need advice on infield playing time

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Dec 27, 2014
311
18
am I being a jerk not playing both or either of these girls (one can throw fairly well, but just does not move feet to get to balls, and is very slow to throw once she has it) in the infield at least for an inning or so a game?

sorry for being so long winded, but this is bothering me
I don't know if my 10u rec team is as advanced as yours.:D
We are all kid pitch, stealing, but no D3K.

Just 10 kids on the team, with four that are new to the game this year and have not played other sports. Four with one year of experience and three that can catch, field, throw and pay attention, one of the three that has just one year under their belt. Most are nine and ten. With so few kids we get a lot of reps in practice working to bring their game up. Much of our competing leagues field more experienced and even "second year" aaa (10u) teams - but we kind of fell in a hole between AA and majors. Anywho, we play against a lot of kids that are older and can really swing the bat. It scares me to have a newb on the infield whose attention span tends to wander, or self preservation skills have not really developed.

STILL, my goal is to get everybody an inning or two on the infield by mid year. I spoke with the parents at the beginning of the season and tried to be as nice as possible about it. A month in, we just have one that has not seen the infield. I suppose I am lucky the parents have understood and not thought that little Sally that just picked up a mitt should be playing 1b every inning. Actually, it is opposite for my team. Only three girls WANT to play 1b. :rolleyes:

We would be more competitive if certain players did not see the infield but it is rec and I feel an obligation to get the girls involved as much with the spirit of the action as possible. Granted, they COULD see more action if they learned to get involved with backing up bases etc. but with a month of experience we are not there yet.

Personally, I do not think you are a jerk for doing what you think is best fo rthe girls as long as the parents and girls understand and all are working at getting their skills up to be safe. I have seen too many girls put their mitt up to catch a ball on the left side of their face when the ball flies by the right side.

Good luck!!
 
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Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
Little league U10 coach here, previously coached U8 coach pitch for two years. my girl is 8 (league age 7) only allowed to play U10 because they needed a coach. Have a pretty good group of girls (talking attitude, not necessarily ability). Two play travel, another at their level, then 3 or 4 more one step below that, a couple more below that, then two that are really struggling. We use continuous batting order, so my dilemma is only about defensive positions. I only have 11 on roster, we play 10, so no one sits more than one inning a game. My dilemma is the last two, really torn up that through 9 games, they have only played outfield. However, neither can really catch a thrown ball. If I am working with them and throwing directly into their gloves, they can make catch, but one consistenly moves out of way of the ball (in air on on ground), the other is really tiny and tries, but not much success catching the ball. I have spent some individual time with them both, and spend more time than I should during warmups for games working individually with them (when I am busy trying to prep field, talk to other coach and blue, thinking of assignments, etc.)

Also, other defensive dilemma I have is one of my top players is lefty (throwing and catching), so she plays 1st pretty much any time she is not pitching. I have some other girls interested, but I do not think they will understand that it is hard for a lefty to be effective in infield anywhere other than P, C, or 1B.

My biggest concern is always balancing winning vs playing time/positioning. I generally have my top three travel level players rotate among P, 1B, C and 3rd (only one catches, the other two have no desire, and my girl does a pretty decent job behind the plate), and everyone else but the aforementioned two rotate among remaining infield positions and outfield.

am I being a jerk not playing both or either of these girls (one can throw fairly well, but just does not move feet to get to balls, and is very slow to throw once she has it) in the infield at least for an inning or so a game?

sorry for being so long winded, but this is bothering me

I have similar issues with my slightly older Rec team. Fortunately, I have rock-solid pitching and catching, and my LH 1B (also a pitcher) is outstanding. BTW, my LH 1B could play any position on the field, so give yours a chance to play elsewhere. If she can catch and throw well, she'll be fine. You just need to be sure the kid on the other end can do her job.

Kids have different aptitudes, and progress at different rates. For some, softball just isn't their game, but either the player or parent hasn't fully realized it yet. I've got a few kids who act like a thrown softball is made of wet dog crap, and a gently hit ball goes right through them, as if they were no denser than the air around them. I've got no shortage of good coaching help, but attempts to help those weaker players often bounces off their foreheads. I've got others, some with limited to no previous experience, who practice at home, work hard during team sessions, play without fear, and get better every week.

My rule for position assignment during games is simple; if you can execute the required tasks with reasonable (not perfect) skill in practice, you get to play that position at least some of the time in a game. If you want to pitch, you need to take lessons. If you want to catch, you need to be willing to spend significant extra time with me. Learning to catch and throw at a reasonable level where it's POSSIBLE to make a play gets you IF time. I agree with others that 2B is a good place to work in new infielders. The batting order works the same way; the kids willing to work and improve in practice get more ABs during the games. The ones who don't show up to practice, insist on being automatic outs, or who listen to their generally clueless parents instead of me get to bat towards the bottom.

