What does it take to have a winning team?

[alexander58]

How much travel experience do the kids have?

 

[elizabeth]

We only play at local tournaments, only going within 45 miles away from home. The tournaments pretty much have the same teams playing each other over and over again.
My daughter pitches, and does pretty well but I really have not worked at home with her alot. I have good intentions on going in the backyard and pitching but doing homework, cooking dinner, bathing kids etc. always consumes my time. She has a pitching coach that she sees 1 hour once a week, and then the pitchers and catchers on the team get together once a week for 2 hours and pitch. So she is only pitching 2 days a week. Just curious, for those of you who have daughters who pitch, how many days a week do you work with her and for how long? Thanks

 

[Izzy's Dad]

We only play at local tournaments, only going within 45 miles away from home. The tournaments pretty much have the same teams playing each other over and over again.
My daughter pitches, and does pretty well but I really have not worked at home with her alot. I have good intentions on going in the backyard and pitching but doing homework, cooking dinner, bathing kids etc. always consumes my time. She has a pitching coach that she sees 1 hour once a week, and then the pitchers and catchers on the team get together once a week for 2 hours and pitch. So she is only pitching 2 days a week. Just curious, for those of you who have daughters who pitch, how many days a week do you work with her and for how long? Thanks

As for pitching practice, it varies. 1 day a week lessons=145 to 210 pitches, depending on what they are working on.

During our season (March thru 1st weekend of November) she takes off the day before and the day after a tournament. Pitching on Tuesday, occasionally pitch on Wednesday, lesson on Thursday.

During the off season, it's 3-4 days a week plus lesson.

We don't always follow this schedule, but we try.

As for pitch count or how long? That varies, as well. It takes my daughter about 25 minutes to properly warm up with overhand throwing, drills (we do 2 one day, then 2 different ones the next, and so on. She has 7 or 8 drills). Then 10 or 15 half pitches, focusing on arm whip. Then 10 walk-thru's. Now she is ready to start pitching practice. 50% of her pitching practice is just fastballs focusing on mechanics, and explosive body. The other 50% are to her spots, change-ups, drop balls, curve, and screw. If she doesn't screw around, we can be done in an hour to and hour and a half.

Some days we throw 60. Some days 100. Some days, she doesn't want to quit, so I have to force her to.

Pitchers have to practice year round. She'll take a couple off weeks off in August, between seasons. A week or 2 off for Thanksgiving, and a week or 2 for Christmas. Then in January, the team starts indoor practices.

It takes the utmost dedication and commitment from both athlete and parents to become a pitcher. It is not for everyone.

 

[sluggers]

My DD was a D1 pitcher. During the off-season, we pitched 5 or 6 times a week, 90 minute sessions. We lived in Chicagoland, so we would go to a local sports academy and rent a pitching tube.

During the HS season, we would practice perhaps twice a week, but she was throwing at every practice. During the summer season we only practiced if she had a problem. But, she played on three different teams, so she would throw 2 to 3 games during the week, and then would throw 3 to 5 games over a weekend.

 

[alexander58]

What I meant to ask was how much travel experience collectively, do the kids have prior to this year ?

 

[Izzy's Dad]

How much time for travel ball?

It is all consuming. I have a daughter in 12U travel, and a 8 year old in league. It has been crazy, but you just have to do it.

A month ago, my daughter and I left the house at 6 am. Had 1st game of the day at 10 am 100 miles away. I stayed til 4pm, drove the 100 miles back home + another 30 miles to my 8 year olds dance recital. Then at 8:00, left, drove 130 miles back to tournament with wife and 8 year old, just in time to see daughters team take the field at 11:30 pm for their final game. Then drove home.

Last Saturday, tournament 130 miles away, had off today, 8 year olds league games coming up on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (all in different towns). Pitching practice, team practice, lessons, then leaving for the WCWS in Oklahoma City. When we get back, we do it all again, plus practice hard for a huge tournament the 1st weekend in June (45 12U teams, plus another 90 in the other ages).

Travel ball - you love it or hate it.
Oh yeah, I'm thinking about adding weekly hitting lessons for the 8 year old.

 

[jimginas]

1) Often times coaches hit balls to the fielders WITHOUT Runners on base. Fielders making plays on batted balls without any sense of urgency that game situations provide, don't move the same as they do (tend to rush more in games). Suggest more game-like situational defense. ( I put runners on base and have them START off where their leads would be when the ball would be hit in play. This makes defense move and make a play in a game situation. (3 steps from 1B, 5 steps from 2B, 2-3 steps from 3B). The girls probably WON'T make the plays initially and they'll COMPLAIN "that it's not fair', but once they get a fair amount of balls they start moving more quickly to the ball (ATTACKING the ball) and their transitions are faster! Time their transitions in teh CURRENT way to practice. I Bet from the time the ball TOUCHES their glove, until the ball leaves their hands, the time is near .9 secs or more! Should be down for your 12U girls from .75-.8 secs, and as they get older, approx .65-.75 secs.

