Lazy Kid

YoungBuck said:

Anyone 'pull their funding' from their DD when they don't or won't put in the time required to improve?.. by funding I mean instruction or other expenses.

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When we got ready to commit to a TB team we confirmed with my DD that she was willing to put in the time and effort to be the best she can be. My DW and I were not going to pay for her to play high-level TB (team fees, uniforms, travel, hotels, pitching lessons, batting lessons, ect) if DD was not willing to give 110%. If DD just wanted to play for fun there were plenty of local REC leagues available.

JAD said:

When we got ready to commit to a TB team we confirmed with my DD that she was willing to put in the time and effort to be the best she can be. My DW and I were not going to pay for her to play high-level TB (team fees, uniforms, travel, hotels, pitching lessons, batting lessons, ect) if DD was not willing to give 110%. If DD just wanted to play for fun there were plenty of local REC leagues available.

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This has been how have addressed this with DD also. We told her If you like softball there is a decent local team that plays about 40 games a year with a good group of kids, decent coaches, and is cheap. If you love the game, think you want to play in college, and are willing to do the work then we will pay a little more & drive a little farther to put you on a better team. She chose the latter and ran with it. She hits a few times a week, works out a few times a week, sprints a few times a week...all on her own. That being said I would say that is not typical for most 14 year olds. We have tried a ton of stuff with my 11 year old DS to find his "thing" that he loves and will work at, and we're still searching. He likes baseball, likes soccer, likes football, likes tennis....he hates practice lol. When the season ends he puts his gear away for the year. It's just not in his nature to put the extra work in and I'm fine with that. As long as he stays active he can keep doing what he's doing, but I'm not paying out a bunch of money for him to be in any high level league that will burn him out and make the sport a chore.

YoungBuck said:

Anyone 'pull their funding' from their DD when they don't or won't put in the time required to improve?.. by funding I mean instruction or other expenses.

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I told DD2 when she started pitching this past summer she had to practice at least three times between lessons or she would not get any more. I also told her she had to self-motivate, I was not going to remind her to go out and practice. Whenever she asked I would make sure I took her out to practice.

It's so hard to know whether you're doing the right thing for your kid. DD has a ton of potential but 50% of the time she practices on her own and 50% when she is reminded to by her dad or I. She plays on a top level organization in our area and is the ace of the staff. It's hard to tell whether it's being absent minded and just wanting to veg out after wrapping up the summer season or if she consciously decided not to put the work in. Well, yesterday was her day to run (per her PC if she wants to build stamina she needs to run at least 3x a week) and at 9 pm her dad asked her if she was going to and she said no. He asked her if she forgot or if she knew it was her running day and she decided not to do it. She said she knew it and decided not to do it. I informed her that she's not going to her weekly pitching lesson this week. I'm not going to pay money for a lesson if she's not going to put the work in outside of the lesson. In 14U it's time for her to decide to sink or swim. Either put the work in to get better on your own or stay where you're at and lose your spot on the team for someone who wants it more than you do.

question, at least in my area, if you bail on a scheduled lesson (for whatever reason, excuding illness, etc.), parents would still be on the hook for the $, as normally the instructor could have filled that slot with someone else, si this not the norm?

The only thing that will anger me as a parent is lack of effort/hustle. I planted this seed early on and it's made an impact so far. Same for academics if I feel less than full effort is being given I seem to channel my old man and she doesn't want that! I don't want that!

When it comes to private lessons DD has been told that if she wants to do them she must practice at home as well. She is a catcher so it involves me working with her so I know if she is doing what she is suppose to be doing. DD is 11 and I do not ask her to go outside to play catch nor do I tell her she needs to practice. If she wants to get better and keep going to lessons she has to do all that on her own.

My deal with both kids is if you show me the drive and determination I will supply the tools needed. When you stop showing it I stop supplying.