Agree 1000%. This is the approach I took with my DD as she began TB at 10U (now first year 14U). I never complained about playing time and actively shut down any such complaints by her. I just said, if we do the work, then he will have no choice but to play you. This is largely what happened as she slowly climbed up the depth chart as a pitcher and hitter. She didn't do it with raw athleticism or "daddy ball"--she turned herself into a ball player with hard work and a pretty high softball IQ for her age. (13.5 now). If you do the work and are better and the manager still does not acknowledge that with playing time, then you need a new team.
DD wants the awards, but doesn’t want to work
- Thread starter BktMom3
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This is valid. There are times when favoritism gets in the way of clearly better players earning spots they deserve. If that's really what's happening, finding another team is often a good choice.
That said, I've seen more than a few parents who think their little princess is better than she really is (I'm not saying that's true for you and your DD).
Also keep in mind that it's not just doing the work, but actually advancing the skill level. Spending lots of time giving half-@$$ efforts isn't going to get you very far.
Tell your DD to start with fixing this, and she’ll be well on her way to improving!
I think my DD won every award you could win in HS softball, you know what.........they don’t mean a thing! Well I take that back, one did, I think she won the Christian Character award 3 times, that one is wayyyy more valuable to me than her MVP award, or offensive & defensive POY awards. In the big picture that’s the only one that matters to me being her dad!
I could write for days trying to answer your post, it could be numerous reasons other than her talent, maybe the coach is a jerk, maybe not, politics, favoritism, maybe he don’t like her? I’m just being real cause I’ve seen ALL OF THESE multiple times!
what’s her favorite thing softball related? Hitting? Infield? Outfield? Whatever it is, work on and focus on that one aspect 100%, if it’s hitting, hire a top hitting instructor in your area and get a plan together and go to work!
I promise you........you want your DD to turn a coach’s head, hit the ball, hit if hard, work on opposite field hitting, anyone can get a hit, she starts getting those timely hits in crucial situations and he’ll quickly become a fan!
Adding to this ^^^...
ALL players should be working on hitting. If you're not a pitcher, hitting work should be constant and relentless. If you are a pitcher, it should be as much as you can between pitching work. If you can hit, you will play. No coach - unless they truly dislike you - is going to sit a top hitter.
As for other work, I'm a fan of working on the things you do best to keep your best weapon sharp, but also work hard on the things that you do worst. Minimizing your weakness goes a long way to making you a better overall player.
Excellent post. Character is everything. Attitude goes along with that.
- Nov 29, 2009
- 2,975
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While watching the Little League Major League game with the Cubs they cut away and did a short clip about the minor league park and team where the game was being played at. One of the announcers made a comment about the unofficial team motto. It was. "If you don't like the way things are. Play better!"
Often subjective awards are not presented fairly. It's just a fact of life. It's a lot easier to tell a kid who hasn't put in the time that they didn't make it versus the one who did everything possible. There is no guarantee that you will win if you give it your all, but at least you can know you did that you did what you can.
- Feb 3, 2011
- 1,880
- 48
Never let the rest of the world define who *you* are. It's natural to compare oneself to her peers, and it's also natural to want to be recognized for your hard work and achievements, but the happiest and most successful people are those for whom a job well done is its own reward.
After being around this game for a while I am overwhelmingly convinced that the kids at 9-10-11 who struggled just to keep thier head above water but didn't quit learned the important lessons needed to stay in the game at 18U. Seen many examples of kids at 10-11 who were studs. Faster, stronger and just better than their peers, however they never pushed to get better and eventually got passed. I don't think parents can do much to push a kid to work. I think that work ethic is a learned trait and it's learned early in the game.
a lot of who stands out at say 12 and younger is who developed physically sooner. can be simple as that. on my daughters 12u team, the one P is as tall as I am, while the starting second baseman comes about to her elbow.
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