Now I remember why I disliked rec ball

[GOINGDEEP]

Socal, please keep us posted on your Tournament. We played in a Rec WS before as a 11 year old. 15 states sent their best. I can assure you that several of the pitchers were travel level pitchers. In the south east some play rec ( young ) because they have to wait until released from middle school ball, where the independent rule is in effect. And rec doesn't qualify as independent play, where travel ball does.

 

[Wookie]

Just a few quick comments:

It sounds like SoCalDad left out some important info in the original post, probably for brevity, but he did what the rules stipulated so no one can be faulted for that.

It also sounds like his DD is a leader, and will be so for the rest of her life. To have an adult do what she did is unlikely, let alone a 14 YO. That is a direct reflection on how she was raised.

Adults are more stupid (as witnessed by their actions) than their years would otherwise indicate. And on the flip side, kids are smarter than theirs. I'll bet than 90% of the kids in the game in question KNEW exactly what the situation was - and didn't care. And the daughters of the vocal parents were most likely embarrassed by their parents' actions.

Kids know who the best players are, and who the leaders are. I'll bet dollars to donuts that the vindictive mothers' DD is a follower, and she's always pushing her kid into something she does not want to do.

 

[FPump]

SoCalDad,
Your daughter possesses maturity, loyalty and character beyond her years. She's not only a great kid, but a great teammate. Wonderful job on your part in raising her with to have such a wonderful set of values.
Regarding one poster's comments about her decision to play some rec ball for the pure fun and enjoyment of playing with her friends hurting her chances to play college......not a chance.
She's 14. She'll still have plenty of time to continue to develop as a top flight pitcher. I'm no coach, but if I were, all things being equal...she's they type of player I'd want in my college program.
Good luck to both of you.

 

[shockcoach]

Having served our our local rec league board for many years, this is how the conversation would have went.

President: "There has been a grievance filed against you."

Me: "Really? Were there any rules violations?"

President: "Umm....No....but..."

Me: "Good. Thanks for the call. Have a nice evening. Good bye."

That would about sum it up.

 

[Sweet Pitch 96]

This brought back some horrible memories from last spring. My dd played on a weak travel ball team that was a transition- type team between rec and competitive select. In the B tournaments they played in, they typically went two and out. Sometimes, they might win one or two bracket games if they got lucky. She maybe got to pitch in 4-6 games a month. Our local rec league advertised that they wanted to open up to select players to improve the level of play. She asked to play in the rec league to get more game time and improve. She tried out, and she was told she would have to play up a division and play on the previous season's last place team. She didn't care. She just wanted to pitch. So, with her select coach's permission, she played.

When the season started, there was one other pitcher on the team. They were supposed to share mound time, but the other pitcher broke her ankle and was out for the season. There was a third girl who tried to pitch but couldn't even get the ball up to the plate. When my dd could be there, she pitched every inning unless her select coach let the rec coach there were limitations because of tournaments. When she didn't pitch, they lost....badly.

Even though she was pitching against girls who were as much as 3 years older, she did well. Word got around, and the parents of the other teams started attacking her. They booed and cat called, applauded balls and walks like a player had hit a grand slam. Even some of the opposing coaches were involved in it. It wasn't about playing the game, it became all about beating her.

When I asked her about it and if it bothered her, she said that she didn't even notice or didn't care. She said that when she's in the circle, nothing elese matters. She said that it just made her more motivated to strike 'em out. She never got rattled, never lost her composure, and it gave her a mental toughness she might not otherwise have.

Pitching that season, she improved in so many ways, both mechanically and mentally. But it was hard. I will never forget the venom that those parents spewed at my child, all for a rec softball game.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Having served our our local rec league board for many years, this is how the conversation would have went.

President: "There has been a grievance filed against you."

Me: "Really? Were there any rules violations?"

President: "Umm....No....but..."

Me: "Good. Thanks for the call. Have a nice evening. Good bye."

That would about sum it up.

That was funny, made my day.

 

[sagonzal2000]

While your DD is on the mound have her work on pitches she's been trying to develop in practice. Have her go through situations in her head and make it challenging by giving herself a handicap so that she's not just blowing away the hitters with her good stuff. There's plenty of travel girls that play in our rec league and you can tell they're so much more ahead of the local gals in the rec league. Most of the travel girls get so frustrated up at the plate because the quality of pitching just isn't there.
Good luck with the parents out there!

 

[Daddy O]

Also, she is the only girl I have seen on the travel squads that routinely stretches a double into a single. I mean that correctly. She will hit to the gap and should easily reach second. NOPE, too slow and makes it a single.

That's funny! I tease my daughter about the exact same thing. I kid her that she is the only one on her team that can hit a triple to the opposite field fence and turn it into a double.

As far as what your daughter has to go through, some parents Suck! Tell her just play ball and have fun.

 

[SoftSocDad]

so i don't get beat up here for stacking my roster - w/o getting into too much detail we play a rec schedule with about half of our travel team. the other half of our roster is from the draft. if my entire travel team wants to play the rec schedule, we play up a division that spring. we play a rec schedule to stay as game-tuned as possible between tourneys.

With the exception of their own daughters, coaches are not allowed to bring their own teams into the local rec league. All players are in the draft. Following the draft, coaches are given an hour to make trades.

I didn't like this rule at first, as I thought the girls would benefit from playing together for a few years, but now understand why the rec league is set up that way.

 

[SoftSocDad]

In the south east some play rec ( young ) because they have to wait until released from middle school ball, where the independent rule is in effect. And rec doesn't qualify as independent play, where travel ball does.

Here in NorCal, good players who grow up playing fastpitch will not play for their middle schools, which only offer slowpitch. Later on, there's competition between the high schools and the travel teams to get the best players, but many girls (usually the tier-2 talent) will choose to represent their schools for a year or two, just for the specialness of that experience.