a national sport is not outstanding. Some said wherever softball is mentioned, baseball is mentioned too. People’s concern also surrounded The WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) World Cup where it centered more around promoting baseball than softball. There are two regulatory bodies for baseball which include the governing body for baseball and Baseball5, but softball only has one governing body.
“I feel like promotion is also a contributing factor because there isn’t anyone talking about national or international games,” Rhee expressed. “How would softball be well known among DVHS?”
During the spring season, when softball tryouts come around, the number of people that show up is around 30-35 people. They show interest in joining the team, which last year consisted of about 32 people.
“There usually isn’t that many people coming to try out compared to other sports. Some sports like badminton usually have around 120 people trying out, which is a whole lot of people,” Rhee said.
The biggest reason stated by some people about why softball isn’t as popular is the fact that many people think baseball is similar to softball, and they don’t receive information about the sport through people they know or from outside organizations. According to the USF Series, boys usually begin softball at the ages of five to six and later progress into baseball.
“I don’t know much about the sport because it’s not a very famous sport and not a lot of people have played softball that I know of. I think that some other sports that are similar to softball are more famous, so it overtakes the popularity,” Yaramaka said.