How much bench time should I expect?

I wouldn't use the word jerk, but I think you should be grateful for the rest. First, I don't care how good any kid is, a little time off in games that don't matter (pool play) is going to help her in the long run as she will have time to rest. And she can't win games on Sunday by herself. If she plays every inning on Saturday, some of the kids who rarely see the filed on Sunday will play less. Trust me on this if your DD has never been the kid who can't get in on Sunday despite kicking arse on Saturday, it will lead to resentment by the kids who don't get the opportunity, and they will leave your team if they don't get PT even on Saturday. Then, the team suffers.
Second, a little bench time will give her a chance to see how the kids who don't get in the games on Sunday see the game. It isn't easy for everyone, and some of the kids who never sit have no understanding of how difficult it is to contribute to a team when you don't get regular at bats.
I have had two DD's on teams where a few of the kids literally never sit, while my DD's played maybe 40-50% of the innings on Saturday and rarely if ever on Sunday. I've also been the parent of a DD who plays most of the time when others usually sit. This isn't MLB where they are getting paid or NCAA softball where they get a scholarship. It's very hard for a 12U player to be happy for everyone else when they get no shot at playing. They will do it, they learn some things about life, but they aren't going to be ready to help when you need them (and almost every team does need contributions from the 11th and 12th kid on the roster at some time during a season) if you can't give them a real shot on Saturday. Think of the team on this issue and I think you'll see the wisdom in the coach's decisions.

GunnerShotgun said:

Sounds like she is playing too much but you didn't say what level the team is. If it's at the "A" level there are probably 11 other parents complaining that your DD plays too much.

As bracket pitchers get older they won't even play much at all in pool or bracket games when they aren't pitching.

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We play C/B tournaments and a few open.

I have read that as pitchers get older pitching becomes their one and only position. We were in that situation on our team last year. Which was one reason for the team switch. We decided to play down to get more field time. DD really enjoys playing all positions.

Orange Socks said:

"Still feels like DD is getting punished for putting in extra work. She doesn't need the extra development because she does it in her free time."

So you think the coaches are having this conversation.

Head coach: Hmmm...Little Susie has been working hard during her free time. I think we should bench her for a little bit during pool games.
Asst Coach: Yeah. That'll teach her a lesson. While we are at it we should make her play every inning of the bracket games and bench the kids that play more time in pool games.
Head Coach: Brilliant idea!

Dude! This is the way it should work. Get kids in the pool games that need development so those parents don't start looking for another team.

For some reason, I think we are being Punked by the poster.

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Ha, not being punked at all.

And to be fair the team isn't exactly lighting the world on fire on Sunday. We play far more pool games then Bracket games. This means that DD can end up getting less total innings on the field than the other players.

I'm only a few seasons into the travel ball world and have had coaches that have much different approaches to playing time. I really have no idea what the standard operating procedure is. Finding that out was the sole reason for this post.

quincy said:

Jerk is a little harsh.

She is playing when it matters. It is in yours and her best interest to have the other players play better.

You also mentioned coach sits their kid too.

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iSOB,

To give you the benefit of the doubt, I'll second quincy and agree you may be slightly harder than needed on yourself. If I wasn't on these boards several times a day, and in your position as a parent, I could understand the confusion and possible frustration of seeing your daughter sit portions (or entire) games each weekend. To this end, I'll admit that it sounds like the coach should have done a better job of communicating his playing time/overall coaching philosophy to the team. (Although it sounds like he may have, if you've already realized the need to develop all the players, and that he's benching his own kid.)

But as Eric eluded to, think about what the parents of the less-developed players are thinking - their daughter may be spending the majority of time in the OF (maybe even just RF), and bats last or near the bottom. Usually resulting in only a single AB each game. How do you improve a player with 1 AB each game, and maybe one or two ball touches per game (or weekend?).

To continue on the theme of "a rising tide lifts all the boats" - pool play is a fixed number of games - usually only 2 @ 10U, 3 (as I understand it) starting at 12U. Bracket play is much more dependent on the overall team quality. It's stating the obvious, but the better teams get to play more games on Sunday. So if you're daughter is getting 100% playing time in bracket play, then come next Spring, if those lesser players have improved even the slightest, then you're daughter will likely not only be playing more games, but playing more meaningful games, against better teams, the deeper they go in each tournament.

iSitOnBuckets said:

Should I just keep my mouth shut and realize that this is for the benefit of the team as a whole? Is this pretty standard?

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Yes........

iSitOnBuckets said:

We play C/B tournaments and a few open.

