Playing Time and Player Growth

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Sep 23, 2018
61
8
My AC and I disagree about one part of our team philosophy.

First, some Background:

12u B level team that plays in a competitive League, and tournaments. League play we treat like a practice and we rotate girls around a little, we bat the lineup, and everyone plays fairly equal innings. In pool games (tournaments), we bat the lineup and everyone plays. Not all innings are equal, but every girl gets plenty of opportunity. However, come Sunday I put the top 9 girls in that will help the Team compete hard. Of course, if we are winning or losing by enough, we rotate other girls in, but in tight bracket games we play with the girls that have earned the position.

I emphasize that each girl on the team can earn a starting spot on Sunday, but it must be earned and it must help the team. I believe that teaching them this skill now before high school is just as important as teaching them fielding fundamentals.

The disagreement.

My AC agrees mostly with league play and pool play (although he would probably like us to tilt the playing time more in favor of the lower 3-4 girls), but he disagrees with bracket play. He thinks that all girls should play even if it hurts the teams chances of competing. His philosophy is more about personal growth and learning to play under pressure. He said that a few girls are discouraged and know they will not play on Sunday.

What are other coaches doing?
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
The way you are doing it is typical. While learning to perform under pressure is important the idea that if you want something in life you will have to work hard to get it is equally important. If a kid wants to play more in bracket, she needs to work hard so that she can perform well in league and pool and earn herself a spot in the lineup on Sundays.
 

sjw62000

just cleaning the dugout
Sep 1, 2018
93
33
North Carolina
What are other coaches doing?
The situation you describe is pretty much the norm. Player development and player growth happen during practice and during pool play. Girls earn their spots during these times and if that is the standard for your team then no one is surprised. I believe in developing players and helping them grow, that's why we all do this. However, player development and player growth is not isolated to the bottom 3 or 4 girls, the starting 9 need to be developed too. This is done in the manner in which you described. At 12U these girls are playing to win and they are aware enough to know that they are playing to win.

Final note, I believe, and I practice what I preach, that each girl needs to know specifically what she needs to work on to help her contend for a starting spot.
 
Apr 2, 2015
1,198
113
Woodstock, man
Either approach is fine, but it's your team.

But I have a hard question. Isn't this probably the end of the line for the kids that can't start on a 12U B team? It's sad, but it all ends at some point for every kid. So, from 12 forward kids will drop off each year as they go through the funnel. It's often very difficult for the parent and player to go through this.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Either approach is fine.

But I have a hard question. Isn't this probably the end of the line for the kids that can't start on a 12U B team? It's sad, but it all ends at some point for every kid.
I think 12U might be a bit early for that conclusion since some kids are just starting to go through puberty at that age.
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
We do a combination of both. But I tend to agree with your AC. This is about the girls. Not you, not winning, not feeling like you're teaching them some life lesson about winning and survival of the fittest. They will learn that lesson just fine in life, over and over and over. I think fostering teamwork and love of the game is far more important than winning.

I think at young ages the strict "play your best 9" is a bit draconian. Winning at all costs isn't really a lesson I'm wanting to teach.

Lets say you have your 9 starters and then 2 girls who really could be part of that 9, and then two more that are a few steps below those 11.

I'd rotate the 11 fairly regularly. So two of them sit each inning, but only sit one inning per game. Then the two that are "worst" perhaps play only 1 inning of a bracket game. So in a four inning game, you have the 11 girls each sit one inning and the worst two sit 2 or 3 innings of the game.

That way you are rewarding those who won positions and giving incentive to the others if they want to play more. However, you're still giving all girls a chance to play and feel and be part of the team.

And yes, I'd bat the entire line-up most every bracket game, rules allowing. Perhaps I flex/DP or sit a girl in a championship game if she's having a really bad day at the plate. But I try not to do that much.

Some of these girls are 10 (or in my case 8). They haven't fully grown, haven't fully developed, haven't decided for themselves in many cases if softball is their passion. I don't want to make that decision for them in my pursuit of a plastic trophy.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
We do a combination of both. But I tend to agree with your AC. This is about the girls. Not you, not winning, not feeling like you're teaching them some life lesson about winning and survival of the fittest.
No the lesson is if you want to be good at something in life you have to work at it and as a college professor I see plenty of 18-22 YO who haven't figured that out yet...Everybody is getting playing in league and pool play it sounds like. Another life lesson is that sometimes somebody is just better at something than you and you have to come grips with that...
 
May 1, 2018
659
63
I think it depends on your expectations. If you expectation is to go out and win tourneys...then start the top 9 as much as possible. If it's to see players develop across the board then don't. But having a clear expectation for yourself, parents and players will define how your team is laid out, will keep parents from bitching and will keep girls heads up.
 
May 10, 2019
72
18
I think it is determined by the conversation you had with the parents prior to signing their child to the team. If you told the parents that this was your philosophy and they wanted to be a part of it then that's what they signed up for. We talk with our parents on our philosophy of development. I explain to the parents that I don't care about the results of wins and losses. We are working to develop all athletes at multiple positions. In order for you to develop all athletes you need to put them in that Sunday mindset. They will get better for it. I have had parents not sign with the team after this discussion. The majority sign up and are all in. In essence, I recruit the parents first before I ever offer an athlete to be part of our team. It allows us to focus on the process of getting good results and the development of all athletes. At a 12u age your best player might be your worst in a matter of 2-3 years. Everyone develops differently.
 
May 4, 2016
70
18
East Coast
I've coached and been a sideline parent. There is no perfect answer that will make all the people happy...

Your choice is 100% okay as long as the parents of the bottom half girls are made aware of the "why" behind it and how their daughters can move from bottom half to middle half to top half. That may mean private lessons or it may mean finding a new team. Both are acceptable in the short and/or long run.

Do you play a strict "top 9" or is it more a "top 6" and "bottom 6"? I've always preferred the top 6ish and a rotation among the bottom 6ish. No one likes never seeing the field on a multi-game Sunday...
 

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