When your DD isn't good enough to pitch on A level team, but will be needed for school ball, do you keep paying for lessons?

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Mar 26, 2019
82
18
Central Ohio
Thank you everyone! After the surprise of not only hitting 53 last night, but also hitting 54 several times, my DD has a renewed excitement for now. We are hoping to stick with it through 8th grade and go from there. If she wants to take a break within that time frame or changing to every other week, that is an option as well. My initial thought was should we keep paying for lessons just to play school ball, but in the end, if she continues to improve, maybe she will have an opportunity along the way to pitch for her travel team. It seams like many girls start to plateau while others continue to improve, so you never know what may happen.
 
May 20, 2016
433
63
Really it's whatever she wants to do.

But on a side note, giving up pitching at 12 because there are better pitchers on the team seems a bit short sighted if its something she really wants to do. A level pitchers at 12 usually aren't A level pitchers at 16. They just developed early.
 
Dec 5, 2017
514
63
I totally get what you are saying! The new coach is way better than any coach my DD has ever had the privilege of having (my hubby included). Every practice is like having a lesson. My DD converted to being a lefty slapper so she needs special instruction that not too many are able to give us. He gave us a recommendation and told us we should be seeing someone weekly. The good news is the new hitting coach charges a lot less than our previous hitting coach so that will help.
Based on my very limited experience I will say this: go to a few slapping lessons and then only go maybe once a month if you or your husband are willing to work with her. My dd switched to the left over the winter as a 9 yo. We went to weekly lessons for a while and I watched every youtube video I could find from Natasha Whatley and India Chiles. I can do the same things with her at home for free plus I've picked up a lot of things from the videos that we didn't cover at lessons. It gives us some bonding time as well. Pitching is harder for me to work with her on because I'm the only one at home that can catch her, I watch as closely as I can and we go to lessons as well.
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
How good are the other pitchers on this travel team if they don't even want a girl throwing 54 to pitch?

Wowzers. Wish we had such problems. :)
 
Mar 26, 2019
82
18
Central Ohio
How good are the other pitchers on this travel team if they don't even want a girl throwing 54 to pitch?

Wowzers. Wish we had such problems. :)
Our team was ranked one of the top teams in the state of Ohio for 12U last season. My DD is on the lower end of the pitching talent on our team and it's not like she's a bad pitcher by any means. She doesn't have as many pitches as some of the others and isn't as consistent with hitting her spots, but with time and more practice that can be fixed. She could easily be a #1 or #2 pitcher elsewhere, but she loves her team and is willing to sacrifice pitching time. We have six girls on our team that are capable of pitching, but only three with be pitching, unless there is an injury along the way. It is a shame, because so many teams need pitchers.
 
Jul 14, 2018
982
93
DD is in a similar situation to the OP. She's good enough to play a position on an A-level team, but not good enough to pitch. She's the #1 pitcher on her middle school team, and will likely be needed to pitch once she gets to high school.

She loves pitching, and considers herself a pitcher first. So, she's playing on a B-level team where she gets the majority of the circle time. She goes to lessons once a week, 40 weeks a year. She (and I) think that it's worth playing for a lesser travel team to concentrate on pitching and being the best she can be for school ball.

On a somewhat-related note, the top recruit in DD's travel org is going to a P5 school as a third baseman. Throughout high school, she was the school team's #1 pitcher. So it is possible to be a successful school ball pitcher while focusing your travel ball experience on playing A-level at another position.
 
Mar 26, 2019
82
18
Central Ohio
DD is in a similar situation to the OP. She's good enough to play a position on an A-level team, but not good enough to pitch. She's the #1 pitcher on her middle school team, and will likely be needed to pitch once she gets to high school.

She loves pitching, and considers herself a pitcher first. So, she's playing on a B-level team where she gets the majority of the circle time. She goes to lessons once a week, 40 weeks a year. She (and I) think that it's worth playing for a lesser travel team to concentrate on pitching and being the best she can be for school ball.

On a somewhat-related note, the top recruit in DD's travel org is going to a P5 school as a third baseman. Throughout high school, she was the school team's #1 pitcher. So it is possible to be a successful school ball pitcher while focusing your travel ball experience on playing A-level at another position.
My DD didn't like pitching for a team that couldn't play defense to back her up. Maybe if it had been a true B team, she would've like it better, but the team she was on was more of a low B high C level. She is happier sacrificing the pitching to be on a team full of girls that have the same common goal to play college ball some day. She is working on being a slap hitter and speedy outfielder. I'm hoping school ball will give her a boost of confidence and maybe an opportunity to be a leader on the team and earn some mound time.
 
Jul 14, 2018
982
93
My DD didn't like pitching for a team that couldn't play defense to back her up.

This is definitely an issue, and will likely be an even larger problem in high school if softball is not that big of a deal in your school district. I think most school ball teams in our area (eastern PA) are lucky to have more than five or six travel players.

DD has icewater in her veins, so she never gets upset when there are defensive follies behind her. I've told her that errors mean she gets to face more batters! Not sure she's buying that argument.
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
Now you could always post a video here...for a free pitcher evaluation ;)

We don't bite and it could give her a couple things to work on during off season if she isn't see a pitching coach full time.
 
Mar 26, 2019
82
18
Central Ohio
This is definitely an issue, and will likely be an even larger problem in high school if softball is not that big of a deal in your school district. I think most school ball teams in our area (eastern PA) are lucky to have more than five or six travel players.

DD has icewater in her veins, so she never gets upset when there are defensive follies behind her. I've told her that errors mean she gets to face more batters! Not sure she's buying that argument.
Yes, it is definitely going to be an issue where we live. Middle school has a few girls that play on C level teams. We watched a game last year and it was brutal, but the High School coach has been stressing to us that she needs to play 8th grade school ball. I hope it goes well. and there is something to be said for playing with your classmates. I wish our Middle Schools could combine to form a higher level team, but they won't do it.

The high School has several A level players, but they will Seniors when my daughter is a Freshman. The High School coach has been building a relationship with my DD, so I think that is a good sign for being able to play Varsity, but no guarantees there. I like your attitude about getting more pitching time when errors occur LOL.
 

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