From best player to worst player

DD switched to a more competitive team this year and she literally went from being one of the best players on her last team to the worst on this team. She knows she's got some work to do, but watching this progression to get better is hard. She started questioning how she even made the team
I'm trying to keep her encouraged, but after watching her struggle all weekend, I'm having a hard time staying positive too! It's so hard to watch your kids struggle.

Struggle's are real but the results are too and can be even sweeter knowing how hard you worked for it. Good luck to your DD, as she puts in the extra time to get better she will begin to have more and more confidence in herself. Plus the challenge of playing with kids who are a little bit better keeps the competitive juices flowing and can really make a big difference for her. Good luck and hang in there!

There's a tipping point, IMO. If she can continue to get a good amount of playing time, and is getting good coaching that will help her raise her skill level, then her situation can be a good one...if she has the mental/emotional strength for it. Being at the bottom end can be tough for some kids to handle. If her playing time is minimal, and the coaches aren't giving her good instruction that will help her improve her game, it might be better to find another team.

If DD has the opportunity to practice with better players somehow she gets better, takes a little while.

If I was parent I would be more interested in what happens in practice for a while at least, not so much games.

If she is not getting reps in practice or better in games, maybe regroup a little bit.e

Actually a good spot to be in. Much better than being the best on a inferior team. Watch and learn from the others, compete to get better. Strive and work hard to develop the skills she is lacking or behind in. Short term struggle can lead to a long term payoff.

Big Taco said:

Actually a good spot to be in. Much better than being the best on a inferior team. Watch and learn from the others, compete to get better. Strive and work hard to develop the skills she is lacking or behind in. Short term struggle can lead to a long term payoff.

Click to expand...

It is a good place to be but like Eric said, if she is not getting play time, or proper instruction, it is detrimental, especially to her confidence.

When dd was 9, we thought she was pretty darn good, easily one of the best players in the rec league. Towards the end of the season, we first heard the words "travel ball" and long story short she made a very good travel team. That team was only looking for one more player to round out the roster and dd had an individual tryout with the rest of the team. To say she was the worst player does not even begin to scratch the surface, but the coach liked her effort and attitude and she made the team. Thru the summer season she saw limited action and struck out over half the time, but she kept plugging away, improved steadily, and eventually became a starter. 8 years later, she has managed to have a pretty good travel ball and high school career.

So hang in there. Focus on the process and not the results. Let the coaches coach and keep telling your dd that you are proud of her.

It depends on whether the girl has confidence in herself.

DD 1's only TB team was a 16u team she played on while a second year 14u player. Only
Freshman on the team. By far the least experienced player. She only had 2 years of rec ball before that.

The coaches had confidence in her. I had confidence in her. She didn't have confidence and quit after a few months.

Being the worst player can be great or bad. Depends on the girl as well as the coaches

Bob is so right, it really depends on her personality. I hope she's got the confidence to rise to the occasion I think my DD is younger than yours but we've got one girl on our team who's come straight from rec. She started out batting last at our first tournament in late Sep. By the third tournament she was batting clean up. It's gotta be a tough place to be but hopefully all that time of being the best player will have helped her understand that she IS a good player. She's just new to this level of play, but she'll get there.

Thanks for all the encouraging words! It's certainly easy to be confident as a big fish in a small pond, but I hope she can find a way to carry over some of that confidence. I was worried about the lack of game time over the weekend, but I'll be sure to watch the practices and see how they're working with her - that's a great idea. And I guess by spring we'll know whether or not this is the right place for her. Softball continues to be an interesting journey...