You need to tell your DD that is the absolute worst way to approach MS ball. What she needs to do is go in there with the attitude she is going to outperform the other pitchers and make the #1 slot her's. If the coach is into politics, cliques or seniority then it's time to move on. What she'll have to remember though. If she walks away, next year will likely be a repeat.
I don't think it is the worst attitude because she is going to outperform any other pitcher on the team. I am comfortable in saying that I am not just a bragging father with an inflated sense of my daughter's ability. Though she only started pitching in July she has arguable become the #1 pitcher on her travel team. There is no other TB pitcher on her MS team. The only other girl who did any pitching for the MS last year, who will be on the team this year, was a slow rainbow pitcher. While this other girl might have gotten better since then, she is not playing for a travel team, and so is unlikely to have the experience of my DD.
I have no idea what motivates their MS coach. Last year my other DD, they are twins, who is the #1 catcher on her TB team was put at SS at the beginning of every game, and was only moved behind the plate in the last two innings. It could have been that the other catcher was an 8th grader and my DD catcher was a 7th grader, but the 8th grader had no TB experience. My DD likes to point out that after she started behind the plate in the second to last game of the season, when the 8th grader missed the game, their team won decisively. DD started the behind the plate in the last game. The 8th grade catcher spent half that game in center field and half on the bench.
Hopefully the MS coach will not play similar games this year, especially considering this is my girls' last year in MS ball.
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