Questions about coaching a very good player. 7u player playing 10u Rec league.

[Gambler Bob]

I am coaching a 10u team, 4th and 5th graders for the most part. We have a girl who is playing up going into 3rd grade and is a 7u player currently. We have had 3 practices so far and this 7u girl is the best player on the team. I should add that the rec team has 4 girls who played travel ball or part time travel ball this year and she is better than all of those girls also.

This 7u player is not some giant of a girl either, she is probably in the bottom half of the team in regards to size. She can slap bunt, slap hit, and hit for power (I don't think there is any girl in this entire league who knows how to slap), her hitting is phenomenal. We have one other girl that is about 5'-8" tall that can hit the ball further but she is not nearly as consistent as this young girl. The 7u girls will probably be our leadoff hitter.

Her defense is also great, very good arm and accurate throws, the way she fields a ground ball and gets rid of the ball so fast is unbelievable for a girl that age. It is like watching a little Derek Jeter playing SS. She will play SS for the most part.

It gets better, she is also a pitcher and has been getting pitching lessons for about 6 months. We had her pitch some batting practice to the other girls and she struck out 8 out of the 11 batters she faced. Did not walk any batters. She will be pitching, probably our #2 pitcher. We have another pitcher that is pretty good also and has been getting lesson for over 1 year.

So how does a coach go about offering any advice to a girl that is that much better than the rest of the team and is 2-3 years younger than the other girls? I played baseball my entire childhood and throughout High School but I am not a professional hitting, fielding or pitching instructor.

My thought is to just to sit back and let this girl play. The only thing I have to offer to a player that is this good is encouragement. This little girl told me she has a batting cage in her basement and spends a lot of time practicing at home.

 

[Greenmonsters]

I am coaching a 10u team, 4th and 5th graders for the most part. We have a girl who is playing up going into 3rd grade and is a 7u player currently. We have had 3 practices so far and this 7u girl is the best player on the team. I should add that the rec team has 4 girls who played travel ball or part time travel ball this year and she is better than all of those girls also.

This 7u player is not some giant of a girl either, she is probably in the bottom half of the team in regards to size. She can slap bunt, slap hit, and hit for power (I don't think there is any girl in this entire league who knows how to slap), her hitting is phenomenal. We have one other girl that is about 5'-8" tall that can hit the ball further but she is not nearly as consistent as this young girl. The 7u girls will probably be our leadoff hitter.

Her defense is also great, very good arm and accurate throws, the way she fields a ground ball and gets rid of the ball so fast is unbelievable for a girl that age. It is like watching a little Derek Jeter playing SS. She will play SS for the most part.

It gets better, she is also a pitcher and has been getting pitching lessons for about 6 months. We had her pitch some batting practice to the other girls and she struck out 8 out of the 11 batters she faced. Did not walk any batters. She will be pitching, probably our #2 pitcher. We have another pitcher that is pretty good also and has been getting lesson for over 1 year.

So how does a coach go about offering any advice to a girl that is that much better than the rest of the team and is 2-3 years younger than the other girls? I played baseball my entire childhood and throughout High School but I am not a professional hitting, fielding or pitching instructor.

My thought is to just to sit back and let this girl play. The only thing I have to offer to a player that is this good is encouragement. This little girl told me she has a batting cage in her basement and spends a lot of time practicing at home.

The most important thing you do/tell her is to make sure she has fun playing, because she's going to be playing for many years. Nothing else needed - she's obviously getting high-quality private instruction. FWIW, I bet she'll be your #1 pitcher before the end of the season.

 

[Greenmonsters]

I am coaching a 10u team, 4th and 5th graders for the most part. We have a girl who is playing up going into 3rd grade and is a 7u player currently. We have had 3 practices so far and this 7u girl is the best player on the team. I should add that the rec team has 4 girls who played travel ball or part time travel ball this year and she is better than all of those girls also.

