Skip practice for private pitching lesson.

[GunnerShotgun]

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.

You think requiring all players to attend practice is, "a TEAM that is chasing plastic and t-shirts"? Ok...

Yes we all understand that as the players get older team practices are less important. The age here is 10u. It's just one practice a week; that doesn't seem unreasonable to me to ask that everyone be there. I understand as a coach and a parent that things come up, I get it. Private pitching lessons isn't one of them. Move the lesson or skip it.

 

[knightsb]

Adapted from "Why Equal isn't Always Fair"

Treating players equally is not the same as treating them fairly. When an player is treated fairly, she is regarded in a way that reflects her behavior, her contribution, and her experience with your organization. When players are treated equally, they are considered to be the same regardless of any of those factors. Can you see where the problem might be here?

On paper, the idea of treating all players the same doesn't sound bad. It might even sound right, especially given the importance of political correctness in today's world. But when you start looking at the idea practically, you'll find that it's not what it seems.

The idea that all players should be treated the same is rooted in the notion that all of your players are the same. Maybe in an ideal world, that would be true — but that's not where we live. You know who your best performers are. You know who makes the biggest impact on your team. You know which of your team members have room for improvement. You know which ones are considerate of everyone else on the team, as well as which ones will take a mile if they're given an inch.

Equal opportunity? Absolutely. But equal treatment? That's where you should draw the line.

 

[Rocketech1]

IMO, no excuse for missing a team practice for private lessons. Is it ok for the catcher to miss a practice for private lessons, they are valuable part of the team? What about the lefty slapper lead-off, maybe she needs some private hitting instruction during team practices? Before you know it, every key position player is missing team practices.

My 14YO DD has pitched for 7 years and has never missed a team practice because of pitching (or hitting lessons). You get private instruction on your own time.

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

Having been on both sides of this. Pitching lessons will come first over a team practice. No matter if she is a number one or number 10 pitcher.They need to work on their craft. Dont make it awkward on her or the parents. In fact make it a learning lesson and she gets back to game, ask her "what did she learn?" Make her teach you. That was she remembers what she learned and you can learn more about your pitcher and her setup.

IF you want a tissue for her missing your practice, I'll send you one. Honestly be lucky she didn't miss practice to see a Justin Beiber concert. Yes that happened me during allstars. I got over it and moved on. Why? Because life allows me to.

 

[Orange Socks]

Missing A practice is one thing. Missing practice regularly, we have a parent conversation. I thing we can all agree on that.

 

[SMS90]

IMO, no excuse for missing a team practice for private lessons. Is it ok for the catcher to miss a practice for private lessons, they are valuable part of the team? What about the lefty slapper lead-off, maybe she needs some private hitting instruction during team practices? Before you know it, every key position player is missing team practices.

My 14YO DD has pitched for 7 years and has never missed a team practice because of pitching (or hitting lessons). You get private instruction on your own time.

Isn't it all my own time, Mr. Hand? If you agree to spend an hour each practice working with my DD on her catching skills plus another half hour working individually on her hitting, then I will gladly give up the private lessons. Instead she gets about five minutes hitting and no time catching in an hour and half practice. If you don't think the time spent in the private lessons is important to your team I don't know what to tell you.

 

[Rocketech1]

If you don't think the time spent in the private lessons is important to your team I don't know what to tell you.

I think private lessons are EXTREMELY important and it's the reason I got private pitching lessons for DD when she was 7YO. However, she does it on her own time, in the evenings or weekends. For example, every Monday night she has either a hitting lesson at 7:30p or a pitching lesson at 8:00p. Is it inconvenient sometimes, you bet, but she and I think its important for her to not miss her TEAM practice as they are working on other areas of the game you don't get in private instruction, for example, situational hitting, defensive alignment and execution of plays with runners on base, back-up assignments, conditioning and workouts, learning new signs, working with her team catcher on pitch calling, team bonding, etc.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

If you don't think the time spent in the private lessons is important to your team I don't know what to tell you.

No one said private lessons are not important. I am pointing out that your private "pitching or catching" lessons are no more important than the lefty slappers private lessons or the shortstops private fielding lessons are.

A great many parents are able to juggle all of these things.

If your team practices are limited than it would be wise to attend all of those as your private lessons will be many.

I avoid this by asking all potential players about what private lessons they attend and then explain the team expectations. I have only had two issues in 20+ years.

 

[Snotbubbles]

I think private lessons are EXTREMELY important and it's the reason I got private pitching lessons for DD when she was 7YO. However, she does it on her own time, in the evenings or weekends. For example, every Monday night she has either a hitting lesson at 7:30p or a pitching lesson at 8:00p. Is it inconvenient sometimes, you bet, but she and I think its important for her to not miss her TEAM practice as they are working on other areas of the game you don't get in private instruction, for example, situational hitting, defensive alignment and execution of plays with runners on base, back-up assignments, conditioning and workouts, learning new signs, working with her team catcher on pitch calling, team bonding, etc.

Missing one practice doesn't really interfere with any of the benefits you say. All of those things should have already been worked on multiple times before the first game of the season. Speaking from my DDs current 10u team experience, she has already thrown 80+ innings (guesstimate, could be more) since August in either games, clinics, practice sessions or live bp with her catchers, they should have the signs down by now, she isn't adding any new pitches overnight. As far as the team, they've been doing coverages, alignments and run downs for months now. If they don't have it down by now, this practice isn't going to magically fix it.

 

[curt.shelley]

You're shooting yourself, and your team, in the foot. As a pitcher parent, I can say that getting pitching lessons scheduled is, most times, dictated by the pitching coach's schedule. You go when you can get in.

Also, at 10U, pitching lessons are tons more important than the team practice. Echoing a previous post, pitchers need to be handled with care, they aren't the same as your other players. They are already putting in more practice on their own time than any other player (except maybe the catcher) on the team.

If you come down too hard on the pitcher, or piss off the parent, your #1 will be some other team's #1. And, believe me, that other team will thank you for it!! You should take the opposite approach and publicly praise the pitcher for putting in the time/effort of getting a private lesson for her chosen position.