Better Competition

[_MIA_]

Not a super team, just not in an are a where there are better teams like the Midwest, south, Texas, and West coast. East Coast is just weaker.

I guess the question I have is why did you even bother asking the question? Just intellectual curiosity or are really going to leave a team you have been talking about so glowingly on here for the last year?

 

[LEsoftballdad]

If memory serves me correctly, you play with Newtown. If that's the case, I would guess you knew they were a true travel team who goes to tournaments everywhere, right?

Now, the question was whether it was worth doing all that travel to face better competition. I think you just answered your question. You said your team ran through all the A teams in your area at the 14U level, and you said all the good 16U local players get moved up to 18U, which doesn't happen much with top teams because 16U is where the recruiting focus is. If you want your daughter to face the best competition she can, staying in PA/NJ is not the answer. If it's a family or money issue, which is common, then you have to accept the fact you won't be facing the best.

 

[DropcityUSA]

What I've witnessed as we moved to real A ball and facing the best teams in the country is this:

DD pitches really well, but does give up a bomb or a noticeably hard hit. I ask her after, and she says "I hit my spot, but she just hit it." I can verify that, as I follow the pitch calls and sit close to home plate.

This is just part of the game, and pitchers need to know it. Sometimes the hitter wins. Sometimes they see the ball perfectly. Sometimes they guess right. Sometimes you give them their favorite pitch in their favorite spot. Pitching against the best competition will create new lessons to learn on their pitching journey.

Playing down, against lesser competition, is amazing for confidence and is great as they develop. And you get the facebook moments. Perfect games, tons of Ks, etc. But it's not "fun", it's not as "real", and yes, the pitcher can tend to get lazy on location and spin.

I guess the question I have is why did you even bother asking the question? Just intellectual curiosity or are really going to leave a team you have been talking about on here for the last year?

Not anytime soon, but the costs and commitment over the next 5 years are swimming in my head. Is it really worth it? It seems crazy to even do this. If she’ll get something out of it to improve and help with her dreams, at least I can justify the craziness. But she’s basically a PO.

 

[_MIA_]

Not anytime soon, but the costs and commitment over the next 5 years are swimming in my head. Is it really worth it? It seems crazy to even do this. If she’ll get something out of it to improve and help with her dreams, at least I can justify the craziness. But she’s basically a PO.

She'll get something out of it, there is no doubt. Only you can answer whether it is worth it or not from a family perspective

 

[RADcatcher]

I would want to be a little over .500 win percentage. I don’t care about the wins as much as I care about the reps. If your team isn’t winning games you are getting less reps then the better teams every weekend. You also don’t learn much if your team is getting killed. Need to be able to win some Sunday games to make it worth it. If you know you lose the first game on Sunday every time I would mix in more weaker tourneys.


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Yes I would like to be over .500 win percentage as well!

 

[Vertigo]

Not anytime soon, but the costs and commitment over the next 5 years are swimming in my head. Is it really worth it? It seems crazy to even do this. If she’ll get something out of it to improve and help with her dreams, at least I can justify the craziness. But she’s basically a PO.

You can always have her play on one of the “good” 16/18U teams in the area that play in the local regional showcases to save money. Then when she’s of recruiting age, move her back to her current team if you’re up for the travel at that point. If she can hang with and do well on one of those older teams as a PO, I’m sure the National level teams would take her in a heart beat.

 

[Vertigo]

I also think it’s a little crazy that she’s already a PO at 12U but that’s JMHO.

 

[Vertigo]

But did she learn anything player better competition? She gave up 1 HR this year. It was on a 3-2 high FB. Next time she faces the girl, gets 0-2 on the girl with two change-ups then throws same pitch she gave the HR on. Strikes her out, but it was almost same location as the HR. Seems more like a mistake that she didn’t learn from.

Throwing the same pitch that a HR was hit off of in a previous AB is not necessarily a mistake. If she’s coming in low and slow with her changeup, then there’s no reason not to go high and fast to get the K. If the pitch sequence was similar to the first AB then yes, I’d say it was a mistake that she didn’t learn from (or more realistically, the pitch caller didn’t learn from). However since that count was 3-2 and this was 0-2, I like that she changed the batter’s eye level and came in fast with that pitch.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

I also think it’s a little crazy that she’s already a PO at 12U but that’s JMHO.

I think it's crazy my daughter is a PO at 16U...

 

[Orange Socks]

If you have aspiration of playing college ball, you need to be playing equal or better teams/players no later than 16U--9th grade on. Do not focus on the wins/losses. You don't have to be on the best team. You need to be on the same fields as the best teams and actually playing.

Interestingly enough I coached a kid that was an ox. Hit tons of bombs throughout her HS and TB career. She played on a lower level TB team that had a mid major D1 pitcher that roamed the back fields and lesser B level tourneys. Ya know the 45-5-1 team that you see on GC. They were fat and happy winning those tourneys. When their stud pitcher wasn't available for a weekend they would withdraw from the tourney.

In comparison My DD played on a high level Gold team that played all the big tourneys across the country. Had some good weekends and not so good weekends. Was not physically developed. Hit 3 HR's in all of TB and 11 in HS. Go figure. She was playing against some of the best pitchers in the country and HTX area. That prepared her for college. The college game seemed slower for her once she got on campus. Played almost EVERY inning in her college career.

This other kid I thought should do well on her D3 team, and I thought she would always hit more HR's and have better hitting stats than my DD. I was mistaken. All of DD's key hitting stats were better than this player. She only hit 7 HR's compared to my DD's 19. Why? I fully believe that her TB team did not prepare her for her college competition. She was hitting bombs against B level pitchers. Shall we say the HIttin' Kittens? My DD's team never played against them ever and we never saw them at the same complex. If I am being honest, I was jealous that they were winning tourneys wherever they were playing while we just lost to the Bombers Smith or Texas Glory or whoever. We were doing the right thing for my DD in the long run.