How to motivate?

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Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
DH likes to do batting practice with stations for team practices, with each station something different & maybe 3 girls per station and they rotate through, so there's not too much standing around. Bunting, various drills, pitching machine, etc.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
My daughter loves to play softball. The problem is she doesn't enjoy batting practice and prefers to work on pitching and fielding. She is a strong batter that has great potential if she only practices. She can move batters, get on base and have good stats. Also can bunt,slap on both right and left side with decent speed. She has been working on getting even faster this off season.
What are some fun ways to maybe spark some interest? All she wants to do is pitch and often times knocking on our bedroom door asking to go pitch.

Would you rather have a DD that is good at several things (pitching, fielding, hitting, slapping), or great at one thing (pitching). Each player is different, but if your DD has a passion for pitching I would fuel that and let everything else be secondary. There are a lot of opportunities for pitchers in HS, TB and college and none of the coaches will care if she can hit or play another position.
 
Feb 7, 2013
3,188
48
My DD likes the game but doesn't always like to practice. My solution was to get her regularly scheduled lessons each week. This way it becomes part of her week and routine. It eliminates a lot of the drama and excuses to not practice.

While I understand sluggers point, If I recall your DD is still fairly young and she may need other softball skills one day (e.g. Playing varsity as a freshman, helping her travel ball team score runs, play a secondary position while not pitching etc). I always liked my kids to keep their options open, no matter what the pursuit is.
 

rdbass

It wasn't me.
Jun 5, 2010
9,131
83
Not here.
I also don't believe in 'putting all your eggs in one basket'. If your DD is a good pitcher than focus on pitching. If not going to be the number 1 in HS, Tourney team, or pitch in college than DD may need a plan B. DD needs to motivate herself. DD needs to find a reason to get motivated.
 
Jun 19, 2014
846
43
Raleigh,NC
DD is a junior this year. She is her travel ball #1 pitcher. She is at a new high school and softball season won't start until February. I am kind of excited to see how they do this year since they made it to the quarter finals in state last year. Losing 2-1. No one graduated from last year. In total between JV and Varsity, they had 8 pitchers. My daughter will be someone new on the team.

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk
 
Jul 19, 2014
2,390
48
Madison, WI
I can understand your dilemma.

She wants to pitch, and she wants to play at her dream school, but to play at her dream school she would have to do less pitching and more hitting.

But she won't, because she wants to pitch.

It's hard to know what her interests will be in a few years. My interests as a freshman, as a junior, as a college undergrad and as a grad student were all completely different.

Right now, if she enjoys pitching, and she's good at it, let her pitch. She may or may not even get much circle time in HS, but she will have some fun in TB. And maybe part of the reason she wants to pitch so much is because of all the competition at her HS.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
This summer dd attended camp to the division 1 school she was interested in. They didn't even look at her for pitching but show interest in her for outfield and batting. They had batting lead off or 2nd in batting lineup the entire time. The coaches notes were praising her for speed and batting. I know if she wants to attend that school, she may have to chance paths. Not to give up pitching because that is her passion?

Your DD is starting to get to realism time as she is now in HS and that means a lot going on with hs ball, travel, recruiting, etc, etc....

Dream school, interested in, etc, etc... all decisions SHE will need to now make over time. If her passion is pitching first and that is what she wants to do first, then she needs to figure out what this means in terms of moving ahead and how she is going to spend her time. And even more importantly, you will need to listen to her what she decides is going to make her happy. At best you can be a guide, provide advice and 100% support - but you cannot be the one making the decision in the end because that tends to end badly.

It matters little if she has D1 talent hitting skills if she has no real interest in putting the work in on that. If she has a passion for pitching be thankful for that passion. If she works her butt off to become the best pitcher she can be, and her pitching ends up being better for some other level or at some other school but she is happy, then THAT is the real success. College + softball is SO much work and time you have to love it or it wont go well one way or another. Success is not making D1 or D2 or % scholarship or whatever - success is your DD finding the right college and the the right program and the right fit for her. The hardest part as a parent (and probably for your DD) is being able to ignore others who define success differently.

And it is MUCH easier to pitch and hit/field outside of the top 100 teams if this is what she wants as well. And you are likely going to get better offers on a pitcher than any other position. And so on. All decisons to be made. And that is just college. In High School maybe it is probably different depending on team needs - every person and every situation is different.

My DD just attended a FANTASTIC college camp this week. It was awesome. She came out of it brimming with confidence but she knows she has not found her school yet. This weekend she did discover several things she does NOT want at a college. She had a great conversation with one coach where they both agreed that the coache's college was not for my DD, but the coach felt she knew some programs that might be a good match and is willing to help her out. That is a major step forward for her. It is as much a process of elimination as it is a process of selection.
 
Jun 19, 2014
846
43
Raleigh,NC
DD wanted to play for this D1 school for the last 2 years. We finally make it to their camp and during the scrimmages in front of all the other colleges, she didn't get a single inning to pitch. They use 3 pitchers with each pitcher getting an inning. What they liked about her batting is her ability to listen and make changes. I know DD doesn't appear to be a pitcher off the field. She is normally really shy, quiet spoken girl who doesn't appear to have the confidence that is needed to pitch. But, once she steps on the field, her demeanor changes...almost like a switch is turned on. I think they didn't see her as a potential pitcher at their school.
I have talked to her about this and her response has always been, "then I will just work harder and make them notice me." I know I am wrong about many things...but I don't see this school wanting her as a pitcher. IF she really is interested in playing for school, is it worth changing her approach? I wonder how many pitchers have to give pitching up and focus more on batting and playing another position in order to play for their dream school?
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
DD wanted to play for this D1 school for the last 2 years. We finally make it to their camp and during the scrimmages in front of all the other colleges, she didn't get a single inning to pitch. They use 3 pitchers with each pitcher getting an inning. What they liked about her batting is her ability to listen and make changes. I know DD doesn't appear to be a pitcher off the field. She is normally really shy, quiet spoken girl who doesn't appear to have the confidence that is needed to pitch. But, once she steps on the field, her demeanor changes...almost like a switch is turned on. I think they didn't see her as a potential pitcher at their school.
I have talked to her about this and her response has always been, "then I will just work harder and make them notice me." I know I am wrong about many things...but I don't see this school wanting her as a pitcher. IF she really is interested in playing for school, is it worth changing her approach? I wonder how many pitchers have to give pitching up and focus more on batting and playing another position in order to play for their dream school?

I guess she may have to decide if pitching in college matters more than attending that particular school. IMO there's no right answer to that, she just has to decide what the priority is.

I think my DD is the same way, or similar, personality wise. She cries easily (you know those tough girls who can take a hard pitch to the side and run down to 1B like it's no big deal? Yeah, not mine, she's a crier). She used to struggle with actual physical reactions to mistakes, though she's gotten past that. But she's kind of an emotional kid and if you only know her a little, you might not expect how cool she is in the circle. It's a shame your DD didn't get a chance to show them she's got it.
 

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