11u practice - Mandatory & how often?

[FP26]

When your home sitting on the couch/play station ect...there's a girl practicing to take your position in the lineup. Even though my DD's team may not be practicing we will practice on our own.

While I agree in principal with what you are saying if a large portion of the team isn't practicing you are in trouble. Come tournament time you have to field a team so you can't sit everyone that doesn't come to practice.

The truth is they should find a team that shares the same commitment level.

Gunner makes an excellent point. In my experience teams that dont share a similar commitment level do not last long. At 12u we practiced twice a week and it was mandatory with some exceptions. Now at 14u we are practicing three times per week. We have several girls involved in spring sports at school so it is not mandatory but attendance from the others has been very good so far.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Hi all,

My DD's 11u A level team is only having 1 practice a week this spring and they are not mandatory. Last year our practices almost never had full participation. Last season Little League was in play for some, but no one is playing Little League this year. We seek out the better tournaments and expect to do quite well against 11u teams and not so well against true 12u teams.

This just seems like not enough practice and I believe it should be mandatory. What are you guys doing and seeing?

Thanks, Rob.

This may be a poor assumption given your practice situation!

 

[humpty]

Doesn't sound like an A team to me

 

[Momo'sDad]

Doesn't sound like an A team to me

I agree. If this was an 16u or 18 Gold showcase team made up of players who lived a few hundred miles from one another, it would make sense that they wouldn't have mandatory practices, but that's not what you're describing here. What you described is a rec team that is not trying to get better.

 

[James Smith]

I am not sure what mandatory practice means. As a HC I do not care why a player is not at practice, she can go to a birth day party for all I care just let me know you are not going to be there.

If players are not coming to practice I am doing something wrong as a coach.

I take responsibility for my DD’s game. If she succeeds she gets the credit, if she fails I take the blame. We practice and sometimes go to lessons outside of the Team practices. Majority of her teammates are the same way.

 

[marriard]

Our team is the same age as the original posters (all 2002 age players). We are probably a very high B-low A team (i.e. we are not beating the '01 12U-A teams yet but we are competitive with them and it is more a maturity thing than a skills issue)

We have two full team practices each week (Wed & Fri) for 2-2:30 hours
At least one of these days we also do an extra hour before practice for pitchers/catchers (to work specifically on skills and game skills for these two positions)
On weekends we have no games we will have a 3 hour practice or scrimmage another team either Saturday or Sunday
On weekends we have games we will normally have a practice on Saturday if we are only playing Sunday or we'll play our weekend tournament.
This is all pretty much mandatory - trumped by school activities and family activities planned and communicated well in advance.


All our pitchers also have at least one lesson per week with their pitching coach. I'd say half of the girls are also using a hitting coach as well sometime during the week. About 1/2 the team is also either playing rec or middle-school ball at the moment at well.

This seems to be pretty close to the schedule for most of the better teams in 12U locally.

 

[CoachChristine]

Hi all,

My DD's 11u A level team is only having 1 practice a week this spring and they are not mandatory. Last year our practices almost never had full participation. Last season Little League was in play for some, but no one is playing Little League this year. We seek out the better tournaments and expect to do quite well against 11u teams and not so well against true 12u teams.

This just seems like not enough practice and I believe it should be mandatory. What are you guys doing and seeing?

Thanks, Rob.

Just to give some perspective. My 8u rec team practices M/Tu/Th for 1 1/2 hours. We have Saturday games, plus one game on those nights during the week. Of course, they're not mandatory. My schedule allows for the dancers to still make practices .

 

[James Smith]

Thankful DD gave up dancing, It was getting to the point of serious money.

DD likes SB, No idea why. I am not sure she knows either.

They will play a game in our front in with TCB balls. A lot of arguing and laughing.

 

[JAD]

I think it is tough to make practices MANDATORY, but the coaching staff can certainly let the parents know that girls who show up for practice will get preferential treatment when deciding on playing time. If a TB team is made up of girls from a wide geographical area it is impossible for every girl to make every practice, but they had better be working hard at home or they will be riding the pine!

 

[MsDinosaur]

Hi all,

My DD's 11u A level team is only having 1 practice a week this spring and they are not mandatory. Last year our practices almost never had full participation. Last season Little League was in play for some, but no one is playing Little League this year. We seek out the better tournaments and expect to do quite well against 11u teams and not so well against true 12u teams.

This just seems like not enough practice and I believe it should be mandatory. What are you guys doing and seeing?

Thanks, Rob.

I'd think 18U A players could be ok with one weekly practice; since the girls are all experienced and presumably practicing on their own the rest of the week. But only once a week and not even mandatory(!) sounds really low to me for 11 year olds. I'd expect good to middle of the road rec teams to practice more than that.