Am I right or wrong here?

[Elk Grove Hurricane]

Lots of good advice here, snotbubbles. My DD was 6 out of 6 pitchers this fall on her 10u team, we got zero circle time for the first few tourneys. I was concerned all season, as they had told me they treated fall like spring training, and the idea wasn't to win games but to develop and see who could do what. Two of the pitchers were aging up on 1/1/17, so I knew we were looking at being number 4 on our roster, and I was searching the tryout ads, even though we truly liked this team and coaching staff. You, as her parent, do need to find the right situation for her despite what you think about anything else on the team. Sometimes it isn't fun to be the parent, but we all have to look out for DD's best interests, regardless of what they may be. I hated the thought of hitting the tryout circuit again, but pitchers need to pitch or find a different position.
But a funny thing happened: my DD took this setback the way we want every kid to act. She never talked about it, but you could see the slow, simmering competiveness take shape and she worked harder and concentrated more. She finally got an inning in the last game (last inning, too) and her line read: 1-3, K (backwards), 6-3. Flash forward two weeks, and two pitchers in front of her left for other teams. She is now #2, and we're really happy that we get to stay with the team we both like so much.

 

[JAD]

My issue with the OP is that they are giving their #1 pitcher little if any circle time just because she is better than the other pitchers which I think is completely wrong. What's the incentive for the pitcher to work her butt off to get better and then ride the bench? This isn't a rec team, but supposedly a travel ball team??

I will agree with you that she is definitely on the wrong type of team for her skill level which is why she need to go play for a more competitive team.

Maybe my area is different from other regions but kid's pitch at 7yo, have pitching coaches, and play year round. By second year 10u, they are playing a fairly high level and I can guarantee you that no TB teams have 8 pitchers and they are not sitting the #1 to give their infield opportunities to get shelled....

I know the OP stated it was a TB team, but then mentions league play. I know areas of the country are different, but in GA TB teams play weekend tournaments, not leagues. Leagues = REC Ball in my mind.

 

[marriard]

I know the OP stated it was a TB team, but then mentions league play. I know areas of the country are different, but in GA TB teams play weekend tournaments, not leagues. Leagues = REC Ball in my mind.

We play travel leagues in the fall in South Florida from Sept-Early November then we go to weekend tournaments. Generally we do 4-5 weekends of league games and a seeded double-elimination weekend for the championships.

Different areas have different options. I actually enjoy it - the league play has a different feel to it and it is nice to know when you are finished each weekend for a little while at least.

 

[Snotbubbles]

I'm outside of Atlanta and my 10U DD could pick between at least 30 10U travel teams in reasonable driving distance (which for someone near Atlanta typically = less than an hour's drive). Maybe more. There are a ton. Even with that many teams, they fill up with girls, too. You'll see a few not make every year but most seem to. It seems like there are twice as many in 12U though I pay less attention to those right now. I think after 10U the rec programs struggle to find players. It seems like most who are any good have switched to travel by then. I remember watching part of a 12U rec game when DD was in 8U and thinking our 8U travel team could probably beat both the 12U rec teams, even playing with 12U rules, and our 8U team was not even very good.

Plenty of 10u teams to go to in our area. Problem is, there isn't enough good competition. So I could move her to a team that says they're an "A" team, but the reality is, they'd probably play a similar schedule to DD's current team. As someone said above, the talent is watered down at 10u and doesn't really pick up until 12u.

 

[Snotbubbles]

I know the OP stated it was a TB team, but then mentions league play. I know areas of the country are different, but in GA TB teams play weekend tournaments, not leagues. Leagues = REC Ball in my mind.

The league DD played in was local league operating under ASA rules. For about the price of one USSSA, ASA or PONY tournament DD got to play 15 or so games. The games were more like glorified scrimmages and there weren't any standings for the league. There were 8 or 9 different tournament teams in the league.

DDs team also played in two tournaments. One hosted by her organization (not sure if it was sponsored by ASA or PONY) and one USSSA tournament this Fall. In the Spring, DDs team will probably play in 20 or so tournaments. HC has said he wants to play around 100 games this Spring/Summer.

 

[Orange Socks]

In the Spring, DDs team will probably play in 20 or so tournaments. HC has said he wants to play around 100 games this Spring/Summer.

20 tourneys in the Spring? WOW! Back in the 10U/12U days we usually played around 20 tourney a year, which equates to around 120 games. 4-8 games a tourney on average.

 

[Snotbubbles]

20 tourneys in the Spring? WOW! Back in the 10U/12U days we usually played around 20 tourney a year, which equates to around 120 games. 4-8 games a tourney on average.

Spring/Summer so from Mid-March to July.

 

[MNDad]

Tournaments every weekend for 4+ months is crazy at 10U. Most kids won’t play that much until college.

 

[Snotbubbles]

Tournaments every weekend for 4+ months is crazy at 10U. Most kids won’t play that much until college.

The kids love it. It's more of a grind for the parents.

EDIT: And we don't go every weekend, but probably 3x a month. We're doing some indoor tournaments this year in the Pocono's.

 

[marriard]

The kids love it. It's more of a grind for the parents.

Keep telling yourself that. All the players who we knew who were on teams doing that sort of schedule in 10U when we were in that age group are now all gone from the sport by the time we hit 2nd-year 14U. The few remaining are still mainly doing it for their parents and hate the game and it is not going to end well.

There are 2 exceptions. They are 2 of the very best of the absolute best and are total softball beasts and probably would have been no matter what happened in 10U. But that is 2 out of maybe 90 or 100 girls. The odds it is REALLY your DD are not good.