Hi everyone! As you can tell I am new around here, but I have been reading a bunch of the topics on here.
1st a bit of background. My DD is 12. She started playing at 10 for a fall ball league. The next spring when we found a team, we didn't realize it was a 12U (she could have still played 10U). There were a few friends on there, so I just left her there. She spent most of that season either playing 1 or 2 innings in the OF or riding the bench. I spent the whole season asking the coaches what I could do to help her see more playing time. We worked hard. That fall, the team didn't play but they practiced getting prepared for a split. Several were moving up to 14U, several were staying down. DD wanted to move up. BAD! We put her in catching and batting lessons over the winter. February rolls around and I send the 14U coach a text asking about practices and she passes me the number to the 12U coach. Everything happens for a reason. DD stayed down. Was the #2 catcher, LF (at the beginning), and 3B (at the end) during spring ball. After a season of middle school, she is now #1 catcher.
DD has now played 2 years at 12U and a middle school ball season. Our league pitcher and 1 other girl have to move up to 14U, so we are taking the whole team up. We entered in a tourney at 14U and got killed. Our fielding was OK, but we couldn't get on base. 4 games and all our girls pretty much struck out at every at bat. After the tourney, our coach knew we needed to do something else. That this was beyond her ability since we didn't even HAVE fastpitch around here growing up, she played slowpitch. I help the coach out as much as possible, but I have an infant so I can't be her base coach during games. I do most of the internet stuff, I am the treasurer, and the team mom.
Of the 9 girls we had, 6 (and 1 on the fence) of them have all come together and joined a softball academy that is based out of a batting cage. For our monthly fees, we get 2 1.5 hour practices at the cage, plus unlimited open cage time during certain hours and when they aren't booked. Plus circuit and strength training.
Our 1st cage practice was tonight. It all looks good and all of us are excited to see where this will take us. So coach is trying to schedule our next practice. We have been having Sunday practices. Right now, the weather is beautiful outside. She scheduled this Sunday's practice at the cages. I feel we are on limited time to be outside before it gets too brutally cold here in the mid-south. But I also worry about the consequences of spending ALL of our time focusing on batting. Our fielding is going to be awful come February. But we will be able to hit.
For those of you with experience, how do you balance batting cage time and fielding time? How many hours a week do you practice or how many practices a week do you have? Oh and do you practice year around?
1st a bit of background. My DD is 12. She started playing at 10 for a fall ball league. The next spring when we found a team, we didn't realize it was a 12U (she could have still played 10U). There were a few friends on there, so I just left her there. She spent most of that season either playing 1 or 2 innings in the OF or riding the bench. I spent the whole season asking the coaches what I could do to help her see more playing time. We worked hard. That fall, the team didn't play but they practiced getting prepared for a split. Several were moving up to 14U, several were staying down. DD wanted to move up. BAD! We put her in catching and batting lessons over the winter. February rolls around and I send the 14U coach a text asking about practices and she passes me the number to the 12U coach. Everything happens for a reason. DD stayed down. Was the #2 catcher, LF (at the beginning), and 3B (at the end) during spring ball. After a season of middle school, she is now #1 catcher.
DD has now played 2 years at 12U and a middle school ball season. Our league pitcher and 1 other girl have to move up to 14U, so we are taking the whole team up. We entered in a tourney at 14U and got killed. Our fielding was OK, but we couldn't get on base. 4 games and all our girls pretty much struck out at every at bat. After the tourney, our coach knew we needed to do something else. That this was beyond her ability since we didn't even HAVE fastpitch around here growing up, she played slowpitch. I help the coach out as much as possible, but I have an infant so I can't be her base coach during games. I do most of the internet stuff, I am the treasurer, and the team mom.
Of the 9 girls we had, 6 (and 1 on the fence) of them have all come together and joined a softball academy that is based out of a batting cage. For our monthly fees, we get 2 1.5 hour practices at the cage, plus unlimited open cage time during certain hours and when they aren't booked. Plus circuit and strength training.
Our 1st cage practice was tonight. It all looks good and all of us are excited to see where this will take us. So coach is trying to schedule our next practice. We have been having Sunday practices. Right now, the weather is beautiful outside. She scheduled this Sunday's practice at the cages. I feel we are on limited time to be outside before it gets too brutally cold here in the mid-south. But I also worry about the consequences of spending ALL of our time focusing on batting. Our fielding is going to be awful come February. But we will be able to hit.
For those of you with experience, how do you balance batting cage time and fielding time? How many hours a week do you practice or how many practices a week do you have? Oh and do you practice year around?
