Barely Any At Bats

[Hustle LI]

i fully understand how the person is feeling. my girl is the youngest player on her 12u team and one of only 3 1st year 12u on the team. she is learning pitching with a private coach and we hope to get some mound time. she otherwise is really not getting much time at bat or the field, it is all about working so that next year when she is one of the older players on the 12u team she can count on getting time as one of the main players. but if we get 2 or 3 abs a tourny it sucks, but this team is a better team with better coaching and procedures then the one she used to be on so the development will be more real. we understand that her main use in games that count is a courtesy runner for the pitcher or catcher. But when you have 13 girls and you are 12 or 13 place on the roster, what else can you do? work at improving, develop and try to have an impact at any roll you have. as i tell her, being a courtesy runner still gives you the ability to work and make decisions that can help win the game and sometimes may still be the decisive player. i do understand though after travelling 4 hours to a tournament knowing you will see little abs can be unsettling. i do this.

 

[Lance Steckler]

i fully understand how the person is feeling. my girl is the youngest player on her 12u team and one of only 3 1st year 12u on the team. she is learning pitching with a private coach and we hope to get some mound time. she otherwise is really not getting much time at bat or the field, it is all about working so that next year when she is one of the older players on the 12u team she can count on getting time as one of the main players. but if we get 2 or 3 abs a tourny it sucks, but this team is a better team with better coaching and procedures then the one she used to be on so the development will be more real. we understand that her main use in games that count is a courtesy runner for the pitcher or catcher. But when you have 13 girls and you are 12 or 13 place on the roster, what else can you do? work at improving, develop and try to have an impact at any roll you have. as i tell her, being a courtesy runner still gives you the ability to work and make decisions that can help win the game and sometimes may still be the decisive player. i do understand though after travelling 4 hours to a tournament knowing you will see little abs can be unsettling. i do this.

you get with a coach that is not an idiot, roster bats, gets all players in the game, and ensures all get better and develop. IT IS NOT THAT HARD TO GET ALL PLAYERS TIME ON THE FIELD EVERY GAME!!!!!

 

[Hustle LI]

you get with a coach that is not an idiot, roster bats, gets all players in the game, and ensures all get better and develop. IT IS NOT THAT HARD TO GET ALL PLAYERS TIME ON THE FIELD EVERY GAME!!!!!

i like our coaches. i think they work hard with the girls to get better without putting them into situations where they are demoralized. Here on Long Island we just do not have enough roster spots for the amount of players of interest and our leagues and tournaments are cut throat even at the C levels.

 

[Lance Steckler]

sorry, no excuse for not getting players into the games. and at bats. If you're ok with paying whatever fee, and daughter getting minimal play time, that's on you and lazy coaches. C level is not like a college roster. get in the game and improve.

Rant complete.

 

[nightskiier]

The coaches really, really, really want to win.

They can then walk around the fields and at work with their chests puffed out. Well, the male coaches at least.

My DD’s team won the state championship last summer and the first words out of the HC’s mouth after the initial celebration were “I can’t wait to put this trophy in my the background for my next zoom meeting.”

We left that team going into 14U.


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[jsoftballcoach]

It sucks that people get into this situation and while TB is a grind, it should be generally a positive experience. There are so many teams at so many different levels, good coaches and bad coaches, if you make a mistake choosing a team cut your losses and find a team where you get to play and the kids are treated fairly.


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[dmcwhinnie]

Find a team that she can start on or at least play 50% of the time. It has been my experience that if the kid isn't playing they aren't happy and the parents aren't happy and then the next thing you know she's thinking about quitting.

 

[knuckleballer]

If your DD is only getting one at-bat per weekend maybe you should ask the HC if she can recommend a better hitting coach because the current one doesn't seem to be helping your DD to get visible results.

I read through all 13 pages above and there are many good reasons to find another team. But one point jumped out to me as being especially true: Many HC make up their minds about hitters after a watching few ugly at-bats. Once they replay that video in their minds a few times they seem to lose the ability to see what is happening in front of their faces when hitters actually show improvement. When that is the case, and IF your DD is doing well at the plate, the only option you have is to find a new team with a HC who doesn't have that old ugly video playing in their mind. If your DD is a decent pitcher then, as previously stated, she should have a number of teams to choose from.

As usual, I have a parting story for you... Our 16U team needed a pitcher. We heard about a 13 yr old phenom who was unhappy with her 14U "big deal" team after the first two tournaments of the summer. We rolled the dice and asked her to join our team based off her reputation. She exceeded our expectations as a pitcher but we were shocked to find out she was told by her "big deal" coaches to not pick up a bat or to field any balls. The HC and I were speechless when she didn't even bend over to pick up grounders hit straight to her. She said she was told to leave all ground balls to the infielders.

It may sound odd but she was genuinely surprised when we told her to expect to bat and to field her position. It's difficult for me to comprehend that a coach (or team of coaches) actually convinced her at age 13 that she couldn't hit or field ground balls.

She continued to hit and field her position the next few years (TB and HS) and was league MVP her senior year in HS with the most pitching wins, the lowest ERA and the best BA. Get your DD on a team that will help her develop her complete game! They are out there.

 

[Shiloh]

If your DD is only getting one at-bat per weekend maybe you should ask the HC if she can recommend a better hitting coach because the current one doesn't seem to be helping your DD to get visible results.

I read through all 13 pages above and there are many good reasons to find another team. But one point jumped out to me as being especially true: Many HC make up their minds about hitters after a watching few ugly at-bats. Once they replay that video in their minds a few times they seem to lose the ability to see what is happening in front of their faces when hitters actually show improvement. When that is the case, and IF your DD is doing well at the plate, the only option you have is to find a new team with a HC who doesn't have that old ugly video playing in their mind. If your DD is a decent pitcher then, as previously stated, she should have a number of teams to choose from.

As usual, I have a parting story for you... Our 16U team needed a pitcher. We heard about a 13 yr old phenom who was unhappy with her 14U "big deal" team after the first two tournaments of the summer. We rolled the dice and asked her to join our team based off her reputation. She exceeded our expectations as a pitcher but we were shocked to find out she was told by her "big deal" coaches to not pick up a bat or to field any balls. The HC and I were speechless when she didn't even bend over to pick up grounders hit straight to her. She said she was told to leave all ground balls to the infielders.

It may sound odd but she was genuinely surprised when we told her to expect to bat and to field her position. It's difficult for me to comprehend that a coach (or team of coaches) actually convinced her at age 13 that she couldn't hit or field ground balls.

She continued to hit and field her position the next few years (TB and HS) and was league MVP her senior year in HS with the most pitching wins, the lowest ERA and the best BA. Get your DD on a team that will help her develop her complete game! They are out there.

great post

 

[Beeg]

The coaches really, really, really want to win.

They can then walk around the fields and at work with their chests puffed out. Well, the male coaches at least.

In DD's case, they lost EVERY SINGLE GAME! Starter SS had the most fielding errors while 3B overthrows to 1B 50% of the time. Starter 1B missed about 30% of her catch and usually had no idea how to field if ball didn't hit directly to her. But starters were in same position 90% of the time. It was a disastrous season for sure. We flushed down $800 in uniform, several thousands $ in team fee and travel $ for a sh*t show. (Yes, $800 in uniform.)