Probably Just Don't Practice Enough

Might or might not be relative.

2 years ago DD was the best everything on team, she did not go to 1 practice. Wrong team for her.

This past year she was in conversation for best player and she was at every practice.

Hawkeyes said:

I dont think this is 100% accurate. It doesnt take into account ability. Also, you can practice all you want but if it you are not practicing things the right way, it doesnt matter. its just a waste of time. I coach girls that refuse to change their pitching mechanics and they dont get better. They are practicing but not getting better. Doing other activities also helps softball ability. DD playing basketball is great for her foot work. Who knows, maybe crocheting is strengthening her fingers or mental focus needed to be a pitcher.

I am convinced this is going to happen with my dd. She busts her tail for softball. Its her #1 love. We do the travel, pay for offseason training, speed camps, practicing extra. The girl loves the game. She is working on the recruiting aspect now. At some point a college coach is going to come watch her play high school ball and say who is this other girl? the girl is a freek athlete, 4 sport stud, but does nothing extra. Only plays the in-season sport and does minimal offseason. I guarntee that the coach will want her over my dd do to athleticism and i would too. This girl could be that good. She doesnt put 5% of the time my dd does but she has a better shot in college than my dd do to athleticism and natural ability. This is not intended to bad mouth the other girl. She's a great kid and a good friend to my dd.

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Maybe the "stud" has a better shot, maybe not. I wish I had a dollar for every "athlete" I've seen who found the "wall" in sports that they couldn't get over because they hadn't developed the necessary work ethic. Sure, there are many coaches who will be interested in the athleticism, but if they know that they're looking for, they'll also look for the kid who has the reputation for hard work.

Classof2020 said:

So honestly our practice can vary from 1-2 times a week and rarely 3 (on top of games). I read on here that people pitch every day or 4 days a week and I just don't know how they fit it all in. I work full time (way more than full time part of the year) and have a 2 hour commute each day so my time with her is also limited and I'm the main practice partner. Maybe this next year when she can drive we can have her initiate more practice time with other players so that might help. Does anyone make it to some level of college ball as a 2 day a week practicer??

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There are different levels of college softball and if a girl really wants to play there is a college coach somewhere that wants her. It might be a small no-name JUCO in Timbucktwo, but there is some coach somewhere...that said, there is no magic number of the times a player needs to practice to become proficient. Your goal is to find the right "balance" for your DD to maximize her potential without burning her out.

JAD said:

There are different levels of college softball and if a girl really wants to play there is a college coach somewhere that wants her. It might be a small no-name JUCO in Timbucktwo, but there is some coach somewhere...that said, there is no magic number of the times a player needs to practice to become proficient. Your goal is to find the right "balance" for your DD to maximize her potential without burning her out.

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I don't know. I don't think they have a softball program here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Timbuktu

Pitching is like anything else your DD does, she will get out of it what she puts into it. It is all about priorities. If she is happy I would not lose sleep over it.

Some kids can practice less than others and still be stronger at their position. A lot depends on natural ability and talent. I know my DD must outwork every other pitcher in her age group. I had the conversation and still do with my DD. If you want to play on an "A" team you must throw 4-5 times per week.
If you don't want to practice that much, that's fine, but you can't play on an "A" team. The team is relying on you to be your best and give 100%. A ton of money, time and commitment is required by all families.. It would not be fair for these people to outlay all of that and for you to not work as hard as you can.
If DD played a second sport with some level of seriousness I wouldn't allow her to play on a high level SB team. We've all had kids on our DD's teams that commit to a team then stop working hard and it shows.

Classof2020 said:

Sometimes I have questions I want to run by you all - but then I think it's probably that we just don't practice enough.

My DD likes pitching. She likes practicing. But she also likes crocheting, sewing, watching silly comedies and cooking shows, playing with the cats, swimming, working on her hitting and fielding, having straight A's and doing the work to keep those, working on the plays and drama class and helping with the sets and costumes, hanging with a friend once in a while, hanging with the family (not at the ballpark) once in a while and probably some other things that I'm missing.

So honestly our practice can vary from 1-2 times a week and rarely 3 (on top of games). I read on here that people pitch every day or 4 days a week and I just don't know how they fit it all in. I work full time (way more than full time part of the year) and have a 2 hour commute each day so my time with her is also limited and I'm the main practice partner. Maybe this next year when she can drive we can have her initiate more practice time with other players so that might help. Does anyone make it to some level of college ball as a 2 day a week practicer??

