Is "star utility player" even a thing?

[BobInMadison]

Two things that didn't seem to be mentioned:

1. What does your DD want? Does she want to be a utility player, or a catcher?

2. How good a catcher is she? Are we talking about almost no passed balls, great framing, and blazing pop times?

If she is a great catcher who doesn't give a whiff about SS, why bother? If she is a so-so catcher who really wants to play SS, why not?

 

[1696]

A couple things A. Echoing others, she has to hit. B. Don't confuse coaches. If she's positioned as catcher, and she expects to play OF, why isn't she honing her OF skills? C. It's a numbers game. 1 catcher. 3 OFs. Earn the CF spot and shine.

DD1 was a SS 8-13, switched to CF at 13. DD2 was a 3B 8-12, switched to CF at 13. DD1 earned ASA game/tourney MVP awards, etc. I believe your DD has more opportunity to shine when she's focused.

 

[29dad]

Two most important factors - what position(s) does the dd want to play? What position(s) does the coach want the dd to play? At 14U, especially on a solid team where players have big time college aspirations, parents should have absolutely zero influence on what positions their kids play. The only proper way is for the dd to approach the coach and say something like "coach I'd really like to get some time at ss - do you think that would be a good fit and is there anything I can work on to give myself a shot at that position?" And if the player doesn't have that burning desire to play ss... seems like a moot issue. I don't know. Just seeing a few responses like "put her there" or "give her a shot," and it just seems a bit presumptuous to me. I mean unless it's one of those teams where the coach will let any player play whatever position they want, and if that's the case, then the team is pretty incompatible for a player with big time college aspirations.

 

[BobInMadison]

A good UT player needs to have very good observation skills. DD 3 is primarily a pitcher, but plays all 9 positions. During practice she carefully observes what the coach is teaching players at the various positions. Game time comes and she remembers. One game she played 4 positions in the first 3 innings: SS, 3B, CF and 1B. She didn't play all of those as well as if she had spent a lot of time practicing each position, but she was serviceable.
The whole point is for a utility player to be able to play a primary and secondary position, but be able to fill a gap in the defense with no notice whatsoever.

 

[sluggers]

Momo,

1) Hitting, hitting, hitting.
2) If you don't think she is a SS, she isn't a SS. If someone else thought she was a SS, she would already play SS.
3) Is she fast? Get a stop watch and time her...don't do the "home to first" thing, it is too sketchy...too many variables. Do a 40 Yard dash.
4) If she is fast, drop everything and work on her OF skills. If she isn't, make her a 3B.
5) Hitting, hitting, hitting.

Did I mention hitting?

 

[Little Angels Softball]

Everybody who isn't a pitcher wants to be a SS. If I had a nickel for every parent who told me that their DD "is a fantastic shortstop!" only to find come tryout time that the "fantastic" part was somewhat overstated. You'd hope that parents would get over it after the first year of 12U, but some continue with the 10U mentality and insist that DD needs to play SS.

A true SS is very difficult to find. While the skillset can be taught, finding a girl with the physical capabilities to learn and perform said skills is a rarity. So much so that I have on occasion gone years without having a SS on my team.

If you're DD is SS material, you'd know it. If you even have to think about it, tell her to hit the batting cages.

 

[Eric F]

Everybody who isn't a pitcher wants to be a SS.

Not my kid. She loves the dirt behind the dish.

 

[grcsftbll]

I think my dd is an awesome short stop. But she plays 10u so that means I'm delusional and crazy by definition, right? Seriously though, I probably am.

 

[BobInMadison]

Yes, you probably are crazy.

But, I would worry about you 1000 times more if you did NOT think your DD was awesome in at least some way. It's part of being a father. These little girls twist us around their tiny little fingers before they can even walk and talk.

 

[Eric F]

Yes, you probably are crazy.

But, I would worry about you 1000 times more if you did NOT think your DD was awesome in at least some way. It's part of being a father. These little girls twist us around their tiny little fingers before they can even walk and talk.

Pssst...Bob...grcsftbll is a mom