DD is a second year 10u player. She is her TB teams #1 pitcher. Her team played in a Fall fast pitch league. The league was three games on Saturday's with 1.5 hour drop dead times. There were 6 teams in the league so we played teams multiple times. During the second to last Saturday of Fall league season, the HC didn't use my DD in the circle for any games. He came up to me in between games and told me that he wanted to get his fielders some work and that because my DD would strike everyone out his fielders weren't getting any work in. I told him I understood.
The final week of the season, the HC wasn't at the Saturday games and the AC told me that he wasn't going to pitch my DD because all she did was strike everyone out. I told him that she still needs to get circle work in as part of her personal development as a pitcher. AC coach pitched my DD that final weekend for 3 innings.
Fast forward to this Sunday (about 8 weeks since the end of the league). My DD hasn't faced any live hitters since the end of the league games. Our coaches have a 2 hour scrimmage scheduled. I figure, great my DD will get some work in facing live hitters again. She's been working on the dropball and hasn't had the opportunity to try and throw it against a live batter yet. We played 8 innings in the two hours. 8 different pitchers from our team threw 1 inning each and my DD didn't get any circle time again. Visibly upset after the scrimmage, my DD told me the coaches told her she would have just struck out all the batters so that's why she didn't get any time in the circle.
My positions:
1. You can't properly develop 8 pitchers on a team. There just aren't enough innings. Pick 3 or 4 pitchers and tell the rest, there won't be many, if any, innings for them on this team.
2. Pitchers need circle time to develop. You can't simulate things like adrenaline, pressure or an umpire with a fickle strike zone in practice. Pitchers need to learn to control their emotions, adjust to what's going on out there and then come sit for 10-15 minutes and go back out with limited warm ups and do it again.
Am I wrong to say something to the coaching staff? I just feel like I can't continue to allow them to hold DD back so they can bring along some of the other players who just aren't as good (we have 7 or 8 kids who are good B (possible A level) players and 3 or 4 kids who are developmental). All the coaching moves are geared towards bringing along these developmental kids. I've also been thinking that either her current team just isn't going to be good enough to play at the level DD should be at or the coach isn't putting them in at the proper level they should be at.
The final week of the season, the HC wasn't at the Saturday games and the AC told me that he wasn't going to pitch my DD because all she did was strike everyone out. I told him that she still needs to get circle work in as part of her personal development as a pitcher. AC coach pitched my DD that final weekend for 3 innings.
Fast forward to this Sunday (about 8 weeks since the end of the league). My DD hasn't faced any live hitters since the end of the league games. Our coaches have a 2 hour scrimmage scheduled. I figure, great my DD will get some work in facing live hitters again. She's been working on the dropball and hasn't had the opportunity to try and throw it against a live batter yet. We played 8 innings in the two hours. 8 different pitchers from our team threw 1 inning each and my DD didn't get any circle time again. Visibly upset after the scrimmage, my DD told me the coaches told her she would have just struck out all the batters so that's why she didn't get any time in the circle.
My positions:
1. You can't properly develop 8 pitchers on a team. There just aren't enough innings. Pick 3 or 4 pitchers and tell the rest, there won't be many, if any, innings for them on this team.
2. Pitchers need circle time to develop. You can't simulate things like adrenaline, pressure or an umpire with a fickle strike zone in practice. Pitchers need to learn to control their emotions, adjust to what's going on out there and then come sit for 10-15 minutes and go back out with limited warm ups and do it again.
Am I wrong to say something to the coaching staff? I just feel like I can't continue to allow them to hold DD back so they can bring along some of the other players who just aren't as good (we have 7 or 8 kids who are good B (possible A level) players and 3 or 4 kids who are developmental). All the coaching moves are geared towards bringing along these developmental kids. I've also been thinking that either her current team just isn't going to be good enough to play at the level DD should be at or the coach isn't putting them in at the proper level they should be at.