Discussing practice plan with HC

MikeP said:

Thanks. We have some really talented girls but usually by their 2nd year of 10u we lose them to Louisville teams. My dd likes playing here at our home ballpark with her friends but she also gets tired of losing to the bigger organizations. Next fall we will age up to 10u and I don't know what we will do,stay local or move on, since half our team is 7 and won't move up with us. Hopefully we have a good spring season, have fun playing rec and all stars with her friends and make lots of good memories.

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Thought about moving up a year early? DD is in her 4th year of 10U after 1 year of 8u travel. She sounds alot like the young lady you described. Best thing we EVER did for her growth was to go early! You might be shocked. I do know what you are saying - we play in the Louisville area occasionally and those LS teams can be steamrollers at times. Good luck!

And the drama begins....There will always be an unspoken conflict between you and the coach. You were supposed to coach, left the team and only when that fell through, came back. Now you want this coach to be receptive to your ideas and input? Softball is full of egos and I don’t see that happening. By your own admission, most of the girls in this team are average at best. I think the thing to do is either look for a more competitive team or start your own team. You have a vision, experience and some players to start with. You can’t expect the current team to rise to your dd’s level. You should be on a team where your dd is working to rise to theirs. Good luck!


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Eric F said:

I know Tony Medina is based on So Cal (my DD attends his clinics regularly), so I'm guessing he was just in Louisville for a quick visit. Are there other fielding clinics the girls can attend outside of team practices? If there are, it might be a path to improving their fundamental skills that are lacking.

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Yes, we are attending one on the 28th put on Fastpitch Masters. It is the head coach from Transylvania I believe and 2 others that played college ball, I forget who they are. Unfortunately only 3 of us are going to that one. I pitched it pretty hard to the other parents, told them that any coaching from college level instructors would be great for us. I guess they didn't think so.

coachbubbles said:

Thought about moving up a year early? DD is in her 4th year of 10U after 1 year of 8u travel. She sounds alot like the young lady you described. Best thing we EVER did for her growth was to go early! You might be shocked. I do know what you are saying - we play in the Louisville area occasionally and those LS teams can be steamrollers at times. Good luck!

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We talked about it and she didn't want to yet. She guested 2 times this fall and actually got some nice hits and caught a nice pop fly in RF. She hit one legit triple that turned to a HR from an overthrow, the other coach was not happy seeing an 8 yo score on them. She is so small, 50"& 53#, and some of these 10 yo's are huge. I think that intimidates her.

MikeP said:

Hopefully we have a good spring season, have fun playing rec and all stars with her friends and make lots of good memories.

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Hope so.

My DD1 played for one summer on a town team. She made good friends, but her priority was softball, and the quality of the team was holding her back. She joined a good TB team. Her twin spent a full year with that town team, having a good time with friends was more important to her than softball. Then she was bit by the pitching bug. She quickly became the best pitcher on the town team, and in a matter of a month decided she wanted a better team. Her team friends were not as important as playing the best she could. She tried out and made the same team her sister is on.

DD1's coaches last year, who were sisters, told me they made the mistake of staying with the mediocre TB team their friends were on, rather than moving up to a better team. They regretted it later.

I wouldn't know how to advise a young girl what to do, since both of my girls found their way, in their own time.

MikeP said:

We talked about it and she didn't want to yet. She guested 2 times this fall and actually got some nice hits and caught a nice pop fly in RF. She hit one legit triple that turned to a HR from an overthrow, the other coach was not happy seeing an 8 yo score on them. She is so small, 50"& 53#, and some of these 10 yo's are huge. I think that intimidates her.

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Just wait until 12U! The size dynamic is pretty ridiculous.

Cyder517 said:

And the drama begins....There will always be an unspoken conflict between you and the coach. You were supposed to coach, left the team and only when that fell through, came back. Now you want this coach to be receptive to your ideas and input? Softball is full of egos and I don’t see that happening. By your own admission, most of the girls in this team are average at best. I think the thing to do is either look for a more competitive team or start your own team. You have a vision, experience and some players to start with. You can’t expect the current team to rise to your dd’s level. You should be on a team where your dd is working to rise to theirs. Good luck!


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No, there won't be any drama. I guess I was looking for some magic words of wisdom on how to talk to him, stupid in hind site. Sometimes it helps to vent as well. I ask if he wanted us back and he said yes. He's in charge and I won't do anything to bring drama to the team or cause hard feelings. However, some parents are griping about the daddy ball stuff so that may become an issue. I know my role and will either do what I can to help these girls or move on if it seems to be a waste of time and effort. The line about rising to others level was exactly what I was looking for when we left. I hate that I probably sound like a whiny rear but I really do want whats best for the team.

Eric F said:

Just wait until 12U! The size dynamic is pretty ridiculous.

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At least she has a tiny strike zone!

Eric F said:

Just wait until 12U! The size dynamic is pretty ridiculous.

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Bonus if you put a December first year next to a January second year.

Mike,
It sounds like you have good intentions and I would bet that 98% of us on this board have put ourselves in similar situations. Pretty much every time this happens you are better off keeping quiet and just learn from it and politely move on at the appropriate time.
You won’t fix the coach and at this age so much of the skills development is dependent on the parents anyway that practice won’t really matter. But still really frustrating .


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