Thread: DD's first softball try out...

Excited for my dd's first try out for a club team this week. She has tried out for a club/select soccer team and a basketball team but never for a softball team. This club is a pretty good one around our parts. Not a premiere program but a good one for sure. One thing I like is that this team is a 2003 team and so if she does make this club, than she will finally be playing with girls her age.

My dd is through the roof with joy. Today, I was doing some strength and conditioning with one of my football clients and while he was resting in between drills, she made me have her practice receiving at catcher and she worked on her framing as well. When I was too busy, she got our tennis balls and threw them against the wall and practiced blocking.
Then we got home rested for a while andshe made me sit in the garage and we did Tee work and hitting for about 1.5 hours. Now, after working on her footwork( powerline stuff) in our living room, she wants me to go to the fields and hit her fly balls in the outfield. Lol. Funny thing is that this is honestly just slightly more than she requests on a daily basis. Some of you know I have progressive MS. I'll tell you what, I honestly feel like this running around with her, spending time with her and having fun together is the best medicine I have ever tried. It hurts like hell at night and when I wake up the next day, but she keeps me moving and smiling! Besides it gives me a GOOD reason to poison my liver with these pain killers. That reason being, being able to help her.

Anyways we are pretty excited and thought I would share. This is a 10u team and the way she will try out is by practiicing with the team and coaches on Thursday and Saturday.( possibly playing in a scrimmage Sunday as well)

Any tips for dd or dad? I told her as long as she tries her hardest and enjoys herself everything will take care of itself and I will be proud. She plays all over right now and I dont know how this will be formatted or where she will start. She has started at P/C/SS/2B/OF/3B. Oh well, I guess we will see. Ill keep you all posted!

Sounds like you have it covered! Good luck to DD.

I hope she has a good tryout,tell her to keep up the hard work and it will pay off.wishing her luck from the Northeast

Good luck! I am sure she will do fine.
Tips and thoughts:
-I have help hold 4 years of tryouts with 100s of girls.
-1st know EVERY GIRL is nervous. I had a couple of dads of super star girls tell me a couple weeks after this year's tryouts that both their dds were nearly sick they were so nervous.
- 2nd absolutely know that everyone misses fly balls, everyone misses grounders, everyone makes bad throws, and everyone misses hitting. (and tryouts tend to bring out most girls worst). It is not mistakes that count, it's what you do with them. I wish and watch for every girl's errors and how they behave afterwards. Do they pout after missing a fly ball, or do they sprint after it and make a recovery. I tell my dd that when she makes a bad throw or misses a pitch, the message her mouth needs to put out is "my bad" the message her body and attitude should put out is "no biggie, that's not gonna happen again."
-3rd Be a happy medium, be loud and respectful. Not quiet and shy, or loud and silly.
-4th Hustle hustle hustle.
5th Finally and most important. Relax, it's just a game, it's just one team.

Very great tips from Redhotcoach!! Two basic things your DD needs to keep in mind, especially at the 10u level is. 10u coaches are looking for girls that are athletic and coachable. It sounds as though your DD has a good knowledge of the game. So the deciding factor will likely boil down to what her Effort and Attitude show. I always stress to the girls on my team that, no matter what happens in a game, practice, tryout or life in general, there is only two things they have 100% control of and that is their effort and attitude!! Good luck

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and input.

I think my biggest question is where she will stand pitching wise compared to other girls on the team. I wonder if she will pitch at all? This team is starting 10U-B and moving to 10U A a year later. I would assume she has a decent shot but again so much is un known.

Very fun times in our house right now and most of the things you have all said are things we talk to her about all the time, so I will be sure to re-inforce those things. Like I said earlier. I will update this thread on Thursday evening and let everyone know how the first day went.

Let her know that a tryout is not about participating. It is about standing out. Tell her to make sure she tries to out hustles every other girl there. Tell her to make sure she goes after every ball hard, even if she thinks she can't get to it. Tell her to make sure she is trotting quickly to each station and to the back of the line after her turn. Tell her not to show disappointment if she misses a ball, but to turn around and sprint after it.

Those are some of the things I look at when evaluating players during tryouts. Sometimes a player's attitude and how she carries herself sticks out more than her ability.

Wow, lots of good advice here!

I would talk to her about attitude on and off the field. If she is athletic, coachable and respectful she has made it a long way toward impressing the coaches already. Make sure she understands that the coaches will be watching kids from the moment they get out of the car all the way to when they get back in the car. She should be friendly to the other players and coaches. Don't walk from station to station, run. Never walk on the dirt. Warm up like she is being judged because she might be.

As a 10U pitcher, it isn't always about speed and hitting spots. It's about attitude on the rubber; how she handles herself after throwing a pitch in the dirt; how confident she looks and acts while in the circle...

As a Pitchers Parent: What she already knows is what will get her on a team. Do not coach her from the stands. Do not say anything to the coaches unless you are already friends with them or they talk to you first. Look like you are having fun.

The coaches are looking for a family to join their team; they do not want a Daddy who is coaching from the stands or saying negative things about his DD or other players on the field.

Good luck to your family!