Better team or better position?

[sbmom19]

I always get hung up on stuff like this. How many months before the season were tryouts? I understand giving players an idea of where they stack up against current players on the team but not telling them specifically - you will be #1 (what if a better player comes along??). I especially don't understand telling a kid they will always be in the line up. That sounds like an easy way to get the kid to take that spot for granted and/or to get very pissed off when they are no longer in the top 9 and end up having to get taken out.

I realize this was not your point but seriously!

These tryouts were at the end of summer with fall ball as the first season. The team that offered her the #1 spot had their catcher headed to college so the spot was open (they had another player that could catch but preferred to only be a back-up). Team that offered her the #3 spot had two other catchers that had been with the organization for several years. Team that she ultimated joined had a strong catcher that had been with the team for two years and they were trying to get recruited. They all wanted her bat. None of them said that she would be suck in that position - they were being honest about what position she was being drafted into. And we appreciated that.

 

[grcsftbll]

I always get hung up on stuff like this. How many months before the season were tryouts? I understand giving players an idea of where they stack up against current players on the team but not telling them specifically - you will be #1 (what if a better player comes along??). I especially don't understand telling a kid they will always be in the line up. That sounds like an easy way to get the kid to take that spot for granted and/or to get very pissed off when they are no longer in the top 9 and end up having to get taken out.

I realize this was not your point but seriously!

Makes no sense. No way they can know from a tryout who's going to be #1 unless they luck into a stud who's way ahead of everyone else on the team. Even then, you never know what's going to happen. DD's #1 pitcher on our team and we knew going in she would be. But when we had to find a new pitcher for spring we were trying to get a girl who would definitely have bumped DD from that spot, at least for awhile. You just never know!

 

[Rocketech1]

Have you condidered that if she is on the better team it might challenge her to get better and earn more playing time? Unless it's daddy ball where she has no real chance to prove herself, I would go with the team that will challenge my DD to work her tail off to improve her skills. Being a big fish in a small pond breeds complacency IMO.

 

[Me_and_my_big_mouth]

In HS I would choose the better team, in TB the better position. In our area the JV teams in HS are pretty bad. In TB an average team can play up against better completion. Play HS for fun, play TB to get better.

I'm super late to the party but ditto what JAD said.

DD is a sophomore who played JV for a week as a Freshman and Coach pulled her up to V. She had some opportunities here and there. She did some solid work when asked, and she also struggled at the plate. She's quick, so she did a lot of baserunning.

She loved Varsity! Loved the girls, the coach, and the comraderie. The pressures of recruiting and showcase stuff on her travel team weren't there. It was just a coach who wanted to win, and a group of girls who wanted it, too. I think sometimes that part is missing on club teams (but that's another topic). The returners were great kids a they did a lot of mentoring.

She knew this year that she'd better fight for it and show that she had improved. It's been good for her. She's also been trying to reach out to the freshman like others did last year with her.

DD would have played every minute on JV, but it wouldn't have been the same experience for her. Totally different thing in HS.

 

[BobInMadison]

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[grcsftbll]

Update, and an interesting result.

Going into tryouts, DD 3 actually wanted JV rather than Varsity, partly because it would probably mean more pitching time, and partly for some other reasons. We even told some coaches we would prefer her to play on whatever team would get her the most pitching time. So, she was upset when she got what she asked for. She wanted the honor of being chosen for Varsity. Teenage girls can be very complicated.

I hope she uses this as a way to spur herself to work a lot harder to get to where she would be on varsity, and would pitch a lot on varsity.

As an ex teenage girl myself I can understand where she's coming from even as I realize how silly it is. I hope she gets a ton of circle time and ends up having a lot of fun.

 

[Pop time 44]

My DD will be attending HS next year. The school has a strong softball program and honestly I would rather see her make JV and play rather then sit at varsity. I know she feels the same. We shall see.


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[Rocketech1]

I think its human nature to want to be selected to the higher team, whether its making the "A" all-star" team vs the "B" all-star team or Varsity vs. JV. With my freshman DD she wanted to make the Varsity team this season (as there would have only been 2 freshman on V) but was selected on JV, is the starting pitcher, and batting No. 2 in the line-up. On Varsity, she would have rode the bench and infrequently pinch hit at best (unless a starter was injured or absent).

 

[BobInMadison]

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[ian]

Go with the team that has better coaches. Players improve, teams get better. Daddy ball and friend ball doesn't change.