To speak or not to speak?

[undergroundga]

My dd is 10u and even at her age she would be upset to hear someone say that any tourney any time of year is meaningless.
I have trouble thinking that kids at this age should only be learning a couple positions. I see a lot of players listed on college rosters as utility players. So I take it that many college players can play multiple positions, infield and out. Maybe not play every position in every tournament but should definately practice different places.

 

[tdosal]

Again, thanks for all the feedback.

In our situation she was getting good instruction and doing outfield drills with what seems to be a very good coach (I am just getting to know them) so it wasn't like she was just put in the outfield to do nothing.

@Screwball - In some respects I agree with you. If you don't run everyone through all the drills, you may miss a diamond in the rough.

However, I also know that travel teams are designed to be competitive and as such they will put the best players in the positions that fit them best.

I guess i just wanted to know what the coach's thought's were on my dd specifically. Is she still trying to get a feel on everyone or had she seen something with her that she doesn't like? I think i may just feel out the situation at practice and see if I have the opportunity to talk to her, if not then maybe I will let it be at least for now.

I know one of these days she is really going to come into her own. We will continue to work on it with her since that is the only thing we can count on for sure .

 

[Momo'sDad]

You've never even seen rec, yet you think that your experiences and feelings are best for establishing how players transitioning from rec to TB should be handled? That makes no sense to me at all. Most of the girls playing 10u TB are coming from rec.

When my players come out and devote their energy and hours of their time to learning how to play this game, be good teammates, and challenge themselves to succeed, I'm not going to disrespect them or their efforts by telling them it's meaningless. You can say that to your teams, but I won't say it to mine. I don't want them tying their self-worth to the outcome of any game, but I do want them to leave every game thinking about whether they gave their best effort.

It sounds like you have concerns about other issues that have nothing to do with what the OP was describing. You keep going back to isolation, singling out, etc. The OP is talking about a new competitive 10u team, not HS, and has already admitted trying to 'protect' their DD.

 

[abbygale]

Work with her on running and being athletic. It is a learned skill for the most part and coaches probably put more emphasis onb this than they realize. Teach her athletic positions for fielding and watch her blossom. That "100% heart and work ethic" translates to "she isn't coming across as athletic". Easily rectified by you.

 

[Sparky Guy]

I strongly disagree with your suggestion that we should be teaching all positions to every player in 10u. Even if we take pitchers and catchers out of the equation, it doesn't make sense to teach 8 players how to play 1B.

MD.. No disrespect intended, but you don't know how much you don't know. Screwball, Sluggers and myself to name a few have been through the mill. We know where the path ends and the stumbling blocks along the way. A winter tournament is about seeing what the girls have learned and what they need to learn. Its about giving them some real game experience so they understand why you need to do certain things at practice. In the big picture a winter tournament IS meaningless. What it is, is a tool to help evaluate your team. That is what you need to convey to your team. It is a test or measure of what they do well and what they don't do well.

At 10U you need to run every kid through every position on the field during practices to see who can do what, even catching. You will never know when you will find a kid who picks up and excels at a certain position. On my teams I always a number of kids who play 2nd base, but I'll only have one 2nd baseman. The more a player knows about the other positions on the field the better they will understand the game. 10U is about developing a solid set of fundamental skills they will use their entire softball playing career.

I have worked extensively with 9 - 12U players the last 9 years. I've taken groups of 10U kids from fresh out of rec ball and taught them how to play the game. I will tell you this. It takes on average a full 12 months to train the rec ball out of a player. My teams have lost more games than they won, but the kids blossom when they hit HS. They need to learn now what they are going to need later on so they are not trying to re-learn things at every level.

 

[MagicDad]

My DD plays 10U and I think a lot of people are forgetting this is 10U. Because of a million reasons there is a big difference between 10U skills. On my DD last team the rule was if you couldn't make a throw from third to first on a line drive you wouldn't see any infield time during games. During infield practice they did work most of the time teaching everyone of the players the skills they needed to compete. But some of the players were still not up to par because of a different of reasons. So, once the season started it was hard to get more then one practice a week in and at that point the coaches had to work with what they had.

