Better team or better position?

...............................

Last year DD was by far best player on Team, she lost interest.

Learned you need to play level. Good, bad anything.

If it's a pitcher, and if pitching is a high priority, then I'd choose the lesser team.

I hear what Quincy is saying, but here's my logic ...

If my DD is the #4 pitcher, then she's playing too high for her pitching skills. Her level is where she would be higher in the pecking order.

You might say, ''but it's a really good team, and she'd pitch a lot for the teams they're playing against and beating.''

If that's the case, then she's below the level of ''a really good team.'' And if the really good team is beating a bunch of teams where DD would be the #2, then the really good team is playing too low and needs to step up.

Play for whoever builds her confidence and skills.

DD played for a good team last season but the coach didnt have confidence in her and nearly tore her down. We are now with a lesser team but coach believes in her and she is playing multiple positions and having fun again. (12U)

CoogansBluff said:

If it's a pitcher, and if pitching is a high priority, then I'd choose the lesser team.

I hear what Quincy is saying, but here's my logic ...

If my DD is the #4 pitcher, then she's playing too high for her pitching skills. Her level is where she would be higher in the pecking order.

You might say, ''but it's a really good team, and she'd pitch a lot for the teams they're playing against and beating.''

If that's the case, then she's below the level of ''a really good team.'' And if the really good team is beating a bunch of teams where DD would be the #2, then the really good team is playing too low and needs to step up.

Click to expand...

This, to me, is a great answer. The only other thing I would add is it depends on what you're daughter's needs are.

Let's say she's a developing pitcher. Then she needs a lot of innings in the circle to gain game experience. In my opinion she's best off on a lesser team where she will get the opportunity to learn and grow, even if they don't win a lot of games.

If she's more experienced, and has been the big fish in the little pond, then she probably needs a better team where she has to compete more to get innings. And where she will face better competition in terms of hitters. Not being the top dog should challenge her to hone her skills more. The only caveat is there must be a path to become #1, or at least get her fair share of innings. If all the spots are locked up permanently she's likely to get discouraged as no amount of work or effort will change her situation and she'll be left to sit and watch when she could/should be playing.

Most of the players I've talked to, when faced with this choice, say they would rather play on a lesser team than sit on a better one. So the player's goals play into it too. Not everyone wants to pitch for FSU. Some girls just want to play ball, so they should go where they can play rather than being worried whether they'll be challenged enough.

CoogansBluff said:

If it's a pitcher, and if pitching is a high priority, then I'd choose the lesser team.

I hear what Quincy is saying, but here's my logic ...

If my DD is the #4 pitcher, then she's playing too high for her pitching skills. Her level is where she would be higher in the pecking order.

You might say, ''but it's a really good team, and she'd pitch a lot for the teams they're playing against and beating.''

If that's the case, then she's below the level of ''a really good team.'' And if the really good team is beating a bunch of teams where DD would be the #2, then the really good team is playing too low and needs to step up.

Click to expand...

This, to me, is a great answer. The only other thing I would add is it depends on what you're daughter's needs are.

Let's say she's a developing pitcher. Then she needs a lot of innings in the circle to gain game experience. In my opinion she's best off on a lesser team where she will get the opportunity to learn and grow, even if they don't win a lot of games.

If she's more experienced, and has been the big fish in the little pond, then she probably needs a better team where she has to compete more to get innings. And where she will face better competition in terms of hitters. Not being the top dog should challenge her to hone her skills more. The only caveat is there must be a path to become #1, or at least get her fair share of innings. If all the spots are locked up permanently she's likely to get discouraged as no amount of work or effort will change her situation and she'll be left to sit and watch when she could/should be playing.

Most of the players I've talked to, when faced with this choice, say they would rather play on a lesser team than sit on a better one. So the player's goals play into it too. Not everyone wants to pitch for FSU. Some girls just want to play ball, so they should go where they can play rather than being worried whether they'll be challenged enough.

Mine's a pitcher. We want her #1 or 2. She loves to pitch and she wants circle time. I have met some parents who have literally had their daughter give up pitching to be on a big name team. In 10U. This seems like insanity to me. If a kid wants to pitch and has the potential, why put her on a team where she'll never get to pitch? Who cares if they play on a big name in 10U? Nobody's recruiting them yet. We went from an A team last year to a B team this year and it's been much more enjoyable so far. We'd prefer more intense practices and more committed parents. But DD isn't so far ahead of the other girls that she's bored (that was 8U and it was awful). There are several girls right on her tail at all times. So she gets the playing time without the boredom, and has to stay sharp or there are several girls (and a growing number as they all improve) who'll be happy to take over her spots. So I guess what I think is that it's good to find a balance. I want DD in the top 7 so she doesn't sit much (if she didn't care, I wouldn't care either - but she wants to PLAY, not sit). We don't want her so far ahead of the curve that she feels like nobody's got her back. We don't want a team so poor on defense she has to pitch 6 outs per inning.

You also have to take the kid's personality into account. My very lackadaisical child in all other things is extremely focused and motivated about softball. She gets annoyed when her teammates goof off at practice. For her taking it seriously IS fun. But we've got a player on our team who I think enjoys the social aspect of softball the most. She's perfectly content to hang in the dugout and cheer. She's a pitcher but doesn't really care how much she pitches. When the coach asks her if she wants an inning in the infield she says no thanks, she likes left field and would rather just play there. So if her parents put her on a team that wanted her starting at 2B or the #1 pitcher, I don't think she'd enjoy that. She prefers to stay easygoing about ball.

....................

No idea how this relates to pitchers (around here our problem is too few pitchers rather than too many). However, I've seen a few girls who developed into really quality outfielders leave our organization and go to lesser organizations so that they can play the infield. I thought then, and think now, that they made a mistake. But, that is a uniquely personal decision for a young lady and her family.

My DD was the big fish in a little pond for a long time because we live in an area where softball ranks pretty low as far as competitiveness, number of girls playing, etc. As a result, there are no competitive travel teams, just glorified rec teams. Two years ago we made the decision to have DD tryout for competitive teams in cities 3-4 hours away. Not because the grass was greener but because that was where the competitive teams were that went to the showcases, scrimmages and tournaments where the college coaches recruited from. She was offered a position on each of these highly competitive teams - one offered her the #1 catcher's spot, one offered her the #2 catcher's spot with an opportunity to also play corners and one as the #3 catcher and DP (she would always be in the line-up). We chose the team that offered her the #2 catcher's spot because we liked the coaches philosophy - the reason he had a trophy case was for the NLI's that his players sign.

DD always works hard - she has a drive that doesn't stop. But I think that knowing that she was the #2 made her work that much harder along with the fact that she loved the coaching staff and we were traveling 8 hours round trip for her to practice. She earned the #1 spot, the 4th batting position and an offer that she would never have had the opportunity to get if she would have stayed the big fish in the little pond...