Frustration

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May 11, 2018
91
18
class C is pretty much town travel teams, just find another team who needs a pitcher. i would move on. it sounds like the coaches don't understand they are playing in class C. My DD ran into this in 10U and we ran like hell. she wasn't good enough to pitch or play infield. she has been a starting pitcher and short stop for 3 years straight playing division A for 2 of the top teams in the region. find a nonparent coached team if possible it cost more but at least playtime is usually merit based.
 
Nov 6, 2019
92
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In my area there is a lack of C-class teams, she is on the only one in our local town. We were told going in to the team that the coach was a trophy chaser. Until we find another team she is gonna stay playing with them because she is still having fun and learning. We do not talk bad about the team or coaches around her. She knows that she is not getting a fair shake but we try to encourage her as much as possible to keep working hard to prove herself to the coach.

Her PC is retired and I do not think she is still in the loop of travel teams though we will check with her. Right now the PC has her working on a change up, Curve and fast ball.
 
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
For what it's worth, I believe the ump got the call wrong - it's neither obstruction nor interference when there's a collision on a bunt play b/w the batter and catcher - in USSSA there may even be a rules clarification on that scenario.

In coaches defense - if she's making contact - that's the batter I'm thinking would also have the best chance of getting a bunt down. 5 of 7 AB's, however, is a little extreme. As is the coaches reaction.

I also have a pitcher who throws great in practice, but last few times she was in a game, she slowed everything down so much, I've been very hesitant to use her. But again, given the choice b/w "slow but accurate" and "hit the bull", speed becomes irrelevant.

I think you're on the right track - keep getting lessons, keep encouraging her, keep being a good teammate (and good team parent), but keep both eyes open for future opportunities.
 
Jul 16, 2018
120
18
My daughter plays on a C class 12-u team. She is not the best player, and to be honest she is probably one of the lower ones right now. She is shy and not outspoken, she does not like to speak in a loud voice. We are working with her on that but its not something fixed quickly.

She will work hard, and she loves to bat. She goes to batting lessons 2 times a week and bats off the tee at the house on her own throughout the week.

She goes to pitching lesson twice a week from a former D-1 National champion pitcher. The lady knows her stuff and has successfully trained several college level pitchers.

Her pitching coach says she needs mound time, but I do not know how to get it for her. Her travel coach refuses to give her a shot on the mound in a pool game. Every time he looks at her pitching she is nervous and her arm circle slows down some, but she still throws strikes. Just does not have the speed she has in practice.

The travel coach will always pick up a player to pitch as we have 8-9 permanent girls on the team and only 1 bracket pitcher. One tournament he picked a 10 year old up to pitch, and she was inaccurate and slow, but he refuses to look at my kid.

Batting wise she hits well in practice and was doing OK in the games, not crushing the ball but making contact. Then the coach started calling bunts for her. Last tournament 5 out of 7 AB he called her a bunt. First bunt she popped the ball up and the catcher makes a dive across the plate as she is leaving the box and the umpire calls her for interference, a couple bunts later she popped it up again and she froze up and didn't know what to do, they got her out. The coaches lost their crap over this play and was chewing her out over it.

I guess we should just be thankful that she is on a travel team and she is improving every week but it is just frustrating.

Havent read any replies so apologies if this has already been said but

This coach does not have your childs (or any childs) best interest. Continue to go to your lessons and start speaking to them about teams looking in your area. But most importantly remember these 2 things

1. Your child might not be ready for more competitive ball
2. Even if #1 is true, So what - its 12U softball, and the trophy he's chasing is only going to matter to the kids for about 15 seconds anyways.
 
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
For what it's worth, I believe the ump got the call wrong - it's neither obstruction nor interference when there's a collision on a bunt play b/w the batter and catcher - in USSSA there may even be a rules clarification on that scenario.

No. Yes. Maybe. Would need to see the play to offer any educated ruling. It absolutely could (should?) be one or the other. I’d be very hesitant to say it is neither.

Remember, intent is generally not a factor in softball.
 
Jul 22, 2015
851
93
Normally if she can pitch at all there are opportunities to pick up with other teams. My dd spent a year or more doing primarily only that and could have played almost every weekend if she wanted to.
 
