A/B/C for pitchers
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- Jun 8, 2016
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Only parents who want to make sure they can post that their kid has 0.01 ERA on FB.
It is the job of the coach and parent to make sure that everything is put in context. At 12 YO all that matters is that a player is improving and having fun..period. You improve by being challenged and failing sometimes. I have seen plenty of "bad" teams at the younger ages that look like they have a lot more fun then the teams that win trophies every weekend. In general, parents are a lot more fragile about these things than kids are...they don't want their image of their kid as a "stud" to be shattered. I would guess that most kids quit sports not because the sport becomes not fun to play, but that other things become more fun. If you do have a kid that takes every loss/bad performance home with them (
) that needs to worked on as the game WILL become not fun eventually (), regardless of whether their team is losing a lot or not.
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I think some parents are simply hung up on the levels themselves. Similar to the “prestige” of playing up in older age groups.
My DD is a pitcher and she’s pitched in “C” the last three years. And was able to experienced some “B” level competition this year. She had been challenged in C but this year it was apparent she needed to move up and see better hitting to continue her growth. We looked at B and A teams as well as a realistic review of her pitching skills. Moving to a B-level for first year 14u was the decision and we found a team she really likes. She’ll have to compete for circle time and in a more competitive environment. We weren’t hung up on what letter of the alphabet she was playing in. Other than as a general reference for the level of competition.
The other part may be the “goal” of the team is to qualify as “A”, but presently looks B. But the coach plays them at the A level to experience and grow in.
My DD is a pitcher and she’s pitched in “C” the last three years. And was able to experienced some “B” level competition this year. She had been challenged in C but this year it was apparent she needed to move up and see better hitting to continue her growth. We looked at B and A teams as well as a realistic review of her pitching skills. Moving to a B-level for first year 14u was the decision and we found a team she really likes. She’ll have to compete for circle time and in a more competitive environment. We weren’t hung up on what letter of the alphabet she was playing in. Other than as a general reference for the level of competition.
The other part may be the “goal” of the team is to qualify as “A”, but presently looks B. But the coach plays them at the A level to experience and grow in.
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- Jun 8, 2016
- 16,118
- 113
A coach at 10's-14's is successful if a) most of the team wants to play again the next season and b) they have improved from Day 1 to the end of the season. At the older ages helping to get them recruited (if that is what they want) will play into what "successful" means as well.
I think for pitchers it is very important to go by the talent on the team instead of just what class they call themselves. Pitching is about creating outs and who wants their pitchers to create 4-5 outs per inning. Also important is the offense of the team to be able to win games. A pitcher could pitch the game of their life against a great team and only allow one run but still lose 1-0. I have read many times that a pitcher should be on a team that 50% of the team can get hits on her. That to me is one of the best evaluations I have seen for pitchers and selecting a team. If very few can get a hit then the team is probably not good enough to be competitive with the level of teams the pitcher needs to be competing against. If everyone can hit the pitcher then the pitcher might not be ready for the level of competition the team needs to face. Now for the true top level pitchers this does not really work.
- Nov 18, 2013
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If a coach has to go out of his way to tell you he has an A team it’s a safe bet it’s really B.
At every position parents should do their homework to see if the team is playing at an appropriate skill level for their DD’s. There’s no reason for a pitchers parent to be more concerned about it than anyone else.
At every position parents should do their homework to see if the team is playing at an appropriate skill level for their DD’s. There’s no reason for a pitchers parent to be more concerned about it than anyone else.
I think pitchers confidence can be broken easier than other positions. Pitchers put a lot of time into the craft and coaches that are constantly picking competition above the teams ability seems to be sacrificing there own pitchers/team for personal ego.
- Nov 18, 2013
- 2,258
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You want a coach playing competition above the teams current ability. Not too far above, but a good thumping now and then is good for them. I agree pitchers are fragile. Getting lit up enough times fixes that. Sink or swim baby!
Nope....all teenage girls are fragile and a coach can destroy any of them.
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- Jul 14, 2018
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DD just started her first year of 16U. She’s played entirely on teams that classify as B-level. On every team she’s been on, there have been a couple of kids who would have been fine playing A ball, and usually one or two who should have been on a C team.
Any team is usually at the mercy of the available player pool. Putting together a group whose skill level is even across the board is nearly impossible. I like the B level as a practical matter: you can play some C teams at friendlies and play up at an A or Open tournament, but the bulk of teams (in our area, at least) classify as B so you have the largest pool of opponents.
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