When do 8U Girls Learn Skills

lancer360 said:

Spring ball was my daughter's first season. Had a few practices at the beginning of the season and then games started. After that it was games on Tues/Thurs and some tournaments. My daughter made our regions 3rd string all-star team. We have practices on Tues/Thurs and tournaments on the weekend, but the coaches don't want to work on detail skills like foot work. They just want to run high repetition drills that do nothing but reinforce bad habits, not correct them. We are a third string team, realistically we have a one in a million chance of winning an tournament let alone district or state. I would view success as making sure the girls have fun and improving fundamental skills. When are these girls supposed to actually learn, even simple stuff like stepping back to catch a fly ball?

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Kids start learning skills, when a skilled parent steps up to coach them, instead of complaining on a forums about the coaches who did step up.

I've seen 8u travel ball teams playing up with 2nd year 10u teams made up entirely of 11 year olds, and beat the pants off them. They start learning skillz when someone start teaching them.

Get out of the bleachers, and take the field!!!!

wheresmycar said:

Kids start learning skills, when a skilled parent steps up to coach them, instead of complaining on a forums about the coaches who did step up.

I've seen 8u travel ball teams playing up with 2nd year 10u teams made up entirely of 11 year olds, and beat the pants off them. They start learning skillz when someone start teaching them.

Get out of the bleachers, and take the field!!!!

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I guess I didn't make it clear. I am one of the assistant coaches. I haven't coached before so I'm trying to learn as much as I can.

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they learn skills when a parent or other older figure goes out with them and works on the skills repeatedly. when I coached, I had to beg parents to play catch with their kids, telling them more than any equipment they could buy, it was key to the girls developing.

lancer360 said:

I guess I didn't make it clear. I am one of the assistant coaches. I haven't coached before so I'm trying to learn as much as I can.

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Sorry, I fired off that response without reading entire thread.

Focus on basics. Throwing and catching.

Work games into your practice.

One my players like is the bucket game.

Bucket on home plate. Two bats on ground making where outside edge batter's box would be. Line behind 2nd base in outfield. Player starts in grass throwing home, and must release ball before 2nd base. Ball between bats = 1 point. Ball hit's bucket = 3 points. When player earns 3 points, they get to head to dugout, get a drink and watch rest of game. Ball does not need to reach bucket in air. This is about accuracy. I tell them, if you cannot get the ball between the bats, you will never throw a runner out at home. Set limits at start of game... after 5 players with 3 points, everyone gets a drink, then start over. It's ok to have winners, but don't make one player the "loser", better to reset after half the team sits down.

Give homework. Have parents play catch with their player at home for 30 minutes a day. Give then a couple of basic things to work on.

Your story reminds me of where my DD and I started.

My DD played softball for the first time as a second-year 8U player. I didn't know anything about how to teach softball skills (I didn't play baseball growing up), but started my journey to learn about the game in order to be able to help her. Finding this site was the best thing that happened for both of us. The shared knowledge of people who have seen and experienced every part of the game at every level is a powerful thing. My DD's journey and development has been significantly enhanced by what I have learned from the great people here. Early on, most of her improvement was happening outside of team practices and games. The basic skills of throwing, catching, fielding, and hitting were largely a product of her and I in the street in front of our house, and in our yard. All-star teams gave her the opportunity to play with higher-level players, which was also an important step along the way, but it was still the outside work where most of the development was happening. During her second year of 10U, we decided to make the step up to travel ball, which included a LOT more team practice time, with coaches who were teaching the game at a much higher level than she had experienced. The upward step in her development was significant, and out work at home dropped off significantly (mostly just hitting). Now 13yo, playing 14U TB, she has pretty much outgrown the need (or desire - LOL) for my input, but has great coaches and instructors helping guide her towards her goal of playing college ball..

For me, I started as a helpful parent in 8U. In that first season, I ran the scorebook, helped on the field during practices and warmups, and learned all I could from the people around me. At the beginning of 10U, I was an AC on my DD's spring season team, and subsequent all-star team. As she moved through rec ball, and into TB, I continued to be one of her team coaches, and I learned a ton from some really amazing people. Now, I'm just a parent and a scorekeeper. I miss coaching, but the team my DD is on is the right place for her at this point in her journey.

Sometimes being a "knowledgeable" parent isn't enough. I have the knowledge (at least I think I do) but I don't have the eye. I understand the mechanics of a good swing, but I can't watch someone swing and tell if something isn't right. I watch DD's hitting lessons, and her coach will tell her what she did wrong on a swing, and I just can't see it most of the time. I know what I'm looking for, but I don't have the eye to pick it up.

dbronstein said:

Sometimes being a "knowledgeable" parent isn't enough. I have the knowledge (at least I think I do) but I don't have the eye. I understand the mechanics of a good swing, but I can't watch someone swing and tell if something isn't right. I watch DD's hitting lessons, and her coach will tell her what she did wrong on a swing, and I just can't see it most of the time. I know what I'm looking for, but I don't have the eye to pick it up.

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I've been using slo-mo video on my phone. Works great since I just show her. For now, most of my instruction is in her stance. I keep reminding her to make sure she is doing the same thing everytime. Then each Monday her hitting coach will make a tweak or teach her something new and I will work with her on it all week.

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IME lower level coaches underestimate what the kids are capable of learning and tend to dumb things down more than they have to. Push them and let them rise to the occasion. They'll have more fun that way too. JMO.

DD is 16, when is someone going to teach her to play softball? She has only been playing for 10 years.

You have a long road. ��