To play "A" ball or "B" ball? advise needed

[Bishop]

If your daughter wants to play in college. Go A now.

You need to get her in a situation that is going to challenge her. She needs to fight for her play time. She needs to know that she has to practice hard, constantly improve, always strive for her best performance in games and practice. She needs to be in that situation now so she knows if she can thrive or wilt. That's the situation she can expect on a college roster. No time like the present to see if she is up for that.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

I'm not saying "set her up for failure". I'm saying "set her up for success". If she wants to play college ball she needs to pitch to good hitters and they are rare in B ball. If she wants to play college ball she needs to find out NOW if she has what it takes and she will not find that out in B ball.

If she moves to A ball and works her way up from 3rd string pitcher to 1st or 2nd then she might have what it takes to play college ball. In A ball she will get the necessary experience and exposure, she will not get that in B ball. If she doesn't have what it takes it's OK to move back down to B ball and play just because she loves the game.

 

[SoftSocDad]

So, the consensus here is that, at age 13, getting innings is not a primary consideration?

 

[Bishop]

So, the consensus here is that, at age 13, getting innings is not a primary consideration?

I won't speak for anyone else so no consensus here.

I am saying at 13 the primary consideration is getting innings against quality hitters in highly competitive games. Pitching 15k games against B ball batters and pitching in blow out after blow out in B ball match ups isn't going to provide the preasure or experience the pitcher will need to be prepared for in college ball.

If the pitcher joins the best A team she can get on and is looking at being a position player and 4th rank pitcher that's going to get some circle time in blow-outs. Perfect. Now practice and practice and practice until she's the #1 or #2. Once there, now considering being a college pitcher is realistic. Being the go to girl on competitive A ball team is getting her the experience against good hitters, being backed up by a good defense and put under pressure similar to where she wants to be.

You learn to pitch in practice. You prove you know how and can execute in games. Game time isn't more important than practice until the practice has been done to earn the game time.

 

[WinThemAll]

I won't speak for anyone else so no consensus here.

I am saying at 13 the primary consideration is getting innings against quality hitters in highly competitive games. Pitching 15k games against B ball batters and pitching in blow out after blow out in B ball match ups isn't going to provide the preasure or experience the pitcher will need to be prepared for in college ball.

If the pitcher joins the best A team she can get on and is looking at being a position player and 4th rank pitcher that's going to get some circle time in blow-outs. Perfect. Now practice and practice and practice until she's the #1 or #2. Once there, now considering being a college pitcher is realistic. Being the go to girl on competitive A ball team is getting her the experience against good hitters, being backed up by a good defense and put under pressure similar to where she wants to be.

You learn to pitch in practice. You prove you know how and can execute in games. Game time isn't more important than practice until the practice has been done to earn the game time.

Good post!!!

 

[RichK]

Under normal circumstances I would absolutely 100% agree with you. What is happening is that my daughter will throw the third strike and the catcher will drop it, and the batter will run to first. The catcher over throws 1st and the ball goes into the outfield and the runner advances all the way to 3rd. Next batter is up, catcher misses the ball again and runner scores. So as a pitcher, that has got to be very frusterating.

This, of course, is because you are playing "B" ball....kind of a catch 22, though not really, time to move up....

 

[absdad]

Under normal circumstances I would absolutely 100% agree with you. What is happening is that my daughter will throw the third strike and the catcher will drop it, and the batter will run to first. The catcher over throws 1st and the ball goes into the outfield and the runner advances all the way to 3rd. Next batter is up, catcher misses the ball again and runner scores. So as a pitcher, that has got to be very frusterating.

This, of course, is because you are playing "B" ball....kind of a catch 22, though not really, time to move up....

You make it sound like the catcher is missing every other pitch. Assuming the pitches are within a reasonable reach of the catcher, then that doesn't sound like any B level I've ever seen. Maybe the team is playing way over their heads now?

 

[fastpitch]

This, of course, is because you are playing "B" ball....kind of a catch 22, though not really, time to move up....

LOL. Exactly. In "A" ball catcher's don't drop 3rd strikes. She needs to be with players at or near her level.

Also remember in "A" ball outfielders are important positions as well.

 

[sluggers]

RichK . . . that is great point. Thanks for giving me a little more insight into this.

 

[CoachKevin]

Wow, not sure how the classifications run in your States, but in Oregon the "B" teams are pretty competitive. Catchers rarely drop 3rd strikes. I'm an advocate of playing the level that you can compete. For example, there are a few "A" teams that have registered A, but in no means are an A team, heck 1 of the teams only have 9 players... but they registered and on paper are an "A" team. The point being, don't just find a team that is an "A" team just to play "A" ball. Do your research and find a true "A" team. BTW quite a few of the "B" teams in my area may only be lacking a couple of players in order to compete at an "A" level (outfielders can't catch/throw, maybe lacking 1 position player in the infield that is solid, things like that).