Another "Should DD change teams" thread

[Coach-n-Dad]

I'll try not to bore you with all of the details.

DD is a '95 pitcher and has been pitching for 2 years, playing for 3. She sees a personal pitching coach for 2 hours per week who also works with her fielding and hitting.

DD started in LL and after the second season was asked to join a local "start up" travel team last fall. There were a lot of issues with the team (mostly parent/coaching) so this spring she switched to her current "start up" travel team. This team has been playing together for 5 years through rec. ball to their current NSA "B" status. In NSA B, they are a winning team and are talking about going to "A" ball this fall. I think the move to "A" ball would be a great thing for most of the players but don't think the coaching staff is up to the task.

DD has been #1 pitcher on both travel teams and is currently throwing mid to upper 50's (she hit 60 twice last weekend) with more than 1 breaking pitch. I am not going to spout off about what they are, how many there are, etc.... She carries the highest batting average on the team at .425 and the highest on base percentage on the team at .500 hitting in the #4 slot.

For months I have been thinking that playing on her current team isn't doing her any favors if she wants to get better. At her last lesson her coach told me (out of the blue) that she is wasting her time playing on a "B" team and should be on a much more competitive team.

Here is my dilemma... I have talked to DD who is interested in playing at a higher level and has no real problem with leaving her current team. DD's mother is not so sure; We are very involved in current team, I am parent-helper/skills coach, she is helping the team incorporate and get non-profit status, she does fan-wear.

Should I press the issue now or should I sit back until after the fall season?

 

[jimginas]

Did you answer your own question after reading your thread?

Obviously you are considering what is best interest for your DD. You want her to WANT to go out to practices and games. You want her to have fun and DEVELOP. Most coaches agree that playing at a higher level, will best develop your athlete. Faster game, against better competition and more experienced coaching SHOULD help her develop faster.

Good luck!
(( SLUGGERS stated something to the effect recently and I WHOLE HEARTEDLY AGREE: if you want your daughter to be an average-decent player, coach her team! If you want her to develop to be the best she can be, DONT COACH HER TEAM, COACH HER! Hit her balls, throw with her, ensure she is getting adequate battiing lessons from EXPERIENCED batting innstructors! ))

 

[sluggers]

I'm speechless.

 

[calgofo]

I'll try not to bore you with all of the details.

DD is a '95 pitcher and has been pitching for 2 years, playing for 3. She sees a personal pitching coach for 2 hours per week who also works with her fielding and hitting.

DD started in LL and after the second season was asked to join a local "start up" travel team last fall. There were a lot of issues with the team (mostly parent/coaching) so this spring she switched to her current "start up" travel team. This team has been playing together for 5 years through rec. ball to their current NSA "B" status.

NSA B for all intent and purposes is rec. ball.

In NSA B, they are a winning team and are talking about going to "A" ball this fall. I think the move to "A" ball would be a great thing for most of the players but don't think the coaching staff is up to the task.

Most coaches at the A ball level aren't up tp the task either.

DD has been #1 pitcher on both travel teams and is currently throwing mid to upper 50's (she hit 60 twice last weekend) with more than 1 breaking pitch. I am not going to spout off about what they are, how many there are, etc.... She carries the highest batting average on the team at .425 and the highest on base percentage on the team at .500 hitting in the #4 slot.

If she is doing all that, then I can't imagine much of an opportunity for growth at that level.

For months I have been thinking that playing on her current team isn't doing her any favors if she wants to get better. At her last lesson her coach told me (out of the blue) that she is wasting her time playing on a "B" team and should be on a much more competitive team.

IF SHE wants to improve and wants to accept a greater challenge, then the coach is correct.

Here is my dilemma... I have talked to DD who is interested in playing at a higher level and has no real problem with leaving her current team. DD's mother is not so sure; We are very involved in current team, I am parent-helper/skills coach, she is helping the team incorporate and get non-profit status, she does fan-wear.

If I'm hearing you correctly, your wife may be resitant because SHE likes being part of the present team environment. I suggest you, spouse and DD go out and watch true A ball team play (if you havent already)
A is a world of difference than B in quality, time, attitude, money,stress etc.

Should I press the issue now or should I sit back until after the fall season?

No time like the present as they say.

 

[calgofo]

Honestly, I don't even know where to start.

I could say, "Parents have to sacrifice for their children, so sometimes you do things which you would prefer not to," but that sounds like something for a 17 YOA unwed mother.

Or, I could point out that being the best player on a B team is like getting four numbers right on a six number $55 million lottery (which happened to me, by the way).

Or, I could point out that my DD pitched against an 18U B team when she was 13 YOA and struck out 20. I generally don't go around bragging about it, for obvious reason.

Or, I could point out that in high level sports, players that make it have to fight and claw their way over other players on the team to get PT (playing time). Your DD doesn't know how to do it, and she'll never learn as long as she is the "best player on a B team".

Or, I could call up my DD's ex-pitching coach (the one that produced two Olympians and a bevy of D1 pitchers) and have him howl in laughter about it.

Perhaps instead I should just shut up--because it is parents like you that make college scholarships available for so many other, less talented kids.

Exactly right on this point.

 

[jofus13]

I'm having a similar situation coming up, I'm afraid.

We live in BFE (at least softball wise), WV. Last year, my DD played on a 12U (95 bd) team about 2+ hours away, that mainly practiced on weekends, so it was a good fit for us. Plus, the 14U coaches (who started the program the year before) wanted her to move up in the fall and play for the 14U team coming into this year (and it was a pretty solid 14U team for the area).

