Discussing practice plan with HC

[MikeP]

My point was not that I had some type of great plan. It was that my buddies and I recognized early on not to get overly crazy at an early age. Looking back we make such a big deal about the small stuff. At 8U, 10u and even 12u it is all small stuff.


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The issue isn’t about my dd and her development, it’s about other parents complaining about “daddy ball” and the fact that the girls who do need more work than others really aren’t getting it. They get put in the outfield and kind of forgotten about. You are right, this is 8u and they should be having fun and making fiends, which they are. My expectations may be too high but we went through the same stuff when this team formed last year and were so unprepared for the tournaments we entered that it was embarrassing. The girls went from being excited to go to tournaments to dreading it and expecting to lose. We have all spring and summer to play this year so hopefully we get better as a team and have some success along the way.

 

[MikeP]

You are in a difficult position. You are not going to find a local travel ball team that is as committed as you and your daughter are at this age level. I was in the same position myself. You are going to have to go to a bigger city or organization to find the kind of commitment you are looking for from other families. There are not a lot of families that are interested in 8u travel softball, and even less families that are willing to spend money on softball camps or private lessons for an 8u player.

My daughter played her first year on a part time travel softball team as a 7u player on a 8u team. That team played in 3 tournaments in addition to some Sunday double headers, and rec league. About 20 part time travel games and 14 rec games so about 35 games 2 years ago. Last year she played for a 10u B level team and played in 5 tournaments and a local travel league that played games during the weekdays. Total of about 40-45 games last year. We were the family that went to softball camps, practiced a lot on our own time, and she had a pitching instructor that she would pitch with one time per week. She pitched about 40% of the innings, played SS the rest of the time and batted leadoff. Both of those teams won about 50% of their games.

Last year she had the opportunity to pickup with one of the better organizations in the Chicagoland area at the 10u level for a couple tournaments. The first tournament she subbed in, the team won the tournament. That really changed her mind about playing with girls all from the same town, she wanted to do more than just play in softball tournaments, now she actually wanted to play on a team that wins tournaments. She did not play SS or pitch with the team that she picked up with, she played 2nd base and outfield, and sat the bench 1 inning per game. That is why I do not regret not having her play on a A level 10u team as an 8u player, she just wasn't good enough to pitch at that level, and play her preferred position.

This year she is playing with arguably the top organization in the country, girls are coming from 3 hours away to play on this team. We are fortunate enough to live within a 1/2 hour. What I am getting at is if you want to continue to challenge your daughter and have her play with like minded families and teammates you are going to have to take her to a better organization at some point. Not saying you have to drive 3 hours but you may have travel a little bit to find the type of teammates it sounds like you are looking for. Stick with the team you are on now and figure out a way to communicate with the H.C. in a respectful way to run the practices more efficiently. Continue to practice on your own with your daughter, that is where she will learn the most. The following year take her to a bigger organization for 10u softball. This year she be able to play her preferred positions and improve.

The whole reason we initially left the team was to go to a bigger organization in another town but unfortunately the team couldn’t fill a roster and we missed tryouts to other teams because we were planning on staying with our current team. If by the end of the summer season we decide to go elsewhere, we are 20 minutes from Louisville and a lot of good teams that she can tryout for. There are also quite a few teams in Lexington and to the South of us that are within an hour or so of us. For some reason all the teams we normally play against and some of them in Indiana I heard as well really struggled to find 8u girls. Last year there seemed to be an over abundance of girls in this age group. We’re Having the same issue in basketball, weird. I’m glad it worked out well for your dd.

 

[_MIA_]

Yes, we are attending one on the 28th put on Fastpitch Masters. It is the head coach from Transylvania I believe and 2 others that played college ball, I forget who they are. Unfortunately only 3 of us are going to that one. I pitched it pretty hard to the other parents, told them that any coaching from college level instructors would be great for us. I guess they didn't think so.

This may not be a popular opinion but to me camps/clinics are a waste of time if you are trying to develop skills. When the girls are old enough that it can be used as a recruiting tool, sure go to them. But all of the instruction you get from any of these camps can be found for free on the internet (for example check out Matt Antonelli's youtube channel for a bunch of fielding instruction/drills )
if you don't already know enough to instruct. Better off spending the cash you would spend on the camps and buy 2 more buckets of balls, a bownet and l-screen. My 2 cents on that.

