Difference in 10u softball and 10u baseball?

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May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
Kids should be playing multiple positions..that said if I thought my kid had a future at SS at the higher levels and was placed at 2B because that was going to be
the best way to win in 10U rec I am not sure I would be pleased.

Would you feel the same way if the coach explained to you that 2B is - in the coach's opinion - the most important IF position on the field, and your kid is playing there because she is the best fielder on the team?

With the exception of maybe P and C, what position a kid plays in 10U (especially rec) will have very little impact on what position they are playing in 14U and later. Even then, my DD's 14U TB team has 2 players that were Ps in 12U and younger, but don't pitch at all now. 2 others used to play C as their primary position in 10U. My DD's first season of 10U TB , she played every position on the field (except P) at some point.

Also, you can bet that a whole lot of college OFs were the best SS on their travel and/or school team at some point.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Would you feel the same way if the coach explained to you that 2B is - in the coach's opinion - the most important IF position on the field, and your kid is playing there because she is the best fielder on the team?

Yeah but in 2 years it won't be the most important position on the field and behind P and C SS is the third most important position.
Also, you can bet that a whole lot of college OFs were the best SS on their travel and/or school team at some point.

Agreed..how many college SS were OF in TB.....While you might say at the 10U level, a lot, nowadays with TB being as competitive
as it is (not saying that is good..just the way it is) I would venture a guess that today's college SS pretty much played 3B,SS or 2B (and primarily SS in bracket games..)
from at least 10U on...

Come on man...I already said kids should play multiple positions but if a coach played my kid primarily at 2B
due to a reason which will cease to be valid in 2 years I would be sure to tell him/her that. He/she can choose to ignore me of course, which
would be fine.

FYI my kid was playing primarily 2b her first summer of 10U TB..she was the better SS but the kid's coach was playing SS and I didn't say a word.
Eventually it became too obvious that my DD was the better SS to the point where the coach came up to me and told me so and that
she would be playing primarily SS from then on (with some time at 2B). Difference was coach thought his kid was better so while I knew
he was wrong, I couldn't fault him for that...
 
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May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
Yeah but in 2 years it won't be the most important position on the field and behind P and C SS is the third most important position.

...if a coach played my kid primarily at 2B
due to a reason which will cease to be valid in 2 years I would be sure to tell him/her that.

A mistake often made by parents of young players is over-estimating the permanence of the current situation. I saw parent freak-outs over this issue more than a few times. I have also talked my DW off that ledge more times than I can count. Teams change, players change, players improve in skill level, players grow and get stronger. As those things happen, a decent coach will evaluate what is the most effective way to fit together the puzzle pieces of the team for the current situation. What was an effective approach in 10U rec ball will not be equally effective in 10U TB - and certainly not 12U TB - as you get a higher percentage of players with both strong arms and good gloves, and hitters who can pull the ball. The game develops along with the players. As a coach, I never positioned players by what I thought they might be doing in a year or two. I'm not sure who would even do that. I put the team together the best I could for the game they were playing right now, and the near future, with the players I had available to me at that time.

When my DD moved to TB in 10U, her goal was to be the #1 C. IMO, she was better than the team's current #1 C at the time, but she turned out to be #3 for playing time behind the plate. My DD was put at 3B for her primary position. I certainly had moments of frustration, irritated that my kid wasn't getting more time behind the plate. In talking with the HC about the issue, I learned that it wasn't really about my kid's skills behind the plate, but rather a problem of where else to put the #1 C. For the team as a whole, the defensive scenario was best with my DD at 3B. At the end of the 10U summer season, the #1 C decided she didn't love softball any more, and quit the sport entirely. The team also added other players that filled the spot at 3B, freeing up my DD to truly earn her spot as the #1 C.
 
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Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
A mistake often made by parents of young players is over-estimating the permanence of the current situation. I saw parent freak-outs over this issue more than a few times. I have also talked my DW off that ledge more times than I can count. Teams change, players change, players improve in skill level, players grow and get stronger. As those things happen, a decent coach will evaluate what is the most effective way to fit together the puzzle pieces of the team for the current situation. What was an effective approach in 10U rec ball will not be equally effective in 10U TB - and certainly not 12U TB - as you get a higher percentage of players with both strong arms and good gloves, and hitters who can pull the ball. The game develops along with the players. As a coach, I never positioned players by what I thought they might be doing in a year or two. I'm not sure who would even do that. I put the team together the best I could for the game they were playing right now, and the near future, with the players I had available to me at that time.

Fair enough...my only point was that basing coaching decisions on logic which will no longer hold in 2 years, and which only is done to promote winning, is not the right way to do things imo. In that case in 10U Rec the coach should tell the 3B to never throw the ball to first since 3/4 of the time the result will be the player ending up on second base...

Playing kids at multiple positions, which we agree is a good thing, is pretty much the opposite (in terms of coaching decision making) of putting your best fielder at 2nd base in 10U rec. You cannot argue both sides of that..
 
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Dec 5, 2017
514
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Not trying to hijack the op but our experience seems to have been different than most in regards to where the ball is hit. Through two seasons of 8u travel, all stars and a fall season of 10u travel we have seen a ton of balls hit to the left side. My dd has been playing 3rd because she has always been the best fielder, quick and has a good arm. If 10 balls are hit to 3rd in a game I would bank on 9 outs. It seems like her and ss get all the action in the infield. Our ss, who we don't have this spring dang it, had a solid glove but was unbelievably quick laterally. We kind of lived on outs from that side of the field. Everyone's experiences are different and maybe it will change this season for us as well.
 
Feb 5, 2019
13
0
I have been in the travel baseball world for 10 years. It's given me perspective on things.