I've got kids who work hard and give 100% come game time, and others who like dressing for games and coming along for the ride. It's not a hard decision about who to focus the most time and energy on, and I don't feel the least bit guilty about making the team a meritocracy. Everyone deserves an equal opportunity, not an equal outcome.
 
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May 9, 2015
9
0
One of the biggest things you can do for them is a solid amount of time just fielding ground balls. Repetition is probably the best way for girls in this age group to learn and that is how we have advanced our team to the level that we are at now. We use the Mike Candreas ground ball drill slightly modified. With the girls that have issues fiedling start by using this progression:

1. Get them comfortable in the ready position (no ball)
2. Place a ball in front of them and have them field the ball and progress into a throwing position
3. Have them field a smooth (no hops) grounder that is roll right to them
4. Have them field a grounder with hops but not a hard hit
5. Once they are comfortable then you can add some heat to the grounders.

All of these steps help to build confidence in their defense
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
First - good for you for asking the question and wanting to work out the best way to get your beginners some experience in the infield. It is what rec is about. The 'jerks' as you put it, are the ones who are not bothered by it. Probably a better balance statement though is player development/not ending up boring and depressing the girls with a 45 minute inning because our lesser experienced player can't field/throw rather than worrying about an sort of winning (well until playoffs anyway).

So a lot of people on this thread are falling for the mistake of putting your weak fielders at 2B in 10U Rec... big mistake. What you can't have is the simple play at 2B messed up - that always leads to big innings. And if you have even a half way decent pitcher in 10U rec most batters wont catch up to her - which means lots of weak hits to the right side. These HAVE to be outs to keep everything moving. You are setting up your new infielder for failure at 2B because everyone is expecting them to make the play (because it looks so easy) - that isn't what you want.

You play your newly minted infielders at 3B and deep (set up behind the bag depth) for their first experience. Most balls hit to 3B are hits in 10U rec anyway, so if they struggle with a ball hit to them, it wasn't like you were counting on an out anyway. In fact I would even give up SS before 2B in 10U rec for the same reason. Not many people groan when the the 10U rec player throws it from 3rd into the dugout, but they will on a 10ft throw from 2B to 1B, and if they make a half decent effort (field it, stop it, make the throw in vaguely the right direction) you likely aren't giving up more than the bases you were likely giving up anyway with a better player. Lower expectations = less pressure on your less experienced players and everyone in the crowd is saying 'good try' rather than 'oh no'.

You also should be playing your lefty other places than 1B as well - in 10U rec it isn't going to make a big deal of difference at SS like it might in 14U travel and older. If she can play, she'll make most of the plays wherever you put her and she may not get a chance as she gets older - this is a good time for her to play other positions. You should also be looking for the occasion you can play your top players in the outfield as well. That is the right thing to do as well - in fact our rec league MAKES you do this by local rule - no one can play more than 2 innings in a row in the infield except the P & C who are allowed a max of three in a row (this was complex for some coaches but they all figured it out).

I know some of this goes against conventional traditional baseball/softball lore - but you aren't playing with a fully developed team - you are playing with a 10U rec team (though it sounds like you have a decent amount of talent for it). If you go back over your scorebook I think you will likely be surprised by the number of balls that went to 2B over 3B/SS unless it is an unusually strong rec league and how the game was affected if you missed this play (E4 in rec=big inning). You can play traditional roles when you have a team full of travel girls in a travel competition. Here you adjust.

BTW, do not be afraid to move your infield about during an inning. If you have your newer infielder at third and the other team brings up the 10U travel hitter who pulls to LF, then move them appropriately.
 
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May 6, 2015
2,397
113
thanks for all the input, the one girls who has really come along, I am going to start to give some time at 2B to (cannot do elsewhere, she is tiny, and can throw, but only a short distance).

the other one simply refuses to stay in front of any ball (thrown, slow grounder), always pulls away then reaches. you can imagine the success rate at even keeping the ball in front of her.

a lot of my other first year players are doing well, rotate most of the girls through the rest of infield other than P, C, and 1B (I only have 3 or 4 I will play at 1B, even reluctant to put my DD there, she has a good glove, just short (youngest girl on the team), afraid everyone will overthrow her
 
Aug 1, 2014
73
6
Why are you worried about winning at this age?

One word ... Parents. Anyone who thinks winning only matters when you get go older leagues hasn't coached tee-ball. The most emotional games (from the parents) come in the lower age groups. I have coached 6u through high school. 8u and 10u are the most charges games. Winning matters.

Saying that, I would answer the original question by saying recreation is for participation travel and allstars are for competition. Win enough to keep everyone happy and hungry. (.500) But keep in mind that the girls competing against each other are going to wind up on the same team - Allstars.
I have won too many games and been the bad guy. Now I coach the game to give everyone experience but I know when winning is needed.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
I have yet to have a wiining season (two seasons of 8u coach pitch, now 2/3 through first season 10u modified kid pitch, no walked in runs), considered each season a success, kids and team learned, developed, improved. That is my benchmark. I just do not want to set anyone up for failure in front of rest of team, other team (with classmates), etc.
 

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