2 day tournaments - running out of gas on day 2

Jojo · Mar 20, 2015

A lot of what MNDad says;

*Good nights sleep
*No swimming --swimming is for winners
*No HOT TUBS!
*Stay hydrated and eat light healthy snacks throughout the day

*Conditioning-how often does she practice and for how long?

sluggers · Mar 20, 2015

BTW, what's the best thing to do during long breaks between games? i know rest and sometimes they play VB which i don't agree to.

Volleyball?? Your DD is playing volleyball between games? And you are wondering why she gets tired? Any coach that allows that is clueless.

The entire team should be sitting in the shade playing cards, knitting, coloring, whatever...no physical activity. (A coach has to really control what the kids do between games. )

Softball/baseball is deceptive. It is a game of extremely intense activity for 30 to 60 seconds, followed by a pause for several minutes. Pitching consists of using almost every muscle in her body for 2 seconds every minute.

Can she go out and run 5 miles in 40-45 minutes which I would consider an average time?

You realize we are talking about a 14YOA kid, right?

FastPitchCat · Mar 20, 2015

MNDad said:
These are often overlooked and I've seen it time and time again.

-Is she staying out of the sun between and after games on day one?
-Is she swimming after the games on day one?
-Is she having sleep overs before/during tournaments?
-Is she on social media late at night after you think she's asleep?

thanks, but no to all questions.
with regards to conditioning, i know she's the fastest track runner in PE in her class. even beats the boys

will pay attention this weekend to food, hydration, exposure to sun, sleep.
thanks

GunnerShotgun · Mar 20, 2015

sluggers said:
You realize we are talking about a 14YOA kid, right?

For a 14 year old girl age graded at 60% (local class):

Distance	Target Time	Pace Per Mile
5 miles	0:42:50	8:34

Ken Krause · Mar 20, 2015

Since you say the lethargic behavior happens first game on Sunday, any chance it might be mental? Sounds like she plays with intensity on Saturday. But then the next morning she has trouble cranking it back up until the second game.

Kids at that age have short attention spans - especially these days with the constant stimulation happening all around them. Perhaps her brain feels like it went all-out the day before and now has temporarily lost interest. The interest then gets sparked somewhere toward the end of the first game and then she picks it up again.

If that might be the case - and I'm not saying it is or it isn't, but something to consider - awareness is probably the biggest factor to getting past it. She may need to do something to get herself pumped up. Could be a particular song she likes, or some self-talk, or just a little quiet time at the field to get the motor running before she starts into warm-ups. Something to consider.

MNDad · Mar 20, 2015

FastPitchCat said:
thanks, but no to all questions.
with regards to conditioning, i know she's the fastest track runner in PE in her class. even beats the boys

will pay attention this weekend to food, hydration, exposure to sun, sleep.
thanks

Re-reading my post I didn't mean to sound like your DD did all those. It was more a general statement of things I've seen. Sorry if it sounded rash.

nicelag · Mar 20, 2015

FastPitchCat said:
BTW, what's the best thing to do during long breaks between games? i know rest and sometimes they play VB which i don't agree to.

Those are tough, after all they are kids. Unless it's a big tourney limit it a bit and be sure they eat and hydrate.

FastPitchCat · Mar 20, 2015

MNDad said:
Re-reading my post I didn't mean to sound like your DD did all those. It was more a general statement of things I've seen. Sorry if it sounded rash.

not at all. i took it and made it a checklist.

actually, i re-read your list and that should be a yes to #1 staying out of the sun.
but no to the rest.

FastPitchCat · Mar 20, 2015

Ken Krause said:
Since you say the lethargic behavior happens first game on Sunday, any chance it might be mental? Sounds like she plays with intensity on Saturday. But then the next morning she has trouble cranking it back up until the second game.

Kids at that age have short attention spans - especially these days with the constant stimulation happening all around them. Perhaps her brain feels like it went all-out the day before and now has temporarily lost interest. The interest then gets sparked somewhere toward the end of the first game and then she picks it up again.

If that might be the case - and I'm not saying it is or it isn't, but something to consider - awareness is probably the biggest factor to getting past it. She may need to do something to get herself pumped up. Could be a particular song she likes, or some self-talk, or just a little quiet time at the field to get the motor running before she starts into warm-ups. Something to consider.

ken - i think you might be on to something. i didn't want to think it was mental, but I do think some physical aspect(s) are also contributing to this 'behavior'.

sluggers - she played VB only once and i got really upset at her and told her to stop. yep. some coaches are just clueless.

thanks for the knitting advise. DD knits. i'll tell her YOU said it's okay to knit in-between games.

JJS · Mar 20, 2015

Mine had similar issues. It was just a case of my DD not being a morning person. We have to get her adrenaline going. We almost have to wear her down before the game starts to get her to relax and throw "whippy. This has seemed to increase her speed in early games. Not really sure why it works, but I will take it.

Try having her throw an extended warm up followed by a simulated inning or two. Then have her get her hitting warm up in. Then back to a regular pregame warm up.

It could be that once or twice it was a fluke that she didn't throw as good on Sunday, but now she is aware of it and just tensing up.

2 day tournaments - running out of gas on day 2

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