What you wish you knew then....

[cmustangsfp]

Delayed steals are not unsportsman like. It is part of the game. Also regarding the guy who switched up signals. It is their fault for playing too close. I played against a coach that would do this. He had his 3rd and 1st playing in close as if every play was going to be a bunt. He did this to "intimidate" the other team. It worked out good for him in the rec league where most of the girls coundn't hit well. After the first tournament of TB, he cut that out really quick. If the other coach thinks that he has to steal the signals in order for his girls to win, then he must be a weak coach. I let the girls figure it out. It helps their improvement rather than rely on the coach for everything.

 

[PA SB Dad]

Delayed steals can be very unsportsmanlike, again that will not happen at later ages. I don't think knowing to do that adds any value to this conversation. Now preventing them is important.

I suppose we will have to let Bryce Harper, Jason Werth, and Jimmy Rollins know that delayed steals are not possible at higher levels of play and if they try it they are being quite unsportsmanlike...

 

[EP Dad]

I wish I knew that coaches would not be interested in giving my daughter a fair shake because she lacks one of the three attributes that a softball player must possess to get any attention.

What are those attributes?

Speed
Power
Size

My kid is small. My kid is a finesse pitcher (she has fantastic spin on the ball. The Rev Fire says so. She throws slow though.) She couldn't hit for nothing. She was a fantastic bunter though, but couldn't get to first base fast enough. Still she loved the game and as one of her former coaches just told me at a tournament this weekend "she listens". She's incredibly coachable.

My DD having been jettisoned from her "A" level club team in Jan. for another pitcher that was bigger, faster, and had more power, it has been fun to watch and hear how that bigger, faster, stronger pitcher has faltered all season. While my daughter playing "B" ball has competed, has started to find some power at the plate, and continues to strike girls out by fooling them over and over and over again.

Nothings changed though. She still has no size, no power, and no speed. She's 14. The biggest difference between her and her peers is all her peers have finished growing. She has barely started. I wonder what's going to happen when my DD has one of those three traits along with all those skills she's learned to overcome them. I wonder if all those coaches who rejected her will want her then?

 

[Indiana]

I am not a coach, so at the risk of inserting myself into this thread..... coaches - (and I wish I knew this as well when my DD was 10and 12). These girls are young. 10s and 12s is NOTHING compared to 14s, 16s, 18s. Please don't worry about winning everything under the sun with a team of 10 year olds. You have no idea how a 10 year old is going to look at age 17. You really don't. Know that these are little kids and develop them all. Whenever I see a cute little team of 10s, in their little uniforms with their hair all braided I smile and wish I had sat back and enjoyed it when my daughter was 10 - it can be so fun!! It just gets harder going forward. I am loving age 15 - mostly because I am finally seeing things in perspective and I know that in a few short years my DD will be gone and softball will be OVER. ENJOY every second and love your DDs with all of your heart.

 

[jinjet95]

Delayed steals certainly do happen at later ages.

It's rare, but does happen. My DD stole 3rd on a delay this weekend, 18U. Every now and then you find a complacent battery and can pull it off.

 

[softballphreak]

I wish I knew that coaches would not be interested in giving my daughter a fair shake because she lacks one of the three attributes that a softball player must possess to get any attention.

What are those attributes?

Speed
Power
Size

My kid is small. My kid is a finesse pitcher (she has fantastic spin on the ball. The Rev Fire says so. She throws slow though.) She couldn't hit for nothing. She was a fantastic bunter though, but couldn't get to first base fast enough. Still she loved the game and as one of her former coaches just told me at a tournament this weekend "she listens". She's incredibly coachable.

My DD having been jettisoned from her "A" level club team in Jan. for another pitcher that was bigger, faster, and had more power, it has been fun to watch and hear how that bigger, faster, stronger pitcher has faltered all season. While my daughter playing "B" ball has competed, has started to find some power at the plate, and continues to strike girls out by fooling them over and over and over again.

