Development

[CoachJD]

I agree with this sentiment but would expand it a bit. Any siblings, cousins or even neighborhood kids that are relatively close in age can foster competition and development. My set of twin DD's were extremely fortunate to have each other to push, challenge and support each other. I had them competing against each other in many areas since they were in diapers...so far, so good.

Agree on this.

I have twins on my team. Good players. Last year, they convinced a neighbor of theirs who was new at our school to join our 13u team (they're a year ahead of her). This girl is not a great athlete, but a hard worker. Good kid. We taught her plenty, but the real reason she's gotten better is she's practiced/played with the twins over the past year. And they treated her like a sibling. No taking it easy on her. She learned to catch a ball mostly because they'd whip a ball at her when playing catch. They weren't being mean. They were just playing. And she adapted and learned because she had to. She's also started learning to pitch, and I'm confident she'll be able to give us decent innings at the JV level (at least) this year.

I think it's very unnecessary for kids to play organized ball year round, but if they want to get better, they really should play with friends as often as possible. Not just one sport, of course. Stay active. Do things.

(Side note: She joined our girls basketball team this year. She's not great, but she loves it. She also convinced the twins to join even though they had never played basketball before because the team was desperate for players.)

 

[krazykat]

The team environment/culture is critical in the development of a player. If the team has no aspirations of success or improvement, it's hard for any individual to develop to their full potential.

 

[FP26]

I appreciate how many people mentioned older siblings or friends. In my opinion, mentoring is huge. Especially for younger kids. One of our neighbors has a daughter 4 years older than Meg. I remember watching them play catch or shoot hoops when Meg was 7 or 8 and Kayla was 11 or 12. They did that often throughout throughout the years. And I think it pushed Meg to improve her skill so that she could keep up (or at least try to). Fastforwarding... and Kayla is now a DPT while Meg is in school studying to be one. Whether this is a result of the mentoring or not, it does seem to be a coincidence.

I also remember times when we had college players show up at our 12u or 14u practices, or took some of the players to clinics being led by Cat Osterman and others. They could say the exact same words that myself and the other coaches would say, but the players were much more focused listening to the older players.

 

[radness]

A lot of talk about development on DFP (just read the Travel/Rec thread ....https://www.discussfastpitch.com/threads/travel-rec.42802/)

List out the tangible and possibly non-tangible things that (positively) develop a player physically and mentally for the various avenues where development take place.

Here is my crack at it:

Home: Reps and possibly instruction; watching games; other sports/physical activities; support from parents to (further) drive the love of the game
Lessons; Reps and instruction; support from instructor " " "
Team practice: Reps and instruction; competition from teammates; camaraderie/having fun with teammates to further drive love of the game; support from coaches " " "
Games: Reps (less of them but under game "pressure"); competition from the other team to both improve (actively through adaptation and also to motivate you to get better) ; camaraderie/having fun " " "; support from coaches and parents " " "

I am sure I missed a bunch. Of course, it doesn't need to be said that ability dictates both rate of development and ceiling..

Good Stuff Mr.Pattar!

Notice that 'instruction' is applied in all forms of preparation to take the field
~at home, at lessons, at practice.

Which I really like the application of the word 'instruction'. Here are my impressions.

~A person/player who applies thinking to 'use their brain to instruct their body' what to do!

It is applying paying attention to the details of getting it right.

Instruction while can initially come from another person, book, video,...
It is really the transferring of knowledge.

It is important for players/people to understand what it is they are trying to do and that concept of mechanics or mental focus needs to be understood in the brain and then to be applied to the body.
The athletes can/should apply their own instruction in their developmental goals.

I use the words
'use our brain to talk to our body' as a reminder in speaking with athletes because it empowers them to recognize that if they know in their mind what they're trying to do
they can be their best instructor!

 

[radness]

To take that a little further use this example~

When we learn math
We learned 1+1=2.
Our brain knows whatever we select to count
1 apple 1 orange =2 pieces of fruit.

However in sports
we can hear throwing mechanics
example
step, rotate, throw
Just because we know those words it doesn't always transfer. Because it now needs to be an application.

It may be something our brain understands
'okay coach I heard you say that
step rotate throw
how come my body isn't doing it?'