My DD is a tall (for her team) lefty so guess what all she plays is first base. I would love to see her get some OF time. She and I work on OF on our own but when she practices with her new team she works on playing first. I will say this the coaches have really work with her playing the first base position, things I never knew.

One of the biggest problem I've seen over the years with young players is the fear of the ball and coaches pick up on this early. Talking to a few coaches it's one of those things that is hard for a young player to over come, some never do. Another thing I've heard is some of the younger players aren't ready to play infield and as a parent I would have to agree. Who wants their DD playing SS when a 11 year old that 5'3" girl weighing in at 130lbs is standing at the plate. And as we all know that on the small size of some of these players.

In my opinion the best thing you can do is work on her throwing and fielding. Throwing seems to be under rated but to me is the most important part of the game and the hardest to learn. If you can't throw your not going anywhere in this game. Even a good outfielder that has an arm will get playing time even if they can't hit.

 

[FPMark]

Even a good outfielder that has an arm will get playing time even if they can't hit.

Maybe at 10U, but not at older ages. An outfielder with a great arm may never get the opportunity to show it off, if she can't hit. Defense will get you on the team, but hitting gets you in the lineup. Teach them to hit as early as possible. The later they start, the harder it is to catch up.

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

Has a HC and a Manager of a team I know my dd's skills. I know my dd is good. She is a 02 just like yours and we put her on a 10u travel team this past summer. Well a lot of the girls were 00 and 01's on the team. My dd did not get much field time for a few reasons. Her lack of experience and aggression in game situations. The HC of her travel ball team wanted to move the girls up to play 12u teams, well my dd really struggled there. I eventually pulled her from the team. Personally like someone else on a previous post, I would have her play rec a few more years till she matures mentally. There is nothing wrong with it and she will still continue to have fun.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Sparky Guy, I'm really only qualified to talk about 10u. While you have coached a lot of 10u yourself, MagicDad's point about the wide range of skills in this age group is critical to the discussion. I don't want to sound like the crazy, obsessive coach who thinks his players are being picked on, but a week ago, the fall season had just concluded and the feelings were still fresh. A week later, I feel the same with respect to what this season meant to my players. I'm not dismissing any of your opinions or objectives, but I think the difference in our perspectives is that all of the players I had during the fall will return to regular 10u rec play in the spring instead of continuing on in competitive play.

Once the all-star team is selected for next summer, after about 3-4 practices, the prospective infield will be set and while everyone will drill on the same skills, starting infielders will do infield practice while the rest of the team does something else. The summer season is only about 8 weeks long, so the staff won't have time to make sure everything is fair and balanced with respect to who practices what.

Once players leave rec ball for good, then I would agree with most of what you've said about them. The fall season gave a lot to our girls and I would never do or say anything to minimize those experiences, regardless of where they are in 5-6 years from now.

 

[jacketsfan]

I know I'll get flamed, but so what:

I think people that are in this for the first time take 10U, and even 12U, and maybe 14U, way too seriously. People who have run through all the age groups understand this.

I will say, at 10U the first time through, I took it too seriously too. I was too hard on a kid or two, and I can't tell you how badly I regret that.

As far as stud 10U players - take a good look at them now, because 40-50% won't be playing by the time they are 15 or 16, and only about 10-20% may play in college, at any level. So, pigeon holing anyone at that age is questionable. And, primary emphasis on winning, at that age, is also questionable.

I will say that you need to put your team in the best competitive position in games. Even then, I think everyone plays.

Physically, the players at this age are not made of glass, and I think parents often don't get that.

Emotionally, their self esteem is fragile, and I think coaches often don't get that.

Rejection by an authority figure at this age is not a growing or learning experience - it is detrimental to their well-being. People forget this, but these "lessons" stay with these kids a long time, and effect them years down the road.

If you thought enough of them to take them on your team, then you owe it to them to devote yourself to their complete success. Unless there is an actual safety hazard, like a girl can't catch a ball that is thrown to her and may get hurt, then there is no reason to not allow full participation.

Parents - at this age, it should be about learning and fun. Quite simply, if it is not either one of those, then find another team. Sitting the bench does not create learning and is not fun. Playing time is learning and fun, and needs to be a consideration at this age.