Nothings changed though. She still has no size, no power, and no speed. She's 14. The biggest difference between her and her peers is all her peers have finished growing. She has barely started. I wonder what's going to happen when my DD has one of those three traits along with all those skills she's learned to overcome them. I wonder if all those coaches who rejected her will want her then?

Probably. It's not usually personal.

"... it has been fun to watch and hear how that bigger, faster, stronger pitcher has faltered all season." That part's not good! Unbeknownst to many, karma has a very strong presence.

I wish your DD luck. Tell her to work hard and do the best you can. It will pay off in ways more important than the game of softball.

 

[EP Dad]

Probably. It's not usually personal.

"... it has been fun to watch and hear how that bigger, faster, stronger pitcher has faltered all season." That part's not good! Unbeknownst to many, karma has a very strong presence.

I wish your DD luck. Tell her to work hard and do the best you can. It will pay off in ways more important than the game of softball.

Sure. It wasn't personal. It was pure laziness on the part of the coach. He looked at the three attributes and nothing else. I tried to explain to him that my DD had something to offer. I tried to remind him that he saw something in her when he selected her in the first place. He passed for speed, power, and size. Not seeing any intangibles.

On the Karma scale balance my enjoyment of this pitcher faltering pales in comparison to the outright blatant rejection and cruel email I received by this coach about his cutting of my DD. It's not even close. I will be careful not to revel.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

Probably. It's not usually personal.

I'd have to disagree with this. I've cut several girls over the two decades I've been coaching. There is nothing I hate doing more than that because it is personal for the girl. There is no other way a human who it happens to can possibly see it. This is magnified even more by the fact these are little girls usually, adolescents at most.

Even though I consider every girl I've cut my own personal mistake (after all, I picked her in the first place.....it has to be on me if she doesn't work out), the only one who is devastated when it happens is the girl and her family who must suffer her anguish. For these people, it is indeed quite personal. I know this all too well, and it rips my heart out every time I've done it, and still does to this day every time I think of a girl I've done it to.

 

[MsDinosaur]

I wish I knew that coaches would not be interested in giving my daughter a fair shake because she lacks one of the three attributes that a softball player must possess to get any attention.

What are those attributes?

Speed
Power
Size

There's not much you can do about size, other than keep feeding her and cross your fingers!

But I've become a big believer in strength/speed/agility training. While she waits to grow, she doesn't have to just accept a lack of power and speed. If she wants it, she can make herself faster and stronger. Sprints, agility ladders, medicine balls, planks, etc. If she adds strength to her ability to spin the ball and adds enough speed to beat out more hits, she could make herself that player who's too hard to cut.

IMO the statement that she couldn't hit for nothing makes me think a hitting instructor would be a good idea too. Even a scrawny little thing can hit pretty well if she's got good mechanics and can judge pitches.

 

[Mike-Coach Q]

I am not a coach, so at the risk of inserting myself into this thread..... coaches - (and I wish I knew this as well when my DD was 10and 12). These girls are young. 10s and 12s is NOTHING compared to 14s, 16s, 18s. Please don't worry about winning everything under the sun with a team of 10 year olds. You have no idea how a 10 year old is going to look at age 17. You really don't. Know that these are little kids and develop them all. Whenever I see a cute little team of 10s, in their little uniforms with their hair all braided I smile and wish I had sat back and enjoyed it when my daughter was 10 - it can be so fun!! It just gets harder going forward. I am loving age 15 - mostly because I am finally seeing things in perspective and I know that in a few short years my DD will be gone and softball will be OVER. ENJOY every second and love your DDs with all of your heart.

You are so right on. I see some parents and coaches that are pushing athletes too hard and too much all for what... they are not going to get their schooling paid for at 10 & 12yrs old if ever.
Enjoy the moment, the family time together, the ups and downs that we call learning or life lessons.