Dealing with the team diva

[grcsftbll]

Yes! That's my thought process too. We would only jump ship at this point if it was to teams that consistently play A ball (I've been keeping tabs on it through the USSSA tournament site; just keeping track of what teams consistently play at that level). One of the "big 3" or something close to that level.

There are also aspiring teams playing A, mostly losing probably but working hard. They may not have big names to attract the best talent, which means the athletic but less experienced girls can get play time against really good teams. Do that for a year or 2 and then she's good enough for the big name if that's what she wants. One thing I've learned is I want my kid in the top 9. They don't get better from the bench. And we're only 10u so who cares what the team name is. Even if she does end up wanting to play in college they won't care what team she was on at this age.

 

[junkball]

There are also aspiring teams playing A, mostly losing probably but working hard. They may not have big names to attract the best talent, which means the athletic but less experienced girls can get play time against really good teams. Do that for a year or 2 and then she's good enough for the big name if that's what she wants. One thing I've learned is I want my kid in the top 9. They don't get better from the bench. And we're only 10u so who cares what the team name is. Even if she does end up wanting to play in college they won't care what team she was on at this age.

While I agree with most of this, what I'll counter with is that it can be anti-productive to get your brains beat in game after game, week after week. Are the games competitive against the A teams? And not just a "moral victory" close game here or there. Are the A teams you are playing throwing their #1 or #2 against you? Are you seeing their best D and is the coach pulling out all the stops to win?

Not trying to be disrespectful, I totally get what you're saying. It is something that we struggled with first year 10s and then again first year 12s. Sign up for the A tournaments and get crushed by the A teams one year older, or sign up for B level and be more competitive with second year B teams, but know in the back of your mind that the competition isn't the best. By playing at or below your desired level you increase the quantity of experience you can get, but sometimes at the price of quality. We did a mix first year 10s. Played in a few warm up B level type events in the fall, did very well, winning a lot. Then went and played a tournament and then a fall world series against the big boys and realized we weren't as good as we thought. Then in the spring alternated between A & B.

Also, you are most likely playing the minimum number of games most of the time. Times that by 10+ tournaments a year where teams that are winning are playing 7-8 games in a weekend, giving players more at bats, more circle time, more playing time, etc. For example, in a 4GG, your team plays 4 games, and your lead off batter gets maybe 10 at bats all weekend, bottom of the order gets 6-7. Meanwhile, other teams are getting 15-20 at bats per player for the weekend. You're still paying the same tournament fee, still paying same gate fee, still paying travel costs, but getting 50% less softball than others. One thing we did in first year 10s and 12s is find tournaments with 6 or 7 game guarantees if we were playing A level type events.

 

[grcsftbll]

While I agree with most of this, what I'll counter with is that it can be anti-productive to get your brains beat in game after game, week after week. Are the games competitive against the A teams? And not just a "moral victory" close game here or there. Are the A teams you are playing throwing their #1 or #2 against you? Are you seeing their best D and is the coach pulling out all the stops to win?

Not trying to be disrespectful, I totally get what you're saying. It is something that we struggled with first year 10s and then again first year 12s. Sign up for the A tournaments and get crushed by the A teams one year older, or sign up for B level and be more competitive with second year B teams, but know in the back of your mind that the competition isn't the best. By playing at or below your desired level you increase the quantity of experience you can get, but sometimes at the price of quality. We did a mix first year 10s. Played in a few warm up B level type events in the fall, did very well, winning a lot. Then went and played a tournament and then a fall world series against the big boys and realized we weren't as good as we thought. Then in the spring alternated between A & B.

Also, you are most likely playing the minimum number of games most of the time. Times that by 10+ tournaments a year where teams that are winning are playing 7-8 games in a weekend, giving players more at bats, more circle time, more playing time, etc. For example, in a 4GG, your team plays 4 games, and your lead off batter gets maybe 10 at bats all weekend, bottom of the order gets 6-7. Meanwhile, other teams are getting 15-20 at bats per player for the weekend. You're still paying the same tournament fee, still paying same gate fee, still paying travel costs, but getting 50% less softball than others. One thing we did in first year 10s and 12s is find tournaments with 6 or 7 game guarantees if we were playing A level type events.

Also good points, especially the last paragraph. My DD is a true 1st year 10U. She is an 06 who played 8U coach pitch last year. I don't think I'm wearing mommy goggles when I say she's athletic and talented. But she's not as experienced as the 05s (obviously) or even many of the 06s playing A ball, because so many of them played up last year. She's in the top 3 on our team IMO, but our team is full of girls who did not play up. All from 8U (and one 05 from 10U rec). So she's getting lots of playing time against tough teams and rarely sits at all. She always hits, usually 3rd, so she's on the upper end for ABs also. If we were on a 2nd year 10U team this year, or on a team full of girls who played up before, she'd probably sit more, pitch less, hit less, because those girls are more experienced, and she'd have a harder time catching them since she wouldn't be playing as much.

