Skip practice for private pitching lesson.

[riseball]

I concur with Riseball. Tread lightly with your #1 pitcher or next week she will be another team's #1 pitcher. The OP says that they have been practicing every week since January, but you get a little twisted when your #1 pitcher attends a lesson rather than practice. If she misses practices regularly, then a conversation with the parents needs to be had. She didn't skip practice due to another sport, a birthday party, dance recital, etc. IMO this is no big deal. You should be happy that she is trying to get better, to make the team better. My past pitchers sometimes would get an extra lesson in before a tourney to work on something specific on mechanics or to tweak something in their delivery. It's okay.

Side Rant: It is beyond me how the catchers get less attention in team practices than other infield positions. DD is a catcher that requires additional outside workouts beyond normal practices too. She played SS the other night and had NO balls hit to her the entire game. But when she catches, she touches the ball nearly every play....done.

Great point! In addition to developing pitchers, I spend a great deal of time developing catchers. Without a great catcher, your pitcher cannot excel! Come game day my AC's handle the offense, and on defense on has the IF the other the OF which leaves me to work with the battery. Works extremely well.

 

[quincy]

We let C stand by home to catch balls and toss them me.

 

[The Maj]

No way in hell I am sitting my #1 pitcher or #2 pitcher or #3 pitcher because their private lesson took precedence over a team practice, provided the parents let me know that the private lesson was the same time. Between playing, team practice, hitting lessons, pitching lessons, church, and school DD#2 has something scheduled every single day of the week and it is a constant juggling act... Care to venture a guess where my DD was over Spring Break while the rest of her teammates were enjoying a week at the beach? She was at a pitching clinic for 3 days (her choice not mine), then back for team practice at the end of the week on Thursday and Friday... Care to guess how many parents made every excuse under the sun "why they couldn't make it back for those practices"?

As a former coach, I respect and understand your point about the importance of team practices, I really do BUT I do not think you realize how much time pitchers and catchers put into being good at what they do. Your stud hitter makes team practices and probably still finds the time to do a private lesson during the week at some point. Your stud pitchers and catchers are going to make team practices, do at least one private pitching/catching lesson per week, do a private hitting lesson per week, AND work the rest of the week (except for hopefully a non-softball day) on their fundamental drills for pitching/catching... Oh, and other than a short break here and there around the holidays, they are going to do the private pitching/catching lessons and drill work year round...

I am not saying you need to treat the pitchers/catchers like little princesses and let them go and come as they like but if they are working to get better at what you want them to do, you are going to have to cut them some slack from time to time...

 

[FP26]

If the kid is a pitcher and she is your #1, all things equal her lesson trumps your practice. You should ask the parents to work around your practice schedule and they should do all they can to oblige. But unless you have the ability to develop her as a pitcher, which it sounds like you don't since she has a pitching coach, the lesson is paramount. Regardless of what wisdom you may instill in practice, come game day without pitching it is a moot point. Again, both parties must work together.

Also having team rules that proscribe specific penalties is a very foolish practice. That is the easy way out and teaches no life lesson as it does not reflect a life experience. You need to treat your players fairly and with respect, not equally. There is no one size fits all answer, find what motivates the individual player and coach them.

FWIW - For a 10U team it sounds like you may be taking this a bit too seriously. Remember that TB is about developing the individual, not chasing plastic and t-shirts.

I agree with this post. DD sees her pitching coach twice per month and notifies her other coaches in advance when these lessons are scheduled. She typically tries to schedule them for days the team doesn't have practice. And does what she can to change the time or day if it becomes necessary. She did have a conflict with a team practice during March. No team practice scheduled for a Saturday, so she scheduled a pitching lesson and notified her other coach. At 3 pm on Friday afternoon, the coach announced a Saturday morning practice. DD contacted her and reminded her of the pitching lesson that she informed her about two weeks prior. It was too late to reschedule, so she went to the pitching lesson. Coach was fine with it.

I do coach an 18u travel team. We notify our players of our practice schedule in advance and ask that each player schedules their pitching and hitting lessons accordingly. But if a conflict is necessary, we ask them to inform us. And if the conflict is created by a late change on my part, we are flexible. One thing that does annoy me is when someone skips practice without at least sending a text to notify us. Luckily that really isn't an issue with this team but seems to be a common occurrence with the high school team.

 

[knightsb]

To add to some already good points, sometimes it is hard to get on a pitching coach's schedule and you have to take the day/time that is available. In the Original Post (OP), the player/parents may have wanted to squeeze in a pitching practice or two before the tournament.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

Pitchers need different handling whether you like it or not. (Also, a good pitcher / parent is putting in as much time and money into their craft outside of the team as they are with the team.) And please remember, she skipped practice for specialized instruction that will benefit the whole team and is not available at practice.

No. You chose to be a pitcher and take on the responsibilities of being a pitcher. You chose to play with this travel team so you need to be at the TEAM practice.

Either move the private lesson or skip the private lesson; it's just one lesson of a thousand you will have.

