Coaches, would this be appropriate?

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Aug 19, 2015
1,118
113
Atlanta, GA
You can pretty well surmise the scenario based on what I've written below, but here's the basic situation. Our 14U team imploded over Christmas when we lost two pitchers. Team disbanded and then, the Mom of one of our teammates asked whether any subset of the leftover players might be interested in trying to form a new team with a new coach (a former coach of her DD who has lots of TB experience, but didn't have a team this year due to some personal/family issues). 6 girls agreed to join: two catchers (one is my DD), two infielders, two outfielders.

Fast forward: as of right now, we have eight committed players. Those mentioned above plus two pitchers who joined from other teams. We are playing in our second tournament this weekend with this group. In the previous tournament, we picked up four players to round out the team. One player was a catcher. Well, we don't need another catcher, right? But she got the majority of the PT nonetheless. We did win the tournament, which was cool, but DD sat the bench for all but about two innings of one game (she did remain in the batting lineup). This girl is a kick-rear catcher and hit two homeruns that day, but she's not on our team; she is rostered on another team and apparently has no intention of leaving them, just picking up with us whenever she can.

So, we have just heard that the same guest catcher will be back this weekend. We are not happy because we fully anticipate the same scenario. I'm starting to think that Coach is picking and choosing the tournaments we're going to play in based on this girl's availability, actually.

Before we continue on in this same vein and spend a bunch more $$ (we are paying by the tournament), we really kind of want to know what Coach is thinking. I devised this just to get my thoughts on paper. Too aggressive? Acceptable? Help!

Here it is:

"[Coach's name], we were just wondering what your plans might be for [DD] this weekend, especially in terms of defensive play? During the last tournament, she started off catching but then the majority of the catching time went to the guest player and [DD] only hit for the remainder of the tournament. We were a bit concerned to hear that the same guest player will be back this weekend and wondered whether the same scenario might play out.

When we agreed to join up to form [name of team], our understanding at the time was that [other catcher from our old team] and [DD] would be the catchers. We knew we would need guest players to round out the roster since we don't have a full team as of yet, but we were somewhat dismayed to see a guest player who is a catcher on another team get the majority of the playing time."

What do you guys think?
 
Jul 4, 2012
329
18
Gotta love the coach that picks up players to win. DD is committed to the team. The coaches need to be committed to her. However, being objective, does your DD's talent behind the plate match the regular team? If not, you may need to find DD a new team.
 
Aug 19, 2015
1,118
113
Atlanta, GA
Gotta love the coach that picks up players to win. DD is committed to the team. The coaches need to be committed to her. However, being objective, does your DD's talent behind the plate match the regular team? If not, you may need to find DD a new team.

The regular team, yes. This guest player? No, not yet. This girl was a real superstar. Not only was she an awesome hitter, but she was a real leader behind the plate. I would kill for my DD to be as good as her. We'll be seeing her at a D1 school, I'm certain. But DD is on par with the six girls from the old team for sure. She and the other catcher complement each other. DD has a better arm, but other catcher is probably a little better with blocking. They're both still developing for sure. The guest player is fully baked.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
I do not like pulling other players into conversation, plus you are predicting future events. I would give it another tourney.

Not sure how to phrase Email or conversation, worth having though.
 
Aug 19, 2015
1,118
113
Atlanta, GA
I do not like pulling other players into conversation, plus you are predicting future events. I would give it another tourney.

Not sure how to phrase Email or conversation, worth having though.

Yes, especially since we'll be shelling out several hundred dollars this weekend for hotel, etc... I really don't have the kind of disposable income (or time!) to throw away to watch DD sit the bench all weekend. If that is his plan, I'd love to know now. It may be time to cut bait if that's the case.

ETA: It would be one thing if we joined the team knowing DD would be one of three catchers. If this guest player had originally been on the team, I never would have joined because I would have known that DD would barely see any catching time. This is kind of a bait-and-switch feel to me.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
So you played how many games, and your daughter played 2 innings and that's IT? No. That is not OK. It'd be one thing if she were the #3 catcher *on your team*. Then I'd say put her to work to earn her spot. But I really cannot stand it when coaches have perfectly good players and pick up players in positions they've already filled so they can try to win games that their own players may not be able to win (hello, that's YOUR team, you picked them! You let them play!). This girl isn't even a potential for your team. It makes no sense to give her innings over the girls who ARE on the team. She should be developing HER players, not giving innings to a pick up. This is why we left a team after last fall, the constant picking up unnecessarily. Personally I'd not even give it one more, I'd politely ask her what her intentions are for the weekend. If she says it'll be similar, I'd probably say thanks for the opportunity but this is not what we had in mind. If this is a recurring theme you may consider moving to a lower level team where she can get the reps to get up to the next level.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
IDK, why other C has so much time to play for your Team confuses me.

Might be another one behind that, leave DD alone. Pick on SS or P for a little while.:)

Or your own DD. (HC's DD I meant)
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
I know you are giving guest players props, if we need a guest player they are treated a little bit better then our players but not a lot.

It is a hard think to navigate.
 
Feb 12, 2014
648
43
Not go off on a tangent, and this is not directed solely at the OP, but I'm so tired of people who think batting isn't playing. It's incredibly disrespectful to the many, many college and pro players who are primarily DPs. Batting IS playing - the way you know is that there are many girls on scholarship who are DPs.

This is rampant on our school ball team because we have some rec girls whose parents cannot understand that their little darling might not bat every game or play an inning in the infield every game. We have parents who actually believe that their daughter who is the DP or Flex haven't actually played. We've trained an entire generation of kids and parents that you have to hit every inning and be playing infield for it to matter.

Sorry. Rant over. As a parent, I would be frustrated as well about bringing in prospective players to fill out a roster who play positions that are already filled considering the season has already started.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
Although it's a bummer that your DD isn't getting more playing time, it's a tournament, and the idea of tournaments is winning. Coaches tend to put the team on the field that gives them the best chance of winning. If the guest catcher is significantly better than the other options available (including your DD), I'm not really surprised that she got a majority of the time behind the plate.

That said, asking the coach (privately) about his intentions with your DD is a fair question, and how you move forward with may be heavily influenced by his response.
 

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