Middle School vs. 12u

[_MIA_]

Get your control freak on like you generally do.

I agree that it is important for young people to make decisions which have consequences, I already stated that multiple times in this thread. It is also good (IMO) that they learn to do this when the consequences of the decision are not life altering and being benched for a game in MS softball qualifies as not being life altering.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

I agree that it is important for young people to make decisions which have consequences, I already stated that multiple times in this thread. It is also good (IMO) that they learn to do this when the consequences of the decision are not life altering and being benched for a game in MS softball qualifies as not being life altering.

When you go to the movies are you mad if it doesn't teach you a life lesson?

 

[_MIA_]

When you go to the movies are you mad if it doesn't teach you a life lesson?

I haven't been to a movie in 12 years.

You have already stated your opinion on this to me in a previous thread..I got it the first time. Put it in your signature if you want to keep reiterating it.
Here I will help you with it: "Sports are not about learning life lessons"

 

[PJR202]

This is why some coaches keep that "bloated" roster. I don't know why we are cutting kids in MS. Honestly. How is that helping the game of softball?
I have seen many kids barely make a HS team in 9th grade and turn into beasts by 12th grade. I realize you cant keep a roster of 25 but I have seen MS rosters at 12 after cutting 15 girls.

We are leaving way too many girls behind IMO. Why would a kid want to play that shows up everyday for practice at MS only to be benched by a travel kid that shows up occasionally for practice? Just trying to give the other mindset to the posters. Our elite players are getting better and better there is no doubt. At what cost? When will it be about MORE than me? Are we too far to go back?

Where are the parents demanding their DD play scholastically and help that team be successful regardless of role?

Really we are defining MS coaches by W/L record? Seriously?

For starters, not everyone's middle school has travel players in the student population. We have exactly ONE. She plays MS. She WANTS to play MS, because she loves the game and needs the reps. We don't have teams around here playing year round.

We can't practice a huge roster and make any real progress with the kids who are solid athletes (literally just even in basic running and throw/catch or a fast learning curve) to do our job, which is to send the high school competent players. We had to cut. We didn't cut a ton, but we had to do it. Most of the kids from last year who didn't show up were more behavioral or effort issues. We're a small school with a lot of sports programs. One of the high school basketball coaches said "we have all these sports sharing about 60 girls." We play a few schools FAR smaller. My daughter is on the HS team and they play multiple schools with less than 200 students K-12, with just one softball team competing only at the HS level. And we do it because we're so far behind that those are some of the only competitive games we can find. We're talking a couple hours away just so the kids can have some fun.

One would think that in our small school of 450 kids we would also be willing to take who we can get, but we just can't. The HS team was down to 5 returning players last year, and the new coach basically recruited good athletes from other sports. Really it was quite a feat that they managed to teach them the game in four weeks and even win a few by late in the season. We had several years with no LL here, and even last year we had kids 7-13 on the same teams, using a pitching machine or coach pitch. The games were a delightfully funny disaster, but we had no choice. We had 30 kids making up two teams that played each other twice a week.

If we keep sending the HS coach kids who aren't developed closer to their potential, we'll continue to be at the whipping post of schools in our class (2A in a 6A state) who have had a complete program from T-ball to HS for many years. Softball is taken seriously around here at the HS level, and we want to compete. It's all some of these kids have to look forward to and we want that short time away from their bad home life to be more than putting on a uniform and getting the crap beat out of them by the rest of the district. So yes, winning is important in MS. Success is infectious. Confidence and desire are built, and most importantly, life lessons are learned. It's not about the coach. I'm on the field with the HS fairly often because I have a daughter on that team as well, but in all likelihood once my younger one is out of middle school, I'll make my exit. The other guys know far more than I do, and I think it'd be better if I get out of the way.

HS didn't cut this year. Several of the girls have never played (two are foreign exchange students playing for the american experience, which I think is awesome), and a few of them are the type you referred to...kids who start late and turn into beasts. I'm all about that. I love it. But if he's not gonna cut, I can't in good conscience send him kids who AREN'T like that and clutter up his practices. Offseason lessons aren't an option for most families here, whether it's time, distance (nothing closer than 45min away), or money, so it's up to us to do our best. I need to send the HS competent players. Not necessarily savages. I need to send up three or four strong arms, decent swings, knowledge of the game, and a freshman pitcher who can get the ball over the plate at 45mph or better. That's realistic for us. Not everyone's program has a roster bloated with potential. The teams in our district mostly have that because their programs have history and softball isn't a footnote for kids coming up. So until softball becomes a bigger deal around here, we have to do more with less. Young kids aren't gonna give a crap about softball until they see it as a goal instead of something to "try" because their friend plays.

Man, that went really long..hahaha

 

[Rick M]

I need to send the HS competent players… I need to send up three or four strong arms, decent swings, knowledge of the game, and a freshman pitcher who can get the ball over the plate at 45mph or better. That's realistic for us.

I admire your commitment and optimism, but based on the situation you describe it sounds like you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. If there’s no Rec league, and no training or TB opportunities that are within reach, you’re banking on having a huge impact on novice players over three months a year. That’s a big ask.

For reference, freshman DD has been playing year-round and taking weekly pitching lessons for five years. She throws in the low 50’s with three secondary pitches and solid control/approaching command. It takes a ton of work to get there.

If you really want to help grow softball in your community, start a Rec league when you step away from the MS team. Get your daughter to help, starting a community program looks great on a college application. Starting early is the key to growing a HS program.


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[PJR202]

I admire your commitment and optimism, but based on the situation you describe it sounds like you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. If there’s no Rec league, and no training or TB opportunities that are within reach, you’re banking on having a huge impact on novice players over three months a year. That’s a big ask.

For reference, freshman DD has been playing year-round and taking weekly pitching lessons for five years. She throws in the low 50’s with three secondary pitches and solid control/approaching command. It takes a ton of work to get there.

If you really want to help grow softball in your community, start a Rec league when you step away from the MS team. Get your daughter to help, starting a community program looks great on a college application. Starting early is the key to growing a HS program.


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It's a good idea, but we dont have that kind of population here. Little league is the only league we have and in the whole county we have a grand total of 3 8u age teams and two minor league, which I guess is essentially 11 and up now. LL changed something this year. If we can keep kids getting started via little league, I believe we can end up with decent high school teams here. We've had them in previous years. We're mostly in this condition now because we had a few gap years where there was no LL and the overall sport wasnt cultivated.

Our best chance outside of HS is to start a single travel team basically consisting over our MS and HS girls, wherever they fall in age. Really we would be best to stick to 14U. We just still don't have the kids with enough experience yet. Any work we're doing in the summer is just to get caught up to the average MS and HS teams around here. We aren't the worst anyway...but we're close. We don't need to be the champs here, but I want to be good enough that the kids actually have fun.

 

[clarity]

Thoughts on who is right—-MS Coach or Travel Coach.

Travel coach is not only wrong, he's an a-hole.