10YR Old Ready To Shut-it Down

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Jun 15, 2016
48
6
Hello All,
I am a heartbroken dad. My DD (10) said she was bored with softball and bored with pitching this weekend. I automatically went into negative mode, then as I was ranting to her realized she is probably just burnt out. She started pitching almost a year ago and has practiced 4-5 days per week nearly every week since (we have taken a few week long breaks). Plus the team practices and tourneys. Does anyone have any advise on how to keep her from going sour to softball? I'm not to proud to say some of this is probably because of me constantly pushing her. I force her at times to practice, but now regret it. I told her she needed to at least finish the fall season as we have already committed. I would hate to see her quit or even take an extended break as she has come a long way in a short time with pitching. I'm sure others have gone through this, so please share your experiences. Thanks TB
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
I would not worry about taking a few months off, she will catch up quickly if she plays again.

DD has taken a couple breaks, as long as she is not sitting around the house all day we support her in what ever she wants to do.
 
Jun 15, 2016
48
6
Quincy I am open to breaks. However we literally just started the fall season and she is one of two pitchers. I cant allow her to quit until DEC 11. This is the day after the last scheduled tourney. Do you have any advise on how to make her stay focused and interested through this season? I'm thinking about backing off on some of our at home practices, but at the same time she needs to stay sharp at pitching. I'm not even sure where this came from. We were on our way to see PC yesterday after church and she just hit me with this. I have to say she still went to the lesson and had a good attitude and good lesson. On the ride home I brought it up again and she confirmed she was over softball and specifically pitching???
 
Dec 8, 2015
249
18
Philadelphia, PA
My DD is a 10u and she just took a month off after Nationals in July (she sees her PC tonight for the first time since then). She also takes a month off in December. From my experience with her, after about 2 or 3 weeks of doing no softball whatsoever she is practically chomping at the bit to pitch, hit and throw. I have found that she comes back after a break refreshed and throwing even harder. I would definitely say throwing 5x a week is a bit much, IMO. I usually only throw with my DD 3x a week and never on back to back days.

At the end of the day, it's her journey, not yours. If she doesn't want to do it, don't force her.
 
Jun 15, 2016
48
6
Honestly I do not know what will happen. She is a big part of the team as she is the "#1". She is on the team to pitch and that's about the extent of it. I'm not sure if cutting at home practices out completely will cause her pitching to fall off or not.
 
May 22, 2015
410
28
Illinois
To me, 4 or 5 days a week for a year sounds like a lot for a 10 year old. Maybe I'm off base as DD never pitched. She may be getting burned out, or doesn't like the added stress of pitching. It needs to be fun, and sounds like maybe some of that fun has went away. Two years ago DD didn't really enjoy the sport as much as she had in the past. I got out of her the reason was that I expected too much out of her and was pushing too much. I quit coaching her after that season, and took a step back and let her feel her way on her own. Since then she has really blossomed into a solid player. Now we go to the field and do extra practice when she wants to. Since it was her idea the time spent is way more productive than when I feel like I'm having to drag her there.
 
Jun 15, 2016
48
6
The pitching practice schedules are from her PC. The 4-5 days change according to tournament weeks. Its pretty common around my area for these kids to practice every other day on non tourney weeks.

I am def going to cut it back some, but as i said previously i'm not sure how it will affect her game.
 
Last edited:
Feb 7, 2013
3,188
48
Make pitching practice fun and limit it to 30mins, 3x a week. At this age, I have put a basketball set-up on a "T" at home plate and she had to hit it "x' number of times to move on to something else. Do pitch "sequences" where she can call her location and will
"strikeout" the imaginary batter (keep track of balls and strikes). Have her pitch to her teammates in batting practice and make a game of it.

Remind her that she made a commitment to the team and that her teammates are counting on her to complete this season with them. She can rest and reevaluate softball in the winter off-season.

BTW - My DD has been pitching for 7 years and I thought less is more (i.e. never pitch two days in a row practice unless absolutely necessary). Let the body and mind heal with practice only every other day.
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
Honestly I do not know what will happen. She is a big part of the team as she is the "#1". She is on the team to pitch and that's about the extent of it. I'm not sure if cutting at home practices out completely will cause her pitching to fall off or not.

I asked just to get a sense for what you felt was at stake. I don't think reducing her practice time would have a great effect in the short run. And if it did, well, the alternative is to risk running her into the ground and out of the game. Her coaches don't want that. And her teammates aren't going to care if even notice that much if she's not quite her old self. They're 10. They just want to play ball.

As far as trying to motivate her and re-light the fire, sounds like she just needs a break and the assurance that she has control over this. Maybe it's becoming a job to her. Ask what can be done to make it fun. If that means just playing out the tournaments and cutting down on practicing, that's OK. She might struggle a little and then ask to start throwing again. It's a lot more fun when you want to practice and don't feel it's your job. Age 10 is too young to have a job, IMO.
 

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