An Unusual Situation

[fastpitch]

When I coached travel ball I found that at a certain level it was hard to evaluate pitchers without seeing them in a few games or knowing about their track record. Unless the pitcher is throwing serious gas it's difficult to really know how good they are or will be (even pitchers with velocity can be misleading or not as successful). I'm going to assume the A team already had pitchers and unless your DD was head and shoulders above them velocity wise it's probably more difficult for them to decide to move her to the A team without getting a feel of her track record.

What I'm saying is, I wouldn't think its necessarily time to move on. She made a team that the coach is happy to have her. If you think thats not the situation you want for your dd and she agrees then you should do what feels right.

 

[RetiredCoach]

When I coached travel ball I found that at a certain level it was hard to evaluate pitchers without seeing them in a few games or knowing about their track record. Unless the pitcher is throwing serious gas it's difficult to really know how good they are or will be (even pitchers with velocity can be misleading or not as successful). I'm going to assume the A team already had pitchers and unless your DD was head and shoulders above them velocity wise it's probably more difficult for them to decide to move her to the A team without getting a feel of her track record.

What I'm saying is, I wouldn't think its necessarily time to move on. She made a team that the coach is happy to have her. If you think thats not the situation you want for your dd and she agrees then you should do what feels right.

Good points! I think that, at least, I have settled down to the point where we play for the "B" team and see
what happens.

 

[PA SB Dad]

One thing I would consider is that if your DD played 12U C level last year, and the other pitchers were 12U A or B level last year, the coaches may have had more confidence in the pitchers who pitched at the higher level last year. It may not have anything to do with the past injury. Without a definitive explanation from the A team HC, you really don't know. As the others said, I would support your DD in the best way possible on the B team and help her have a great experience this year. If this is her last year in 12U, make it a great one, whether it is on an A team or a B team.

 

[Momo's Dad]

My only concern would be the overall quality of the organization. If the A team gets first pick of all the players who try out, I'm confused as to why that coaching staff wouldn't take the best pitcher available. Without knowing the setup you guys have, my assumption would be that the best 12yo's should be on the A team, while the B team would consist of younger, less seasoned players.

We had an older player a couple years ago whose parents decided to drop her from our B team, because she was not guaranteed to be the #1 starting pitcher and there were 4 other pitchers on the team already. She went to the lower-level team and got plenty of innings all season, since they only had 2 pitchers. The competition wasn't nearly as good, though, so she ended up going several months without being challenged. She's playing slowpitch now.

 

[Rocketech1]

This may be the best thing that has every happened to her. It will light a fire under her to prove that she deserves to be an "A" player. Jennie Finch tells the story of when she was a younger player how a top travel ball coach passed on her for his team and said she would never be a top pitcher. Later that year, her team played this other coach's team in the championship game and beat them. Sweet revenge...and we know how the rest of the story ends.

 

[JJsqueeze]

How much better is the A team vs the B team? In my limited experience in TB so far, I am not seeing much of a difference between the various teams within an org. unless they are a BIG org ala Firecrackers, Batbusters etc. In fact what I see is a few elite teams that crush all comers and then a wide sea of teams that can beat eachother on any given day, some wind up winning 60-70% of their games, some wind up winning 30-40% but in watching them play there is not a whole lot separating them. There are also a few teams that just should disband because they can't win to save their lives. So if the team is not an ELITE team or a team that truly sucks I don't really think which team you play on matters a whole lot skill wise. The overall fit, coaching, other parents, etc would drive my decision as long as the B team can be competitive. Especially if it means she gets to play a lot more. Innings/innings/innings at this age.

 

[RetiredCoach]

How much better is the A team vs the B team? In my limited experience in TB so far, I am not seeing much of a difference between the various teams within an org. unless they are a BIG org ala Firecrackers, Batbusters etc. In fact what I see is a few elite teams that crush all comers and then a wide sea of teams that can beat eachother on any given day, some wind up winning 60-70% of their games, some wind up winning 30-40% but in watching them play there is not a whole lot separating them. There are also a few teams that just should disband because they can't win to save their lives. So if the team is not an ELITE team or a team that truly sucks I don't really think which team you play on matters a whole lot skill wise. The overall fit, coaching, other parents, etc would drive my decision as long as the B team can be competitive. Especially if it means she gets to play a lot more. Innings/innings/innings at this age.

In my estimation, there may be about five players on the "B" team who could play for an "A" team. However, the other
six players really drag down playing level of the team.

I do think that this "B" team gig has advantages, as has been pointed out. My DD will get all the innings that she
wants. She may get to play shortstop and bat high in the order, an opportunity that she wouldn't have on the other
team. So, she'll have fun and develop her skills. Maybe these things really do work out for the best!??

 

[MsDinosaur]

If the A coach had no confidence in her, then he probably did her a favor by passing on her instead of picking her up and then never giving her circle time. Being the ace pitcher on a weaker defensive team might end up being a great thing for her mental development. It's all going to be on her shoulders a lot and she'll have the chance to prove to herself and others that she's got what it takes.

If she does decide to stay with the organization, performs strongly and then is STILL passed over next season, I'd definitely move on. (You might want to be checking out other teams this season and develop a list of those your family would be interested in joining.)

 

[RetiredCoach]

We have tentative plans to look into moving on. This local elite team, who has seen
her pitch, has expressed interest in her. In fact, last August we were asked why she wasn't
at the 14U tryouts? We explained that she wasn't old enough, yet.

There is still the possibility that she may get called up to the "A" team mid-season. If she
is performing while playing for the "B" team, and the "A" team pitchers who are solid but
not spectacular aren't, she may get the call. Of course, then we have a choice. Would we
want to play for this this and this team?

 

[klamath632]

In my opinion, you need to find a team where she will be challenged. It sounds like she will be able to coast on that "B" team, and if the point of her playing is for skills development, then that isn't going to happen there. If it's just to play softball, then by all means keep her on the "B" team and have fun.