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Jul 14, 2017
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I know it is awful to say, but I am thrilled that her HS softball season is over!

DD is a sophomore and it is her 2nd year on Varsity. What a disappointment!

Something I wish HS coaches would think about: Please don’t pull up younger players if they’ll only get a rare opportunity to prove themself. Are your upperclassmen really that good that they’re teaching these younger players about the game and serving as mentors? Or are you creating a clique of entitled starters who know they are untouchable?

The girls are not developing and the pressure to be “perfect” during their rare appearances is high. Softball is a game of failure, the bench player doesn’t have the luxury of shaking a strike out or an error in the field off! Do you realize the damage that you do to a player’s self esteem?

I don’t want my child to be handed anything but I do want her to get a fair shot at proving herself. It would also be nice to know she is being corrected and supported on areas of weakness/during tough times.

Maybe I am expecting too much and/or wearing those rose colored glasses. Regardless, it is frustrating and heartbreaking to see your child’s love of the game and confidence in their abilities fade away.


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Aug 30, 2015
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Agreed. Great way to say it.

For the last 5 or 6 games of the season, the bench was full of 6 or 7 very inactive younger girls on the bench doing nothing.

Oh, except if they weren't cheering, they weren't good teammates.
 
May 6, 2015
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agreed, if you are not going to play them, let them stay at JV. I know the V needs some subs in case of injury, etc., but pretty certain you can rotate who is V and who is JV from game to game. pull up different girls to ride pine for each game, so at least each sub is able to play down at JV as well.
 
May 20, 2016
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It's tough for sure. I see it both ways. But i also think a lot of peoples expectation for varsity programs, especially if they've played travel for a decent amount of time, may be a bit skewed. Not saying there aren't good HS coaches because there are. Just don't see it as the norm, at least in my area.

My DD is young and has taken the spot of an older girl. When we're up by a ton, coach just leaves her in there. Now i not rooting for my DD to sit on the bench, but getting other girls playing time will only make a stronger team. My DD is playing 3-4 days a week outside of the HS program so she's not really there to learn. Just to have fun and play with kids she goes to school with.

It's demoralizing to be on the bench at all times. Really just makes people quit, as we've had two do that so far this year. Not a good way to build a long term successful program.
 
Apr 2, 2015
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Woodstock, man
I have been through this many times. Let's talk about the other side of this. I'm sorry but JV are not real games. I've never seen a picture of a kid in the newspaper playing a JV game. There are no state championships for JV. HSV is much more pressure packed and some kids aren't used to the pace/speed of the game, and the pressures of it. If you quit because you were on a varsity team as a soph, then you weren't going to make it anyway. Varsity softball is about being on a team, not your selfish desires. That's the lesson.
 
Jul 14, 2017
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b5896dfbc59fac3217d52ccb12ea28c6.jpg

Repostedfrom Coach Lisle’s FB page


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Jun 27, 2018
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No. It’s not right for a player to sit the bench ALL the time. We just finished our high school season. Coach had players sitting the bench who were very capable of playing at the Varsity level. She just didn’t seem to really care. Look I know all about being a team player. My daughter finished the season. She cheered her teammates. When does it fall on the coach to actually coach and make the all the kids feel like they are a part of the team? It’s not always the player or parent. We didn’t sit near the field or even any parents. I doubt the coach even knows who we are. The coach barely talked to the girls, especially the bench kids. We never had a real practice. Practice was basically hitting stations on tees and some soft toss. No situation work. If there was, only the starting 9 got to participate. If they decided to show up. The bench kids were never given a chance to challenge for a spot. On the odd occasion they got in a game, they played so tight because they knew they were only getting one at bat so make it good. The kicker was the last game of the season we ran up the score on a team and no one came off the bench. Yes, 17-2 and no substitutes. So tonight was my daughter’s first practice back with her tournament team. I was worried that she would be rusty from the lack of real practice and no game play. Thankfully she went out there like a kid with something to prove. She played with such amazing energy. It was good to see. Made two diving plays. First tournament is Saturday. I’m so glad her passion didn’t go away. And before anyone says it must be an attitude problem, it wasn’t. She is a very well liked kid by her teammates and teachers.


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Jul 14, 2017
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Varsity softball is about being on a team, not your selfish desires. That's the lesson.

My daughter is anything but selfish! She is a good kid, who is always respectful to her coaches and teachers. She is a hard-worker and has athletic talent. She tries to cheer on her team in victory and supports her team in defeat—— even to the girls who are not so nice or don’t offer the same encouragement back!

I don’t think it is selfish to want a chance to contribute and prove yourself when you were chosen for the team in the first place. Lettering girls as a freshmen enables them the choice and chance to play at the JV level. Regardless of what you may think of JV, our JV team could give Varsity a run for their $.



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Jul 14, 2017
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I'll be waiting for 3 years from now for the thread "Why did they let freshmen play on varsity? My kid is a senior and she deserves to start every game." o_O

Thanks for the snark and yes, if my daughter is even is still playing softball at that time, I might post something like because she would have “paid her dues” by then and it is exactly what is goes on now- seniority over talent and ability.


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