Rec ball took a crummy turn

[quincy]

You need a filter, you need to see who you are throwing to before you let go of the ball. You cannot play full out. You can break the habit of not playing full out fairly quickly.

Batting 15 players is lousy a lot of players will only bat once a game.

 

[JAD]

Every situation is different, but we starting playing TB at 10U and never thought twice about going back to REC ball. Not sure why anyone would do it. It would be like repeating 3rd grade when your DD is already in 5th.

PS - as far as playing other positions, you do not have to be at practice or in a game to teach your DD how to drop step and track fly balls in the outfield. 1B skills can be learned outside of practice too. If your DD is fearless and has a great arm find a pitcher who needs a catcher for lessons and give it a try. DO NOT let any coach (REC or TB) be the only positive influence on your DD - especially if she wants to play in college. Take ownership of her development!!! How many pitchers would there be if parents just waited for their REC or TB coach to put their DD into the circle?

 

[MsDinosaur]

If she's looking for another position, try outfield. At 10U, nobody wants to play there, she won't tear anyone's head off with a throw, and it will help with TB, particularly as they get older.

That was my thinking. Have her volunteer for outfield, 10U rec girls don't want to play there anyway and she's less likely to hurt anyone. Or possibly 1st base. She would probably be able to save some wild throws headed to first, but wouldn't be likely to be throwing much and possibly hurting other kids. Only bad point is that there would be lots of 10U rec girls who WOULD like to play first and they might get mad if she's always there.

 

[BT3100]

Our REC league asked me and one other parent to move up to Majors when our DD's were early 10's. Both girls were pitchers and got a chance to play up against some better talent. It helped them as the 12" ball and 40' distance allowed them to get a taste of 12U ball.
The downfall was their hitting took a while to come around. Now they both play 12U on very good travel teams.
I remember the coach for the majors telling me and my wife "We want your kid to move up as we are scared that she will hurt a younger girl when she hits". I thought that she was blowing smoke, now I understand.
If you can't move to a majors team then I agree with a few people on here that said to pull your DD out. With 15 girls on a team your DD may get frustrated watching girls play who are not contributing at the level of your DD.

 

[Rocketech1]

That was my thinking. Have her volunteer for outfield, 10U rec girls don't want to play there anyway and she's less likely to hurt anyone..

The OP said that the coach just wants to win and since his DD is the best player on the team there is no way this coach will let her play the outfield. At 10u rec, the best player will be in the infield every inning and likely playing SS, 1st, or 3rd if she is not a catcher or pitcher.

In my opinion no 10u travel ball player should be playing with 7-11 year old rec girls but she made a commitment to this team so she should stick it out. The season is short and a lesson learned, I hope?

 

[#10]

I wouldn't play rec if my kid is already established in travel. Imho, practice is where a player's development takes place, and if the kid is holding back at practice due to her team's lack of skills/confidence/coordination, that kid is ultimately regressing.

One thing to consider - are there scheduling conflicts between the rec and travel team? What I've seen with kids who play both is absences at rec practices and games due to the travel team's attendance expectations. If that's a factor, most talented kid or not, expect the parental grumbling and drama to rear its ugly head.

 

[MsDinosaur]

The OP said that the coach just wants to win

That's the real shame. If the coach cared more about about development than winning, he could help both the travel ball player and the rec players.

 

[nicelag]

With a 15 man roster many of those girls will only see 1 or 2 innings of play depending on their rotation. Not much time for development.

Also, take this into consideration as I did. I talked to a sports doctor who told me that many underestimate something that can happen to better players playing down to kids that cannot catch well. Good players instinctually get the ball an throw it. However, injuries come when that player looks at his target, realizes who is there and puts the breaks on the arm motion to slow down the ball. The last minute slowing of the arm motion tightens all of the muscles in the shoulder and arm, and that tightening can cause major problems. When the muscle tightens while the arm is in full motion the resistance can cause tears to several of the small fibrous tissues. You either need to throw it or not. If you want to play to fulfill your commitment and be a mentor how about 1st base. Less throwing here if that is your concern.

 

[PA SB Dad]

That's the real shame. If the coach cared more about about development than winning, he could help both the travel ball player and the rec players.

10U rec. The only parents/coaches who are crazier than 10U rec coaches are 10U TB parents/coaches!

 

[Justmoi]

I guess im a tad puzzled from what I am reading here. It sounds like its viewed as a sin to play to win if the game is rec.Why does player development have to be in conflict with playing to win? While certainly one can teeter too far either way, it seems to me that a balance can be arrived at between the two all the while teaching the concept of being part of a team. Besides, learning how to win is a skill in itself. Also from what I have seen of rec, most teams have 2 to 4 players that range from below average to sometimes even pretty good, so while playing in such enviroment will not likely cause much skill growth for such a player...generally there should be 1 or 2 who she can throw to.

If your coach is truly all about winning, keeping a player like your daughter will be their priority. A meeting with the coach might get the position exploration your looking for. It has also been my experience that coaches who are win at all costs tend to favor the better players anyway, and it is usually the lesser players who ultimately get neglected the most.