Switching Teams?

[ang2bmd]

Not saying I disagree, but why do some think 10-11 at 10u, but more at 14u is good? I would think the younger girls take sitting on the bench every so often better than older girls would. Younger catchers need rest in the heat, pitchers tire quicker, young girls sometimes get hurt, etc. I would think you want 11-12 at 10u and then down to 10 as you get older.

Not sure I’d want to be the 12th player on a 14u team. At 10U it’s about player development and learning the game at different positions. By the time your 14, either you can play or or you can’t. Just my opinion.

Higher level teams also often have girls that have turned into only pitchers due to the time it takes to perfect that part of the game. So you may have 1 and 2 pitchers that only pitch oand a 3 and 4 that pitch and play the field...so you really only have 12 you are moving around.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Razor011]

Higher level teams also often have girls that have turned into only pitchers due to the time it takes to perfect that part of the game. So you may have 1 and 2 pitchers that only pitch oand a 3 and 4 that pitch and play the field...so you really only have 12 you are moving around.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Out of curiosity, at what point should one expect this to happen? For example, 2nd year, 12u, 4 pitchers in the rotation. All 4 pitchers play every inning, every game in various positions. #1 plays pitcher, and when not pitching plays third or LF. 2 is pitcher or third. 3 is pitcher, first or outfield. 4 is CF or pitcher. 12 girls on the roster.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[grcsftbll]

Out of curiosity, at what point should one expect this to happen? For example, 2nd year, 12u, 4 pitchers in the rotation. All 4 pitchers play every inning, every game in various positions. #1 plays pitcher, and when not pitching plays third or LF. 2 is pitcher or third. 3 is pitcher, first or outfield. 4 is CF or pitcher. 12 girls on the roster.

I'm seeing it some in first year 14U.

 

[ang2bmd]

Out of curiosity, at what point should one expect this to happen? For example, 2nd year, 12u, 4 pitchers in the rotation. All 4 pitchers play every inning, every game in various positions. #1 plays pitcher, and when not pitching plays third or LF. 2 is pitcher or third. 3 is pitcher, first or outfield. 4 is CF or pitcher. 12 girls on the roster.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Depends more on the level of team than the age....for a top 10 pgf team you will start to see it as early as 2nd year 12s and definitely by 14s. For a more regional team you will probably never see it because pitchers often remain some of the best over all athletes. Other considerations are injuries. Sometimes kids with P5 D1 talent don't want to risk being hit by pitches or base path injuries so choose to only pitch. Its different for everyone!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[chinamigarden]

Out of curiosity, at what point should one expect this to happen? For example, 2nd year, 12u, 4 pitchers in the rotation. All 4 pitchers play every inning, every game in various positions. #1 plays pitcher, and when not pitching plays third or LF. 2 is pitcher or third. 3 is pitcher, first or outfield. 4 is CF or pitcher. 12 girls on the roster.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

When pitching practice starts to impede the players ability to hit. Pitchers who rake will always be in a lineup somehow. If a pitcher actually has fielding skills she might see herself playing at one of the corners.

 

[Cagman]

Thanks for the responses - Makes sense.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Not saying I disagree, but why do some think 10-11 at 10u, but more at 14u is good? I would think the younger girls take sitting on the bench every so often better than older girls would. Younger catchers need rest in the heat, pitchers tire quicker, young girls sometimes get hurt, etc. I would think you want 11-12 at 10u and then down to 10 as you get older.

Not sure I’d want to be the 12th player on a 14u team. At 10U it’s about player development and learning the game at different positions. By the time your 14, either you can play or or you can’t. Just my opinion.

I will say there is definitely some validity to your point Cagman. Some of that will depend on the talent level of the team ... mainly are the kids accustomed to playing 4-5 games in a day.

I’ve watched new teams (generally those ones that jump from rec to travel) come out and completely gas themselves because they only had 1 real pitcher and 1 catcher. Carrying extras for that is not a bad strategy, but be up front with the parents and players: e.g., I am carrying two dedicated catchers and a backup because we will play a lot of games in one day, and that means you may not play every game on long, hot days.

 

[Beeg]

DD was in a 12U team that had 14 players. It wasn't productive. DD batted 2nd and still got maybe one or 2 ABs per game. I recommend you go to another team. Just tell the coach thank you, but you wanted her to have more pitching and playing time. Most of the time, doesn't matter how polite you are, the coach would get mad anyway. DD left that 12U team due to no pitching or batting time, and the coach was pissed even though we sent him a very nice and polite letter. The team then blew up the next season because he told all the parents he didn't care about that team and would focus on 2 older teams (one of them was his DD's team.) Do what's best for your DD.

 

[uncdrew]

You say your daughter is pretty darn good at pitching. Then why isn't she?

No matter how bad a coach is, they want to win and will pitch their best pitchers. So are there 3-4 girls on the team who pitch better than she does?


Like others have said, it's time to leave. Be honest and nice about it, but get your daughter some playing time.

 

[wheresmycar]

Not saying I disagree, but why do some think 10-11 at 10u, but more at 14u is good? I would think the younger girls take sitting on the bench every so often better than older girls would. Younger catchers need rest in the heat, pitchers tire quicker, young girls sometimes get hurt, etc. I would think you want 11-12 at 10u and then down to 10 as you get older.

Not sure I’d want to be the 12th player on a 14u team. At 10U it’s about player development and learning the game at different positions. By the time your 14, either you can play or or you can’t. Just my opinion.

The older the girls get, the more activities they will have that conflict with softball. You need 12 to 14 players at 14u+, because you rarely will have the entire roster available for tournaments. School conflicts, other sports, vacations, final exams, SAT/ACT, school visits... kids are over scheduled, and it only gets worse as they get older.

My DD's 14u team has 14 on roster, but we usually only have 11 or 12 at any given tournament. Couple of tournaments, we've only had 9 or 10.

10u and 12u, kids have fewer conflicts, are more likely to show up for tournaments.

At 10u, If the bench time isn't equally distributed, then I'd walk in a minute. With 14 on roster, however, you will have 5 sitting every inning. So, if you are sitting ~33% of the time (1 out of every 3 games), that is what you signed up for, when you joined a 14 player roster.