CoachING 10u c
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Depends on what skills your other players have, and who you're playing, and why you're playing.
Is there anyone else who can catch a ball for 1B?
Do you have someone else to competently play 2B?
Is your pitcher a fireballer, who most other teams are behind? Or is she just getting it over and teams tend to pull.
Does this game "matter" (i.e. does a win/loss make a difference to whether you play more games?)
Are you trying to develop your players? Other players besides just her?
Are you obviously better or worse than your opponent?
You getting killed by small ball?
Can your catcher throw a rope to third on a steal attempt but needs someone who can catch/tag?
Put all those inputs into the lineup calculator in your head...see what comes out. I would tend to move them around at the c level, see what works.
Is there anyone else who can catch a ball for 1B?
Do you have someone else to competently play 2B?
Is your pitcher a fireballer, who most other teams are behind? Or is she just getting it over and teams tend to pull.
Does this game "matter" (i.e. does a win/loss make a difference to whether you play more games?)
Are you trying to develop your players? Other players besides just her?
Are you obviously better or worse than your opponent?
You getting killed by small ball?
Can your catcher throw a rope to third on a steal attempt but needs someone who can catch/tag?
Put all those inputs into the lineup calculator in your head...see what comes out. I would tend to move them around at the c level, see what works.
On my 10U c-ish team this is how I set it up for a game I really want to win. I move the girls around a lot, though, so it's only for a game that "matters"
Tier 1:
Best pitcher at pitcher (not necessarily, but usually, the best player)
Best person able to catch the ball at 1st
Best person to field grounders and make easy throws at 2nd
Right fielder - Someone who is going to pay attention, backup 1st, and make the occasional throw to the 1st baseman on a short outfield hit.
I want to get every easy out I can to the right side of the field
Tier 2:
If I have any left:
Good arm at 3rd, being able to catch and make an occasional force out a plus
Catcher at 10U in our league almost no one is thrown out at 2nd and it's very rare at 3rd. Give me a girl who wants to play catcher and let her see if she can get it or not. But much less important than the emphasis you're putting on it (at least in our league)
Tier 3:
*note we play 4 outfielders, not sure if you do or not*
LF, LC, RC interchangeable
Short Stop - let me get some infield experience for the weaker girls. SS at 10U makes almost no plays. Need to cover 2nd on a steal which we're not going to get the out anyway. Probably not going to make the throw to 1st often on a grounder, etc. So it's a decent place to get some experience.
Tier 1:
Best pitcher at pitcher (not necessarily, but usually, the best player)
Best person able to catch the ball at 1st
Best person to field grounders and make easy throws at 2nd
Right fielder - Someone who is going to pay attention, backup 1st, and make the occasional throw to the 1st baseman on a short outfield hit.
I want to get every easy out I can to the right side of the field
Tier 2:
If I have any left:
Good arm at 3rd, being able to catch and make an occasional force out a plus
Catcher at 10U in our league almost no one is thrown out at 2nd and it's very rare at 3rd. Give me a girl who wants to play catcher and let her see if she can get it or not. But much less important than the emphasis you're putting on it (at least in our league)
Tier 3:
*note we play 4 outfielders, not sure if you do or not*
LF, LC, RC interchangeable
Short Stop - let me get some infield experience for the weaker girls. SS at 10U makes almost no plays. Need to cover 2nd on a steal which we're not going to get the out anyway. Probably not going to make the throw to 1st often on a grounder, etc. So it's a decent place to get some experience.
I'd consider 1B to be the priority position after P & C. Maybe even after P, and before C, depending on how much of a skills difference there is. (The smaller the difference, the more likely I'd be to put the better athlete at 1B).
Strong arms at 3B and SS are useless if your 1B a) can't catch, b) won't catch anything NOT thrown right at her, or c) only knows to cover 1B on every play (which includes balls hit right at her).
I'm going to generalize a bit, but if you're at the 10U-C level, then at least 3+ opposing hitters are still not going to make solid contact against even average pitching, and will be unlikely to pull the ball. 1B is going to see as many, if not more, ground balls hit to her than a 3B during a normal game. As SiB57 mentioned, why give up the easy outs?
But as others have clarified - I wouldn't put her there the whole time. Yes, A/B/C still matters for parity - but you should still be coaching it as a 10U-D team - develop, develop, develop.
Strong arms at 3B and SS are useless if your 1B a) can't catch, b) won't catch anything NOT thrown right at her, or c) only knows to cover 1B on every play (which includes balls hit right at her).
I'm going to generalize a bit, but if you're at the 10U-C level, then at least 3+ opposing hitters are still not going to make solid contact against even average pitching, and will be unlikely to pull the ball. 1B is going to see as many, if not more, ground balls hit to her than a 3B during a normal game. As SiB57 mentioned, why give up the easy outs?
But as others have clarified - I wouldn't put her there the whole time. Yes, A/B/C still matters for parity - but you should still be coaching it as a 10U-D team - develop, develop, develop.
I show this to most 10U coaches. You might not adopt it all, but read it. We utilized a lot of it and it's been working great:
Winning 10U Defensive Strategy
Winning 10U Defensive Strategy
