Being best player on bad team, or bench player on good team?

[RADcatcher]

pretty non-competitive 18U team

What does non-competitive mean? are you talking about the type of events they enter?

(as far as southern Cal is concerned at least).

She has an invite to join a top 18U team this summer,

What makes them top? Since your daughter hates sitting on the bench it's important to understand what top really means.


Assessing the actual variance between these two team levels is necessary.
There are quite a few teams that consider themselves top in SoCal
Sometimes they say they are top because they enter competitive tournaments but it doesn't mean they come out on top of those tournaments.

Your daughter's overall softball goals maybe more important to consider in reflection of what schedule either of those teams will be playing.
For instance some teams are not always playing to win as much as their showcasing. And some teams are going to go play USA Nationals and others are going to go play pgf and Alliance.

 

[Corleone]

What does non-competitive mean? are you talking about the type of events they enter?




What makes them top?


Assessing the actual variance between these two team levels is necessary.
There are quite a few teams that consider themselves top in SoCal
Sometimes they say they are top because they enter competitive tournaments but it doesn't mean they come out on top of those tournaments.

Your daughter's overall softball goals maybe more important to consider in reflection of what schedule either of those teams will be playing.

Non competitive = we get crushed versus good teams, we lack top pitching and have some girls who probably don't even belong in TB. The team practices aren't pushing my girl enough and even though she did get a lot out of it the past year, not as much now.

This team is top because they're good, the coach has won several 18U PGF Premier titles over the years and even though they're not quite at that same level now, they still have very good players. We have a lead on this team as a family friends daughter played for him, she went on to great success as a D1 AA, so I sent him some video and we talked on the phone and wants her after his senior middles graduate. It's not a foregone conclusion she'll make the team, but I get the feeling she will because he offered her to join immediately, but also told me that she would sit because the spots this summer belong to the seniors.

 

[Orange Socks]

“Competing for 2nd base” means she won’t be the starter.

2nd base usually has the weakest arm on the team. The more I think about it, not sure I'd want my kid to play 2B. D1 College coaches recruit SS's and turn them in 2B. Mixed feelings about this.

 

[Corleone]

Why not go then and play for the top level 16U team as a 16 year old, when the entire team will be in the middle of their hottest recruiting timeframe, playing in the tournaments and fields college coaches will be actively looking for players; rather than on an 18U team not getting the most exposure?

that's an option, we just have heard such great things about this coach, we wanted to give it a shot and see if she could play a few years for him.

 

[lostcreek1]

Why not join the best team she can get on that is her own age group.

 

[Corleone]

2nd base usually has the weakest arm on the team. The more I think about it, not sure I'd want my kid to play 2B. D1 College coaches recruit SS's and turn them in 2B. Mixed feelings about this.

she's a small girl 5'3, and has played on some good teams, so 2nd base fit her, but as far as her size, she has a good arm, she understands using arm slots, her arm is definitely not a liability.

 

[Orange Socks]

Non competitive = we get crushed versus good teams, we lack top pitching and have some girls who probably don't even belong in TB. The team practices aren't pushing my girl enough and even though she did get a lot out of it the past year, not as much now.

This team is top because they're good, the coach has won several 18U PGF Premier titles over the years and even though they're not quite at that same level now, they still have very good players. We have a lead on this team as a family friends daughter played for him, she went on to great success as a D1 AA, so I sent him some video and we talked on the phone and wants her after his senior middles graduate. It's not a foregone conclusion she'll make the team, but I get the feeling she will because he offered her to join immediately, but also told me that she would sit because the spots this summer belong to the seniors.

She can always play out the summer on the new team and make a decision to stay or move on in August. Might be able to get some chatter going since she was on this team's roster and find another equally as good team if you feel like you want to change.

 

[Corleone]

Why not join the best team she can get on that is her own age group.

She turns 16 in a couple months, so it's not playing up by too much. I don't see much of a difference between good 16u and 18u teams tbh.

 

[DonnyS]

The D1 vs anywhere else thing drives me crazy. I always assumed it was a parent ego thing. I watched 2 decent players stop playing softball last fall because they didn't get D1 offers. Literally turned down good scholarship offers from other division schools.

 

[MNDad]

Hating sitting on the bench is a quality that will help raise her game to see the field. The competition for playing time against a dozen girls on a travel team is nothing compared going against hundreds or thousands vying to get on a college roster. Pick the team where she’ll be challenged with the best talent and strongest coaching if she wants to reach the next level.