Smh....at a loss

Little Angels Softball said:

I don't know, maybe it would help. Sometimes, short 30-minute or 60-minute sessions with someone who knows what they're doing can be beneficial to both her mechanics and her self-esteem. Nothing like pounding a few balls during front toss to bring a smile to a girl's face. Also, lessons can jump-start a love for the game. One-on-one instruction removes the social aspect of the team and just might help this little girl make a solid jump in skill development.

I've taken on many pupils who couldn't hit a beach ball with a tennis racket and had them doing just fine in a few short months. Almost always, I heard the same refrain from parents: "She just wouldn't concentrate hard enough at practice with her team."

I don't know this kid or much about her situation. All I do know is that I've seen it work more than enough times that I wouldn't rule it out for anybody.

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Never thought about that. I'll let her know. Thanks!

dadofadirtlover said:

Never thought about that. I'll let her know. Thanks!

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I can't tell you that it will work for this girl, but a handful of private hitting lessons, especially if positioned as an "activity" rather than being forced on an unwilling subject, certainly won't hurt the girl, either.

Little Angels Softball said:

I can't tell you that it will work for this girl, but a handful of private hitting lessons, especially if positioned as an "activity" rather than being forced on an unwilling subject, certainly won't hurt the girl, either.

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Yeah I'll pose to the parent to be cautious how she words it. If she can get success that way, I'm all for it.

I am concerned that a lot of us parents are pressurizing our DDs to much to play softball and, hence, taking away some of the fun and enjoyment of the game. Thru experience over the years I have backed way off on any pressurization whatsoever and am finding that they, on their own volition, are scheduling their own practice opportunities. I will offer one anecdote below.

All last winter I was working on my youngest DD to start throwing correctly. No matter what I did I could not get her to do it and dropped the subject. Come Spring I was watching her at practice throwing with nearly perfect form. I asked her, "So, why are you throwing correctly, now?". "Because you finally got off my back," she said.

RetiredCoach said:

I am concerned that a lot of us parents are pressurizing our DDs to much to play softball and, hence, taking away some of the fun and enjoyment of the game. Thru experience over the years I have backed way off on any pressurization whatsoever and am finding that they, on their own volition, are scheduling their own practice opportunities. I will offer one anecdote below.

All last winter I was working on my youngest DD to start throwing correctly. No matter what I did I could not get her to do it and dropped the subject. Come Spring I was watching her at practice throwing with nearly perfect form. I asked her, "So, why are you throwing correctly, now?". "Because you finally got off my back," she said.

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Ha! My kinda kid.

After three years of coaching rec I would be thrilled if a parent asked what they could do to help their child's development.

More than a few years ago, one of my sons was playing baseball and doing well hitting. The mom of another boy on the team got to talking with my wife about how well he was doing and how she wished her son could hit like that, and my wife said I was a hitting coach and could work with him. The mom asked if I would and I said I would if her son was interested. This was rec league, by the way.

My next move was to talk to her son. I mentioned his mom talking to me and asked if he wanted to work on hitting. He said, "I don't know" or something to that effect and I said "wrong answer." I told him to let me know if he ever wanted to give it a try.

A couple of games later he came up to me and said he would like to work on hitting. We started the next day, and in a week or two he started hitting the ball with some frequency and authority. It was a huge turnaround for him and both he and mom were happy.

None of that would have happened, in my opinion, if I had just taken him right away. There are no magic pills. It was his willingness to listen and learn that created the success for him. I just pointed the way.

Same thing here. If the girl wants to get better and is willing to really work at it you can help her. Otherwise it's going to be a waste of everyone's time.

Try this experiment. Look at your DD's 8U, 10U, or 12U teams and make a list of who you think is still going to be playing in HS and who the good, better, best players will be. Look back at that list when senior year in HS rolls around. You probably got somewhere between a few and a good number correct, but there will be surprises. The fact is that no one can predict or project 100% accurately what every player is going to turn out to be. Heck, pro sports who spend millions on this can't do it consistently.

If a kid wants to work, which is very different than a kid working because a parent makes them work (which sounds to be the OP's situation), a good youth coach will work with them regardless of how good they are or how good they think they will be. You never know. A youth sport coach should never be the reason a kid stops playing a sport and should never tell a kid they should stop playing a sport because they won't ever be good at it. Leave that call to the professional 8U and 10U travel ball coaches competing for national titles.