So sometimes I want to say how come one day the DB is right on and the RB sucks and other days it's the complete opposite. Or should we work on the back toe drag more. Or is this screw/scrise worth working on. But then I decide we are just getting what we are getting because this is a small piece of our lives and probably can't expect much improvement from here on out I'd think.

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There is a college position available for anyone who decides they want one. There are schools out there that are stupid expensive that will give just about anyone a "scholarship" for $10K. The school is still super expensive and not highly rated for softball or academics. But they always have a full roster, full of kids whose parents are financing the dream of college athletics. I have friends whose dd plays soccer at a school like this, the only college to consider their kid, they pay more per year for their dd to go to this school then my DDs school costs. And my dds school is academically miles above this school. This school has something like 1500 students and about 50% of them are on some "varsity" level sport.

And frankly a kid who has a 2 time a week practice routine who has good natural ability who throws in the high 50s with some movement, will be able to find a Div III or even II program. But don't expect the scholarship to cover most of your costs.

The real question, is what Slugger said. Will college athletics fit into your DDs lifestyle and expectations. Its a full time job, whether you have a full scholarship or a walk on they expect a lot out of the athletes. My DD decided early on that was not a good fit for her. She practiced softball less often then your dd. Played HS and travel softball, HS basketball and HS volleyball, plus was in the concert and marching bands. She started 3 years on Varsity softball 2 of them as the #1 pitcher. Was she the best softball player she could have been, nope. But she was happy. We have seen several of her past team mates go on to play college, its a job.

Find out what your dd wants out of life, find a school that nurtures that (if it includes softball or not) and in the long run she will be happier.

Regarding pitching practices, I think slow and steady year-round is better than 5x a week for several months and taking large amounts of time off without touching a ball. Previous to this year, DD never took more than 3 weeks off at any one time (normally in August and December), but during the year she would "only" practice 3x a week (maximum) for about 35 or 40 minutes at a time. This past spring, after high school was over, she didn't pitch or take lessons for over 8 weeks and when she came back, she was horrible for the first couple of pitching practices (where she and I were feeling she should probably give up the position!). But once she got back into the routine over several weeks, the pitching accuracy, speed, and spin started coming back. Note: DD (soph) does not want to play in college but just wants to be good enough to pitch Varsity as the #2 this season and be the starting LF. #1 is a senior getting a full ride to a Big10 school, so no other pitcher will get much circle time this year.

Hawkeyes said:

I dont think this is 100% accurate. It doesnt take into account ability. Also, you can practice all you want but if it you are not practicing things the right way, it doesnt matter. its just a waste of time. I coach girls that refuse to change their pitching mechanics and they dont get better. They are practicing but not getting better. Doing other activities also helps softball ability. DD playing basketball is great for her foot work. Who knows, maybe crocheting is strengthening her fingers or mental focus needed to be a pitcher.

I am convinced this is going to happen with my dd. She busts her tail for softball. Its her #1 love. We do the travel, pay for offseason training, speed camps, practicing extra. The girl loves the game. She is working on the recruiting aspect now. At some point a college coach is going to come watch her play high school ball and say who is this other girl? the girl is a freek athlete, 4 sport stud, but does nothing extra. Only plays the in-season sport and does minimal offseason. I guarntee that the coach will want her over my dd do to athleticism and i would too. This girl could be that good. She doesnt put 5% of the time my dd does but she has a better shot in college than my dd do to athleticism and natural ability. This is not intended to bad mouth the other girl. She's a great kid and a good friend to my dd.

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There is one a million of this happening. Colleges care almost nothing about High School. They know the politics, poor teams at play, and terrible coaching perpetrated by the teacher's union. So, unless you live in the same city as a university, it's unlikely they will spend recruiting dollars to come to a HS game when they can go to a showcase and see 100's of girls.

Of course I know that's not your point but, I had to say it.

Bill

Classof2020 said:

My DD likes pitching. She likes practicing. But she also likes crocheting, sewing, watching silly comedies and cooking shows, playing with the cats, swimming, working on her hitting and fielding, having straight A's and doing the work to keep those, working on the plays and drama class and helping with the sets and costumes, hanging with a friend once in a while, hanging with the fam

But then I decide we are just getting what we are getting because this is a small piece of our lives and probably can't expect much improvement from here on out I'd think.

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If I were you, I would treat myself to a night out. Based on your description, you already have a winner.