DD finally decided she no longer wants to play softball. After playing softball for most of her life, the decision was not made lightly. As a parent, I was sad, but at the same time, delighted that we finally got our weekends back. No more private batting lessons, private pitching lessons...
Piggy back on this... lots of retirees are playing pickleball and tennis. There aren't enough courts in public tennis facilities around, and they like to play during daytime.
Each org has different requirements. One profile sheet for DD includes travel schedule, batting coach, pitching coach & HS coach. Another org did not include travel schedule or private coaches. You can go to different orgs and they usually have links to profiles to their 18U team.
Any coach who tells the players to get hit by pitch is a moron. I've definitely seen a handful, thankfully not too many, of players standing right over the zone trying to get hit.
DD got hit by a 60MPH pitch. She had no time to react. Pitcher was trying to throw a curve to DD, a lefty. The ball...
DD wears women boy shorts. Have been wearing boy shorts since she was young and she hates girls-style undergarment. But ever since she reached 5ft, it's really not appropriate to get her men shorts. Women boy shorts are not as long as boys', but still works for her. Not easy to find but try...
2B has the right of way, esp. since the ball is behind the pitcher. It is 2B's ball. But as a pitcher, if it is within grasp, she should catch it unless SS or 2B calls it.
SS has the right of way, followed by in-fielders, pitcher has the least right of way of balls landed in-field. Outfielders...
My large luggage can fit a bat diagonally. I thought of using my golf bag, but we didn't have enough clothes to bulk it up (golf bag is huge). Her entire softball bag fits into the large luggage too.
I am curious, do coaches use DP/Flex on positions other than pitcher and catcher? I often see it used for pitcher, esp. when the coach doesn't want a pitcher to worry about batting. But on someone who is a MIF? Esp. when there are several other MIFs who can hit and field. Just curious how...
I was about to say small ball too. If someone got on base, the next hitter should try to move the runner. Pop ups are the worst, since batter is out and runners are not moved. Practice with live pitching helps them gauge ball speed, timing, and distance. I have no idea why tons of coaches do not...
When our daughter was in 7U, the regular league games were too slow for her. She wanted more.
We researched and found a local 8U travel team that needed a guest player in the summer. She played 2 tournaments with them. We were new to softball since DD was our only child, and we were impressed...
The dreaded 10U...esp. first time doing and seeing live pitching...
When DD was in 10U, the league allows up to 7 runs before inning was over. Most pitcher walked the batters. So you will see on average 5 pitches per batter. This means a pitcher will face 10 batters to give up 7 runs. We were...
For USSSA, at least in this NE area, if you are registered as a C team, you cannot have a B player in the same age group guest play for you. Same if you are a B team, you can't have a A player guest play for you.
Once DD moves to an A-team, they didn't play too many USSSA games. Seems like in...
During the fall, DD (14U) went to a new team. Since 8U, she primarily played SS unless she pitched. Yet, with this team, in a tournament with 5-6 games, she got to play 1 or 2 innings as SS. No matter what the other SS did-multiple errors, watching ball flew by, or overthrowing to 1B, HC...
DD also plays tennis. In tennis, on a serve, if the player touches the baseline before hitting the ball, that's a foot fault.
Yet, when you play at USTA beginner levels, there is no refs. The players call ins and outs and fouls on their own.
In one match, DD's opponent had a great serve, but on...
When DD was in 12U, we moved to this area, and she joined a new team. She became the go-to pitcher. No one did GameChanger, so I took that on. In one tournament, she pitched 200 pitches over the weekend. DD got very sore, and I took her to a chiropractor. Chiropractor taught her band work, and...
I think a player profile sheet helps college coaches to put a face to a name, including background that can be useful for the recruiting coaches.
My DD is still young. She isn't in HS yet. We made one b/c her previous coach insisted on it. We thought it was crazy for a 8th grader to have a...
DD is in 14U. She is short (about 5'1") and weighs about 100lb.
We bought her a 31" -10 bat before the fall season when she moved up to 14U. We clocked her between mid-50's and 60's.
By the next fall, her exit speed rarely reached mid 60's anymore, always hovering in the 50's. She grew about...
Wait, she is in 12U and have such a schedule? DD moved to a 14U National team, and of the 4 tourneys in the fall, the team did 3 out of town. I felt like that's too much, esp. they lost every single game. It cost us over $5K in travel, and I couldn't imagine how many out of town they'd do in the...