But, internal politics shut down the 14U team halfway through the summer (our 12U team kept going on our own all summer), so the program fell apart.

So, this year, a couple local parents talked me into starting a team in our hometown, and we did that. We've built up some decent talent over the spring/summer from about a 40 mile radius, but some of the girls (and some of my favorites) are '94's, so they have to move to 16U next year.

Now I'm torn between staying at 14U and trying to replace them, trying to do 2 teams next year (I would probably move my girl up to 16U a year early if I did that, and let my other 2 coaches take over the 14U team), or just throwing in the towel and trying to find a couple good teams for my DD to try out for, so she can play for a good coach (I will be the first to tell you there are lots of coaches out there smarter and more experienced than I ever will be). Another year of pitching at 14U wouldn't be terrible for her, but I'm fairly confident she is ready for 16U in fielding and hitting. She's been playing SS so well that I haven't pitched her as much as I probably should, which has been getting me grief from her mother on the way home from tournaments

(For the record, our first tournament, I only played her at SS one game and part of another one, out of 6 games, and a few of our parents came up to me after the tournament and told me that I really need to quit trying to be so PC and just leave her at SS as much as I can, so I don't think I'm watching her play SS through my "daddy-ball" glasses, we just don't have any other girls that can play it as well)

In your case, I agree with others who have said if she is able to make a team and get playing time, move her to the better team, it will be better for her in the long run. Since there isn't any other team within an hour and half or more from us, it's not quite that simple for us, sadly.

 

[calgofo]

I'm having a similar situation coming up, I'm afraid.

We live in BFE (at least softball wise), WV. Last year, my DD played on a 12U (95 bd) team about 2+ hours away, that mainly practiced on weekends, so it was a good fit for us. Plus, the 14U coaches (who started the program the year before) wanted her to move up in the fall and play for the 14U team coming into this year (and it was a pretty solid 14U team for the area).

But, internal politics shut down the 14U team halfway through the summer (our 12U team kept going on our own all summer), so the program fell apart.

So, this year, a couple local parents talked me into starting a team in our hometown, and we did that. We've built up some decent talent over the spring/summer from about a 40 mile radius, but some of the girls (and some of my favorites) are '94's, so they have to move to 16U next year.

Now I'm torn between staying at 14U and trying to replace them, trying to do 2 teams next year (I would probably move my girl up to 16U a year early if I did that, and let my other 2 coaches take over the 14U team), or just throwing in the towel and trying to find a couple good teams for my DD to try out for, so she can play for a good coach (I will be the first to tell you there are lots of coaches out there smarter and more experienced than I ever will be). Another year of pitching at 14U wouldn't be terrible for her, but I'm fairly confident she is ready for 16U in fielding and hitting. She's been playing SS so well that I haven't pitched her as much as I probably should, which has been getting me grief from her mother on the way home from tournaments

(For the record, our first tournament, I only played her at SS one game and part of another one, out of 6 games, and a few of our parents came up to me after the tournament and told me that I really need to quit trying to be so PC and just leave her at SS as much as I can, so I don't think I'm watching her play SS through my "daddy-ball" glasses, we just don't have any other girls that can play it as well)

In your case, I agree with others who have said if she is able to make a team and get playing time, move her to the better team, it will be better for her in the long run. Since there isn't any other team within an hour and half or more from us, it's not quite that simple for us, sadly.

Well, actually it is that simple. As I almost always respond to these types of posts, you must do what you feel is in the best interests of your dd. While I freely admit distance is no doubt an impediment, it isn't insurmountable IF the priority is for your DD to play on the best team and have the best opportunity. I had several players who traveled 2 hours or more to play. The price you pay for living in an area that is not close to where the better softball is. Maybe Mark H will chime in here. I know he lived a good distance from the metro area and his DD played on one of the top teams in the city. They definitely didn't live in the neighborhood.

 

[Mark H]

2 hours one way for two years. Gold was easy. That was only an hour one way. Practically next door. I know kids who come from Edinburgh to play with a name gold team in Houston. I'm sure that's not the record.

 

[jofus13]

The distance isn't that big an issue, although weekday practices would be tough, since my wife and I both work until 5ish. She played for a team last year that was based about 2 hours and 15 minutes from home, but they usually practiced on weekends, and didn't expect my DD to be at the few weekday practices they had. Some teams wouldn't be the same though, I'm sure.

We've built a decent team this summer from girls in about a 30-mile radius from us, and I think some of the girls have some good potential, and while I'm obviously more concerned about my own DD's development, I also would like to help the other girls have opportunities to move onward with softball after High School if they want to. I'm not saying I am the greatest coach or anything, but I am trying to learn all the time (which is why I'm on sites like this one and others), not just on the field stuff, but also the other stuff the girls need to know, like sending letters to colleges now, not when they're a senior, etc., and if I go a different path next year, I'm not sure there will be anyone to take my place, especially in the off the field stuff.

But hey, every good travel coach started out as a rookie sometime in the past, right? If I expect my girls to work hard over the winter to improve, then it's only fair that I do the same. Besides, I have a 3 year old DD too, who will just about be ready to start 10U when my older DD hits her college years, so I won't be quite as inexperienced that time around, if the little one loves softball as much as her older sister.

 

[calgofo]

2 hours one way for two years. Gold was easy. That was only an hour one way. Practically next door. I know kids who come from Edinburgh to play with a name gold team in Houston. I'm sure that's not the record.

Odd that you should mention Edinburgh, I had a kid one year that played for us from there. Her name escapes me (as do most names as senility has began its process) but I do remember her mother talking about the distance.