Practice Blues

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Jun 1, 2015
500
43
Situation: 16U rec ball - games start at the end of June. School ball going on now - players from LL through Varsity on my team.

April: Practice 3 days a week - typically Tuesday/Thursday from 6-8pm and Sunday 12-2pm. (6 hours/week).
May: Down to 2 days a week - typically Wednesday 6-8pm and Sunday 12-2pm. (4 hours/week).
June: Same as May - games start the last Monday of the month. (4 hours/week).
July: Practices just Sunday from 12-2pm.

I have had issues in the past with attendances at my practices - I have 11 girls currently and I'm lucky to have that. So I've implemented a new attendance policy for this season that works as follows:

- Players must make at least 75% of all practices during the season before they're eligible for their first game (we're looking at about 20-25 practices).
- Attending an entire/majority of a practice earns "one practice credit" toward their goal.
- Missing practice because of an "excused reason" (school ball/practice, school event, etc) earns "1/2 credit" (provided I'm contacted first)
- Players can make up a 1/2 credit by show up to or staying late after another practice for 30 minutes of individualized work (hitting, pitching, fielding, whatever).


Reasoning for this: I understand things come up where people aren't always able to attend - I research all the schedules for the teams my girls play for and try to schedule around their games. I've also had VERY FEW practices with all my girls together, and it showed last year with a 5-8 record (granted it's our best record in 3 seasons). This way, if a player needs to miss, there's not a major penalty for it and the onus is on them to make the commitment to making it up, just like schoolwork for an absence. I think this is BEYOND fair and doesn't even have to be done, but I'm choosing to do it.

One parent (a returning player) has already started with the, "How do you expect these kids to do homework/eat dinner when they're going from their HS practice to yours?" (this said when MY practice schedule/times are concrete and she's really annoyed with the HS team's practice which is constantly changing because of field conditions). What the school does is none of my concern/say - my times are my times because of their schedules. Ironic part - I'm our little league's head umpire - her husband is one of our coaches and her youngest son plays still, so they'd be at these fields 5 nights a week anyways - so the "homework/dinner" statement to me seems rather hypocritical.

I've been as firm as I can about the matter but I don't want any further backlash. I've stressed that this is a commitment just like her HS team is and she honors that commitment when she can - and if not, she earns 1/2 credit and will have to make it up like any other player. Am I being too unjust in my decision? Most of my new and returning players find zero issue with this idea, and this team is a COMMITMENT team - I've stressed this C-word repeatedly because my girls only pay for their uniforms - they need to show up so that I can work with them to improve their abilities and so we can gel as a unit. Thanks all!
 
May 4, 2016
200
28
Just from looking it seems like an awful lot of commitment for rec ball. However rec ball where you can be totally different from where I am.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
So, you actually punish them when they have school ball? You give them 1/2 credit but those not playing school ball get a full credit. So, you are encouraging them to miss school ball if they want a full credit to play in the summer.
 
Jun 1, 2015
500
43
So, you are encouraging them to miss school ball if they want a full credit to play in the summer.

Nowhere did I ever say that. My practices run 6-8pm at night while school ball practices run in the afternoons. There, to me, is no reason why players who finish a practice hypothetically at 4:15pm or so cannot make a 6-8 practice that same day, particularly when there's no other time during the week (due to my work commitments) that I can hold practices. Players who happen to have games when we have practices are excused and get their 1/2 credit - it's not a punishment, I'm giving them the 1/2 because they are "practicing" enough during their games, just not with my team.

Just from looking it seems like an awful lot of commitment for rec ball. However rec ball where you can be totally different from where I am.

I call us "rec ball", but we don't have an official "name" for the type of league we are. We don't do tournaments - we're just 8 - 10 communities with teams, we usually play a round robin-type schedule with playoffs at the end of the season. It's so close to "pick up 18 girls and play ball in a park" that Rec Ball is the only close thing to describe what type of league we are.
 
May 4, 2016
200
28
Have you thought the amount of practice you are having might be why you only have 11 girls. I know if my daughter was playing high school ball and taking private lessons we would probably pass on playing.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
DD will play/ practice with 1 Team at a time.

Other players will go right from our games to practice for another Team.

Penalize her all you want, she is not going to show up when school ball is going on.
 
Jun 11, 2012
741
63
By the time my DD gets home from HS ball most days she heads to her room for homework and we see her for dinner and then it's back for more homework/studying so I would never expect her to be going to another practice and then trying to do homework/study after that.
It seems like a huge commitment for a rec team especially when around here all of the club teams 16/18U shut down for the HS season. DD's club will start practices before everyone's HS season ends since some teams go deeper into the post season, there is no punishment for missing club practice because the HS team is still playing.
 
Feb 18, 2014
348
28
We are the same, you sign an agreement before starting school ball that you won't play for any other team during the season. That includes practice. Ands around here rec stops at ninth grade.

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk
 
Feb 13, 2015
164
18
Two, 2 hour, practices a day are too many. Around here, middle and high school leagues don't practice until school ball is over.

I think you should do fundamentals practices with your girls that don't play school ball, then do situational practices with the full team when school ball is finished. Don't expect or demand the school players at your early year practices.
 

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