2) IF the coaches are young and inexperienced, often times coaching strategies often times hurts a team's chances for success. As the coaches get more experienced, this will help the team's chances for success.

3) CONFIDENCE! I ALSO believe the girls EXPECT to lose at this point vice EXPECT to winning. CHANGE HOW they practice, get them in B Level tournies that give them a chance to be competitive and TELL THEM they WILL win VERY SOON and once they start, they'll get better and better and win much more often!

 

[Amy in AZ.]

My DD and I worked on her pitching every day that she didn't have practice or a game.

We pitched outside as often as you could in IL. in the off season.

My current students (ages 6-11) are throwing 5-7 days a week. Some of them, I have to demand that they not throw at least one day a week.

If a girl wants to pitch, she will start doing it herself, if she has to. I have one student that is throwing a softie ball at the front door.

Also, work on her overhand throw with her. It has been my experience that a pitcher must have command of her OH throws before she can improve her pitching.

 

[Hollyrockartist]

My dd also plays 12U. They absolutely kill it during practice and, like you mentioned, tend to forget they are softball players during games. Our main issue is that our coach pulls out a pitching machine. The girls nail the balls from it and when we are in a game situation, it's like slow motion with the pitchers in our league. That messes up their timing, to me. We have had games that have been given away - one just last week. We were up 8-1 and the team came back and beat us 10-11. I was so disgusted, I said nothing. Our short stop didn't know where the play was (coming from 2nd) and threw down to first as the runner sprinted past her while she had the ball in her glove. The 1st baseman threw it to the catcher to nail the girl and, believe it or not, the catcher stepped out of the way of the ball that was zinging towards her. That was the winning run. Talk about infuriating! We have some talent on our team. We have a good coach who is really in it to win it and knows some fundamentals about it. The parents are what, to me, keep it going. We have a much better core group of parents for school ball than in this league, but there are some who are just as dedicated - and willing to work with their children at home, too. My dd is constantly doing something around here related to softball when we aren't praciticing or playing, even if it's just core "training" with running, crunches, etc., to build up body strength. I can promise that the majority of girls on our team are not doing the same thing. That, too, is a problem because you will have a few who are truly dedicated to playing and wanting to win and then some who could care less about it - just there b/c parents make them play, or whatever. It will become frustrating for you as a parent and your dd when you start to notice who really is there to play and not "play around". The girls who left your team to go to a "winning team" are probably ones who want to be on a winning team without putting in the effort and dedication it takes to get there. My dd was part of a Cinderella Season with the school team in the fall. I don't think I even realized the dedication and heart it takes to get there until that season. Our girls also train and train hard during the off season. They are working with weights, running, etc.. They do not stop thinking about softball and doing something to help them further along in softball all the time. IMHO, you should work with your dd, pass the word to other parents to do the same. Softball does not stop when you leave the park - it carries on at home, as well. Good luck!

 

[SnocatzDad]

2 years ago we had a very competitive 12UA team and wanted to do everything we could to help them improve. The girls had various amounts of offseason work as this was a community travel team, but we made sure that coming into the season all players had been going to the same hitting coach for about 8 weeks. The coaches also attended these sessions in order to provide continuity and consistancy to the coaching the girls would get on hitting during practice. The pitchers all worked out all off season and took private lessons. 2 of the 3 were more intent on pitching long term, the third was a good pitcher, but not looking to make a career out of that position. We practiced 5-6 days a week from early April til early May (that's as soon as we could get outside). Practices were ususally 1 1/2 hours long. I think a good organized coach can have a very constructive practice in 1 to 1 1/12 hours. I understand why travel teams have 4 hr practices ( 2 hr drive times ) but in my mind there is no way you can get game quality practice from a 11- 12 yr old in the second half of a 4 hr practice unless the intensity of the practice is poor to begin with. As a community team our players all lived within 15 minutes of the field so it wasn't asking that much to come out every night and work. We won about 3/4 of our games, won one tournament, finished high at most, won some games at 12UA Northern ASA Nationals that year but didn't finish very high. Most importantly the girls enjoyed the experience and out of those 12 girls only two no longer play (one chose Hockey which is a year round commitment up here, the other is a track star and the seasons conflict once you get to HS and she chose track)