With regards to your current situation. This is what I would say. You have three options.

a) Make it clear to the coach that you think your team can improve a lot with better practices and then offer input on how to improve the practices. To be honest I am not even sure if this will be true. With 3 hours of team practice a week, even with an efficient practice the most any one girl could get in terms of reps would be maybe 100 swings and 100 ground balls. While better than nothing, this probably will not cause a huge leap in skill level. My guess is that your daughter and the other better kids on the team work outside of practice and most of their skill development is made there. Unfortunately in today's society where kids don't play ball amongst themselves, all but the most talented kids will likely need significant parent involvement (either directly or through a private instructor who can work with them at least a couple of times a week) to be a good ball player.

b) Stay on the team, shut your mouth and deal with the practices and work with your kid on your own and hope that playing against better competition will be worth it. To be honest, unless your kid is playing kid pitch, where facing good pitching in games can be of significant value to a developing hitter, this option probably isn't great. This is the option we took with my 8 year old (was 7 when she joined). She joined a 10U team in a good TB organization and my hope is that they will be playing a tough schedule in the Spring/Summer where she will face good pitchers. The coaching, while not horrible, leaves a bit to be desired IMO but I work with her enough on my own that isn't a big deal to me.

c) Move teams but make sure you on board with how the coach runs things before you join.

I think option a or b is the best tbh, in particular if your DD is having fun with her teammates. Because I don't like drama (I have a temper..drama doesn't end well usually..) I would personally go with option b.

Good luck!!

 

[MikeP]

We work in our unused family room. You can accomplish a lot with a hitting net, tee, limited flight balls and soft training softballs. We went to a Medina clinic in early December and it was well worth the $50. The last one, not so much. We don’t have a team indoor facility and the local for rent ones stay booked this time of year so the clinics seemed like a good way to get some work in and see how this college coach runs his practices. With the work we put in on our own plus going to hitting lessons I’m not concerned with my dd’s development but the team as a whole. We have some girls with good potential, it would be great to see them develop and reach it. Based on our fall tournaments we should do well this season. Option B looks about right but it’s hard to keep your mouth shut when I am asked what I think we should work on but then we never do it. Like I said in an earlier post my plan is to help with whatever I’m asked to do and be a team player. If things get worse we will tryout for a new team in the fall when it’s time to age up to 10u.

 

[_MIA_]

We work in our unused family room. You can accomplish a lot with a hitting net, tee, limited flight balls and soft training softballs. We went to a Medina clinic in early December and it was well worth the $50. The last one, not so much. We don’t have a team indoor facility and the local for rent ones stay booked this time of year so the clinics seemed like a good way to get some work in and see how this college coach runs his practices. With the work we put in on our own plus going to hitting lessons I’m not concerned with my dd’s development but the team as a whole. We have some girls with good potential, it would be great to see them develop and reach it. Based on our fall tournaments we should do well this season. Option B looks about right but it’s hard to keep your mouth shut when I am asked what I think we should work on but then we never do it. Like I said in an earlier post my plan is to help with whatever I’m asked to do and be a team player. If things get worse we will tryout for a new team in the fall when it’s time to age up to 10u.

I hear you on the bolded and also about wasting potential but you've done what you can. If I was an AC and my opinion was ignored I would probably politely resign giving some excuse about work and then go sit behind the left field fence during the games and just try and enjoy
the games(which is where I sit )

 

[Sparky Guy]

This year she is playing with arguably the top organization in the country, girls are coming from 3 hours away to play on this team. We are fortunate enough to live within a 1/2 hour. What I am getting at is if you want to continue to challenge your daughter and have her play with like minded families and teammates you are going to have to take her to a better organization at some point.

The Bandits are not for every family. And Bill will tell you that right up front. The biggest thing is he will make changes to the roster to strengthen the team every year. About 20% of the families leave or are not invited back each year as an organization, not counting the players who age out. There is a method to his madness with players and coaches and he's been successful with it.

 

[Sparky Guy]

If things get worse we will tryout for a new team in the fall when it’s time to age up to 10u.

Things will get worse and your frustration level will rise. You are not with enough like-minded families for things to work out. If you find your DD getting frustrated or bored with the team, no you, don't be afraid to make a change. See if you can get her to guest play on some travel teams. If she is a competitor she'll want more. Just make sure it's what she wants.

The only caveat is the friends thing. If the only reason she wants to stay on the team is because of friends. That is not a valid reason. Friends without the same level of commitment will hold her back.

 

[MikeP]

I hear you on the bolded and also about wasting potential but you've done what you can. If I was an AC and my opinion was ignored I would probably politely resign giving some excuse about work and then go sit behind the left field fence during the games and just try and enjoy
the games(which is where I sit )

Not sure why it bolded the word work but it was appropriate

 

[_MIA_]

Not sure why it bolded the word work but it was appropriate

I bolded it so I could point to it...

 

[_MIA_]

Not sure why it bolded the word work but it was appropriate

I bolded it so I could point to it...