Pitchers and catchers are not special. Yes they do work extremely hard and that is part of the job. If this was a one time deal, as a coach I don't even think twice about it. It's not a big deal. If it happens more than once their needs to be a conversation to the parents with regards to expectations. We need to make sure we are all on the same page. Talented players like playing with other talented players that are as committed as they are. When I say committed I mean being at practice, going through the process with the whole TEAM.

You give that line about, "specialized instruction that will benefit the team". Every position player could be going to an additional private hitting lesson that would, "benefit" the team as well. If everyone went to private coaches for every aspect (fielding, pitching, bunting, fielding) hell we wouldn't have to have TEAM practices at all. That's absurd.

I have passed on kids (pitchers and catchers) that have had private lessons that conflict with scheduled team practices.

 

[sbdad03]

I'm not a coach, but I am a parent of a pitcher. My DD plays on a top 14U team in our area and is the #1 pitcher on her team. We take pitching and hitting lessons every week. Our pitching instructor is one of the top in our area. She doesn't allow set times every week...you must go into a scheduling app and make an appointment weekly. You never know the day or time you can get in, so days and times of our lessons change weekly.

Now, let's talk about my DD weekly team practice. She is a pitcher and can play the field, but our coach chooses to user her as a pitcher only. The weekly team practice is split up and is 50% defensive drills and 50% hitting. There is no pitching instruction or pitching time in practice. She is either practicing a position she doesn't play in a game or is hitting.

So, all that to say: if we can only get a time to go to pitching lessons and it is at the same time as her team practice...I'll take a lesson any day. The thing is, you have to treat pitchers and catchers differently on a tournament team. If not, you will never retain the top talent. Some coaches will totally disagree with me and I say that is why you will never be that top team. Good coaches coach a team of individuals. If you don't get that, you should rethink the way you coach.

 

[grcsftbll]

I'm not a coach, but I am a parent of a pitcher. My DD plays on a top 14U team in our area and is the #1 pitcher on her team. We take pitching and hitting lessons every week. Our pitching instructor is one of the top in our area. She doesn't allow set times every week...you must go into a scheduling app and make an appointment weekly. You never know the day or time you can get in, so days and times of our lessons change weekly.

Now, let's talk about my DD weekly team practice. She is a pitcher and can play the field, but our coach chooses to user her as a pitcher only. The weekly team practice is split up and is 50% defensive drills and 50% hitting. There is no pitching instruction or pitching time in practice. She is either practicing a position she doesn't play in a game or is hitting.

So, all that to say: if we can only get a time to go to pitching lessons and it is at the same time as her team practice...I'll take a lesson any day. The thing is, you have to treat pitchers and catchers differently on a tournament team. If not, you will never retain the top talent. Some coaches will totally disagree with me and I say that is why you will never be that top team. Good coaches coach a team of individuals. If you don't get that, you should rethink the way you coach.

That makes perfect sense in your DD's situation. Not many pitch and sit in 10U though. IMO they need to be at practice the majority of the time at that age. There's still a ton they have to learn, and how many 10U pitchers will still be pitching by 14U? I think as they get older it makes more sense to take a private lesson over a team practice if necessary but not in 10U. JMO

 

[riseball]

No. You chose to be a pitcher and take on the responsibilities of being a pitcher. You chose to play with this travel team so you need to be at the TEAM practice.

Either move the private lesson or skip the private lesson; it's just one lesson of a thousand you will have.

Pitchers and catchers are not special. Yes they do work extremely hard and that is part of the job. If this was a one time deal, as a coach I don't even think twice about it. It's not a big deal. If it happens more than once their needs to be a conversation to the parents with regards to expectations. We need to make sure we are all on the same page. Talented players like playing with other talented players that are as committed as they are. When I say committed I mean being at practice, going through the process with the whole TEAM.

You give that line about, "specialized instruction that will benefit the team". Every position player could be going to an additional private hitting lesson that would, "benefit" the team as well. If everyone went to private coaches for every aspect (fielding, pitching, bunting, fielding) hell we wouldn't have to have TEAM practices at all. That's absurd.

I have passed on kids (pitchers and catchers) that have had private lessons that conflict with scheduled team practices.

To me that sounds like a TEAM that is chasing plastic and t-shirts, with little focus on individual improvement and getting to the next level. FWIW - Many of the top TB teams in the nation never have a team practice.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

The thing is, you have to treat pitchers and catchers differently on a tournament team. If not, you will never retain the top talent. Some coaches will totally disagree with me and I say that is why you will never be that top team. Good coaches coach a team of individuals. If you don't get that, you should rethink the way you coach.

No. We don't have special rules for our pitchers and catchers. The overwhelming majority of my pitchers and catchers have made it to every TEAM practice when they weren't at a college camp or subbing for another team. For those that think it's OK to miss practice for a private lesson what makes your daughter so, "special" compared to the other pitchers and catchers that do juggle TEAM practice, private pitching, and private hitting lessons?

I am guessing some of you are big fish in a small pond.