This seems so opposite for our MS league where the majority of the MS players are TB and our team is the only one that is almost all rec. We have one TB player and she's actually a 6th grader. I figured most TB players did play MS in the fall - at least where we are..
MS made TB swing worse
- Thread starter Bob516
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
- Jul 14, 2017
- 181
- 28
I have to disagree with you....there is a saying that to get better, you have to play better. I also think the reverse is true to some point. If a player is consistently playing below their talent and ability level, it is very easy for sloppy habits to develop, complacency, boredom and a dulled competitive edge. I'm not saying my dd is a superstar, but I think we were both grateful when her last mandatory season of rec ended. I can honestly say that it did nothing to advance her game or make her a better player.
Saw this as part of a blog post once. It was a satirical look at travel softball but I cracked up:
Mack: Well, first the umpiring was just awful and our coach is absolutely clueless.
Butch: I thought you just switched teams to play with this coach because he played in the majors for the Phillies and used to coach at Cal-Berkeley.
Mack: I did, but it was a bad mistake. He just doesn't understand the game. We'll be moving to a new team in the fall.
Pete: He played for the Phillies but doesn't understand the game of baseball?
Butch: Oh yeah, you'd be surprised. Elsa's last coach played for the U.S. National Team but I know I can coach better than her. I didn't play soccer but I've picked up a lot just watching. Mack, how did Tripp play?
Mack: He pitched two innings all weekend. He gave up 10 runs but none of them were earned. The defense behind him was just terrible. All kinds of errors, a couple of bloop hits, passed balls. Just no support from his teammates.
Pete: Did he get to bat?
Mack: He got a few ABs but the other pitchers were slow and his timing was off. He does much better against top pitching.
Pete: So he can't hit bad pitching but he does hit good pitching? I'm not an athlete but that doesn't make sense.
Butch: Oh, it's very real. Tim struggles with bad pitching too.
Pete: If nobody can hit bad pitching, wouldn't it make "bad" pitchers, uh, good?
Mack: Well, first the umpiring was just awful and our coach is absolutely clueless.
Butch: I thought you just switched teams to play with this coach because he played in the majors for the Phillies and used to coach at Cal-Berkeley.
Mack: I did, but it was a bad mistake. He just doesn't understand the game. We'll be moving to a new team in the fall.
Pete: He played for the Phillies but doesn't understand the game of baseball?
Butch: Oh yeah, you'd be surprised. Elsa's last coach played for the U.S. National Team but I know I can coach better than her. I didn't play soccer but I've picked up a lot just watching. Mack, how did Tripp play?
Mack: He pitched two innings all weekend. He gave up 10 runs but none of them were earned. The defense behind him was just terrible. All kinds of errors, a couple of bloop hits, passed balls. Just no support from his teammates.
Pete: Did he get to bat?
Mack: He got a few ABs but the other pitchers were slow and his timing was off. He does much better against top pitching.
Pete: So he can't hit bad pitching but he does hit good pitching? I'm not an athlete but that doesn't make sense.
Butch: Oh, it's very real. Tim struggles with bad pitching too.
Pete: If nobody can hit bad pitching, wouldn't it make "bad" pitchers, uh, good?
So listen I'm not trying to offend and of course comparing kids to pros is unfair but we don't let our players say they couldn't hit a pitcher because she was too slow. Now I understand MS pitching may be crazy slow/bad, but I doubt that's universally the case.
In my time in the game I've heard I can't hit slow pitching, I can't hit machine pitch, I can't hit indoors, I can't hit live pitching thrown to me in a cage/tunnel, I can't hit Lite Flite, I can't hit whiffle balls, I can't hit side toss, I can't hit slow front toss (or I can't help but pull slow front toss), etc. etc....always with the concern it's going to "make bad hitters" or "make my swing worse" rather than if I can adapt and learn to hit "X" I'll be a better hitter in the long run and learn a lot about my swing.
I'll go back to Greenmonster's original statement, he probably said it best
As for Cyder above I agree 100% to play the best competition you can, but I don't believe "slumming" in MS, or high school, or with friends in a backyard game will degrade anyone's swing....a fantastic travel player/hitter should dominate MS/high school ball and have a great time doing it!
In my time in the game I've heard I can't hit slow pitching, I can't hit machine pitch, I can't hit indoors, I can't hit live pitching thrown to me in a cage/tunnel, I can't hit Lite Flite, I can't hit whiffle balls, I can't hit side toss, I can't hit slow front toss (or I can't help but pull slow front toss), etc. etc....always with the concern it's going to "make bad hitters" or "make my swing worse" rather than if I can adapt and learn to hit "X" I'll be a better hitter in the long run and learn a lot about my swing.
I'll go back to Greenmonster's original statement, he probably said it best
As for Cyder above I agree 100% to play the best competition you can, but I don't believe "slumming" in MS, or high school, or with friends in a backyard game will degrade anyone's swing....a fantastic travel player/hitter should dominate MS/high school ball and have a great time doing it!
Last edited:
Like any school sport, you are at the mercy of the talent level of the existing population. Some schools are fortunate to be deep with talent. Some not so much.
DD's first two years of MS ball were hit and miss with opposing pitchers. (She made the 7th grade team as a 6th grader) Some teams had a few travel ball players, some were entirely made of travel ball players. We were the latter, and were pretty dominate the first two years. Generally we have over 20 girls tryout for 14 spots, and all of them play travel ball. This year, the 8th grade season is a little different. Most teams we play in 8th grade have above average pitching and games are a lot tighter. Also, it looks to me like around here the 8th grade teams usually pulls rank and pulls up quality 7th grade pitchers, leaving the younger teams a little weak in that position. If your DD is in 7th grade, I am pretty sure she will see a step up in quality pitching next fall. I agree with the others in that her swing should not change due to a slower pitcher.
DD actually loves playing school ball. Her coach is kind of meh & practices are boring, but she has a lot of fun and gets to play a game she loves with all of her school friends that are on different travel ball teams.
DD actually loves playing school ball. Her coach is kind of meh & practices are boring, but she has a lot of fun and gets to play a game she loves with all of her school friends that are on different travel ball teams.
In my short experience with MS ball, the range between "bad" and "good" is greater than you will experience in any other group. Rec tends to range from bad to decent. TB tends to range from decent to very good, with an occasional excellent. In MS, you might see the whole range.
Despite the significant drop off in overall skill level of the team, and the frustrations that go with it, my DD loves playing MS ball, too. She gets to be teammates again with some of the girls that were her teammates in 8U and 10U rec. She also doesn't mind too much being the hero.
- Jul 14, 2017
- 181
- 28
I can only speak from my own experience- and please know that I don't believe in making excuses. If there is a problem with abc, we need to make xyz adjustments. That yr in 12u, her rec team mates who were also on her TB team became used to the slower rec rainbow/lollipops. When it was the weekend and we faced faster TB pitchers, a good # of them would just watch the ball whiz by enjoying the breeze. To help her with her timing we went to the cages. No excuses, just hard work and adjustments.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