This 7u player is not some giant of a girl either, she is probably in the bottom half of the team in regards to size. She can slap bunt, slap hit, and hit for power (I don't think there is any girl in this entire league who knows how to slap), her hitting is phenomenal. We have one other girl that is about 5'-8" tall that can hit the ball further but she is not nearly as consistent as this young girl. The 7u girls will probably be our leadoff hitter.

Her defense is also great, very good arm and accurate throws, the way she fields a ground ball and gets rid of the ball so fast is unbelievable for a girl that age. It is like watching a little Derek Jeter playing SS. She will play SS for the most part.

It gets better, she is also a pitcher and has been getting pitching lessons for about 6 months. We had her pitch some batting practice to the other girls and she struck out 8 out of the 11 batters she faced. Did not walk any batters. She will be pitching, probably our #2 pitcher. We have another pitcher that is pretty good also and has been getting lesson for over 1 year.

So how does a coach go about offering any advice to a girl that is that much better than the rest of the team and is 2-3 years younger than the other girls? I played baseball my entire childhood and throughout High School but I am not a professional hitting, fielding or pitching instructor.

My thought is to just to sit back and let this girl play. The only thing I have to offer to a player that is this good is encouragement. This little girl told me she has a batting cage in her basement and spends a lot of time practicing at home.

The most important thing you do/tell her is to make sure she has fun playing, because she's going to be playing for many years. Nothing else needed - she's obviously getting high-quality private instruction. FWIW, I bet she'll be your #1 pitcher before the end of the season.

 

[grcsftbll]

Yes, fun. All the talent in the world won't mean anything if she burns out. The parents have more control over that than you do, hopefully they'll get it and not get stars in their eyes over having a talented player.

Your description reminds me of a girl who was on our first 10U team. She was age-appropriate at the time but she'd been playing 10U since she was 7. She was one of those who got offers from every team she tried out for. Pitched, awesome fielding, very athletic, but what was most impressive was her hitting. She didn't always make it safe to 1B but I swear that kid NEVER struck out. I really am not sure she struck out in all of last year. She was a little thing but could also really hit the ball for power, then she was fast too. Best lead off hitter ever. It's fun to watch girls like that play. They're just naturals.

 

[Cobb_of_Fury]

be careful - Often times these kids are just ahead of the curve and end up average later after the other girls start to develop.
One of the problems with these early phenoms is they don't have to try hard to be better then those around them and they never learn to push them selves.
Do not let her settle for being better than her teammates pit her against herself and keep her working hard to keep getting better.

That being said - I agree with everyone else it HAS TO BE FUN -

 

[RichK]

sounds like one of those #goodproblems

 

[Tom]

Sounds like she has already received some good coaching. I would suggest reaching out to her private coaches and making sure you are all reinforcing each other so she has consistency. At 7, she's probably going to take all of her coach's words as gospel and you want to make sure she is getting quality consistent instruction. You can also be a big help to her by watching for signs of burn out. My experience is that girls this age will be fine when they are doing private workouts, but you (as team coach) may see burn out warning signs in a team environment that her other coaches or parents won't. I would also keep an eye on your team chemistry. That's a big age/maturity gap and I would suspect that some of the older girls may get a little jealous/resentful of being outplayed by someone so much younger.

 

[PEPPERS]

My suggestion is for you to learn the proper mechanics for throwing, fielding, base running, sliding and hitting so you can help not only your little supper star, but also the other kids on the team. Try to challenge her the best you can and I suggest she attend camps in your area put on by high school and college coaches.

 

[DNeeld]

My advice would be to mostly stay out of the way. Tell her to have fun, encourage her to push herself, but be wary of over coaching.

I don't know if there is a term for it, but it seems the better a player is, the more people want to give the player coaching.

You said the most important thing in the beginning....she's 7! If she does have natural talent like that the best thing you can do for her is help make sure she isn't burned out by the time she is 12.