DD may not make a travel team this year...advise?

[Lothar241]

I would like to thank everybody for their input. This is a very good message board for anything related to softball and I am thankful I found it.

UPDATE: We found a 16U "B" team within a half hour of my house. The coaches are very pleasant, as are the other girls. My DD now has the opportunity to pitch on a regular basis. We are thin at pitcher, so she may have to be a work horse with little experience. The schedule is also very limited as we only have 2 pitchers, so we are only signed up for 2 friendlies and 1 scrimmage this Fall. I have been taking her to her private instructor, as well as, group lessons every week. She is noticably improving every week. She was recently clocked at 52 mph (a 7 mph increase from last winter/spring).

OBSERVATIONS: I think I may have learned a bit from the recent tryout experience. (1) She was trying out for Gold and Elite teams with very little pitching experience under her belt. One of the posters pointed out that my DD may have been a monster at another position, but that the coaches would think he would get nothing but grief from my DD or myself if she didn't get mound time. If I really wanted her on an Elite team, I should not have had her try out as a pitcher. (2) With that said, we invested a lot of time (and money) in pitching lessons. So why would I want her to play on a team where she wouldn't get pitching time? At this point I think "B" is the best option for my DD. The team she joined is very thin at pitcher, so my only worry is that she may not be able to handle the pressure as the main pitcher on the team. However, she may revel in it and get a big head . We are still looking for another pitcher at this time to round out the roster.

 

[BobInMadison]

I agree.

It is best to be one o the top 3 pitchers on a team.

DD #3 ended the season as the #1 pitcher. Not much mound time early in the season, but a LOT at the end. However, the team wasn't that great, so they didn't play deep into the tournaments.

There is a girl we know who just left a team in Horicon, WI for a team in Roscoe, IL. She was the #2 or #3 pitcher for her old team. I talked to her one week, and the previous weekend her team in Horicon had played 11 games in a tournament. She pitched about 1/4 of the innings. Meanwhile DD had pitched about 1/2 the innings for a team that played half as many games. So, this other girl pitched as many, or more, innings as DD.

OTOH, it really sucks to be the #4 or #5 pitcher for any team. DD was upset because a local, invitation only, team did not pick her. (That team is a year older, so they are now playing 13U while DD is at 12U). That other team has so many pitchers that DD would be lucky ever to see the circle. That team even has a pitcher who ONLY plays the mid-week games, and pitches weekends for a team in Horicon. If DD #3 were asked to join this other team, she would be #4 or #5 on the weekends, and #5 or #6 mid-week.

 

[dbronstein]

Glad you found a situation that is working well for her.

My DD is in a similar situation with pitching (but it's rec ball so obviously not the same intensity) where she's become the best pitcher on her team without having much previous experience. She's really surprised me with how well she's handled everything. We started our final tourney this past weekend and she pitched 8 innings over four games with pressure on her and she rose up to it. We're in the final three on Sunday and she can't wait to get back out there. This is your DD's chance to step up and show what she can do. I don't know her, but she's obviously got the desire and motivation, so I'll say she revels in it but doesn't get a big head