HS..School of Hard Knocks

[SCDad]

I'm reading this thread and to me know one answered my question. Why would a coach bring up a freshman to sit? My question is not about talent or taking your lumps sitting etc...you have options as a coach. Wouldn't it be more beneficial for the kid to get playing time?

About every high school team has 13 or 14 players on the team. Mostly 10 play regularly. The other 3 or 4 are used as substitutes. Pinch run, pinch hit, defense, and to cover all the positions should someone get hurt.

And it is about teaching the player how to play under high school varsity pressure. It is about team building and having the younger players bond. Usually, again on good high school programs, the varsity freshman have surpassed the talent level of JV softball.

So I ask you, what do you think is best for your DD? Learn how to be an adult, get used to the big stage, or play on a JV team and play a lower level JV game and dominate, yet not learn a single lesson described here?

 

[Katsfan59]

My DD is in 8th grade and will be the starting catcher on the JV team. She didn't even tryout for JV but tried out for freshman. She made the team but the JV coach called me and wanted to move her up. Seems she caught the JV coaches eye during freshman
tryouts. I asked about playing time. He said he wanted her to be the starting catcher and that he would never call up an 8th grader to sit the bench. That's important because DD wants to play and not sit the bench. We haven't had the first game yet so we will see how she does.

 

[vdubya]

Just a Mom, with all due respect, this post is not a slam or calling you out. It may help for you as a parent to see your own words, and to consider that every parent wants the same thing...namely to see the best eight players, plus their DD, on the varsity field.

She has worked her tail off this last fall, fell back from an injury that was not softball related, and came back capable and ready.

Are you sure about the capable and ready part? What do the coaches see, in your own words<cut/paste>?

(she made varsity because she hits well).

Ok, fair enough, then what happened?

...but has struggled mentally...


she has not performed the way that she normally does...


3 lousy at bats ...She is in her first slump...Finishing terribly and not being allowed to work through it the way she knows how (by playing)....

and,

She has allowed a few lousy at bats define her... really shaken her confidence.

Ok, it it fair to say that the coach just might see the same things? Maybe she was thrown in to a situation that she wasn't ready for...just yet. How did the coach proceed from there?

Last practice coaches exclaim how well she is hitting and wondered what had changed.

Fine, the coach understands that a girl needs to 'feel' good in order to PLAY well. I am beginning to think that your HS is lucky to have such a coach.

Coaches went on to say that they could not wait to see her in the next game.

...probably more like "I'm sure you'll go get 'em next time", but regardless what was the response?

This made her feel good .

Are they not looking at future development?.

Not really. The future is now. The juniors and seniors ARE yesterday's future. They have a track record and are proven. The JV team is for the future, varsity is usually not a developmental league. Your DD may hit .560 in club ball but be '0-fer' on the HS varsity stage. An upperclassman with a .280 BA might look like the best option RIGHT NOW in the coach's mind. I have to ask...is this the first time that your DD has played <four years> up? When she was a 10u, did she play on a second year 14u team? Well, now she is a 14 or 15 yo playing against 18u varsity teams. It just sounds like maybe the coach realizes that he threw her in to something she isn't quite ready for. It definitely sounds like she is not ready emotionally:

Because of the pressure she was putting on herself to perform, she was buckling......really shaken her confidence....She is really hard on herself.

There are a couple of red flags in your posts:

I guess what bothers me the most, is that she is not given the same opportunity as some of the other girls.....

and

Having had a great experience for the most part thus far,...I just want to turn this around for her.

...but it sounds like your DD gets it:

Moving forward she plans to assume nothing and forget about playing time, celebrate with her teammates when they are successful, and work on her own personal game.

Just a Mom, I'd bet that your DD is in good hands with respect to her coach. It will all work out and she will get her time to shine when she is ready. Relax. Enjoy it. Be grateful that the coach is encouraging but did not continue to throw your DD to the wolves and remove what confidence she has left. She'll come around and the sun will shine on her!

VW










]

 

[softball88]

DD started first game of dh. She pitched, won and went 3-4. Our only win was a freshman. 2nd game back to bench....

 

[Scott Ridenhour]

So far DD's experience as a freshman has been pretty much the opposite. She goes to a relatively small school and they really didn't have enough for a varsity and a jv team this year. So the coach kept a few extra girls on varsity and no jv team. Our conference has several weak teams,so everybody has gotten/will get playing time. Not enough for some,but nobody will ride the pine the whole time all season.

My DD's primary position is catcher and the other catcher on the team is a senior,so I didn't expect my DD to start every game behind the plate. But my DD came in as one of the better hitters on the team,so she was going to get playing time. The plan at the start of the season was to pair up each catcher with one of our two pitchers and split playing time. The girl that wasn't catching would be the DP. That lasted about 5 games into the season when the senior that played first base tore the ACL in her right leg while running the bases. Now my DD is starting at first base. Luckily she has played first base a little during travel ball,so she's not completely lost.

If there has been any grumbling from other player's or their parents about my DD playing so much as a freshman I haven't heard it. Like I said,it is a smallish school and everybody pretty much knows everybody else. So they all knew my DD's reputation as a good ball player.

 

[Djanvk]

My daughter is a Junior this year but her Freshman year the same thing happened, made varsity as a catcher but didn't play much due to a senior so the coach finally let her go back to JV and she did great, it was really good for her confidence also and brought her back up for the end of the season tournaments and she did good. The next year she was made varsity again and converted to a outfielder due to her speed and arm and she make all conference and found out she really enjoys outfield.

 

[sbmom19]

My DD is a freshman and made Varsity. She played Fall Ball (travel) with most of the Varsity players so the coach (whose daughter played too) got to see her play. She plays 85% of the time and starts most of the time. It is still tough when she sits so that a senior that can't catch and can't hit gets put in. But even if she didn't play as much as she did I would still want her on the Varsity team. The exposure to the higher level of play and the faster pitching can only make her a better athlete. There is such a huge difference between the level of play between JV and Varsity...

 

[RAZORWEASEL]

I've posted on here before about my DD...just an update. She is an 8th grader that plays elite level TB as a pitcher 1B. Was told at the beginning of the season that she was the #4 pitcher. But the HC wants her bat in the lineup. Wasn't real sure about all of it as I asked for insight on this forum. Glad I did, just let her be, told her to work hard, everything will be fine.

Through six games, the team is 5-1 and she has started at RF twice, LF once, 1st twice, and pitched once. Her pitching stat line was complete game win 3-2, no earned runs, 3 walks, and 14 strikeouts.

She is hitting .545 and leading the team in OBP at .588

I'm very thankful to all of the posters that helped me through the non-pitching part....it's been great so far.

 

[MsDinosaur]

She is hitting .545 and leading the team in OBP at .588

I can certainly see why the coach wants her bat in the lineup! Good luck to her!