I've posted before that we are newbies, I guess, to this whole fastpitch realm. This is my dd's 2nd season playing. She played with the All-Star team last year. Might not should have, but there weren't really enough in our area from which to choose. This year, she was ready. I gave her the option of playing for the All-Star team and practicing with varsity at our school OR sticking with just the varsity. She chose the school. Two girls dropped off of the All-Star team the first night of a tournament. My dd was asked if she would please play with them. She told me that she "wasn't going to let her team down" and she'd go ahead and play.
The girls were signed up to play in a World Series Warm-Up tourney over the weekend. They smoked the first team they played. The next day, it was awful...got killed both games, which were back to back. Sunday was even worse. My dd got in the car all teary eyed saying she knows the main reason they lost the game - the pitching. She said to me, "Mama, the pitcher sets the tone for the entire game. If she's not going to throw fastpitch and her balls are going to arch like those at McDonald's, why do we say we are a fastpitch team?"
She was disgusted, I was disgusted - everyone was just livid. I rode the catcher pretty hard b/c she was not popping off her helmet coming out of the hole to get the pop-ups. Upon further reflection, the balls that she missed that were balls, were not really her fault - they were bouncing in front of home plate, around home plate, etc.. On top of that, when she'd throw the ball back to the pitcher, the pitcher would miss (yep, around the bases they did go!).
Our coaches are wanting to keep this team together and play in tournaments throughout the fall. My dd told me she wanted to play through the World Series, as it was her committment, but did not want to proceed any further unless there was a pitching change. Throughout the entire tournament over the weekend, there was not a single pitching change. I stood on the hill overlooking the field several times and all I could see was an arch and a 3 mph ball heading towards home. The other fans and coaches were talking about our "slow pitcher"! What can you say when you know yourself how sad it is to watch? Her parents discussed in front of other parents that they thought they'd just pull her from this team who "doesn't care about winning" and find her a team that is "good enough for her". In my experience with friend's children, you have to try out for competitive teams. I don't believe you can buy a spot on a team like that, can you? Also, would a competitive team not be looking for someone who can hit the ball? Catch the ball? Throw the ball? UGH!
I advised our coach (might should have kept my mouth shut) that in the World Series, it is a requirement to play fastpitch and that balls with arches are not considered such.
Our coach is hot to trot for my dd to play on through the fall and then pick back up in the spring. I don't quite know how to approach him in a nice manner and let him know that school ball is our top priority right now. There wouldn't be but maybe one conflict with it and tournaments with the All-Star team. Should I keep my dd on a team that she knows is not there to really play to win? At 10, should they be there to play to win or am I too hard on them? My dd hates to lose, especially when the other girls haven't given 100%. If they have put forth the effort and lose, we call it a "moral victory". We haven't had one of those - they have given the games away.
Please let me know your thoughts. I'm just trying to wrap my brain around all of this. It's very frustrating as a parent to see your child "defeated" and so upset - especially when she loves the game and can figure out where the problems start!
The girls were signed up to play in a World Series Warm-Up tourney over the weekend. They smoked the first team they played. The next day, it was awful...got killed both games, which were back to back. Sunday was even worse. My dd got in the car all teary eyed saying she knows the main reason they lost the game - the pitching. She said to me, "Mama, the pitcher sets the tone for the entire game. If she's not going to throw fastpitch and her balls are going to arch like those at McDonald's, why do we say we are a fastpitch team?"
She was disgusted, I was disgusted - everyone was just livid. I rode the catcher pretty hard b/c she was not popping off her helmet coming out of the hole to get the pop-ups. Upon further reflection, the balls that she missed that were balls, were not really her fault - they were bouncing in front of home plate, around home plate, etc.. On top of that, when she'd throw the ball back to the pitcher, the pitcher would miss (yep, around the bases they did go!).
Our coaches are wanting to keep this team together and play in tournaments throughout the fall. My dd told me she wanted to play through the World Series, as it was her committment, but did not want to proceed any further unless there was a pitching change. Throughout the entire tournament over the weekend, there was not a single pitching change. I stood on the hill overlooking the field several times and all I could see was an arch and a 3 mph ball heading towards home. The other fans and coaches were talking about our "slow pitcher"! What can you say when you know yourself how sad it is to watch? Her parents discussed in front of other parents that they thought they'd just pull her from this team who "doesn't care about winning" and find her a team that is "good enough for her". In my experience with friend's children, you have to try out for competitive teams. I don't believe you can buy a spot on a team like that, can you? Also, would a competitive team not be looking for someone who can hit the ball? Catch the ball? Throw the ball? UGH!
I advised our coach (might should have kept my mouth shut) that in the World Series, it is a requirement to play fastpitch and that balls with arches are not considered such.
Our coach is hot to trot for my dd to play on through the fall and then pick back up in the spring. I don't quite know how to approach him in a nice manner and let him know that school ball is our top priority right now. There wouldn't be but maybe one conflict with it and tournaments with the All-Star team. Should I keep my dd on a team that she knows is not there to really play to win? At 10, should they be there to play to win or am I too hard on them? My dd hates to lose, especially when the other girls haven't given 100%. If they have put forth the effort and lose, we call it a "moral victory". We haven't had one of those - they have given the games away.
Please let me know your thoughts. I'm just trying to wrap my brain around all of this. It's very frustrating as a parent to see your child "defeated" and so upset - especially when she loves the game and can figure out where the problems start!