grumbling, rant, or how do we approach the coach

[bmakj]

we are 25 games into spring schedule. team is doing very well overall.

DD is 3rd-6th on the team in every offensive category you can think of (AVG, OBP, SLG, RBI, 2 out RBI), really worked over the winter and early spring on hitting, and it is showing ( getting ever so close to a HR too, getting balls to within 10 feet of fence). Granted, these are GC stats, but our scorekeepers do pretty well, and I think any issues average out over time across the team. However, she cannot get out of bottom third of order.

HC says he has confidence that every girl on team can hit (and they are a good offensive team), and he does bat everybody whenever allowed, but rarely changes lineup around, basically only because of absent players (but she is nearly always bottom 3rd, couple of times hit 5 or 6 when they only had 9 or 10). but never moves anyone around really, even in scrimmages/friendlies.

not certain what else she can do to move up in the lineup to get more PA.

 

[badmonkey]

Have her ask the coach what she needs to do to move up in the order.

 

[radness]

Hmmm?
The feedback
'coach never really moves anyone around' may be the key here??

How are other players in the line up performing?
Is there any player who obviously is doing really good and not moving to the say #4 slot??

As for your dd~
Is she a slower runner than first 5 in the line up?

 

[CoachJ5513]

the difference between a C team and a B team is pitching, the difference between a B team and A team is 6-7 hole hitters, difference between A team and gold is the 8-9 hole hitters
Not sure what level you are playing
As far as "approaching the coach", have your DD do it... just let her ask what she needs to work on to move up in lineup... maybe they have a reason shes not moving up? maybe its apathy...

(disclaimer: the above statements are my opinion and not intended to define absolutes in various levels of play )

 

[bmakj]

to answer some of the questions, girls ahead of her that are absolutely not producing as well at the plate.

DD is a pretty saavy BR, not the fastest, but not like molasses either. biggest issue is lack of practice at baserunning this season and in fall, she is a C, and he couresy runs for the Cs and Ps pretty much no matter what (how many outs, etc.). this was one of reasons he gave for her position, he wanted a couple of fast runners in front of her . . but they are not that much faster. trouble is, she is out of practice at it, has hesitated a couple of times lately, like others early in season, but she has had much fewer chances than the others, and a lot of girls made similar mistakes early, shaking rust off (team just does not have access to facilities to do more than pratice hitting and pitching in winter really).

and she is scared to death to ask the coach (or really any authority figure) pretty much anything. we keep nudging her, but she is not there yet. gonna see if she wants to talk to him with myself or DW there just for support.

 

[Orange Socks]

I feel your pain, but it's not really painful. DD leads her college team in HR's, and is at the top of most of the offensive categories while batting in the 6th hole most of the year. Our 3rd batter has only 1 HR and the 4th batter has 2 HR's. This year her K's went up dramatically. I blame the lack of seeing live pitching from March of 2020 until the start of the season in Feb. I think she forgot what what a strike and ball looks like, but she was on fire towards the end of the season. DD never complained about it, and I really don't feel the need to say anything except for you folks and another close softball dad. The only thing I wanted was my DD behind the dish, doing the amazing things that she does back there. That's another thread.

RAD brings up some good points. How is she performing relative to the rest of the team? Every team needs 6, 7, 8 hole hitters. You need to scatter your good hitters throughout the lineup. Maybe coach doesn't want 3 easy outs in a row? Maybe your DD is super reliable and needs to drive in the 4th and 5th hole batters once they get on base? or Maybe your coach has no idea what he is doing? I would just roll with it.

Don't look at the lineup position as a punishment. There are way more important things in the softball world to be complaining about. Back when the kids starting transitioning to 12U where the hitters started banging the balls to the OF with regularity, all the parents thought their kids should be playing in the IF. Hey Parent! Your kid is the fastest player on my team and I need her in the OF to chase those balls down. I have my innies, and I need some outies! Errors in the IF cost bases and errors in the OF cost runs. Once they started to understand their value to the team, they took ownership. Every player in the lineup is needed. I know you want your DD to get more AB's, but this is not a battle worth fighting IMO.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Just have her keep hitting the ball and become "undeniably better" than the girls in front of her. Coach would have to be a knucklehead not to move her up to the 5 hole.

 

[radness]

Simple observations from your feedback
Coach doesnt change much.
Eventho coach could when there are batters performing better.
Coach has faster runners ahead of her.
She needs to break out of shy shell.
Sounds pretty much like a common situation...
How old is she on this adventure of softball?
What are her longer term goals?

 

[radness]

I feel your pain, but it's not really painful. DD leads her college team in HR's, and is at the top of most of the offensive categories while batting in the 6th hole most of the year. Our 3rd batter has only 1 HR and the 4th batter has 2 HR's. This year her K's went up dramatically. I blame the lack of seeing live pitching from March of 2020 until the start of the season in Feb. I think she forgot what what a strike and ball looks like, but she was on fire towards the end of the season. DD never complained about it, and I really don't feel the need to say anything except for you folks and another close softball dad. The only thing I wanted was my DD behind the dish, doing the amazing things that she does back there. That's another thread.

RAD brings up some good points. How is she performing relative to the rest of the team? Every team needs 6, 7, 8 hole hitters. You need to scatter your good hitters throughout the lineup. Maybe coach doesn't want 3 easy outs in a row? Maybe your DD is super reliable and needs to drive in the 4th and 5th hole batters once they get on base? or Maybe your coach has no idea what he is doing? I would just roll with it.

Don't look at the lineup position as a punishment. There are way more important things in the softball world to be complaining about. Back when the kids starting transitioning to 12U where the hitters started banging the balls to the OF with regularity, all the parents thought their kids should be playing in the IF. Hey Parent! Your kid is the fastest player on my team and I need her in the OF to chase those balls down. I have my innies, and I need some outies! Errors in the IF cost bases and errors in the OF cost runs. Once they started to understand their value to the team, they took ownership. Every player in the lineup is needed. I know you want your DD to get more AB's, but this is not a battle worth fighting IMO.

Good read!
(side note~ agree with your observation on hitting being affected by lack of seeing live pitching!)

 

[ANNASDAD]

the difference between a C team and a B team is pitching, the difference between a B team and A team is 6-7 hole hitters, difference between A team and gold is the 8-9 hole hitters

I love this! I've always told my girls if the bottom third of the lineup can get the top of the lineup back to the plate, they'll win a bunch of games!!