- Jun 24, 2013
- 427
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Also don't get stuck in the rec ball mentality of "My DD's not going to be stuck in the outfield. That's where they put the weak players." I coach an 8U travel team. Last tourney about 40% of the balls went to the OF. It normally ranges between 40-60% this time of year due to older girls and hotter bats. If I put my "weaker" players out there in the OF, then there would be several in the park home runs each game. I put my speedsters out there. I also teach them to move and back up a base if they don't have a play on the ball. My girls are not daisy pickers, they move on the ball. I move my girls around so that none of them become the "weaker" players. Sure for braket games I might strategically place some players based on their strengths to start with, but I also move them around after that intial placement. If my stud C (or insert any other position here) goes down and no one else has played there, I am in a world of hurt. My goal is to teach these girls, not fill a trophy case (because I already know how great I am, LOL!)
I would watch the coach issue however. If he tells you one thing just to get you on the team and take your money and then does it to everyone else, that is a BIG RED FLAG. Been there, done that, still paying off the loans. Other indicators to look out for:
1) carrying a bloated roster (13+ girls): Having too many girls sit on game days makes for some unhappy parents, having unhappy parents will cause them to start trying to jostle for positions for their DD's and then you have lots of anger and loss of team unity.
2) constant player jumping and dumping (i.e. picking up the newest "best" girl on the market and sitting a longer term teammate). A coach willing to drop you at the drop of a hat because someone "better" comes along will cause the parents to fight amongst themselves and will creat a hostile team environment. When a player can be cut at a moments notice it causes the parents to start pointing out flaws about the other girls to try to keep their DD out of the bottom 3.
3) a coach not teaching fundamentals and wanting to win badly in this age bracket. At 8U it really needs to be about player development. Before they move on to 10U they should have throwing and catching pretty much straightened out. Baserunning skills and sliding should be worked on heavily because they are not yet afraid to slide at this age. You should start developing pitching skills for those that want to go that route. If the coach is all about wins at this age, you have the wrong coach.
I would watch the coach issue however. If he tells you one thing just to get you on the team and take your money and then does it to everyone else, that is a BIG RED FLAG. Been there, done that, still paying off the loans. Other indicators to look out for:
1) carrying a bloated roster (13+ girls): Having too many girls sit on game days makes for some unhappy parents, having unhappy parents will cause them to start trying to jostle for positions for their DD's and then you have lots of anger and loss of team unity.
2) constant player jumping and dumping (i.e. picking up the newest "best" girl on the market and sitting a longer term teammate). A coach willing to drop you at the drop of a hat because someone "better" comes along will cause the parents to fight amongst themselves and will creat a hostile team environment. When a player can be cut at a moments notice it causes the parents to start pointing out flaws about the other girls to try to keep their DD out of the bottom 3.
3) a coach not teaching fundamentals and wanting to win badly in this age bracket. At 8U it really needs to be about player development. Before they move on to 10U they should have throwing and catching pretty much straightened out. Baserunning skills and sliding should be worked on heavily because they are not yet afraid to slide at this age. You should start developing pitching skills for those that want to go that route. If the coach is all about wins at this age, you have the wrong coach.