Travel Ball Realizations

[Anthony Vertuccio]

I have in my 11 years of coaching travel ball (not coaching right now due to things I mentioned in a different post) come to realize the following:

1) teams never have enough pitchers or players though they have 3 to 4 teams per division and if they had two teams only they would have enough

2) teams are competitive though I don't know what that means...does it mean you always win or you stay close in games but win sometimes and lose sometimes


3) teams are not high priced according to the advertisements

4) teams don't do College Showcases (except for a few teams)

5) all DDs are highly skilled

Please add on as you wish

 

[Little Angels Softball]

1) teams never have enough pitchers or players though they have 3 to 4 teams per division and if they had two teams only they would have enough.

The real issue here, IMHO, is that nobody wants their DD to be a #3 pitcher.

I often tell anyone who will listen that a good travel ball team should have three quality starting pitchers and another "mop-up" pitcher on the roster if it wants to go deep into meaningful (read: double elimination) tournaments. The problem is, none of the "quality" pitchers wants to be known as the #3, so they leave for a different team where they can say, "DD is the #1 pitcher on (insert team name here)."

Some orgs that can attract the talent will add teams to support the pitchers, merely to keep the pitchers in the org and keep them happy because they are the #1. Our lives as travel ball coaches would be so much easier if all the pitchers (and especially their families) had a "team first" mentality, but that will never happen.

 

[dbronstein]

The real issue here, IMHO, is that nobody wants their DD to be a #3 pitcher.

I often tell anyone who will listen that a good travel ball team should have three quality starting pitchers and another "mop-up" pitcher on the roster if it wants to go deep into meaningful (read: double elimination) tournaments. The problem is, none of the "quality" pitchers wants to be known as the #3, so they leave for a different team where they can say, "DD is the #1 pitcher on (insert team name here)."

Some orgs that can attract the talent will add teams to support the pitchers, merely to keep the pitchers in the org and keep them happy because they are the #1. Our lives as travel ball coaches would be so much easier if all the pitchers (and especially their families) had a "team first" mentality, but that will never happen.

I don't have any experience with TB, but based on reading DF for a couple of months, I have a question. The comments I've read pretty consistently say that the #1 and #2 pitchers are going to get 80-90% of the innings. So if your DD has been working her bottom off on her pitching (not to mention the $$ you're spending on a pitching coach), why would you want her on a team where she's not going to get much circle time? I don't think parents leave because they want to be able to say "DD is the #1 pitcher", they leave because they want her to get more circle time.

Isn't the issue that "quality" pitchers want to pitch, and the #3 just doesn't get to pitch that much?

 

[CoogansBluff]

As they get older and some start thinking about playing in college, some of those #3 pitchers on the top teams, or #1 pitchers on the weaker teams, begin to realize they aren't going to pitch in college and figure it's a waste of time to spend all that time working on it. They decide to become 'regular' players on top teams and worker harder on their fielding and hitting. This phenomenon takes more pitchers off the market beginning around 16U, sometimes a little earlier.

 

[Slappers]

I don't have any experience with TB, but based on reading DF for a couple of months, I have a question. The comments I've read pretty consistently say that the #1 and #2 pitchers are going to get 80-90% of the innings. So if your DD has been working her bottom off on her pitching (not to mention the $$ you're spending on a pitching coach), why would you want her on a team where she's not going to get much circle time? I don't think parents leave because they want to be able to say "DD is the #1 pitcher", they leave because they want her to get more circle time.

Isn't the issue that "quality" pitchers want to pitch, and the #3 just doesn't get to pitch that much?

In my opinion there are two schools of thought here. One school says that TB is for the sole purpose of the "best" softball players playing each other and showcasing their skills to reach the scholarship objective. The other school is TB is a way to develop players because the opportunities are there to play more games against better competition than what the local rec league may offer.

I have three pitchers. We play three pool play games on Saturday and each pitcher gets a game unless they are just getting rocked or having a rough game, they pitch the entire game. I'll mix and match and do what needs to be done to get us through bracket play.

I think the answer to your question relies on what the purpose of the team is.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

In an ideal world, three quality pitchers would get two games a piece in a six-game tournament. Nobody really needs to pitch more than a game a day, but the parents of pitchers seem to think that a game a day is "not enough circle time."

Often, the issues arise with which two games the pitchers get. If one isn't getting a semi-final or a final, they are unhappy.

I've had parents approach me about their DD not getting enough circle time when she got two starts and one relief appearance during a six game weekend. They were upset because the #3 and #4 girls got a game a piece and they thought that was cutting into her circle time. This was a #2 pitcher's family who was upset by this, never mind the fact that the #3 and #4 girls started against teams we knew we'd run-rule quite easily.

My questions are always such: How much circle time do you want? If we play six games, do you want her to pitch all of them? Five? Four? Do you care if she gets tired or hurt?

 

[JJsqueeze]

6) A good situation that fits your kid and family, has no drama and let's you enjoy the games is worth it's weight in gold. Be very careful about seeking greener pastures.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

6) A good situation that fits your kid and family, has no drama and let's you enjoy the games is worth it's weight in flawless diamonds. Be very careful about seeking greener pastures.

There. Fixed it for ya.

 

[PEPPERS]

Pitching time can be a double edge sword, too much pitching time can lead to overuse injuries by putting too much stress on a kids arm, shoulder and her body in general.

Not enough pitching time puts stress on her mind and her parents.

It takes a special coach to give more consideration to a kid’s wellbeing than their own win and loss record IMO.

 

[guero_gordo]

There was a girl a few years back who went D1 and pitched 4 years, though she never got into the circle on her 18G team. Clearly she was a stud at some other position and playing for the big dog created opportunities for her that may not have existed as #4 on some other team, but it can work out.