Would you take this girl?

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Oct 7, 2015
72
8
I have to admit I probably spend more time thinking about if my daughter will get picked up for the (B) travel team this summer than she does. She does love playing but i think I love watching her play even more. ;)

So while we wait and see if she'll make it I'd like to get some opinions about about speed and overall athletic ability versus pitching and power.

My daughter is not very athletic. She's the slowest runner on the team and the only sport she's any good at is softball. She won't slide and I'm actually OK with that because I'm afraid she would hurt herself. She's an average to maybe below average fielder. Her hitting for average is about middle of the pack. However the two things she has going for her are her hitting for power. She hit's harder than anyone else on the team when she does hit it. If she could just decrease her strike out rate by a little she would be a tremendous hitter because she hits so hard when she does hit. She's also arguably the best pitcher trying out. Some may argue that she only has two pitches (drop and off speed drop) while others have more pitches but I know that's not that important. Her stats this year shows shes the most effective pitcher and she's the fastest in the league with a cruising speed of about 48 MPH.

Supposing my analysis of her is correct would you pick up a girl like that? Would you choose another pitcher maybe not quite as effective but who is also fast and is a better defender?

**Edit
This is for a 12UB team.
 
Last edited:
Aug 6, 2013
303
0
What age group?
Any idea how many have tried out?

I've told my daughter this before when she has tried out for teams she wanted to be on - You don't have to be the number 1 pick you only need to be between 1 and 11 (or 12 or 13 depending on what they are carrying) you can work your way up from there.
 
You always need pitchers. Assuming there aren't two or three better pitchers than her that will be trying out for the B team, she should make it no problem.

BTW, teach her to slide. It is a very necessary part of playing ball and injury is more likely to occur if she doesn't slide than if she does.
 
May 22, 2015
410
28
Illinois
If she can throw those pitches for strikes consistently then I would say she has a good chance. I also agree with LAS that she needs to learn how to slide. We gave up a few outs last year because we had a couple of girls that wouldn't slide. If the third base coach is yelling "down, down, down" and she comes in standing up and gets thrown out it doesn't go over too well lol.
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
There is no reason she can't slide, teach her you can actually teach her to run faster, my guess is she takes bigger longer strides and need to work a better turnover rate, it's a skill (to a point) like any other. If she can consistently pitch strikes at around 50mph, I don't think she would have a problem making a 12U B team. As a coach I am confident I can get her to hit better, field better and run smarter over the course of the season but I can't get her to improve her pitching enough to make a difference in a couple months.
 
Jul 15, 2015
68
0
The sliding is an issue if you want her to hit. Being a pitcher that is a below average fielder is an issue. That said coaches love a pitcher that throws hard.
 
Feb 4, 2015
127
0
Olathe, KS
Want to teach her to slide go buy a "Slip and Slide" for the back yard. You can teach anyone to do a hook slide or a diving slide and have fun at the same time. I bought a double lane one when I was coaching 9-11 year olds and made it a competition one summer day. The kids loved it, got really wet, had lots of fun and the next game everyone could slide!.

Hint: Roll it up when your done or you will kill your grass.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
Our 10U team has a pitcher who's not athletic over all. She mostly sits when she's not pitching, or plays 1B occasionally. She does hit. She's powerful and has a great swing, which usually only results in a single since she's not fast but if there are girls on base it's often an RBI or 2 for her. Super sweet kid and I know I'm happy to have her in the team.

You could work with her on both speed and sliding. Do some agility exercises. Her nature is what it is but there's always room for improvement.
 
Oct 7, 2015
72
8
haha.. this is so funny because we bought a slip and slide a couple years ago and she couldn't slide on that either. I did actually get her to slide in practice last year using cardboard and baby powder. I'll try it again and see if I can get her to graduate to sliding on grass.
 
Oct 13, 2014
291
0
Metro ATL
Good Luck to you and your DD. I am sure there is a team out there that will gladly take her.

Agree with all who noted that teaching her to slide is important. Over the years we have had several girls with a genuine fear of sliding. I always ask if they own sliders and if they wear them to practice. Many times the girls did not own them (so I talked with the parents about pick up some). In a few instances, that was enough to get them to try. Have done slip and slide, cardboard, you name it.

We are moving on now to head-first slides and the girls are in metal cleats - for some, the fear has returned....:(
 

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