10U Fall Ball – Rec league Rant

[quincy]

I found out yesterday that ½ our fall ball Team would be moving up to 12U, or in 1 case a travel team, in the spring. The girls that are moving up need to because of their age.

I know there are changes from fall to spring but ½ the Team?

Our fall ball Manager ended up in a tough position, I do not think she realized how good her DD is. She planned to manage in the fall then the spring but her DD is off to a traveling team. It was her 1st time managing and I do not think she enjoyed it as much as she thought she would. Her DD is a really good player and both of them have aspirations for her future so I would have made the same decision she did.

Now we have no manager and ½ our Team is gone. The only good news is it appears that my DD will be our #1 pitcher, wait that is not good news either. She is a better pitcher then most people give her credit for but we are sending her to pitching lessons for the 1st time ever this January.

Approximately 80% of our innings pitched in fall are leaving the team; my DD threw the other 20%.

Apparently I was under the mistaken impression that fall ball was to get a team together for the spring.

My DD has been recruited by a few travelling teams and would be a top player on any of their teams but she would not be able to pitch. She wants to pitch so we are staying in rec ball until she gets a little bit better at pitching.

I am frustrated and am not sure what to do going forward.

Fun of rec ball I guess.

 

[team mom]

The age cut off is Dec 31, so it should have come to no one's surprise who was going to have to move up due to birthdays. In travel, that is the primary reason you will see teams that are organized by birth year, so they do not lose half their team each year. As far as fall ball goes, most leagues where I am, including rec, will encourage players who age up in the Spring to play up in the fall. In the travel league, most of the top tournaments will not allow teams who age up in the spring to play down in the fall, even if they can technically.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Quincy - if you and your DD want the travel ball "lifestyle" and travel teams are interested in her, go for it, even if it means she won't pitch for awhile in tournaments. Other aspects of her game will improve tremendously from playing with better players, against stronger teams, and presumedly access to better coaches.

If not, YOU should coach the Spring rec team since you seem very interested in fastpitch. However, I would ask myself whether having your DD pitch in rec ball will really make her a better pitcher if she will just dominate the league? Someone on this site said that you want your DD to play with players that are better than she is so that she will improve and challenge herself. Will she get that experience in Spring rec?

 

[PA SB Dad]

Rec league is exactly what the name implies - there are no expectations beyond the current season as to whether teams will stay together (or whether girls will continue to play the game). While we have had some girls in our LL commit to playing year after year, in general, the better players have moved on to travel teams while the weaker players find another activity.

My DD (second year 12U this year) has not been good enough to be a regular pitcher for her travel team, but has continued to take lessons and pitches in rec league in addition to occasional innings in travel games. She's worked hard last spring and this fall to try an earn more circle time in the spring, and pitching rec league games has helped. I would say that if your DD has the time and commitment, she can do both (travel and rec) to improve different parts of her game.

 

[SoftSocDad]

I don't know you and your daughter, but here's my best guess:

If your daughter is committed to pitching right now and is definitely planning to start lessons in January, the fact that she already has some game experience likely means she's going to want to put the instruction she receives into practice right away.

If she'd never had a taste of in-game pitching, I'd probably encourage her to continue taking lessons while playing TB, but I'm betting she wants to pitch now. If she does well during the spring, then she'll be a pitcher for the summer all-star team and then she'll be ready to explore TB options as a pitcher next fall.

My daughter's a little different in that she's told me she's fine with not being the #1 pitcher or pitching at all if it means getting to play up in the spring, so I'd vote for following the path that's going to give your daughter more enjoyment right now.

 

[fastpitch]

Not sure how it is in your area but in our area a lot of girls still play rec in the spring AND play travel at the same time. Would it be possible for her to play rec so she can pitch and travel so she can develop at other positions? I think that would be the ideal scenario for you.

 

[SouthernGirls]

In our rec fall ball the girls played on the level they will be in the spring. Seemed to have worked well.

 

[quincy]

Other aspects of her game will improve tremendously from playing with better players, against stronger teams, and presumedly access to better coaches.

There is no question she would get better playing against better competition. She is a great fielder, a pretty good hitter and an OK pitcher. I would prefer her to give up pitching but she wants to do it so I am a little bit stuck. She is the worst pitcher you have ever seen, end of the day she ends up the #1 pitcher. Strange things happen when she pitches, karma or something, her Teams do not give up runs when she pitches.

YOU should coach the Spring rec team since you seem very interested in fastpitch

With our Manager leaving I am being pressured to become our manger. For an extremely selfish reason I am resisting.

My DD loves the game, and like most the people here, we spend a significant amount of time working on her game outside of practices. I am concerned that combining the 2 would effect our relationship and her love for the game.

I have managed both baseball and softball teams but have no interest in managing my own DD’s team, might be off my rocker. I almost managed a Team she played against but was talked out of it.

Someone on this site said that you want your DD to play with players that are better than she is so that she will improve and challenge herself

I do not think I said or implied this and if I did I apologize. My DD is not the best player on our Team let alone the League. With that said I agree with the statement.

 

[starsnuffer]

ASA "B" travel ball requires that the players also play in their municipal recreation league in addition to their travel tournaments. This would allow your daughter to have fun and be a "star" pitching in rec ball and still get the experience and competitive exposure of travel ball. You don't have to play in a private (A) organization in order to play travel ball, infact, IMHO, I think A ball before 14u is a waste of money, but again, that's just my opinion.

-W

 

[EP Dad]

This must be why our teams always move up in the fall. Whatever age group you are playing in the following spring is the age group you are that fall.

Makes sense since around here fall is theoretically development time.