What did the coach say? What does she need to work on, and why was she batting last, per the coach?
What to do?
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What did the coach say? What does she need to work on, and why was she batting last, per the coach?
He said his primary concern re: catching is her blocking. She knows she needs to work on that, but, honestly, the other catcher has had a number of costly passed balls in the last two tournaments too, so it's not just DD's problem. Re: batting, she's had a couple of great hits, but he's tinkering with her batting stance. Actually, her hitting coach disagrees with what he's telling her (to not bend at the knee so much), so I need to connect the two of them to figure that out. She did move up two spots in the batting order after their chat.
My DD has always been #1 or #2 on her team as a pitcher. Started on a new team and the pitching time was more sparse than she's used to. We talked about it and I challenged her to make sure it's evident that she should get more time pitching when given the opportunity to pitch. DD worked hard. Added 4-5mph on her FB. Coaches noticed and she started getting the pitching time she deserved. Want it, work for it, earn it!
If your kids batting last in the lineup she either has a bad batting average or has a poor attitude. No coach would place a top batting average last in the lineup in travel. What's her average?
Also, when you said "the other catcher also had passed balls at key times" sounds like you are questioning coaches decision. I'm sure you don't but hope you never speak about that with your kid. It should always be "do what coach tells you". Can't undermine coaches to the kids. Once that happens it's over.
Also, when you said "the other catcher also had passed balls at key times" sounds like you are questioning coaches decision. I'm sure you don't but hope you never speak about that with your kid. It should always be "do what coach tells you". Can't undermine coaches to the kids. Once that happens it's over.
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That's about what I posted earlier. It's a good experience for a kid to have softball conversations with her coach. So that's all fine. But I already know the reasons why kids bat low or don't play certain positions or get more playing time. It's almost always the same. Coach thinks somebody else is better at the job you want. You can always ask what you need to do better, but hopefully the coach has already been coaching you on that. This shouldn't be a mystery either if the coach is doing his/her job. So it's like asking somebody why they bought tires from Mike. Because Mike has better, cheaper tires. What would Wayne have to do to sell you more tires? Have better, cheaper tires than Mike.
I've seen a lot of teams where they like to put a good batter, esp. a fast runner, in the last spot, but someone who isn't really ready for the #1 or #2 spot. That way they can start a rally with the bottom of the order, and have the top of the order batters coming up.
I remember one team where DD #1 had the honor (and I do mean honor) of being the last batter. She was the fastest runner on the team, and the catcher was the #1 batter. That way, if DD #1 made an out, and the catcher got on base, they could bring DD #1 in as a courtesy runner. That was often good for 1-3 bases on SB or passed balls. If DD #1 got on base herself, even better. That way they had their fastest runner on base with the lead-off hitter at bat.
I remember one team where DD #1 had the honor (and I do mean honor) of being the last batter. She was the fastest runner on the team, and the catcher was the #1 batter. That way, if DD #1 made an out, and the catcher got on base, they could bring DD #1 in as a courtesy runner. That was often good for 1-3 bases on SB or passed balls. If DD #1 got on base herself, even better. That way they had their fastest runner on base with the lead-off hitter at bat.
- Feb 17, 2014
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Wait, wait, wait.
When you're in a situation like this, I thought you were supposed to talk to the parents of all of the other good players on the team. Convince them the current coach sucks and go start your own team. Then, bad mouth the coach and all of the parents that stayed with the coach for the rest of your softball life.
You mean to tell me this is not the right way to handle this?
For real, my 2 cents.
Where is DD playing when not pitching? Is she catching? Maybe the coach thinks the team is better with her as the #1 catcher?
Lots of good advice in this thread.
When you're in a situation like this, I thought you were supposed to talk to the parents of all of the other good players on the team. Convince them the current coach sucks and go start your own team. Then, bad mouth the coach and all of the parents that stayed with the coach for the rest of your softball life.
You mean to tell me this is not the right way to handle this?
For real, my 2 cents.
Where is DD playing when not pitching? Is she catching? Maybe the coach thinks the team is better with her as the #1 catcher?
Lots of good advice in this thread.
Before you guys pile on me too much, remember that I never said we were complaining about our coach. The point was that our child didn't understand why he was making certain decisions, and we encouraged her to ask the questions vs. handling it ourselves. I'm not questioning him. She DOES need to work on blocking. Her hitting, while she has flashes of brilliance at times, has been inconsistent. She now knows what he's looking for and she can work to remedy the situation. I was just trying to say that I think it's OK for kids to ask questions (when framed appropriately and respectfully, of course).
I wasn't criticizing. It's good that she spoke w/ coach, and it's definitely OK for kids to ask questions. I was just offering up my opinions on certain types of questions. But I give kids credit for being assertive and talking about things. Good habit to get into.
