I need your advice and also just perhaps want to rant a little. My DD is a Sophomore catcher / utility. She plays travel ball on a team that played in the PGF Premier nationals last year. They aren't the best team out there but play some high level ball. I tend to be realistic about my DD's abilities. She is the second catcher on her travel team and that is fair, the other catcher is definitely better than her. She plays in the field (3rd and OF). Last year her high school team was chock full of seniors and even though she was better than the starting catcher according to many people including the coaches, she sat the bench. GC says she played 11 innings while the senior played 100+. It was disappointing as my DD needs experience, she's playing catch up but we all understood it. Fast forward to this year. There are no seniors on the team and only 3 juniors. She was told at the beginning of the season that she is the starting catcher. There is a freshman catcher whose dad joined the coaching staff and in fact is "in charge" of the catchers. The freshman is seeing a lot of playing time and lately more and more. She has a lot of work to do to be able to play at this level, you feel for her as she digs herself in a hole. It's been so bad she has been pulled mid-inning. My DD is clearly the better catcher. We at first thought they were playing her only against the weaker teams but she started yesterday against one of the toughest teams in the league while my DD sat. One other note, the freshman has gotten to try other positions when not at catcher but has failed significantly at them with many errors and the coach has said cost the game on several occasions. My DD has a lot of experience at positions in the field because she is second catcher on the travel team, but never gets puts in the field when not catching. Also, it's not a case of hitting. The freshman catcher has the worst BA on the team and a 000 batting average against higher level pitching. The whole situation has been extremely frustrating to my DD as she feels she put her time in as a freshman sitting the bench while this freshman is being given chances because her dad is a coach. The other note is that the other starters always play, even against the weaker teams. Even when the starting pitcher (who is the head coach's daughter) is not pitching, she is playing. It seems my DD is getting the shaft to help out the assistant coach's DD.
My question for you is do I bring this up to the athletic director? It is very obvious daddy ball that should not be tolerated in high school. It's a private school with a pretty put together sports program. I'm especially concerned that the freshman catcher's dad is in charge of the catchers so not certain how my DD is being treated here. Part of me wants to go and fight for her and the other part is just resigned to the fact that it's just high school ball and there's not much to be done. Life isn't fair. Thanks in advance for your advice!
My question for you is do I bring this up to the athletic director? It is very obvious daddy ball that should not be tolerated in high school. It's a private school with a pretty put together sports program. I'm especially concerned that the freshman catcher's dad is in charge of the catchers so not certain how my DD is being treated here. Part of me wants to go and fight for her and the other part is just resigned to the fact that it's just high school ball and there's not much to be done. Life isn't fair. Thanks in advance for your advice!