Our record this spring overall is 15 wins, 32 losses, 2 ties. Both ties were against other A teams, one 05 and one 06 w/ about 90% who played up last year and a few even the year before that at age 7 (which would never have occurred to me to do!). Most of the wins were against B teams, though mostly 05s. The 05 As mostly beat us. And it's true that we often do not go very deep into a tournament so we are playing fewer games. But would it be better to be on a team that is better overall and gets more games, if she sits more and/or pitches less? I know that SHE would be less happy. She could not care less about winning & she really hates sitting the bench (don't they all, I know). She barely pays attention to the score, she just loves being on the field. When we've played the Bs and done well she's not been happy with the level of competition. I would certainly consider a B team that plays the higher level B tournaments (around here, that's USSSA, rather than GSA or CAM for example). There don't seem to be many 06 options though, and for whatever reason she seems to enjoy playing "the best" teams. I feel like even though she's playing fewer games than she might on a stronger team, she's growing more because of the playing time she's getting v. what she'd get if she were in the bottom half of the team.

It's a lot to think about, and I can somewhat put all that on hold til 12U, since this year we'll be 2nd year 10U and playing other 06s and 07 teams. So hopefully that will mean going deeper into tourneys and getting more games out of it. And hopefully with all that playing time her skill will continue to grow and we can swing the best of both worlds - a high level team where she's still top half.

 

[junkball]

Also good points, especially the last paragraph. My DD is a true 1st year 10U. She is an 06 who played 8U coach pitch last year. I don't think I'm wearing mommy goggles when I say she's athletic and talented. But she's not as experienced as the 05s (obviously) or even many of the 06s playing A ball, because so many of them played up last year. She's in the top 3 on our team IMO, but our team is full of girls who did not play up. All from 8U (and one 05 from 10U rec). So she's getting lots of playing time against tough teams and rarely sits at all. She always hits, usually 3rd, so she's on the upper end for ABs also. If we were on a 2nd year 10U team this year, or on a team full of girls who played up before, she'd probably sit more, pitch less, hit less, because those girls are more experienced, and she'd have a harder time catching them since she wouldn't be playing as much.

Our record this spring overall is 15 wins, 32 losses, 2 ties. Both ties were against other A teams, one 05 and one 06 w/ about 90% who played up last year and a few even the year before that at age 7 (which would never have occurred to me to do!). Most of the wins were against B teams, though mostly 05s. The 05 As mostly beat us. And it's true that we often do not go very deep into a tournament so we are playing fewer games. But would it be better to be on a team that is better overall and gets more games, if she sits more and/or pitches less? I know that SHE would be less happy. She could not care less about winning & she really hates sitting the bench (don't they all, I know). She barely pays attention to the score, she just loves being on the field. When we've played the Bs and done well she's not been happy with the level of competition. I would certainly consider a B team that plays the higher level B tournaments (around here, that's USSSA, rather than GSA or CAM for example). There don't seem to be many 06 options though, and for whatever reason she seems to enjoy playing "the best" teams. I feel like even though she's playing fewer games than she might on a stronger team, she's growing more because of the playing time she's getting v. what she'd get if she were in the bottom half of the team.

It's a lot to think about, and I can somewhat put all that on hold til 12U, since this year we'll be 2nd year 10U and playing other 06s and 07 teams. So hopefully that will mean going deeper into tourneys and getting more games out of it. And hopefully with all that playing time her skill will continue to grow and we can swing the best of both worlds - a high level team where she's still top half.

Why would you assume she would sit more and pitch/play less on a better team? She seems like top 9 material for just about any 06 team. Sounds like the team is weak not because of 1 thru 3 or 4, but because of 6 thru 11. If you can find a team with a stronger bottom half that will improve things way more than if you take your current team and add one stud.

Sounds like you have doubt in your mind about your current situation. Are you playing this weekend? If so, network. Make the tryout rounds. Network some more, and keep an open mind. And if you see an organization this weekend or next that is an 05 team, but the 06 isn't there, talk with the coaches anyways and ask about the 06 team. Most orgs communicate with coaches and they are aware of all the other teams and may be able to steer you in the right direction.

Also, don't get caught up in who played up in the past and who didn't. IMHO, playing up at this young age is overrated. I wish we could play down and go back to 8u. Why people would give up the fun and excitement of 8u is beyond me.

 

[grcsftbll]

I'm probably just still scarred from our experience this fall, and afraid we'll run into something similar (favoritism determining playing time, constant constant constant recruiting and poaching, etc, it was very stressful).