Piggyback question - How do you determine if your DD is in the top 9??

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May 13, 2012
599
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I agree with everyone on stats not telling the whole story. I will admit with the new apps stats can paint a better pitcher than the old pencil and paper book. Of course the qulaity of the info put in depends on the experience of the scrokeeper. I do like how when looking at offense I have at my finger tips- hard hit LD, GB, PU, BARISP, without a lot of figuring and counting. This helps with as mentioned before little Suzy BA .250 with 4 caught LD by CF vs Tina .450 BA with 6 seeing eye single bloopers when deciding to put in the 3 and 4 holes.
 
Feb 15, 2016
273
18
So I was reading the thread where a parent explained that dd was picked up for a team and was told the roster would stay at 10/11 - but then coach decides to have a roster of 14 and the dd sits. One of the responses was the question - "is your daughter one of the top 9?"

My question is - how do you determine that? My husband and I have been having this discussion for a while now and I would love other opinions.

Background - 12U team. Our team does keep Game Changer - however, it was also brought to my attention on this board that our team is also probably not scoring the game's correctly (solely based on the wp vs pb thread). I am the second string (lol) scorekeeper and was trained by one of the asst. coaches on how to score games. Most of how we score is based on our feelings. Whether that play was an error or not could change from play to play - we are not by the book. Overall I do think the glaring errors are accounted for but there are probably a lot of hits that honestly probably aren't real HITS if you know what I mean. I do try to have another person sitting with me (usually my dh) to help me with scoring errors and hits - it does help to get another perspective on plays and honestly he knows so much more than me in that regard since he played baseball up through college.

So - with that said - my husband believes that coaching decisions should be made solely based on stats. He thinks a coach should be looking at mainly the stats to determine playing time. Second to stats is attitude and hustle. He hates when I bring up that I think the coach is trying to develop certain players into a position based on the potential the coach sees. It drives him batty. He says that since dd's team plays league that would be the development time - but when it is tournament time the best 9 (based on stats) should be on the field and the others with lower stats should be the one's that sit/sub more.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Are the coaches playing a top nine or are they rotating girls in? I understand the league question as a good time to let the girls develop. Is the intent of the team to play the best nine in tourneys or is that just what your DH thinks they should do? At 12U, I would prefer to play everyone who I offered a spot on the team. Playing time would not necessarily be equal but I am not parking a girl on the pine on Sundays at 12U. If you don't have nine solid fielders, things can get really interesting defensively as coaches try to figure out where to try to hide girls.
 

sluggers

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 26, 2008
7,132
113
Dallas, Texas
So - with that said - my husband believes that coaching decisions should be made solely based on stats. He thinks a coach should be looking at mainly the stats to determine playing time. Second to stats is attitude and hustle. He hates when I bring up that I think the coach is trying to develop certain players into a position based on the potential the coach sees. It drives him batty. He says that since dd's team plays league that would be the development time - but when it is tournament time the best 9 (based on stats) should be on the field and the others with lower stats should be the one's that sit/sub more.

Thoughts? Opinions?

There are so many aspects to this question.

1) You have to keep all the kids and parents reasonably happy. If you play only the best nine during the tournament, then the rest of the team will stop coming to the tournaments. Why go if you don't play? If one of your starters gets injured or sick, the team will be in a lot of trouble.

2) Outfielders become increasingly important as the level of play increases, and thus the speed of the outfielders becomes important in holding runners to as few bases as possible. There are no stats for outfield speed...but, once you play some good teams, you realize that speed is critical. Example: I was at a game, and LF dove for a ball and missed it. CF was fast enough to get to the ball at the fence and hold the runner to a double. Where does that stat go?
 
Last edited:
Jun 10, 2018
55
18
NY
Adding - he does watch the same games as me and I will say - there are girls who make an enormous amount of errors every game and are still in the same positions. I
often tell my kids that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results (they hate it when I do that to them). Then we watch games and the same girls are making the same errors in the same positions over and over again. Of course - there are flashes of brilliance but they are few and far between.
Next question - which stats are the important one's in relation to fielding?

That is NOT the definition of insanity--its the definition of STUPIDITY-- Take it from a Psych nurse! That stupid "definition of insanity" does a cruel disservice to mentally ill people everywhere!
Sorry off topic but I hate that trendy saying.
 
Apr 20, 2015
961
93
I agree that 14 is too many for 12u at all but the highest levels of pgf play so that's tough and as a parent that's a private conversation I would have with a coach. However in regards to the other when you start picking apart kids in the starting 9 instead of examining your own daughter's skill set and determining what she needs to do better you are in trouble. At 12u I would help your dd ask her coach what she needs to improve at to break into the starting 9. Don't talk about other kids help her talk with the coach only about her.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
another thing to keep in mind is players accumulating more PA are generally going to have better #s just because they see more pitches, and also not as nervous at plate. one season (10u), I could tell Dd was uneasy every time she got to the plate, because in 9/10 games she would get one PA per game, due to either time and or subbing.
 

2br02b

Trabant swing
Jul 25, 2017
303
43
That is NOT the definition of insanity--its the definition of STUPIDITY-- Take it from a Psych nurse! That stupid "definition of insanity" does a cruel disservice to mentally ill people everywhere!
Sorry off topic but I hate that trendy saying.

What is the word for necroposting to a thread that has been dead for 3 years to tell a bunch of people you don't know about a personal pet peeve?
 
Last edited:

ian

Jun 11, 2015
1,175
48
So I was reading the thread where a parent explained that dd was picked up for a team and was told the roster would stay at 10/11 - but then coach decides to have a roster of 14 and the dd sits. One of the responses was the question - "is your daughter one of the top 9?"

My question is - how do you determine that? My husband and I have been having this discussion for a while now and I would love other opinions.

Background - 12U team. Our team does keep Game Changer - however, it was also brought to my attention on this board that our team is also probably not scoring the game's correctly (solely based on the wp vs pb thread). I am the second string (lol) scorekeeper and was trained by one of the asst. coaches on how to score games. Most of how we score is based on our feelings. Whether that play was an error or not could change from play to play - we are not by the book. Overall I do think the glaring errors are accounted for but there are probably a lot of hits that honestly probably aren't real HITS if you know what I mean. I do try to have another person sitting with me (usually my dh) to help me with scoring errors and hits - it does help to get another perspective on plays and honestly he knows so much more than me in that regard since he played baseball up through college.

So - with that said - my husband believes that coaching decisions should be made solely based on stats. He thinks a coach should be looking at mainly the stats to determine playing time. Second to stats is attitude and hustle. He hates when I bring up that I think the coach is trying to develop certain players into a position based on the potential the coach sees. It drives him batty. He says that since dd's team plays league that would be the development time - but when it is tournament time the best 9 (based on stats) should be on the field and the others with lower stats should be the one's that sit/sub more.

Thoughts? Opinions?
This is simple.

If you and your DD are friends with the 'core' group of player/ parents and one of the 14 best players on the team, you are in the starting line up.

If you aren't in the clique your DD has to be a indisputable top 4 to get in the starting line up.
 

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