Nov 6, 2019
92
18
I would show the play but you can clearly see the coach and I do not want to put him out there as people may know him. This was just me ranting a little as I try not to rant to my wife about it. She already wants to drop the team and I want to wait until after league ball when she will get more mound time and experience.

Playing TB with the other kids is fun for her and she is getting AB's and in game reps on first and outfield.
 
Mar 8, 2016
313
63
WCONN1979

I am near the end of my TB journey. DD will play in her last fall tournament this weekend. My DD has had a good journey but it started out rocky. I think the hardest thing to do is not get caught up in the moment. When DD goes off to college I think I may document her softball journey to try and help parents of the next generation of softball players. I will give you a brief synopsis so you can realize that many people go through the same thing.

At 11yo dd was a fair player on a bad 12u team. She learned some good things from the coaches the first year but also got the short end in playing time and being yelled at a lot. The biggest thing is that it never caused her to lose her love for the game and inspired her to work harder. We worked together on fielding and hitting that winter and it was the best time I have ever spent with her. We would workout 2-3 times a week. I never told her no if she wanted to go and I am so glad I didn't. I wished I had acess to the incredible knowledge that is on this site because I could have done a better job. Through her hard work and talent she has turned into an excellent softball player and even better young lady. When I look back at 11 and 12yo DD and our goal was just to be able to play HS softball I am amazed at how far she has exceeded everyone's expectations.
The hardest thing to do at your DD's age is to relax and realize it is a long journey. It sounds like your DD really wants to work hard at becoming a better softball player. You have gotten some great advice here on how to help her improve. Spend time working with her. Best case scenario is she really improves her softball skills . Worst case scenario you get to spend a lot of time with your DD doing something fun. You both win either way. Your primary job is to help her keep her love of the game and not let someone else take that away from her.
 
Nov 6, 2019
92
18
WCONN1979

I am near the end of my TB journey. DD will play in her last fall tournament this weekend. My DD has had a good journey but it started out rocky. I think the hardest thing to do is not get caught up in the moment. When DD goes off to college I think I may document her softball journey to try and help parents of the next generation of softball players. I will give you a brief synopsis so you can realize that many people go through the same thing.

At 11yo dd was a fair player on a bad 12u team. She learned some good things from the coaches the first year but also got the short end in playing time and being yelled at a lot. The biggest thing is that it never caused her to lose her love for the game and inspired her to work harder. We worked together on fielding and hitting that winter and it was the best time I have ever spent with her. We would workout 2-3 times a week. I never told her no if she wanted to go and I am so glad I didn't. I wished I had acess to the incredible knowledge that is on this site because I could have done a better job. Through her hard work and talent she has turned into an excellent softball player and even better young lady. When I look back at 11 and 12yo DD and our goal was just to be able to play HS softball I am amazed at how far she has exceeded everyone's expectations.
The hardest thing to do at your DD's age is to relax and realize it is a long journey. It sounds like your DD really wants to work hard at becoming a better softball player. You have gotten some great advice here on how to help her improve. Spend time working with her. Best case scenario is she really improves her softball skills . Worst case scenario you get to spend a lot of time with your DD doing something fun. You both win either way. Your primary job is to help her keep her love of the game and not let someone else take that away from her.


I hear you and you are 100% correct. Spending time out with her throwing, hitting, and even traveling to tournaments has been a blast so far. We really want to help her keep her love of the game.
 
Nov 6, 2019
92
18
For what it's worth, I believe the ump got the call wrong - it's neither obstruction nor interference when there's a collision on a bunt play b/w the batter and catcher - in USSSA there may even be a rules clarification on that scenario.

When you watch the play you can see there is no contact between her and the batter. But the camera was off to the side while the umpire was behind her so his angle would not have been able to tell there was no contact. Interference is a judgement call and its gonna go wrong some times. The coach did argue the call, and he says he explained it to the team but I dunno if she really understood she did nothing wrong. It was a crappy situation and its something I am gonna work with her on, getting out of the box faster on contact, she has long skinny legs and has a slow start but can get to moving fast.
 

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