Are we asking too much at a young age?

[chinamigarden]

None of this is an issue if you don't care about your child's health when she is in her 30s. If she can catch 8 games a weekend now and practice catching 9 hours a week..., do it. Who cares if she will have trouble walking up and down stairs when she is 35.

Ok perhaps that is a bit sarcastic, but the point is that what your dd does now and the toll on her body will affect her future health. Yes occasionally we might ask our kids to do too much. Maybe a weekend where the other catcher(s) (or pitcher(s)) is hurt or otherwise unavailable. But to make it the norm, week in week out, you are asking for serious trouble. And that trouble will come sooner then later, in fact it might already be here.

The pain and issues she is having are not related to playing on a 12u team, its overuse. That can happen at any age.

 

[Il softball fan]

YES!!!!!!! Way to much for any girl to be playing a demanding position like catcher for that many games, and three practices a week. May not be a problem now, but could be causing long term damage to her knees, throwing elbow, and spine for that much overuse. I would def scale it back, is she were my DD.

And as a 44 year old former distance runner, I can tell you that once damage is done to your knees it sucks!!!! My knees hurt all the time.

 

[Eric F]

Just for comparison sake...my DD is an 11yo playing 12U TB, and is the team's #1 catcher. In a 3-game day, she might play 2 of those games behind the plate. In a 4-game day, she might play a little more, but probably not an entire 3rd game unless there are odd circumstances (injury, etc.) that are limiting our other catchers. Part of this is moderation on the wear and tear on her body. Part of this is getting the other catchers time behind the plate to keep their skills sharp. Part of this is getting my DD playing time at other positions to keep her skills sharp. Especially at younger ages (12U and below), I'm a big fan of building "ballplayers" rather than single-position players. A girl who is competent at multiple positions is a bigger benefit to the team, and has more options in the future.

 

[BobInMadison]

This is why DD 3 switched teams. On her old team she was clearly the best pitcher. By the end of the season she was starting every game and finishing most games. So she switched to a team that already had a strong starting pitcher. DD 3 wound up pitching most innings so far, but other pitchers get more circle time. She feels less pain on Monday.

 

[smddad]

We are in the Northwest as well. We may have played against each other

Some of these 12u girls are huge! We played a team in April where 4 of their girls were over 6' and the shortest player was 5'5". We joked that they had driven themselves to our game. My daughter didn't even come up to their knees in her catchers position.

The coach needs to develop another catcher. If he plans on playing in the state tournament in Tri-Cities, you NEED 3 catchers. Last year the temps were between 105° and 115°F, depending on which field. And 3 three hour practices a week at 12U!? I'd be looking for another team, because this coach sounds clueless by the information you've given us. Quality instruction over quantity.

 

[let it be fun]

Just for comparison sake...my DD is an 11yo playing 12U TB, and is the team's #1 catcher. In a 3-game day, she might play 2 of those games behind the plate. In a 4-game day, she might play a little more, but probably not an entire 3rd game unless there are odd circumstances (injury, etc.) that are limiting our other catchers. Part of this is moderation on the wear and tear on her body. Part of this is getting the other catchers time behind the plate to keep their skills sharp. Part of this is getting my DD playing time at other positions to keep her skills sharp. Especially at younger ages (12U and below), I'm a big fan of building "ballplayers" rather than single-position players. A girl who is competent at multiple positions is a bigger benefit to the team, and has more options in the future.

Great point about learning multiple positions. My DD1 was primarily a catcher through 14U but always split time and played OF and middle IF as well. She got on a team with a catcher who is currently playing for an SEC school. Fortunately for her she could play OF and play it well. We then moved and she made her new team in the OF. Halfway through the season, one of the catchers got hurt and she played catcher for them while the other girl was out. Her HS coach used her all over the place. She played primarily catcher but played everywhere but P and 3B at one time or another. Versatility is a great thing and will help your DD get time on the field. It also helps at tryouts when coaches know that a girl can play and is willing to play where they need her.

 

[Il softball fan]

The coach needs to develop another catcher. If he plans on playing in the state tournament in Tri-Cities, you NEED 3 catchers. Last year the temps were between 105° and 115°F, depending on which field. And 3 three hour practices a week at 12U!? I'd be looking for another team, because this coach sounds clueless by the information you've given us. Quality instruction over quantity.

Agreed. Never heard of three hour practices, especially three times a week for that long. I think it would be very hard to keep any player's attention and have them putting in much effort for three hours.

 

[Eric F]

Agreed. Never heard of three hour practices, especially three times a week for that long. I think it would be very hard to keep any player's attention and have them putting in much effort for three hours.

Our team field practices are typically 3-1/2 to 4 hours, but usually only once per week. Occasionally twice, but not very often, and that's only if we aren't playing on the weekend. We also have a separate team batting practice, but we break those down to two 1-1/2 hour group split-sessions.

 

[Pop time 00]

We are 4 hours a week on the field, (2 nights, 2 hours) and then usually 1 and a half hours indoors batting at our facility.

 

[grcsftbll]

Our team practices on off weeks are 4 hours. That's not position practice though, just team practice. The catchers catch some but not the whole 4 hours or even close to that. The pitchers don't typically pitch at all during team practices; they're expected to practice on their own (we go early usually). We do the long practices on Saturdays on the weeks we don't have a tournament. Our weeknight practices are usually once a week and are 1:30.