Should age or ability matter more?

[bmakj]

2 games into the season, we had about a dozen practices, softball minors manager here, we have 2 LA7s, 3 LA8s, 3 LA9s, and two LA10s (most of our LA10s are in Majors)

My dilemma is that one of my LA7s and couple of my LA8s (including my daughter) are outplaying the LA10s, one in particular.
Once I designate a P and C (only 4 girls willing to catch, including the 3 who can pitch), options are fairly limited to round out IF and have a reasonable chance to make outs in the field. I give every player some IF time each game (usually at least two innings, with only 10 it is pretty easy, and we play 4 in OF, so no one ever sits), but inevitably some girls end up playing more IF time than others, and the one LA10 will probably spend more time in OF than some of the LA7s and the LA8s, and all the LA9s (I give her IF time at 3B, since at this level generally the only outs you get from player at 3B are force outs at 3B).

One thing I really try to do is prepare older girls whatever level I am coaching at for the next level, but one girls absolutely moves out of way of ball every time it comes near her in field (she bats OK), the other tries real hard, very strong, just cannot coordinate herself for a decent throw. Worked hard with these two players in practices, but now that games have begun, not really a lot of practice time available (will be lucky to do one a week).

I am trying to balance making it possible for girls to make plays, with giving each girl a good experience and opportunities.
Do you think it will cause issues with the older girls and/or parents if the LA7s and LA8s are playing mostly IF, while some of the older girls play mostly OF (but still getting 2 innings a game normally in IF).

One thing I am doing this year is tracking where each player plays each inning, so if there are inquiries, I have good records to fall back on (one year when I had 16 kids (yes, 16!) I had a dad ask me after the 2nd or 3rd game why his daughter was not getting more IF time).

 

[quincy]

What does LA mean?

 

[bmakj]

sorry, league age

 

[quincy]

That age you should be moving players around a lot.

It is easy to get sucked into the win.

IMO you are doing a deservisit to both players if you do not favor the better player a little bit.

And yes you are going to get yelled at no matter what you do. Offer the lessor player's parents advice on how to improve.

 

[dgh31]

When I coached at that age (10U) there was only one position where I considered the girls skill level and that was first base. I felt like for safety reasons any one who played first base had to be able to catch the ball. Other than that I tried my hardest to give every girl the same number of innings at infield/outfield regardless of skill level. I also let every girl who wanted to pitch (11 out of 12) pitch in our games. There were other coaches doing it differently but I felt like our team had the most fun. We ended up having a 6 and 6 record.

I also kept track of where each girl played every inning just in case a parent asked.. but they never did.

 

[bmakj]

I do move them around a decent amount over course of season, but I also try to let them stay in same position for two innings at a time, and for many try to keep them in one IF position for a given game. I hope lessens the chances of player who plays 5 or 6 different positions in game, all without seeing a single ball come their way, and also think it is less confusing. Think this is best to help them learn, more repetitions at same position, rather than a same reps but all scattered around.

so for determining where to put girls in IF (other than P and C), I have a few guidelines for myself

-the girls with decent fundamentals but limited throwing strength, play mostly 2B, SS. SS normally reserved for those with little more game awareness (as they cover on steals).

-at this level, ball hit towards 3B (unless there is a force on 3), is pretty much base hit, so really just want them to be able to keep the ball in IF, so girls with inaccurate arms but able to at least stop ball/defend themselves (although very few hot shots at this level) play 3B

-1B must be able to catch a thrown ball, but might not be as aware of what to do with ball when they field it (since in most cases I just want them to step on 1B).

-at this age, this means same 4-5 girls normally end up playing 1B, as catching thrown ball many still (even with masks) pull body away from ball and stab at it or swat at it. these 4-5 also includes my Ps and Cs, so I have 4 or 5 that will rarely see the OF. then I have 2 or 3 that will only see 2 innings a game normally in IF. I try very hard not to show favorites, including my DD, but at same time want to put team in position to have shot at making plays defensively (not so much for winning sake, just important I think for girls to do this for confidence and to keep it fun). nothing defeats team morale like several cleanly fielded balls thrown decently (OK, not perfect, but catchable) to 1B missed in an inning. Ps get down, and try to K every batter, other fielders lose interest, etc.

 

[quincy]

OF sucks at this age.

Where players lose interest is if the P is walking everyone or throwing 8 pitches to every batter.

If the game is moving along the fielders are involved, errors or no errors.

 

[bmakj]

OF sucks at this age.

Where players lose interest is if the P is walking everyone or throwing 8 pitches to every batter.

If the game is moving along the fielders are involved, errors or no errors.

this is why I limit Pitching to those who can throw strikes. I don't care about velocity, or if the batters are rocking the ball all over. Must limit walks, this is how to keep game interesting and fun (and how the girls learn from games, noone learns anything from a walkathon game). and Cs have to be able to throw back to P decently (for me not really an issue, only 4 girls want to this year, my 3 Ps and one other). I tell them if they want to P, they have to work hard outside of practice (and we also work with them at practice, all who want to), and demonstrate to me in a practice that they can hit strike zone at least one out of three times on average. At this level, if they do that, most batters will swing at one of those 2 non strikes, so you have a chance of getting them out (or they put ball in play, just as good as a K to me at this level).

have never had a winning record in three years, but I thought each season was a good one, most girls really developed at an individual level, and team certainly progressed as a whole. but I agree with quincy, need to make it interesting for all the girls, if Mary is consistently fielding ground balls cleanly, but her nice throws to other IFers are being missed every time, she gets discouraged as well.

 

[GoCaboNow]

I coached DD 8u and minors rec teams. We always had an assortment of kids that had never developed, basic, catching skills. Some were young, some older. After a while the kids know who can catch and who can't and are afraid of the ball. I have never had an older kid hold anything against a younger one that was better at this age. Usually, they just want to get through the season without being humiliated or hurt. I worked my tail off with these to get a thumbs up approach to catching and try to feel good about the game. Sounds like you are doing fine.

 

[JAD]

As you move up in age groups the players age matters less and less. At 16U a lot of tournaments are considered "high school" and combine 16U and 18U.