1. Being trained on multiple positions is vital for the health of the team.

2. The coach should listen to where the parents and players want to play, and then do what is best for the team. If a kid can't do their job based on what is best for the TEAM then they aren't likely to play with that coach again.

3. Where they project at 10u is rarely where they are at 18u.

4. 95% of college players played SS, P, C, and CF in their youth...there are 5 other positions on the field...refer to number 2!

5. Parents tend to tell their kids where they are best suited to play. It's usually at one of the positions mentioned in #4....that doesn't mean they belong there.

My daughter isn't going to be in the top 5 on the team....she won't be playing SS....so at least my parents have THAT going for them!
 
Feb 21, 2017
198
28
Thank you all! I will read up on this board and the internet for sure! We had our draft last night.....I went in with baseball knowledge, I'm hoping it works out. They all got scores on running, fielding, throwing, and hitting.

Running: My experience has been that I won't be able to do much with their running....as their bodies change so will their stride. I can try to teach proper form, but if their legs don't work that way right now nothing I can do.
Fielding: In my mind, if they are coordinated enough to field, they can be taught to hit and throw....so I grabbed the highest scoring fielder that was left at every pick opportunity.
Throwing: Can be taught....most of these girls are trying to throw while facing completely forward.
Hitting: Can be taught, and anyway, the test was done in a cage with an L-screen about 5 feet away...you can't tell anything by that test.

My priority was fielding, throwing, running and THEN hitting in that order. 10u baseball had two major problems, throwing strikes and catching the ball. Out of 95 girls only 3 identified themselves as pitchers. I plan on having all my players practice at that position.


I'm really excited for the season.

I have a couple of questions about the posts above:

Why my best fielder at 2B? In baseball it's SS...that's a big difference.

Why doesn't the pitcher cover 1B on a bunt....or what if 1B is fielding the ball....does the pitcher ever go over to 1B?

I just saw this post and this age group is my wheelhouse (almost 2 decades of AAU around this age) and I can juxtapose with my daughters and a couple years doing ASA.

IMO you are on the right track and based on my experience you will find out the girls game at this age group is a notch behind the boys and it is because of the pitching experience.

Overall my focus would be:

Base Running: you can teach getting a good jump off base, good lines from home-to-2B & 1B-to-3B and coming down foul return in fair at 3B. Tagging up, sliding and even diving back to a base.

Throw & Catch: it is a game of catch so every practice I would teach receiving the ball (force play and pivot) and proper throwing mechanics. Google Wasserman for throwing and search YouTube for Bobby Dickerson. Keeping your eye on the ball is what separates amateurs from pros. I would work on throwing around the bases every practice. Avoid wrist flicks.

Fielding (infield): teach base positions (where to stand), ground ball technique, forehand-backhand, flips and some throwing on the run. I would also introduce some every-day routine and you can YouTube Livestrong How to field softball or Trosky Baseball.

Fielding (outfield): basically tossing fly balls and using tennis balls is great. Also football receiver drill is good. A fun drill is have kids wear batting helmets an toss tennis balls and they have to head-butt them off the visor part (teaches getting to ball and getting under it). I also have them long toss from outfield just behind 2B into a screen or net at home plate.

Hitting: simply teach strike zone, good balance, keeping eyes focused on ball. Keep the swing terms simple (say it is like landing a plane and the taking off again). More than that will be too much to process at this age. I found there are more walks compared to boys 10U

In terms of playing positions and your questions. Everyone should do all the drills. You are not going to have a SS or 2B at this age, just someone with potential so you group players. Those players with good feet and agility will be up the middle and those with slower feet corners. Playing different positions gives them a different prospective each inning and helps them learn. Don’t overthink it.

I also would do ladders, cones and similar to improve footwork so if you have any they can be helpful to add to a drill. Some kids will naturally be too at this and others will become good.

My overall advice. You are introducing the sport to kids, giving them some understanding of the big concepts as well as base fundamentals. Not everyone will get everything right away but the fact they see it what matters. Make 3-4 practice plans that include drills which fit in the allotted practice time and rotate through them. You will always be ready for practice with a plan this way.

In terms of rules: the game is the same, just ask your local league for anything special. I doubt recreational leagues really enforce look-back at 10U, it is about learning. There were a couple quizzes in DFP forum and those questions could be talked about as learning points for the girls.

Most of all have fun. If you have fun, they will have fun.

CoC


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
3. Where they project at 10u is rarely where they are at 18u.
I agree with most of your post, but regarding quoted material how many 18U SS were not their team's primary SS at 10U, in particular if the 18U team is any good??
I would guess very few...Puberty doesn't typically make people (in particular girls) more athletic...
 
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Feb 5, 2019
13
0
I agree with most of your post, but regarding quoted material how many 18U SS were not their team's primary SS at 10U, in particular if the 18U team is any good??
I would guess very few...Puberty doesn't typically make people (in particular girls) more athletic...

We will have to agree to disagree on that one.

I have seen HUGE, absolutely HUGE changes to athleticism once puberty hits. My son for example, yes he's a boy but the principle applies, always looked like he was running with an elephant AND a piano on his back. He took speed and agility, it didn't help. However, once his legs grew he was able to move them in a way he couldn't before. The training finally kicked in and man he flew!

Conversely, I've seen super fast kids slow to average speed. I've seen kids who couldn't move laterally able to use their new gangly arms to great effect....the fast kids become slow, the slow kids became fast, the great hitters became less than average, the great arm strength kids were passed by when others grew their adult muscles sooner...let's not even talk about the kids who used to be overweight and poof they are skinny...and vice versa. The puberty stick is a game changer for SURE!
 

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