Is winning important at young age?

[uncdrew]

Winning is important at EVERY age.
I don't wake up 5 am on the weekend and sit at park all weekend watching girls softball to see them lose. Then deal with crabby kid the rest of the.day because the kid lost every game of the weekend.
Losing absolutely matters to her so its definitely going to matter to me

It's all about the parents, right?

I've gotten up at 5am to watch my DD's team lose 4 straight several times. I enjoyed watching her play. She enjoyed playing. She was a happy, positive kid the rest of the day.

 

[Ksphenom]

Is the winning occurring equal to or above where the team should be?
Beating the ones you should, competing with the ones equal to or better?

Teams with 3 above average players can compete, if coached well.

If a team has an abundance of great players but never wins. (Need to honest with player assessment here) The flip side is a team with exceptional talent but never can compete where they should because of in game coaching.

Kids at 10, 11, 12 don't know what's best for them. Adults have trouble with this too.

If games are competitive I'd concern myself with the best instruction and coaching.

Once the showcases come around (14/16) the team just needs to be good enough to qualify or get invited to the right tournaments.

 

[gator5]

From our experience, being on a so-so team as the #1 pitcher will do wonders for your DD.

Lots of mound time. Lots of lessons learned in losing. Great practice keeping her composure as things fall apart around her.

Wins are great, and fun to celebrate. You'll want some of them. Sometimes teams drop down into an easier tourney once a year just to get a trophy and give the girls a taste of that.

The first two paragraphs are perfectly said and exactly sums up my daughter's early days (12u and 14u) .

You don't want to be so bad you only last 1, and if you are lucky, 2 games on Sunday. But getting the innings is so big at an early age.

And then when you move onto a better team
1) You greatly appreciate good defense and clutch hitting
2) You don't fall apart when an error occurs. "Oh, I have seen this many, many times in the past" and just keep going

 

[BrianTx01]

If you are not winning than you are not playing very many games. The better question might be why are you losing? If you are losing because you are playing the best teams maybe you stick around. If you are losing because your coach is pitching his DD in bracket one and she walked 10 batters than you should not stick around.

With that in mind keep in mind that good pitchers dominate at younger levels. If you have one or more than you play more games, if you don't have one....than you won't.

 

[NBECoach]

Coaches and parents may know how to win, but players have to learn how to win. Most times especially at younger ages you have to lose in order to know what it takes to win.

Playing and winning against teams of equal ablity is learned. Some teams and players "get that" sooner than others.

 

[radness]

Coaches and parents may know how to win, but players have to learn how to win. Most times especially at younger ages you have to lose in order to know what it takes to win.

Playing and winning against teams of equal ablity is learned. Some teams and players "get that" sooner than others.

Hmmm? Thats an interesting concept NBE.

Do think lessons in games are important.
Generally every game has good/bad performances which can be used as learning examples. (by both teams)
Regardless of the score these examples can teach lessons.
imo
Winning/losing is a seperate topic.

Since everyone takes winning and losing differently. It is not entirely possible to say experiencing losing teaches a positive lesson.
Think of a player on a team who trys very hard. On her own. Also does lessons. Puts tons of work in.
Team always loses.
This player could learn it doesnt make a difference to try.
True individuals can have good games! Then again...
its a team sport.
Winning offers a reward of its own. That is beyond learning.


LEARNING happens win or loose.
Perhaps
~Winning is the REPORT CARD!

 

[GunnerShotgun]

95% of players do not go on to play in college so if you are confident you are in that 5% than winning is not as high up on the list.

Show me a competitive player that lost a 75% of their games when the played softball at a younger age but said it was OK since they gained "sportsmanship, skill development, and enjoyment of the game". Said no competitive player ever....

 

[MikeP]

Winning isn't important at a young age...losing, however, *is* important at a young age.

Young kids need to learn a simple life lesson: Losing is not the end of the world. Pick yourself up and move on.

Dd's first travel team was probably 2-50 Four years later and she can still shrug off a loss with the best of them, life lesson learned I guess.

 

[sluggers]

Dd's first travel team was probably 2-50 Four years later and she can still shrug off a loss with the best of them, life lesson learned I guess.

All things in moderation...including moderation.

 

[Strike2]

95% of players do not go on to play in college so if you are confident you are in that 5% than winning is not as high up on the list.

Show me a competitive player that lost a 75% of their games when the played softball at a younger age but said it was OK since they gained "sportsmanship, skill development, and enjoyment of the game". Said no competitive player ever....

95% of ALL players who ever strapped on cleats? I'd believe that, but 95% of 18U players?

From what I've seen, if you're a decent 18U player, there's a place where you can play college ball. Yeah, it might be a JUCO in a place you never heard of, but you'll be playing college ball. If you can play effectively at 18U, it's strictly a matter of motivation.

To your broader point, the players who I see going to four-year schools have most always played with decent teams that won their share of ball games. Many play with teams that only lose to the very best of competition. Winning isn't everything, but never winning really sucks after a short while. Teams that can't win games don't last long, and players who can't help teams win fall away. The one bad team that DD played for didn't last more than four months, and most of the players never got past 14U. DD didn't quit until her commitment was met, but found a much better team less than a minute later.