WARRIORMIKE
Pro-Staff Everything
I hope this is not a troll thread. I suspect it is............
Either that or this is one of those 10U diamond Doll ELITE gold Platinum teams I've heard so much about... can't coach a 10U ball club like they're getting signed next year. Or maybe you can....I hope this is not a troll thread. I suspect it is............
I am NOT trolling...I am new to this site...new to travel ball etc..
Here's my take, for what it's worth. Development happens with practice (with some exceptions). If your DD is far behind the rest of the team, you will need to practice with her a good bit on your own to catch her up. IMO travel ball parents probably should expect to spend at least an extra day or two a week working with their kids. You can just let her practice with the team and do no extra but she will be slower to catch up that way, obviously. If she's an outfielder and will probably stay one for awhile, take her out and throw/hit pop flies to her every day. Honestly even infielders need to be able to catch pop ups; they get them plenty. If you feel like this team is not a good fit, investigate your other options. Maybe find a team closer to her actual age so she won't be dead last.
Very good response!
As my DD was transitioning from rec to travel, I was asked numerous times how my DD got so good (at the time, she was one of the top two 10U players in the league). The answer was always the same - lots of extra work outside of team practices. Most of the time, my answer was met with a look of confusion from the parent. There is no short-cut, no magic trick. The only path is to put in the work. In the 4 years my DD has been playing softball, it is rare that she has gone a week without at least one extra practice session outside of team activities.
That's been our experience too. DD is a good ball player all the way around and people make comments about it like it's some big mystery. But we're always the first ones at the park before practice to pitch. Often we're the *only* ones there early. We get to lessons half an hour early to make sure she's all warmed up to optimize the actual lesson time. We go in the basement and hit into the net. Her dad hits grounders at her, hard ones. We practice pop ups in the front yard. It's not magic, it's work. Some people just don't like that answer!