WHAT POSITION TO PLAY, Who Decides?

[_MIA_]

When DD started t-ball she played 1st because she was the only who could catch a ball thrown to her partly because I worked with her on it. When she started machine pitch she played 1st at the beginning but then got moved to SS because the ball kept getting hit there and my DD was the best at catching ground balls partly because I worked with her on it. When she started TB she mainly played 2b partly because the SS had been there for a year and partly because it was the coaches kid. After 1 season she got moved to SS because she was a better SS partly because I worked with her on it (also she is a much better athlete then the coach's kid).

That said I still hit her fly balls as at some point she may get beat out at a MI/3B (she could transition there fairly easily imo even though she hasn't played the position) position. She isn't catching or pitching though, I am too much of a head case to have her involved in every play

 

[radness]

Does the coach make that decision or the player/family?
The coach decides what position each player plays
(Only on that team)
Does your dd get to play the position SHE wants?
Yes, only because no one has beat her out at SS. She
Who decides for YOU ?
No idea what that means.

Who decides for you what position you want to play....?
Is a question people look at differently. Given the perspective of who is answering it.

 

[_MIA_]

Who decides for you what position you want to play....?
Is a question people look at differently. Given the perspective of who is answering it.

Another thing with my DD is that she knows I played SS for most of my career so for a little girl I am sure that has some influence on where she wants to play. Likewise my father played SS so I am sure that had some influence on me. That said just because she or I wanted to play SS doesn't mean a thing if were not good enough to play there...same thing for any other position a kid wants to play. Force the coach, through hard work, to play you where you want to play. If the coach is fair, and you have worked as hard as you can and are still not good enough then work your butt off at the position they put you at. You will now have more than 1 position which you have put time into and will be better off for it. I am not a big fan of moving teams, if the coach being fair (some parents are bad at evaluating this), just because you are not playing where you want to play. You are just kicking the can down the road imo...

 

[whiporee]

One thing we did back at 12U was to hold tryouts every weekend we weren't playing. The Sunday practices weren't mandatory, but if you wanted any position on the team you could come and try out for it. If the incumbent player decided not to try out, then whoever made the effort to try out took their place for the next game we played, and then re-evaluated after that. If both players (or more) showed up, then we went through objective drills to see who did better. It gave every player a chance to try to win any position they wanted. And if no one tried out for a new position, then the coaches just did what they thought was best. but it did give every girl the chance to compete for the specific position they wanted to play.

The result was that we had pretty good attendance for those tryouts and it actually helped with team chemistry because girls could see when someone was objectively better at a position than they were, but they always had hope they could move up. We had a two ground-ball comps that went into the 30s (one for Ss and one for 2nd) before someone missed, and when it was over the girls were very impressed with each other and hugged afterward.

It was an idea i pitched to the coach because as scorekeeper and unofficial manager, I had heard a couple of girls and parents talking that they felt their daughter was locked in the outfield, or complaining why the same girls kept playing the same positions even after bad games (didn't affect my DD much, because when she wasn't pitching she was benched for more girls could play).

The coach moved on and I never felt comfortable with the new team's staff to suggest it, but she wrote me last week to say she had a ground ball comp go to 67 last week. So I guess she kept it up!

 

[Gambler Bob]

Who decides for you what position you want to play....?
Is a question people look at differently. Given the perspective of who is answering it.

I guess myself and my dd decide where she would like to play. The coach decides what position she actually plays.

 

[radness]

How about this perspective...

Only the individual player can develop their own talent. They put in the work.
(A coach cant do that for them)

The player decides what position they are going to play by wanting to get better at it.
( if they were terrible, or didnt try, would the coach want them on the field or on the team?)

No travel ball coach plans and determines the career of a young athlete.
The young athlete works a plan with the guidance and support of coaches and parents.
The family and player pick the team they play for. Chose to stay or not.
Interesting even in college athletes can transfer now... thats a different can of worms

 

[djcarter1966]

What potions you CAN play and what position you DO play on the field are two different things.

I might be old school but it was a mantra I drilled into every girls head and I'll bet to this day they can all repeat it back to you.

Coach Where do you play?
Players: Wherever you say coach!

Thing is I would talk about where kids wanted to play, let them try all sorts of different thing, I would listen, I would give them tips as they tried there position in practice. After the game, usually wait until next practice, you can talk to me about where you wanted to play. BUT when I write the lineup card and call it out or make an in game switch ABSOLUTELY NO whining, pouting, sighing or questioning why you are playing where you are playing period the end simply not tolerated.

It is hard for girls to understand right away that what is best for the team might not be best for them. You might actually be better at a position than someone I put there but because of the other positions the other players on the team can and can't play and keeping the right bats in the line up I simply have to make certain decisions.

Look at college rosters they are littered with HS SS but there is only one girl out there at SS.

 

[radness]

This is travel ball
To develop at a position need playing time at that position.

outfield / infield skill sets are different.

Corners
Middle infielders
Outfielders
Catcher
Pitcher

Pick a Primary position and
Secondary position
At some point these are defined, but not by a travel ball coach.
Talent makes the decision!

*Tryouts are posted by positions...atleast they are in so cal!

No people dont go play anywhere for a coach when they have trained at their primary position.
They may fill in for an injury or such...but no...at competitive levels coaches have positional players!

We are talking about travel ball.

Let me say this,
Just because a coach puts a player in a certain position doent mean the player can play there! And it doesnt mean they will stay on the team.
In so cal travel ball coaches are seasonal. Most teams change seasonally also.
It would not be good advice to shuffle position every season without developing a strength at atleast one.

The answer to this question is often the perspective of people saying the coach runs the team.
The coach doesnt have a team without the decision of players to join it.
In my opinion it is the players who have the choice who to play for and why.
Simply perspective.
Of course coach runs the team...they get to use those that want to play for them.
However this topic is a strong reason people will either move on or stay.


***For the coaches who say coach makes the decision...
Do you shuffle ALL your players ALL the time?
Or do you only shuffle some players to a certain spot?
*Imagine every coach decides who's a starter and earns the spot.!

Goals play a factor in peoples decisions to play!

 

[curiousgeorge123]

travel ball coach perspective...
kids have favorite positions and should let their coach know what they are. coaches make line-ups so ultimately their call. there are many levels of travel ball teams...what's more important to your player? playing her favorite position or playing on a good team? my 12U daughter loved to catch at 10U. her arm strength isn't conducive to catch on a high level 12U team. she chose to play OF on that high level team instead of checking down to a B team to catch.

agree kids should work at INF (corner or middle) and OF. pitchers and catchers should also have another position they work at.

pitchers are different. agree if you're not a top 3 you're not going to pitch much. important for pitchers to find right fit competition wise. i would never say your player will be my #1, #2. or #3 pitcher. i'd tell them they would be one of the pitchers. would tell a #4 that they are not in the top group but invite them to keep working at it and the best pitchers are going to pitch in games.

 

[NBECoach]

I am a HS coach so I don't have the ability to recruit players out of area the way some TB coaches can and due to graduations my team is different each year. I lose most of my best players. However, my defensive objective every season is still the same. To have a defense as flexible as possible. Their favorite positions are only marginally relevant as it gives me a place to start evaluations.

During our first week each player is practiced at all (except for P and C) positions including lefty's even though the chances of playing IF (except 1B) are slim. We do not have a group of outfielders for example. Each player learns the basic responsibilities of each defensive position. Yes some need more work than others, and some are physically limited to play certain positions. Yes sometimes they forget the responsibilities, but that's what practice is for. After about 5 games and practices they begin to get it.

Shame on me as a coach if half way through the season I am trying to hide someone on defense.