Practice Blues

[quincy]

We have players do both, good for them nothing bad to say.

Not DD though, other players can do what they want.

 

[gdc03120]

Two, 2 hour, practices a day are too many

I do 2 two-hour practices a WEEK, not in a day. That'd be nuts, and granted so am I, I'm not that extreme I don't think. =P I also have a girl playing Little League, and one girl (my starting pitcher) that does Travel Ball (plays as a LF) and their practices are set to pick up mid-May or so, while school ball is just ending/going into Playoffs.

The reason I'm so adamant about having early practices is because:
a.) There's such little interest as it is that what I can get from people (regardless of age) is better than nothing.
b.) This community I live in has a BAD history of "all talk, no action" as it pertains to its sports programs. I hear a lot of "I wish we had programs like this for the boys and girls in the summer", then when a program like mine is up and running and building some momentum, there's people who say, "Ehh."

Our team had 2 less wins as a team last year than our JV and Varsity teams - a lot of this dealt with starting early and working on things as much as possible, especially with my younger players (Modified level). I found the girls saying they were using what we went over in their games and vice versa, so I do feel as though there is something positive coming from what I'm trying to do.

I've scheduled my practices to NOT conflict with school ball as much as possible. When there's conflicts, we approach things as they come. The kids recognize they made a commitment and do their best to make practices as much as they can, and about 90% of my parents have always held them to it. When they can't, I work with them as best as I can to make up what they missed. I just don't see how this is any different than Drama Club or any other extracurricular activity or work that a student might have.

 

[quincy]

SB, DD is all over it.

She will not play for 2 Teams at same time. She is the age were we have players playing school ball that show up when games start and you try to catch up.

Not that it matters but they are usally the better players.

 

[gdc03120]

I've found our HS program is very similar. Varsity team (Class D in NYS) has only 10 players - 2 play for me, one of those 2 does TB (as I said before). I typically start my stuff so early (our games don't start until the last week of June) because I've ALWAYS (in 3 years of doing this) had 1 or 2 players drop and 1 or 2 players join, so it gives me insurance against not having enough to play come June. I'd rather be PROactive than REactive I suppose, and if it means being very up-front, up-front, then I'm fine with doing that. I see all sides of the debate and this is why I like posting here - I get different perspectives on things and I know none is meant maliciously or anything of that nature.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

You practice more than my 16u travel team that plays at the 'A' level. My team is filled with girls that really really like softball and want to play at the next level.

Where I am from Rec at the older ages is for girls that want to play softball but do not want the commitment. They might have one optional practice a week and the focus is on the games.

Perhaps there is something that is being lost in translation?

 

[Hawkeyes]

School activities are our #1 priority and we clearly communicate that. My DD is a multisport athlete. In Iowa we have carry over between school ball/travel so she does play both at the same time. From May 8 (first day of school practice) until they are eliminated from post season (july 5 - 20) she will not be at travel ball practice. DD will play on weekends when she can, but not going to practice. She is already practicing/playing 6 days a week with school team. She's getting her reps and doesnt need to double up on practice.

Sometimes we as coaches need to let go and not be in total control of everything

 

[quincy]

I have not tried this yet ..

If you think your team is more or less ready schedule some friendly games, everyone else is in the same position.

We have scheduled friendly games with certified Ump, not required but adds to games.

(Hard to yell at someone doing it for free, certified UMP? Need to get my game on for season. )

 

[gdc03120]

The problem is there's not many girls in this area that "really really like softball and want to play at the next level". I have 3 girls playing for me from a community 30 minutes away (that typically has a team in this league we're a part of - I had the girls in class when I subbed and they wanted to play for me when they found out I coached softball), yet the lack of commitment in my own hometown is more miserable than you wouldn't believe. Those that DO love the game and want to get better on their own are already on travel ball teams in bigger organizations (one who plays for me but handles both because she really loves the game).

This is a team for the girls who want to stay active over the summer from the end of school softball to the start of fall sports, learn more about softball, improve their abilities, get more time on the field, etc. We're not going to get any bigger and don't want to get bigger than what we are. Tat's why I do more practices early to inspire them to play harder, work on their skills, so we can work on specifics (like helping younger players not be afraid of stealing or bunting, or working on outfield fly balls and backups, etc.). I basically have to take what I have and work with it. The boys' team at the same level for this league they have to turn boys away from playing - whereas I can't get any to show up hardly, and truth be told, we practice EXACTLY THE SAME amount of times. His (coach) practices usually run opposite of mine. So if I go Wednesday and Sunday, he goes Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday or something like that.

 

[4 girl's dad]

I believ what KCphoto was saying os a 2 hour practice at school then a 2 hour practice with you. That is too much IMO and i would go ive them a full practice credit if they have been practicing at school.

 

[Cannonball]

Nowhere did I ever say that. My practices run 6-8pm at night while school ball practices run in the afternoons. There, to me, is no reason why players who finish a practice hypothetically at 4:15pm or so cannot make a 6-8 practice that same day, particularly when there's no other time during the week (due to my work commitments) that I can hold practices. Players who happen to have games when we have practices are excused and get their 1/2 credit - it's not a punishment, I'm giving them the 1/2 because they are "practicing" enough during their games, just not with my team.



I call us "rec ball", but we don't have an official "name" for the type of league we are. We don't do tournaments - we're just 8 - 10 communities with teams, we usually play a round robin-type schedule with playoffs at the end of the season. It's so close to "pick up 18 girls and play ball in a park" that Rec Ball is the only close thing to describe what type of league we are.

4:15? What time does your HS get out of school? We start practice at 3. We get done most nights at 5:30. If the HC is feeling crazy she lets me take some hitters out for private work. How long is a HS practice in your area? Lets say that it is 2 1/2 hours like ours. Now you have them make it to yours for 2 hours. How much throwing etc. are those arms doing? Where do they get homework etc. in? It is a great thing I don't live in your state. After our practices, I doubt that physically players could handle it. Our girls, tonight will get in a minimum of 300 swings in. BTW, my position regarding a "punishment" is that players who aren't playing HS ball get full credit for attending practice. So, a player could, in theory, do the math and then determine that another player playing the same position now has more points and so, the player needs to do something to gain points.

I am interested, again, in what time your school gets out and how many hours of HS practice these players do in a night.