Drama in this Sport

[JJsqueeze]

JJsqueeze it is sad but I have seen enough in our 5 years of travel to believe every word.

Even a super talented 8 year old with 3 years of travel ball experience that is on a team that has a bunch of D-1 prospects and a dark, evil former coach running around spreading vicious lies about the kid? Sounds more like notes from a brainstorming session for the next Disney movie then anything I have seen in real life.

 

[Eric F]

Drama occurs in youth sports when parents feel they need to actively advocate for their kids so that they don't get cheated or are made to feel bad. It is a natural reaction for parents of young children to try and protect their kids, so you see this kind of behavior on "competitive teams" at the younger age groups. It may or may not get better as you get older, as it is completely dependent on how the parent acts/reacts to perceived slights or "unfairness" towards their child. This happens in all sports, not just softball. Hang out at a hockey rink for chuckles - you will see some very bad behavior in the stands when the 6 year olds are playing.

As soon as I read that ^, I had a flash back to playing ice hockey as a kid, and a couple of times where fights would break out in the stands between parents. Not one of us ever had a clue what the issue was. We just wanted to play the game. Whatever "injustice" had occurred, it was solely in the minds of the adults.

 

[Ken Krause]

I'm not sure that the OP means the coach is literally looking for D1 prospects. I think she just meant that the coach doesn't want any kids who are not good athletes or just learning the game.

That said, I think that's a ridiculous condition to base a team of 8 year olds around. At 8 the expectation should be that they are just learning the game, and the coach's expectation should be that he/she is going to teach the game. And give the kids a good experience. Anyone who thinks anyone but the people involved care who wins 8U nationals is nuts.

If anything, the goal should be on giving ALL the kids a good amount of playing time - pretty much even as long as they are working at it - allowing them to learn their understanding of the game, growing their skills and helping them develop a love for the sport. An 8U team like that should have minimal drama. It's when people care who is the #3 8U team in the state that you start having problems.

And by the way, I imagine that is a USSSA ranking. I wouldn't put too much stock in that. Those rankings are based on some automated formula that has to do with wins and losses tied into the teams you're playing. The actual top teams in your state may not even be playing in those tournaments, in which case they won't show up in the rankings. I'd put even less stock in it for 8U where the kids can be all over the place from day to day.

 

[Rambler34]

Even a super talented 8 year old with 3 years of travel ball experience that is on a team that has a bunch of D-1 prospects and a dark, evil former coach running around spreading vicious lies about the kid? Sounds more like notes from a brainstorming session for the next Disney movie then anything I have seen in real life.

Honestly I have seen a great almost unbeatable 8U team fall apart and then have the coaches bad mouthing the parents and kids. Not saying that all of the girls were D-1 prospects but there are several great ball players off of that team.

I have seen an assistant tell a family their 10U DD will not get much playing time after the fall season had wrapped up because the HC had other plans. It came to light later that the other assistants and HC had no idea why the girl left. The assistant was worried about his DD competing for a spot.

We are only in our first year of 12's but it seems like a lot of the drama and things are in the younger groups so hopefully most of this is behind us..

 

[bucket pinata]

Got Team Drama? Three step Plan.
1 quality lawn chair
2 sturdy cooler that will double as a foot stool.
3 out field fence

 

[LilahKay]

Maybe it does get easier as they get older. My dd has one more full year of 8under, hopefully after that year things will calm down. Yes my dd plays other things, basketball and swim team. We have just never seen this level of drama. Also, that is USSSA ranking which does not mean much I agree! The coaches on the new team just want The best players they can get.

 

[canyonjoe]

I would seriously stay clear of an 8U coach that even knows his teams ranking. Every level needs to be fun but 8U and 10U develop the love for the game.

 

[Laura Hahn Fields]

Obviously I don't live in the South so I don't know what your kids have to go through just to play softball - but I think things like 6U All-Stars and 8U travel ball are ruining the game. JMO. I'm so glad DD waited until SHE was ready to ask us to move her to travel ball at 2nd year 12U.

I know this is going kind of OT but just because your kid wasn't ready for travel ball til 12, that doesn't mean no 8 year old is. When mine was 8 we did All Stars over the summer. It was pretty much the only option to keep her playing, and she didn't want a break. Her rec coach was coaching, her BFF on the team, so we said sure, why not. It was her decision. When All Stars was over we went back to rec for one season. She just didn't like it as much. She'd hit a homerun, get back to dugout and say, "In a tournament that would only have been a single." She hated the lack of competition. We had 3 girls on our team from the All Stars team and we won the rec championship, and she was mostly just annoyed that most of the other teams weren't a challenge. There are definitely plenty of cases of parents pushing their kids into something they're not ready for, but in our 7ish months of travel ball, what I've mostly seen is girls who LOVE the game. Keeping mine in rec would have stunted her development as a player. Do I care? Not really. I want her to have fun- I never played sports or care a whit about them before she took up softball. But SHE cares. That's what matters to me. If she's ever not having fun her dad and I will be happy to make a change.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

There are always exceptions to the rule. Your DD is probably one of them. As long as she is playing for the love of the game, good for her.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

I know this is going kind of OT but just because your kid wasn't ready for travel ball til 12, that doesn't mean no 8 year old is.

Letting this one go - never said your kid wasn't ready for TB at 8 - but never said mine wasn't either...