Hello from TX
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- Nov 18, 2013
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Welcome!
She’ll get through it. Don’t lose sleep or dwell on it. The most important thing at this age is that she has fun and wants to play again the following year.
It’s an adjustment every time they move up an age level. Struggles are part of it. Work with her outside of practice, encourage her. Take her to a hitting/pitching coach if that’s where she’s struggling.
She’ll get through it. Don’t lose sleep or dwell on it. The most important thing at this age is that she has fun and wants to play again the following year.
It’s an adjustment every time they move up an age level. Struggles are part of it. Work with her outside of practice, encourage her. Take her to a hitting/pitching coach if that’s where she’s struggling.
Welcome!
You're in the right place.
Next time you're at games make a list of the top 5 players at 10u. I guarantee that if you pull up that list 6 years later 4 or 5 of them won't be playing softball anymore. All this game is about is dirty hard work. At 10 its too early to get too high or too low. As said by MNDad help your daughter fall in love with the game. If she does she will become all that she can be.
Enjoy the ride!
You're in the right place.
Next time you're at games make a list of the top 5 players at 10u. I guarantee that if you pull up that list 6 years later 4 or 5 of them won't be playing softball anymore. All this game is about is dirty hard work. At 10 its too early to get too high or too low. As said by MNDad help your daughter fall in love with the game. If she does she will become all that she can be.
Enjoy the ride!
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BT3100 nailed it. Cnay: you gave us no details as to what your DD is struggling at. EVERYONE struggles in first year 10U! It's brutal to coach. It's brutal to watch. How do you go from 8U scoring 25 runs a game to 10u scoring 6? Pitchers are still learning to throw a strike, hitters are learning to hit against someone trying to defeat you instead a coach throwing perfect strikes.
At 8U/10U the goal is to just keep better 1% per day while learning to play the game and having fun. If your DD does that she will surpass those that only rely on their natural abilities. DD was always pretty good, but was never the strongest or fastest, she just kept at it while others fell to the wayside. In a few years DD's today's struggles will be in the past and you will be focusing on the new struggle. There will always be struggles. This is a game of failure that many cannot handle.
At 8U/10U the goal is to just keep better 1% per day while learning to play the game and having fun. If your DD does that she will surpass those that only rely on their natural abilities. DD was always pretty good, but was never the strongest or fastest, she just kept at it while others fell to the wayside. In a few years DD's today's struggles will be in the past and you will be focusing on the new struggle. There will always be struggles. This is a game of failure that many cannot handle.
Appreciate the welcomes and really impressed at the knowledge on this forum. I read through something just about every time I get on here and think well that was spot on. She's struggling at the plate, and I don’t mean swing and miss struggling. I could deal with that because I feel like that would come around with time and reps. She's not swinging at all, it's a walk or a strikeout looking EVERY plate appearance for the last 4-5 tourneys. Because of her base running capabilities, I have heard the coaches tell her over and over, we just need you to get on base and she did a lot early in 10U by walking, but as the pitchers got better and started throwing more strikes, she has not adjusted away from that mindset and now it’s more strikeouts looking. She will swing/slap and put the ball in play routinely in practice and with the hitting coach, but she gets to tourneys and reverts back to old habits. Because of this she ended up at bottom end of the roster, and was subject to less and less playing time, and all I can figure is that the pressure to perform or sit was more than she could handle. Her game elsewhere is not an issue, other than she’s LH and a little positionally limited, she was a top outfielder, backup 1st basemen, and # 3 catcher. We have since made the decision to take a break from TB in an attempt to reset her mind/confidence and get the fun back in the game through rec ball.
Something that might help that even Alabama had painted on their foul poles years ago. Yes! Yes! Yes! NO! This basically means you are loading with the mindset that you are swinging on every pitch until you know it's not a pitch you want. She needs to get that aggressive mentality. That is learned through small things that will help her with her confidence. Don't focus on outcomes, focus on the Quality AB's. Give her some small goals that works for her. If she's not swinging, maybe let's get 2 quality swings if she's getting good pitches. Let's put the ball in play some way. Once she starts putting the ball in play, let's get some solid contact.
There is nothing wrong with taking time away. DD rec league only offered a spring season, since the fields were converted to soccer fields in the fall. She played her first fall league at a different association in fall of 5th grade, but played Summer All stars for 5 years. 3 @ 10U, 1 @ 12U, and 1 @14U. That first summer team was brutal. They were the 2nd 10U team from our league. I think DD got maybe 3 hits all summer, but she got so much better just be getting all those reps. Her confidence going into league tryouts the following Spring was nice to see vs the girls that did not play. Year over year she started passing up the other girls and during tryouts, all the coaches tried to draft the all star girls. Just keep choppin' wood! You will be surprised how much better she is than the other rec players. Let her feel like a stud. Seen lots of kids that came back to rec after realizing they jumped into TB too early. I know a kid that split time between Rec/TB during her 10U years. Just needed to get extra circle time. She will be attending an Ivy next fall.
Being a lefty could help her long term. Coaches love lefties! OK Sooners have a lefty stud that played SS during her HS and TB career. I am curious if she will get some dirt time at SS. https://soonersports.com/sports/softball/roster/jayda-coleman/14373
Some coaches will not let her play catcher, others will. Tx State has 2 lefty catchers on their roster that play.
There is nothing wrong with taking time away. DD rec league only offered a spring season, since the fields were converted to soccer fields in the fall. She played her first fall league at a different association in fall of 5th grade, but played Summer All stars for 5 years. 3 @ 10U, 1 @ 12U, and 1 @14U. That first summer team was brutal. They were the 2nd 10U team from our league. I think DD got maybe 3 hits all summer, but she got so much better just be getting all those reps. Her confidence going into league tryouts the following Spring was nice to see vs the girls that did not play. Year over year she started passing up the other girls and during tryouts, all the coaches tried to draft the all star girls. Just keep choppin' wood! You will be surprised how much better she is than the other rec players. Let her feel like a stud. Seen lots of kids that came back to rec after realizing they jumped into TB too early. I know a kid that split time between Rec/TB during her 10U years. Just needed to get extra circle time. She will be attending an Ivy next fall.
Being a lefty could help her long term. Coaches love lefties! OK Sooners have a lefty stud that played SS during her HS and TB career. I am curious if she will get some dirt time at SS. https://soonersports.com/sports/softball/roster/jayda-coleman/14373
Some coaches will not let her play catcher, others will. Tx State has 2 lefty catchers on their roster that play.
JOHNN
Just a dad of 3 girls
Welcome to the forum. There is loads and loads of great info here so definitely ask questions.
My 8yo had her first fall season of 10u and as I read your posts, it was like a carbon copy of what our fall looked like. She was aggressive in 8u ball, and then once she got to 10u, she got used to walking, and then she became a statue at the plate and the strikeouts piled up.
We start hitting lessons this week with a current college player whom she worked with last year and really improved with. So Im hoping It will help her out again. The good news is that since she doesnt turn 9 till March, she will end up being able to play 10u for 3 seasons if she really wanted.
My 8yo had her first fall season of 10u and as I read your posts, it was like a carbon copy of what our fall looked like. She was aggressive in 8u ball, and then once she got to 10u, she got used to walking, and then she became a statue at the plate and the strikeouts piled up.
We start hitting lessons this week with a current college player whom she worked with last year and really improved with. So Im hoping It will help her out again. The good news is that since she doesnt turn 9 till March, she will end up being able to play 10u for 3 seasons if she really wanted.
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