I have read that as pitchers get older pitching becomes their one and only position. We were in that situation on our team last year. Which was one reason for the team switch. We decided to play down to get more field time. DD really enjoys playing all positions.

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Whether or not a pitcher plays other positions is going to depend a lot on the makeup of the team as a whole, and the versatility of the pitcher in other positions. On my DD's current team (14U TB), our #1 and #2 pitchers will generally play CF when not in the circle because they are both excellent in the OF as well, and our roster is a little thin right now. Our #1 P is the most versatile ballplayers on on the team in terms of overall abilities. You can literally put her anywhere on the field, and she will do a good to excellent job. Our #2 is also very versatile, but is limited by being a lefty. That said, there have also been pitchers my DD has played with that aren't good enough fielders to take a from someone else when they aren't in the circle.

iSitOnBuckets said:

Ha, not being punked at all.

And to be fair the team isn't exactly lighting the world on fire on Sunday. We play far more pool games then Bracket games. This means that DD can end up getting less total innings on the field than the other players.

I'm only a few seasons into the travel ball world and have had coaches that have much different approaches to playing time. I really have no idea what the standard operating procedure is. Finding that out was the sole reason for this post.

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"Standard" will vary from coach to coach, but the scenario you describe is pretty common.

My DD is the #1 catcher on her team, but the team has 3 good catchers, and all of them need to be kept sharp (we've had situations where we've been down to 1 due to injury and illness). My DD also plays 1B. In a day of 3 friendly games, or 3 pool play games, she will typically play 1 game behind the plate, 1 game at 1B, and 1 game on the bench. As one of the better hitters on her team (usually in the #4 spot), she will bat every game. We have a few players that will typically play every inning of every game, but that's largely to do with a lack of depth at those positions on our team. If my DD was playing less than 50% of the team's defensive innings, I might suggest that she ask the coach if there is something different she needs to be doing to earn more time. If she's playing more than 50%, it's not an issue.

iSitOnBuckets said:

Ha, not being punked at all.

I'm only a few seasons into the travel ball world and have had coaches that have much different approaches to playing time. I really have no idea what the standard operating procedure is. Finding that out was the sole reason for this post.

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There's you're answer in a nutshell. The coach is trying to develop a team of 12-13 players. You're only worried about your DD.

It sounds like your DD's coach is doing a good job at balancing the lower level kids with the more talented players. Your DD is playing in most every game and hitting in every game. You have no idea how many parents would kill to have a coach like your DD's.

DD plays 12U but started travel in 8U so we've been doing this awhile at this point. IME, the coaches who play pool the same as bracket care about trophies more than players. We played in a big tournament this weekend with a lot of teams that are well above our experience/skill level. We played really well in pool and actually had the chance to be the #1 seed in the whole tournament. Halfway through the coach switched things up, to have girls playing in their secondary positions, the ones they're still learning. We ended up giving up 2 runs which put us as the #4 seed, I think it was. IMO he made the right decision. When do these girls (who are still young and developing players) get experience if not in pool?

Teach your DD not to look at the bench as punishment. It's a team and everyone sits sometimes. Our coach teaches them score keeping and how to track pitches while they sit. The girls on the bench get a great education about the game. He'll have them sit with him while calling pitches, talk about why he called something when he did, etc. Their job is to soak it all in, and to cheer on their teammates until it's their turn to go in and someone else gets to sit.

When I coached, I would reverse the batting order for pool play. Just a small move that may give the weaker hitters an extra at bat during pool play.

iSitOnBuckets said:

Ha, not being punked at all.

And to be fair the team isn't exactly lighting the world on fire on Sunday. We play far more pool games then Bracket games. This means that DD can end up getting less total innings on the field than the other players.

I'm only a few seasons into the travel ball world and have had coaches that have much different approaches to playing time. I really have no idea what the standard operating procedure is. Finding that out was the sole reason for this post.

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Your DD bats every game at #1 or #2... That means she gets more bats than any other player on the team. And she gets to play 100% of the time on bracket day? And if it is only 1 of the pool games she is not playing defensively, that means she isn't out there for what - 4 innings maybe? Out of lets call it 20-25 innings (3 pool games + 2 bracket games, 1:15 time limit, 12U - 4-5 innings per game is probably about average). That is REALLY good. And as the team progresses it is likely there are more bracket games coming - so more innings your DD plays.

So what is your concern exactly? Is it that the coaches never sit anyone else who you consider 'good' on this team? That you are losing pool games? That the bottom of your roster doesn't really deserve to play? Honestly at 12U coaches who are willing to work the pool games with as many players in as many positions as possible is what you should be looking for.