First year 14's plus middle school sports

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Mar 7, 2016
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How do other coaches go about putting priority on Softball during the fall in this situation. I am getting a ton of backlash from parents and school sports/homework schedules anytime i attempt to schedule anything during the week. These families did not come from sporting backgrounds so practice every day until 5:30 for school vball then leaving for a 6:30 softball practice ONCE A WEEK is not something they can handle. Of the 4 pitchers on my team 3 are working with a pitching coach during the week and of the 2 catchers 1 is working with a professional coach. My number 2 pitcher and number 1 catchers families tell me they are too busy to do anything else and dont want to burn their daughters out. Our first tourney is the 14/15 and I scheduled a turf practice inside the 11th and you would have thought i ran over the family dog with the replies i got. Of my 12 girl roster all are multisport athletes and a few softball will be their focus and even college careers from. I am afraid that the teams overall attitude towards softball vs school sports will push a few of my star players to seek more committed teams.

Am i expecting too much here as a coach? 13O team coming off a 40-13 season, and I dont want to see us regress due to lack of commitment
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
I think expectation for one practice a week is quite reasonable. have you also tried for some weekend practices, this might mesh better with school sports (at least around here, no school sports on weekends generally).
 
Mar 7, 2016
242
28
I think expectation for one practice a week is quite reasonable. have you also tried for some weekend practices, this might mesh better with school sports (at least around here, no school sports on weekends generally).

we go every Sunday currently. So I have not even attempted to suggest Saturdays.
 
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
Not sure how long your school volleyball season runs ... in Illinois we have middle school softball in the fall. It only lasts about 8 weeks though. It is pretty customary for teams here to just take that time off.

If girls play school softball, they have to take that time off. They are not allowed to play on a (same sport) team while playing on a scholastic team.

That is a lot. I would suggest your expectations may have been too high for your team. They may not be the bad guy in this, sorry.
 
Mar 7, 2016
242
28
Not sure how long your school volleyball season runs ... in Illinois we have middle school softball in the fall. It only lasts about 8 weeks though. It is pretty customary for teams here to just take that time off.

If girls play school softball, they have to take that time off. They are not allowed to play on a (same sport) team while playing on a scholastic team.

That is a lot. I would suggest your expectations may have been too high for your team. They may not be the bad guy in this, sorry.

we dont have middle school softball in Kansas. My team follows all KSHSAA rules regarding roster limitations and time frames for sports. Part of the reason my team is made up from players from 6 different counties/schools. Of my 12 player roster:

1 in cheer
1 in gymnastics
7 in volleyball
1 in tennis
1 manages vball
1 does nothing

vball goes right into basketball that goes right into track. 11 will play bball, and most will do track. Out of all those sports only vball has weekend meets/tournies. Which means no travel ball practices weekdays from aug thru may with that thinking. Surely i cant be the only coach battling trying to keep a competitive team and middle school sports.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
we dont have middle school softball in Kansas. My team follows all KSHSAA rules regarding roster limitations and time frames for sports. Part of the reason my team is made up from players from 6 different counties/schools. Of my 12 player roster:

1 in cheer
1 in gymnastics
7 in volleyball
1 in tennis
1 manages vball
1 does nothing

vball goes right into basketball that goes right into track. 11 will play bball, and most will do track. Out of all those sports only vball has weekend meets/tournies. Which means no travel ball practices weekdays from aug thru may with that thinking. Surely i cant be the only coach battling trying to keep a competitive team and middle school sports.
All of the older teams in my DD's org have Fall/Winter indoor practices that start late (8 pm) I assume to accommodate the girls HS sports schedules.
 
May 2, 2018
200
63
Central Virginia
How long has this team been together? Did you not have a terms of agreement in place that addressed practices and expectations prior to the season or prior to offering girls a spot on the team? Do you have girls that miss tournaments for other sports? Do you even have options as far as selecting players (try-outs) or is your community small and the girls you have is what you have?

I don't think you can prioritize softball for any girl/family outside of setting expectations for the season which include when/how long you practice. They sign an agreement in order to be on the team that they understand these expectations and can/will attend practices. You may make exceptions or plan around other sports but make it clear you expect them at XX number of practices. You apply this standard to everyone, including #1 pitcher/players.

I think multiple sports is great and even at 13 there should not be a priority yet (especially in fall ball). I also think you can't let a few families determine how the team runs which includes when practices happen (although you can work to find a solution that fits most).

It sounds as if some of your players/parents definitely do not prioritize softball as #1 if they can't even make one 6:30pm practice per week.

Out of curiosity, do you have a daughter on the team and does she play another sport?
 
May 20, 2016
433
63
As Pattar said, maybe schedule practices for later in the evening? My DD is first year 14U and they have practice from 8-9:30PM. Gives them plenty of time to do homework or school sports for that matter.
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
If you are practicing once a week on Sundays right now during fall/winter that might be all you can expect assuming its a three hour practice plus sounds like at least pitchers are also working one day during week, if you are committing two days a week to a sport during the off season don't know what else to expect considering they are probably committed 5 days a week to Vball, cross country, Basketball.....etc.

Biggest issue should be communication when you got the team together did you set expectations?? it doesn't sound like it.
 
Mar 7, 2016
242
28
How long has this team been together? Did you not have a terms of agreement in place that addressed practices and expectations prior to the season or prior to offering girls a spot on the team? Do you have girls that miss tournaments for other sports? Do you even have options as far as selecting players (try-outs) or is your community small and the girls you have is what you have?

I don't think you can prioritize softball for any girl/family outside of setting expectations for the season which include when/how long you practice. They sign an agreement in order to be on the team that they understand these expectations and can/will attend practices. You may make exceptions or plan around other sports but make it clear you expect them at XX number of practices. You apply this standard to everyone, including #1 pitcher/players.

I think multiple sports is great and even at 13 there should not be a priority yet (especially in fall ball). I also think you can't let a few families determine how the team runs which includes when practices happen (although you can work to find a solution that fits most).

It sounds as if some of your players/parents definitely do not prioritize softball as #1 if they can't even make one 6:30pm practice per week.

Out of curiosity, do you have a daughter on the team and does she play another sport?

we are an independent team and finding replacement players of any caliber in our area is a stretch at best. There was a team meeting discussing fall practices and one to two times a week was discussed with no more than one during the week so this isnt a surprise for them. We have been together going on 6 years, this is the first year though we have ran into this most years going 3 times a week during fall ball.


I encourage multiple sports but also realize to have a team we need some practice outside of those Sundays.

I do have a daughter on the team and she does play volleyball. She does play club vball and made A team as a 7th grader in a school with a combined 7/8 A team and over 70 girls trying out. She does take hitting lesson as well as play in a hit trax league on Sundays evenings for softball. When i hear her a few other girls after last weeks practice say "we need to practice more before our next tournament or we are going to get slaughtered if we play like this" is what prompted me to suggest another practice.
 

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