- Jul 25, 2018
- 5
- 3
Hello all,
I’ve been lurking for quite a while. I’ve learned a ton from this forum, most notably with the pitching instruction. My DD just turned 10 and is a pitcher. I’ve been following the I/R mechanics and have been teaching her what I can, being I haven’t found any I/R or Tincher coaches in our area (within a few hours). She has improved tremendously over the past year. This year she played on a local B level TB team and had a great season. Our problem is that this team has 2 pitchers, my DD and the coach’s daughter. His DD is the better pitcher….but not by much. Both throw mid-high 40s with pretty good control. My DD was promised a lot of circle time when we signed up for the team, but the better she gets, the less opportunity she gets. For the year, my daughter has thrown about 15% of the innings. Outside of pitching, she has one of the best bats on the team.
Going into next year, we’re faced with moving up to 12U (the rest of the team must move up) or staying another year at 10U. Our organization is fielding a 10U team next year, but from what we have seen, they will be young and not at the same level that we were this year. We feel we have two options:
1 – move to 12U and continue to not get the circle time; or
2 – stay at 10U and play on a sub-par team, but hopefully excel individually
Perhaps the biggest issue to throw into the mix is that the coaching on the current team is not the greatest. We like the guys, but they don’t contribute much from a teaching standpoint. They don’t do a great job at teaching fundamentals, which are very important at this age. Also, their communication skills with the girls isn’t ideal. Between that and the daddy ball, we’re leaning toward leaving.
Conversely, the 10U team has brought on a young ex-college player, which we feel would provide better instruction and communication. However, she doesn’t have the experience in dealing with parents, so we’re worried how she will handle that side of the game (hoping she won’t be bullied). Another fear is that if we keep her down on a losing team, how will that impact her love of the game? I’m sure it gets old being on a bad team…an experience we haven’t had previously. Our DD has grown close with a lot of her current teammates, so she wants to stick with them, but understands that may have an impact on her growth as a player.
There are very few TB teams in our area, so choices are limited. There are some big name organizations a couple hours away, but I’m not sure we’re up to that much travel each week at such a young age.
If anyone has gone through similar scenarios in the past, I would appreciate any input. Sorry for the long post…
I’ve been lurking for quite a while. I’ve learned a ton from this forum, most notably with the pitching instruction. My DD just turned 10 and is a pitcher. I’ve been following the I/R mechanics and have been teaching her what I can, being I haven’t found any I/R or Tincher coaches in our area (within a few hours). She has improved tremendously over the past year. This year she played on a local B level TB team and had a great season. Our problem is that this team has 2 pitchers, my DD and the coach’s daughter. His DD is the better pitcher….but not by much. Both throw mid-high 40s with pretty good control. My DD was promised a lot of circle time when we signed up for the team, but the better she gets, the less opportunity she gets. For the year, my daughter has thrown about 15% of the innings. Outside of pitching, she has one of the best bats on the team.
Going into next year, we’re faced with moving up to 12U (the rest of the team must move up) or staying another year at 10U. Our organization is fielding a 10U team next year, but from what we have seen, they will be young and not at the same level that we were this year. We feel we have two options:
1 – move to 12U and continue to not get the circle time; or
2 – stay at 10U and play on a sub-par team, but hopefully excel individually
Perhaps the biggest issue to throw into the mix is that the coaching on the current team is not the greatest. We like the guys, but they don’t contribute much from a teaching standpoint. They don’t do a great job at teaching fundamentals, which are very important at this age. Also, their communication skills with the girls isn’t ideal. Between that and the daddy ball, we’re leaning toward leaving.
Conversely, the 10U team has brought on a young ex-college player, which we feel would provide better instruction and communication. However, she doesn’t have the experience in dealing with parents, so we’re worried how she will handle that side of the game (hoping she won’t be bullied). Another fear is that if we keep her down on a losing team, how will that impact her love of the game? I’m sure it gets old being on a bad team…an experience we haven’t had previously. Our DD has grown close with a lot of her current teammates, so she wants to stick with them, but understands that may have an impact on her growth as a player.
There are very few TB teams in our area, so choices are limited. There are some big name organizations a couple hours away, but I’m not sure we’re up to that much travel each week at such a young age.
If anyone has gone through similar scenarios in the past, I would appreciate any input. Sorry for the long post…