Question on positions

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Aug 6, 2013
392
63
At what age do girls start to specialize in certain positions? What time do most coaches start playing one or two girls exclusively in a position all the time?

On DD's current 12U team the coach has her set players on the infield with only 2nd base being a position that rotates with outfield. Then she has set girls that only play outfield. I am wondering if this is pretty standard at this age? Tryouts are starting and DD has historically been a pitcher, however, she is taking a break from pitching and wants to focus more on infield. The current team she is on already has a set infield and DD was never included in that so we have told her current coach we will be exploring other options that might have an infield opportunity for her. FYI - coach understands and has been playing DD more at 1B and DD is doing really awesome.

However when I emailed a coach that had posted that he would have a couple of open positions on his team with a core group of girls, I indicated that DD was a strong infielder and I asked if the positions he would have open were infield and if so she would like to tryout if possible. He sent me an email back saying all girls play all positions and it is not about the individual on his team.....

So is dd's team an anomaly? Honestly DD has played outfield and she is not good. She still wears a facemask in the outfield and has caught crap from other outfielders on her team about it. DH was an outfielder in college and he has tried to work with her and he is now pretty positive that she is not outfield material. She is hesitant and not aggressive out there which is crazy because she is super aggressive on the infield. She is pretty fearless on that dirt but put her back in the grass and she is a different player.

My main issue is that if a team only has a couple open spots and it is a team that is a 45+ minute drive away from us (without traffic), then I would like to make sure we are using our time wisely based on what positions he might have available. Is that unreasonable at this age?
 

Greenmonsters

Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Feb 21, 2009
6,168
38
New England
A lot of TB teams at that age already have many of their girls playing only 1 or 2 positions.

No problem if the 2 positions are IF and OF. If that's not the case, it just confirms that a lot of 12U TB team managers are lousy fortune tellers and end up doing their players a major disservice by pigeon holing them at that age.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
My DD plays 10U travel and each girl has 2-3 positions. And most of them have 1 that is primary, with a few exceptions. I would like to see them learn more positions personally, because you never know where they'll shine. Mine is lucky, she's a true utility player so he can use her to fill in wherever there's a gap but mostly, she plays the same 3 positions. We have one that only plays one position. Most play 2. It seems like most of the teams we play regularly, the girls are mostly in the same situation.
 
Apr 26, 2015
704
43
DD's team is 1st yr 12U. They have a couple players who only play one position, but for the most part each girls has at least a primary and secondary position. DD catches, plays CF and 1st. She is a lefty so she is a little more limited as far as infield positions. She loves catching and loves CF. She is a great 1st baseman NOW, but she is little so the chances of her playing there later are pretty slim. DD's coach usually rotates the girls and tries to give everyone a chance at their secondary position at some point during pool games. During bracket play he plays his best.
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
When I coached 12U, I had fairly set positions. In retrospect, I regret that. Set positions might help you win a little more in the short run because you become better at your position if you specialize at it, but they become better players and understand the game better if they are more versatile.
 
Jun 11, 2013
2,619
113
Playing a set position will make you better at that position, but I think that playing a few positions makes you a better overall player. At 14U players start to specialize, but even then I think they should move around some.
 
Aug 6, 2013
392
63
Don't get me wrong - my dd has played every position on the field - literally. From P to C to IF to OF. She loves to play and if there was only one team that had an OF spot available she would choose that because she just loves to play the game. Would she be an asset to that team in the OF - nope, but she would work hard to keep trying to get better because that is what she does.

What really rubbed me the wrong way about the coach's response to my question was that he was obviously saying my DD was only worried about herself and was not a team player because we asked if there were infield positions available on his established team. I have to believe that if this is a long established team like he is indicating - there must be some of what people are saying - girls playing a couple of spots regularly.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
A lot of TB coaches recruit athletes and then find a position for them, the same holds true in college. I bet 80% of college players (non-pitchers and catchers) were SS on their TB team. The best thing you can do it make your DD as versatile as possible and I would recommend lots of time in the batting cage, because if your DD is going to play 1B, she had better be able to knock the cover off the ball at the older age groups. The comment about your DD being afraid of the ball in the outfield is a concern - if she is afraid of catching pop flies in the outfield you might want to consider soccer.
 
Feb 17, 2014
551
28
It completely varies by the coach and I have seen a wide range of philosophies.

DD plays 14u and there are players who only want to play in the OF. So, that's where they play. There are players who only play IF. There is a player that plays some 1B and some OF. There is a 3B/C. There's a a player that plays 80% C. DD is a pitcher that plays a lot of 1B and some 3B. There's a couple who play some 2B and some OF.

The team DD was on the 2 years prior to this, the same player played 1B every inning of every game for 2 years because she was a lefty and her dad was an asst coach. That's what he wanted, ignoring the fact that she was the shortest player on the team. On this team DD pitched or played LF or CF. There was another pitcher who only played 3B when we wan't pitching. There wasn't a lot of moving around on this team.

There is a pretty good 12u A team in the area that moves players around every single inning except for the P & C.

A good friend of mine had a DD that was a catcher. When she got to HS, there was another catcher that is a D1 kid. She would be stuck behind this girl all 4 years in HS. She quit because she had only played catcher on a team coached by her dad. She never played any where else since she started playing in 10u.

I firmly believe you need to move players around. You can't pigeon hole kids into just 1 position. When they get to HS, they could be screwed. I also agree that playing multiple positions make them a better player.
 

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