Roster batting

cager40772 said:

Yeah I hear you. I can't stress enough that I do believe a lot of it is physical development. They don't strike out a whole lot more than the average girl, they just have no strength. I've suggested dropping to smaller bats to generate more bat speed, but that hasn't worked either. They can all bunt great, so eyes not an issue. Bunting is fine, but can't bunt them just to bunt them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

you said you used a stat tracker of some kind. I would look at the stats again and make sure what you think is on target if they are putting the ball into play at the same rate then it is a different problem but it is still probably batting technique they are making contact but it's just that contact they are not driving the ball and my guess is a lot of weak grounders to P, 1B and 2B. Since this is travel and competitive you need to strike the right balance between development and competition. With substituting during bracket play those girls might lose out on two or three at bats per tournament I don't think that is unreasonable.

Since they are good bunters, can you spread them through the lineup behind some players that always get on base and use them to bunt around until they can hit with more power? Can they bunt for a base hit and beat the throw? I have done this before and yes, sometimes it doesn't work out and they are the lead off in an inning. But, it seemed to me that it really wouldn't happen that often. Luckily, LOL. I had a girl on my team that was my leadoff batter, all she would do is drag bunt towards first base and then beat the throw. She wasn't that strong at hitting, so we had her bunt all the time. Now she has improved greatly with hitting. Its always fun to have her bunt her first 2 ABs, then on her 3rd she will line up in the box like she is going to bunt. Team will be yelling "Watch the bunt" "its the bunter" etc. Then she smashes a double or triple cause the OF was playing too shallow.

Pool games you bat and play everyone however you are doing it now. There is no excuse for not doing this in pool games.

Since it is 9-10-11 you always have one fielding... so...

Bracket/Elimination Day:

- Learn the DP/Flex rule and use it. Best of the three that weekend bats, best of the remaining 2 field
- Last one is a SUB which you use as much as you can - she courtesy runs for P or C if she is even close to being the same speed as them, you pinch run her the first opportunity you get after half the game has expired (remember you can reenter the girl she runs for). Pinch hit her if the game ever gets out of reach before you can sub her or if you get a chance for her to bat for the player she subbed in for.
- If the game is out of reach either way, the Flex bats for the DP as well past 2/3 game time.

If you are lucky to get to game 2 or 3 on bracket day you either mix it around if someone of the 3 did something good or leave it as is if it worked or is the best idea.

The secret is to not forget them on the bench. There are roles for these girls to play in EVERY game. If one is capable make her the 'warm up catcher' between innings while your catcher is dressing (she can be ready to go out the moment your half-inning is over even if the catcher is ready - your game catcher can come in, catch one pitch and throw down) Make one responsible for watching the pitcher to see what she is doing. And so on. Between roles and actively subbing/DP/FLEX and so on you can keep them involved and satisfied and still getting opportunities for success. You just have to do what you signed up for - Coach and Manager the roster and the team.

BTW - we have kept a roster of 14 happy enough to all return in 12U-A with this. Softball coaches forget they have a lot of flexibility with DP/FLEX & Re-entries - much more than baseball does.

marriard said:

Pool games you bat and play everyone however you are doing it now. There is no excuse for not doing this in pool games.

Click to expand...

While I generally agree, it can depend on the tournament, for example is it a qualifier for a regional or national tournament? Seeding position from pool play can mean getting a first round by and/or playing lower seeded teams early in bracket play gving your team the opportunity to go deep in the tournament. And for this reason, I wouldn't say pool play win/loss is meaningless. There also are times where you will want to quickly mercy teams to rest your pitchers and catchers, especially in the summer.

I don't think there is any one right or wrong answer, you need to determine what the goals of your team are and weigh the pros and con of how much should be pure player development versus fielding the best possible team each week.

When I coached, my three team goals were a) player development, b) field a competitive (but not necessarily winning) team and c) make sure the players are having fun and are enjoying the experience.

Rocketech1 said:

While I generally agree, it can depend on the tournament, for example is it a qualifier for a regional or national tournament?

Click to expand...

OP clearly not in this situation with this team. I agree on older teams/high school/college who are past the who can/can't/wants to stage.

Seeding position from pool play can mean getting a first round by and/or playing lower seeded teams early in bracket play gving your team the opportunity to go deep in the tournament. And for this reason, I wouldn't say pool play win/loss is meaningless. There also are times where you will want to quickly mercy teams to rest your pitchers and catchers, especially in the summer.

Click to expand...

This is fair. I absolutely used to look to our pool schedule to see how we avoid the 8am game Sunday. Generally that decided who we pitch in which game But we still tended to bat everyone - I actually can't remember an occasion where we didn't.

I think it all depends on what your goals are as a team and as a coach? What were the expectations coming into the season?

Based on your post, where your team is, I think you continue to bat everyone. Those 3 aren't going to get any better when they don't get as many ABs as they can. If you want to make a change, then you do that next year. Replace the 3 and move on next year. This is the way things have been since 8u? You can't change it now. These families committed money and time to your team with a certain amount of expectations. Changing this philosophy now is like breaking a contract, IMO.

That's just my 2 pennies worth.

marriard said:

OP clearly not in this situation with this team. I agree on older teams/high school/college who are past the who can/can't/wants to stage.



This is fair. I absolutely used to look to our pool schedule to see how we avoid the 8am game Sunday. Generally that decided who we pitch in which game But we still tended to bat everyone - I actually can't remember an occasion where we didn't.

Click to expand...

Yeah, everyone tries to position themselves in pool play, but I wouldn't do this for pool play, otherwise I'd remove almost all opportunities to bat for them. Not willing to do that to girls still developing. Trying to strike that balance between development and competitiveness. I do feel the more talented girls are getting cheated a little by not advancing further against stronger competition.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk