bgecoach

this screams "danger, danger, danger." i told all of my incoming players that no position is guarenteed and they may play any and many positions before the season is over. if they wanted a guarentee on a position i'd pass on them. sounds like a parent that could a PIA...

CoachJimKrusherz18U

As a coach, there is only one thing you can guarantee, that's that you'll put the best players on the field that earn their positions week in and week out. No one has a set position, they earn it week to week in practice, tournament to tournament.

What a Player "likes" to play may not be what the TEAM needs.

Mr. Charlie

My daughter's first year of travel ball was the first year of 12U. I don't know for sure because we did not keep season stats at that time but I don't think she got a hit that year and didn't play much. Second year of 12U maybe only a couple of hits. She was working on becoming a pitcher at the time and her first year of 14U (the first year we kept track of and published stats) she hit .170. She continued to work at it and one year later dropped the pitching and focused all of her time on hitting. Her second year of 14U she hit .280, her first year of 16U she hit .325, and this past summer which was her second year of 16U she hit .350 with .429 OBP and .500 SLG. The thing is, I don't know if any of that would have happened if Ken would have cut her when she was 11 years old.

I guess it all depends on what your priorities are. If helping kids become the best players you can help them to be, then don't cut. If putting together the killer team is what it's all about then I guess there has to be some casualties. Let me point out also that my DD plays for what I would consider a bottom 1/3 A team or a top 1/3 B team. We understand exactly where she and her team fits in the pantheon of softball. The life's lessons she's learned being a part of this team will serve her well in her rapidly approaching adult life.

All the above assumes an honest commitment and effort from the player.

bgecoach

i think this is great and sometimes it just a matter of having someone (besides your parents) believe in you. it's obvious that ken saw something in your daughter and no doubt she has an excellent work ethic... glad to hear she is doing so well.

on the other side, i don't think cutting kids is such an awful thing either. many years ago i was cut my freshman year from the basketball team. the thing is i had made the team the year before. it was a huge blow to my ego but you know what??? i survived, went on and played sports for many years after and learned that nothing should be taken for granted. that lesson, at a young age, taught me that as an adult, regardless of what my intentions are, that if someone out performs me i could loose a client in my business just like a spot on the team.

i will not bring back a few girls that were on my team this year to play next year. nothing personal but they, for a variety of reasons, are not a good fit for the team. sometimes you are actually doing a player a favor by not bringing them back. every team is not a good fit for ever player.