Desperately need help with 12U daughter's coach re: pitching

[CLM265]

All of you who have posted in this thread, thank you. You've all said pretty much what I suspected you'd say. I appreciate it. We (my daughter, her dad and I) all agree that we will be looking for a new team next season.

I talked to my daughter and she is kind of excited about the idea of pitching for another team when her team isn't playing. Now I have another question: How do I go about finding a team to pick her up for a weekend? Do I advertise somewhere?

Thanks again for all the advice.

Teams Looking For Players | Seattle/Tacoma ASA Softball

 

[Bucketmom]

Don't over analyze as us women tend to do. No offenseto any coaches on here but honey don't try to figure out what or why. And don't make the coaches problem your problem. It's all about your DD. Do what's best for her and don't look back. We are about cause a huge upset on our team when I move my DD up early. I love our coach but love for him will not help her get into HS ball.

Best of luck to you!!!

 

[chesapeakejet]

Good news -- my daughter's coach was fine with her playing for another team since our team has the weekend off. He said if she can get some pitching in with another team, she should do it. Not sure exactly how to take this, but at least he's not against it. I do wonder if it means he feels off the hook and now he doesn't have to let my daughter pitch at all now. We'll see, I guess!

I agree with the general consensus. Do what ya gotta do, if you don't lookout for number 1, who will? Especially when you're talking about a pitcher. Been there, done that, my DD was a pitcher until she turned 15. Lost the passion for it, converted to catcher. Loves catching and is starting catcher on her Varsity HS team.

Remember, It's all about the kids.

I hope things work out, you should let us know how she did with her "rental team".

 

[Cecelia]

I agree with the general consensus. Do what ya gotta do, if you don't lookout for number 1, who will? Especially when you're talking about a pitcher. Been there, done that, my DD was a pitcher until she turned 15. Lost the passion for it, converted to catcher. Loves catching and is starting catcher on her Varsity HS team.

Remember, It's all about the kids.

I hope things work out, you should let us know how she did with her "rental team".

She really enjoyed being a guest player. She got to pitch both days, and did really well!

The team was full of nice kids, nice parents, and nice coaches. But as a team, they are very difficult to watch. The errors they made, the laziness on the field.... it was almost painful to watch. We come from a team that is very competitive, and very disciplined. The team my daughter guest played for was .... not so much. Again, really really nice folks. Just not at the level we are used to. They practically begged us to make the switch to their team. Promises of being the #1 pitcher, #4 batter, etc. I thanked them, but made it clear we weren't ready to make a change just yet. Told them we'd keep them in mind if and when we do.

Meanwhile, I am researching all the teams in our area, getting phone numbers and email addresses of all the coaches. I've heard from a couple of other coaches already (word gets around, I guess). We will have some tough decisions to make.

P.S. forgot to mention that I talked to DDs coach, and he basically said he has no intention of NOT pitching #1 or #2 ever, and that my daughter just needs to get her mound time some other way. So, we're on our own. I must say, I am feeling absolutely no loyalty to this team at this point, and will only be looking out for my daughter's best interests come tryouts in August.

Thank you all for the wisdom. You were right.

 

[Huskerdu]

I thought I read or at least scanned the posts, no one made mention that at 12u there really shouldn't be a #1 #2 or #3. If I had three very good pitchers, I would use them based on situations, not in sequence. We all know that some teams are stronger than others, a good coach does this study and if I had a pitcher who threw heat, great breaking stuff, etc... that pitcher would be put in the position to help the team succeed. My DD is our most talented and durable pitcher, but she is not the best for all circumstances.

Good coaches have a desire to win, for the sake of the kids, using wisdom.

 

[ktm rider]

OK. Maybe I am off base here but, Your daughter is only 12 right? And you want her to get a lot more time as pitcher. I am assuming you want her to get more time so she gets better and advances as a pitcher up through high school and possibly college? If this is the case, why are you sacrificing her future pitching career by going back to a team that she is NOT going to pitch for? especially at 12 yrs old.
Why not pitch for the lesser team that wants her to pitch? Who cares if the team isn't quite up to par with her original team? Its 12U!the whole point is for her to get time on the mound and that is exactly what she will get. She can't become a better pitcher by playing center field. Just my $.02

 

[Cecelia]

OK. Maybe I am off base here but, Your daughter is only 12 right? And you want her to get a lot more time as pitcher. I am assuming you want her to get more time so she gets better and advances as a pitcher up through high school and possibly college? If this is the case, why are you sacrificing her future pitching career by going back to a team that she is NOT going to pitch for? especially at 12 yrs old.
Why not pitch for the lesser team that wants her to pitch? Who cares if the team isn't quite up to par with her original team? Its 12U!the whole point is for her to get time on the mound and that is exactly what she will get. She can't become a better pitcher by playing center field. Just my $.02

Because we are half-way through the season, we've paid all of her fees (a considerable amount of money), and we want to honor the commitment we made. Just because the coach doesn't honor HIS commitment to us, we (her parents) want to be better than that. So she will finish out the season with this team, and she will give 110% like she always does, but then that's it.

And let me just say that it's really really really hard, as a parent, to watch your kid play on a team as bad as the team she subbed for. Good kids, great parents, but really bad ball players. Sure, they'll get better, but it's hard (almost painful) to watch after you've been a part of a really good team for a while. So while we will be looking for another team, I'm afraid it will have to be a team that offers more than just the opportunity to pitch. We, as parents, make a huge commitment, too, and we have to be able to stand it, you know what I mean?

 

[Cecelia]

All these 'major league coaches' making promises like salesmen. Labeling kids and always looking for the next big thing, when and because they don't know squat. The next coach may just be like the last one so be careful.

Oh, I know. And after what we've experienced, we are kind of gun-shy. But all we can do is learn as much about the team/coaches, and trust that what they tell us is the truth. I mean, what else CAN we do?

 

[CoogansBluff]

And let me just say that it's really really really hard, as a parent, to watch your kid play on a team as bad as the team she subbed for. Good kids, great parents, but really bad ball players. Sure, they'll get better, but it's hard (almost painful) to watch after you've been a part of a really good team for a while.

I know what you mean, but with the right coaching, they can get as much enjoyment out of softball as 'A' players do. That's all that matters. ...

btw, whey you say this team didn't honor its commitment to your daughter, what was promised? What was said about pitching opportunity?

 

[Jr10234]

I agree with finishing with this team and picking up as much as possible. Use your team for what you can-discipline, good skills development, etc. As you experienced, sometimes less playing time on a solid/competent team is better then a fundamentally challenged team. Next year: no coaches with DD pitchers.