Unfortunately, some of the rules in some of but not all of the rec leagues cause kids to quit playn ball in my opinion. We have a rec league that stops base running as soon as infielder has control of the ball. no lead offs. no advance on overthrow, etc. The offense and the defense are not engaged, exicited, or playn heads up ball. Its boring. not to mention the kids are mostly being taught to hold bat straight up and down w/tight grip, elbow up, squishbug, and swing level.But when you try to improve it the answer is always, this is a rec league, its for fun. But is'nt it more fun to have sucess at the plate, get 3-4 at bats per game, and be engaged.
REC League Doesnt have to be boring
- Thread starter Dragoncoach
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That's exactly why we don't have stuff like that in our rec league. We play with "normal" rules. Even the 10Us can go on a dropped third strike and steal any base they'd like. It's good for them, it makes them work. I don't know how advanced our hitting is but they are hitting the ball. It might not be the way most of the people on this forum wanna seem 'em do it, but they are hitting it. Things such as squishing the bug and stuff is taught around here, yet... it works for them.
There are some who prefer dumbing down (e.g. no kid pitch, safety balls, cannot advance more than 1 base, etc) the rec leagues in order to make it more "fun" and "enjoyable" and that teaching softball fundamentals, discipline, and hard work at practice is just too difficult for young girls.
I believe the opposite is true, that a player has more fun and respect for the game when they are able to throw, catch, hit, slide, pitch, etc. correctly. I am currently coaching an 8U all-star team and I am continually amazed by the type of plays these young girls make, whether its the catcher throwing a runner out at second, stealing a base and sliding correctly, drag bunting (yes, drag bunting for our lefties), bare-handed throw to 1st for the out, or throwing an occassional change-up for a called third strike, etc. Kids like to be challenged, even in rec league, let's give them the opportunity to really grow as softball players.
I believe the opposite is true, that a player has more fun and respect for the game when they are able to throw, catch, hit, slide, pitch, etc. correctly. I am currently coaching an 8U all-star team and I am continually amazed by the type of plays these young girls make, whether its the catcher throwing a runner out at second, stealing a base and sliding correctly, drag bunting (yes, drag bunting for our lefties), bare-handed throw to 1st for the out, or throwing an occassional change-up for a called third strike, etc. Kids like to be challenged, even in rec league, let's give them the opportunity to really grow as softball players.
Don't get me started on dumbed down local rules. When I returned to my local rec league about 7 years ago after a hiatus between DD#1 and DD#2 I was shocked by how restrictive the rules had become. The 8U division did not allow runs via walks. If the bases were loaded and a walk was issued the batter got 4 new balls, strikes stayed. If the count went to 4 balls again the batter was out. OUT ON A WALK!!!! 10U was even worse. Coach pitch when the bases were loaded, 1 base per BATTER allowed for stealing, cold home plate and no advancing on overthrow or passed balls. 12U out right shocked me. Cold home plate for stealing and no stealing on passed balls. The board at the time could not understand why our girls were considered the door mats of the county when it came to all stars. Took me several years but now all those rules are gone and we are starting to dominate again.
- May 25, 2010
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Yes and no, because every area's culture and talent pool are different. Out of the 70-75 girls in our local 8u, there are maybe 6-8 girls capable of doing what you described, maybe. We have a lot of non-athletic girls who are in their 1st or 2nd year and many of the newer girls never played catch with their dads or siblings, etc., so they're as raw as raw can be.
From a safety perspective, these girls just don't have the type of awareness you might take for granted (such as never swinging a bat outside the on-deck circle), and while you refer to it as 'dumbing down', when you've got girls out there who don't know the fundamentals of catching or who don't keep an eye on the ball at all times, I think the RIF balls are a must. And to be honest, I think our 10u ought to use them, too, but so far, they've had only slight injuries with the harder ball.
That said, I'd have to see this 8yo (or even 9yo) catcher throwing out a runner at 2nd before I'd believe it
but I'm absolutely not buying that an 8yo throws an intentional 'change-up'. - May 25, 2010
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Sounds good.
I don't want to see coach pitch in 10u. We can make the game an enjoyable learning experience for kids without being completely unreasonable.
We need to make lots of changes in our area as well, and if a few of us will remain true to the program, then we'll be able to get our numbers up as well. Our all-stars actually place pretty well (they're that top 10% I mentioned) in the regional tournaments (typically 'B' level), but I think our town should be able to support 2 teams in each age division and to have teams that can go even further than the regional stuff. I don't know how the all-star 'season' works, though.
SoftSocDad, SoCalDad, SoCalSoftballdad,
Gees, my head is spinning trying to keep you guys straight. . .;-)
Gees, my head is spinning trying to keep you guys straight. . .;-)
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That said, I'd have to see this 8yo (or even 9yo) catcher throwing out a runner at 2nd before I'd believe it
SoftSocDad - I have no reason to lie to you. We play 60 foot bases in 8U Rec All-Stars and catchers occassionally throw out players at 2B (and 3B too). Most starting pitchers in tournament play have a change-up and occassionally use it. We have been struck-out and have struck out players using it. I think in SoCal it is not too unusual to see high-level play since we have a huge softball population to choose from and because of the weather players can practice year-round.
don't blame me, i joined this site before those other two!
I'm not in California, but NE Texas. I have seen the things you mention. We play UTrip 10U and our #1 pitcher could be still playing 8U (just turned 9). She has a wicked change that she uses all the time. As far as throwing a runner out at second, our thirt baseman was catching tonight and she is playing up as well. She has a cannon from hours of long toss at home (yes, it makes a difference when they get work in away from team practice) and she threw a girl out at second and third tonight. We are 10U, but those girls could still be playing 8U. So yes, I'm buying it.
