Rec Allstar travel positioning players

My philosophy was they played rec ball to rotate around and it was very little to do with competition. I viewed all stars as more competitive and more about the win. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong.

When my DD was 9, she made the LL all-star team. She was not one of the better players on the team, and she played the LL minimum in the two games they played (3 defensive outs, one at bat). Once they were out, she was devastated that she did not play more. She felt it was unfair since she made it to all the practices, just like the other girls.

I sat with her and explained that during "all-stars", you pick the best players and are trying to win the games. I explained to her that even though she made every practice, there were girls on the team who went to pitching lessons and worked on throwing and fielding outside of their regular practices, and it would be unfair to them since they put the work in to getting better. The rest of the summer, my DD asked if we could go have a catch at the park EVERY DAY. She couldn't wait for fall ball to show the other players how much she improved. It was a big turning point for her.

Sometimes parents (and coaches) have to be able to handle their child's disappointment and hurt feelings to help them learn an important life lesson. It was tough at 9, and I'm sure you will get much more blow back at 7 and 8, but it is worth it in the long run.

I read an article once about the importance of the outfield, it being the last line of defense. If it were me I'd talk up the importance of having strong players in the outfield. On our travel team our outfield is really weak and we lose games because of it all the time. Girls used to rec ball see the outfield as an insult but once you're playing in tournaments where girls can actually hit it past the infield, it's just as important.

Zachary Farrell said:

My philosophy was they played rec ball to rotate around and it was very little to do with competition. I viewed all stars as more competitive and more about the win. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong.

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You just have to find the right balance. All-stars are more competitive, and you are trying to win. Nothing wrong with that. But it's 8U. My main goal for that age would be for kids to finish all-stars saying, ''Softball is fun, I'm sad it's over, I can't wait until next season, I'm good at this.'' Winning contributes to this feeling. But so does getting an opportunity to play the more active positions and being challenged.

IMO, it comes down to this -- What lineup rotation would maximize all 12 players' joy of the game? Imagine it from the perspective of an 8-year-old.

grcsftbll said:

I read an article once about the importance of the outfield, it being the last line of defense. If it were me I'd talk up the importance of having strong players in the outfield. On our travel team our outfield is really weak and we lose games because of it all the time. Girls used to rec ball see the outfield as an insult but once you're playing in tournaments where girls can actually hit it past the infield, it's just as important.

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I'd give this advice only if it's the truth. Often, it is not.

If it's coach pitch, then some 8U all-star teams are good enough to put the ball in the outfield frequently, if not most of the time. If that's the case, then the players quickly will see how fun and important outfield is.

But in many 8U all-star situations, a single outfield position is not that important, especially if you've got 4 outfielders. I'd prefer not to try to con the players into believing that OF is more fun/important than it really is because they'll be smart enough to see that it isn't and that infield is more fun at this level. As they get older, outfield becomes more and more important. But right now, it ain't always that fun.

PA SB Dad said:

Sometimes parents (and coaches) have to be able to handle their child's disappointment and hurt feelings to help them learn an important life lesson. It was tough at 9, and I'm sure you will get much more blow back at 7 and 8, but it is worth it in the long run.

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I agree to a point, but IMO, the goal of 8U all-stars should not be life's lessons. Not the main goal, any way. It's to nurture the players' love of the game. I agree w/ your 9-year-old. She should've played more, she would've had more fun, and she would have the same work ethic any way. The life lesson she learned was that coaches care more about winning than 9-year-olds do and that unfortunately the adults are in charge.

PA SB Dad said:

When my DD was 9, she made the LL all-star team. She was not one of the better players on the team, and she played the LL minimum in the two games they played (3 defensive outs, one at bat). Once they were out, she was devastated that she did not play more. She felt it was unfair since she made it to all the practices, just like the other girls.

I sat with her and explained that during "all-stars", you pick the best players and are trying to win the games. I explained to her that even though she made every practice, there were girls on the team who went to pitching lessons and worked on throwing and fielding outside of their regular practices, and it would be unfair to them since they put the work in to getting better. The rest of the summer, my DD asked if we could go have a catch at the park EVERY DAY. She couldn't wait for fall ball to show the other players how much she improved. It was a big turning point for her.

Sometimes parents (and coaches) have to be able to handle their child's disappointment and hurt feelings to help them learn an important life lesson. It was tough at 9, and I'm sure you will get much more blow back at 7 and 8, but it is worth it in the long run.

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^^^This ^^^

The attitude of "outfield is purgatory" is pervasive until you get to the point where you're losing games because your outfielders are jogging, walking in instead of drop stepping, and making terrible decisions on where to throw the ball. My 12U rec team has a few who still don't get it, and when I put my #1/#2 catcher in center field, she pouts even though a few missed outfield plays have cost us runs this season. OTOH, one of my poorer arms asks to be in right field because at the start of the season I told her she'd throw out a B/R at 1st, and 3 games in she did just that.

My MS team had a similar issue - girls used to be the hot shot on their rec teams being only mediocre on the school team. They'd mope about starting in the outfield, then get balls hit over their heads. I managed to finally convince one (who played SS in rec but I had in CF) to give it 100%, and she turned into a roaming beast, catching anything even close to her - but it took her making one pretty awesome catch to flip the switch in her head. After that she was excited to be in the outfield.

I honestly don't know if you can make an 8 year old happy in the outfield. Probably not. Maybe a reward system for every time they back up a play or just move their feet when the ball is hit?

BuckeyeGuy said:

The attitude of "outfield is purgatory" is pervasive until you get to the point where you're losing games because your outfielders are jogging, walking in instead of drop stepping, and making terrible decisions on where to throw the ball. My 12U rec team has a few who still don't get it

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You do have to convince them that outfield matters, but you still can't make outfield more fun than infield in 8U. Which you acknowledge in your last paragraph. How do you balance fun (infield/outfield) with winning in 8U all-stars?

CoogansBluff said:

You do have to convince them that outfield matters, but you still can't make outfield more fun than infield in 8U. Which you acknowledge in your last paragraph. How do you balance fun (infield/outfield) with winning in 8U all-stars?

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I have to admit, I agree that at 8U, it is about learning and getting everyone in. However, it really depends on what part of the country you are in. 8U in PA means coach pitch and most of the girls are unable to throw and catch most of the time. However, I saw a YouTube video of an 8U All Stars game in Thousand Oaks CA, and there were girls playing that were lights out pitchers, fielders, and hitters. What feels right for one part of the country might not be the same elsewhere.

grcsftbll said:

I read an article once about the importance of the outfield, it being the last line of defense. If it were me I'd talk up the importance of having strong players in the outfield. On our travel team our outfield is really weak and we lose games because of it all the time. Girls used to rec ball see the outfield as an insult but once you're playing in tournaments where girls can actually hit it past the infield, it's just as important.

Click to expand...

Outfield becomes more and more important as the players get older, but 8U REC or All-Stars probably sees few balls to the OF.

I guess when mine did 8U all stars we played some good teams. No, the outfield didn't get as much action as the infield but they did get plenty.