New 10U team - talk me off the ledge

[Towny9]

@uncdrew I I am coaching travel ball. A majority of the team I coached in coach pitch All-Stars in rec ball last summer and kept them through the fall in rec. all four girls are getting instruction from the same pitching instructor now and when the season starts we are going to move into group lessons with them and that instructor so sounds like we are doing the right things. Our 10-year-old with travel experience pitching is going through the challenges of converting from HE to IR. While I know it is the best thing for her long term - I must admit I was tempted to leave her alone since she was a strike thrower previously with HE for the teams benefit.

 

[cnardone]

Everybody is talking about the walks making Rec games unbearable.. In my local Req league, the catchers don't catch 1/2 the strikes, never mind the balls. Watching the catcher get up and walk to the backstop 2 out of 3 pitches. Ohh, the humanity!!!!!!

 

[bmakj]

Everybody is talking about the walks making Rec games unbearable.. In my local Req league, the catchers don't catch 1/2 the strikes, never mind the balls. Watching the catcher get up and walk to the backstop 2 out of 3 pitches. Ohh, the humanity!!!!!!

there is a least a partial solution to this, assuming you each team has a sub. like in the bigs, with no runs on, have catchers stay where they are, have a sub be a ball girl and retrieve ball, eveery two or three return them to the blue (start him with 4 or 5).

 

[Rick M]

I've seen the same girl throw an immaculate inning and walk the 5 run limit in. In the same game.

Were you at my daughter's 10U district final??

It's the girls who can do that and not give up that will be your future pitchers.

 

[Towny9]

Do any of the sanctions have a run rule per inning? I was under the impression that there wasn’t an inning run limit in travel.

 

[badmonkey]

10U are the worst two years (at least that's what the older coaches tell me, I'm still in 10U for my older and 8U for my younger.) Pitchers are still learning, batters are afraid of getting hit. And because the games take so long because of all the walks, the fielders fall asleep so if there IS a play in the field, they're not paying attention and it's errors galore.

I've seen the same girl throw an immaculate inning and walk the 5 run limit in. In the same game.

I've saw a game that the final score was 9-8 without a hit by either team.

I can't tell you how many $300 bats I see that have never left the girls shoulder.

I even think the umpires get bored. I've seen strike zones that I could park a Cadillac in because they wanted to get the game moving. And I couldn't even blame them.

In rec I coached a game that ended in a 15-15 tie. Maybe two balls put in play. TB wasn't like that at all though. Plenty of strikes, lots of hits, etc.

 

[badmonkey]

Do any of the sanctions have a run rule per inning? I was under the impression that there wasn’t an inning run limit in travel.

In C division there is a run limit. Last year we played games with 5,6,and 7 run limits and gated 3rd base. USA, and USSSA.
In B, they add in D3K, remove run limits, and allow stealing home.

 

[SiB57]

I rec I coached a game that ended in a 15-15 tie. Maybe two balls put in play. TB wasn't like that at all though. Plenty of strikes, lots of hits, etc.

It depends on the level of TB. Honestly, in my area, Town Travel isn't much better than rec, and maybe 1 out of 4 teams is an actual registered TB team (ours is, albeit a C level and we'll be in a few C level tourneys this Spring.) Well, it is better than rec because the rec product is SO bad it's hard to call it softball.

In areas of the country where there is a viable rec program to play in, we'd probably be considered a very good rec team.

Rec is terrible because the town travel took all the girls that wanted to play a real game and not just hang out with their friends and actually care if they try to win or lose a game. Then most of those girls that are actually any good get pulled into one of the 7,000 club teams that pop up every year that just need 1 Pitcher and 1 Catcher to join a great group of girls (teams that are no better than ours, but are sure as hell of a lot more expensive.) That causes the town travel to pull even more girls up rec to be able to field a team which dilutes the rec ball even more, not to mention the massive loss of girls to lacrosse, and even more worrying the amount of young girls in our town that do not play any orgainzed sport at all. Rinse and repeat over the past 10 years or so, and I hope my town can get enough girls to field a single rec team at each age to play against our neighbors, and I hope the surrounding towns can too.

 

[bmakj]

It depends on the level of TB. Honestly, in my area, Town Travel isn't much better than rec, and maybe 1 out of 4 teams is an actual registered TB team (ours is, albeit a C level and we'll be in a few C level tourneys this Spring.) Well, it is better than rec because the rec product is SO bad it's hard to call it softball.

In areas of the country where there is a viable rec program to play in, we'd probably be considered a very good rec team.

Rec is terrible because the town travel took all the girls that wanted to play a real game and not just hang out with their friends and actually care if they try to win or lose a game. Then most of those girls that are actually any good get pulled into one of the 7,000 club teams that pop up every year that just need 1 Pitcher and 1 Catcher to join a great group of girls (teams that are no better than ours, but are sure as hell of a lot more expensive.) That causes the town travel to pull even more girls up rec to be able to field a team which dilutes the rec ball even more, not to mention the massive loss of girls to lacrosse, and even more worrying the amount of young girls in our town that do not play any orgainzed sport at all. Rinse and repeat over the past 10 years or so, and I hope my town can get enough girls to field a single rec team at each age to play against our neighbors, and I hope the surrounding towns can too.

hopefully the madness stops or at least slows and this does not become the death spiral of rec softball (and same is happening other sports as well).

in our area, there is a "travel league", DD played on one of those teams last spring (played tournaments too, travel league got added on kinda last minue). 12u with run limits, 10 in the field, points for standings given to losing teams, etc.. thankfully about half of the games did not come into play, but they kept the stupid rule mods, and it cost DDs team, in first game of championship sereies (3 games), they ended an offesive half inning because of run rule with one out. certainly could have done more damage, might have changed L to W. 50% of the girls in that league should be playing rec, and the other teams consolidated, but egos are too big for that.

 

[texasck1]

Don't jump. You will not be the only team in this situation. You will be surprised how fast they will improve. Nothing motivates like game play. Practice is great, but games will do more.

50% of the girls in that league should be playing rec, and the other teams consolidated, but egos are too big for that.

Sorry, don't want to hijack your thread, but I have seen this and similar comments on here many times. I'm not sure that it is a completely a fair statement. Where is the accountability to the sorry run Rec Leagues? My DD originally tried out for 10U travel because the league was so horrible. She would have rather stayed with her friends, but she would never have been pushed to improve (ultimately her decision). I put it on the EGOS of the people running it.

I had an opportunity to join that board of our local league, but after going to 1 open meeting and listening to them shoot down every idea that might improve the league from every parent in the room, I knew these people didn't care about the league or the girls, just their position that made them feel important. Those 5 "Officers" of the board didn't want to hear anything. They were the big fish in that pond and made sure everyone knew it. The politics of league has to own at least a small part of this problem.