This is where what we know to do takes a very critical technical moment,
when we learn to use our brain to apply it to our body in the moment.
This is the very difficult learning step of technical technique.
And I believe the critical word for this is instruction and learning to be our own instructor.
The only person that can do this is the person themself.


In other words
it may not be efficient or effective to repetitively tell somebody the same thing over and over.
*At that point they need to stop the verbiage and apply the brain.
Slow it down a little bit so that the brain can talk to their body and make it happen.
Can do learning application process brain to body at a slower speed and make it stick correctly.
Memorizing as our brain tells our body what to do.

10% speed 20% speed 30% speed 50%, 80% until 100% happens correctly.

Instruct ourselves!

 

[sluggers]

In other words
it may not be efficient or effective to repetitively tell somebody the same thing over and over.

Yep...and good teachers/coaches know a variety of ways to teach something.

 

[sluggers]

Here is how I would rank them.

1- Natural Ability. Lets face it, many of the girls that are good at softball could be nearly as good at any other sport they put their mind to. Not in every circumstance but the majority are just more athletic than others.
2- Home. I rank this above lessons because if you are not practicing at home 3-4 days a week what you are learning in your lessons you will not reach your potential. I would include strength and conditioning in this category. Along with drive and determination.
4- Lessons. Hopefully you got a good instructor.
5- Money. Someone has to pay for all this. Travel softball is very expensive at the highest level.
6 - Games. If you are not doing the the stuff I ranked above this, it is likely you are not winning or placing well in National level tournaments.
7- Team Practice. Almost all of the top travel softballs teams do not practice with each other consistently. Hard to rank this higher on the list due to that factor.

Bob, this is a really good list. This is more just quibbles.

Natural Ability: I agree that girls good at softball could be good at some sports other than softball--especially sports that emphasize eye-hand coordination. I'm not sure that they could be good at "any" other sport. @RADcatcher and was a great athlete--I just don't envision her winning a 100 yard dash.
Home: A lot of parents and kids don't understand the "3-4 days a week practice" requirement.
Lessons: 99% of the kids can't excel in softball without good instruction.
Money: Softball is expensive at every level. I had a friend who grew up on the South Side. I asked why he played basketball instead of baseball. He said, "You got to have bats, balls, gloves and lots of room. You only need a ball to play hoops."
Team practice: At 16U-A and 18U-A and above levels, it is very difficult to have team practices. I think my DD had maybe three (?) practices over the five years she played 16U and 18U.

 

[lostcreek1]

I completely agree with the fact that you put "reps" in every situation. To get better at softball/baseball more than most other sports it takes a lot of reps and you have to get them wherever you can. Some people live in areas where there are no neighborhood kids. Some people have parents that because of work dad or mom can not get out in the yard 3-4 days a week and play catch, or do soft toss. However if you want to continue to get better you/ your parents will have to figure out how to get you the amount of reps that you desire. Maybe it is a team that practices 4-5 days a week, maybe it is private lessons. Everyone's situation is different.

 

[radness]

Bob, this is a really good list. This is more just quibbles.

Natural Ability: I agree that girls good at softball could be good at some sports other than softball--especially sports that emphasize eye-hand coordination. I'm not sure that they could be good at "any" other sport. @RADcatcher and was a great athlete--I just don't envision her winning a 100 yard dash.
Home: A lot of parents and kids don't understand the "3-4 days a week practice" requirement.
Lessons: 99% of the kids can't excel in softball without good instruction.
Money: Softball is expensive at every level. I had a friend who grew up on the South Side. I asked why he played basketball instead of baseball. He said, "You got to have bats, balls, gloves and lots of room. You only need a ball to play hoops."
Team practice: At 16U-A and 18U-A and above levels, it is very difficult to have team practices. I think my DD had maybe three (?) practices over the five years she played 16U and 18U.

Correct I probably would not win 100-yard dash. But if it was a hundred yards of obstacle course RAD


Definitely agree that everybody has different strengths and weaknesses,
most importantly
We all have room to grow!

 

[daywalkerdad]

Very good list. I would like to add or expand on a few items not in any order.

1. Do not get injured from overuse. Mainly for pitchers, but usage needs to be monitored.
2. Do not get burned out. My daughter dictates when she practices 90% of the time. The 10% usually has to do with keeping schedule with her teams schedule or doing drills.
3. Lessons from from great instructors who they understand.
4. Be respectful to coaches and a good teammate.