grumbling, rant, or how do we approach the coach

[bmakj]

Simple observations from your feedback
Coach doesnt change much.
Eventho coach could when there are batters performing better.
Coach has faster runners ahead of her.
She needs to break out of shy shell.
Sounds pretty much like a common situation...
How old is she on this adventure of softball?
What are her longer term goals?

she is 14u first year, team is a mix, HC has stated he wants to move team to 16u next fall. no real long term goals at moment, ie not certain about college. right now, focused on trying to be starting on V as a frosh ins spring 2022 (possible given what they have), and being ahead on depth chart of every other incoming frosh (primarly girls who stayed in town, formed a daddy ball team, she had been playing for travel teams from neighboring towns for several years, as there was nothing in town really, some interpersonal rivalries in play here). Other goal is to earn 3 V letters in frosh year (again, possible, but not likely, but that is what goals are for).

just frustrating. some of this was just need to get it out of my system. when DD grumbles a little bit (not much really), I try to play devils advocate a bit, holding back some of what I want to say.

 

[radness]

Ahhhaaaa with a smile...
Can see its the
Parent waiting to see what their growing child will do next
(7 year itch thing )

Perhaps her drive to play varsity will spark an interest to do a little more. Just sayin'
If her tb coach doesnt/isnt lighting a fire to the players to perform better in the line up...cuz it dont change much...
Consider its time to develop individual goals along with the varsity goal.
And do a little more on her own!

 

[benjey]

we are 25 games into spring schedule. team is doing very well overall.

DD is 3rd-6th on the team in every offensive category you can think of (AVG, OBP, SLG, RBI, 2 out RBI), really worked over the winter and early spring on hitting, and it is showing ( getting ever so close to a HR too, getting balls to within 10 feet of fence). Granted, these are GC stats, but our scorekeepers do pretty well, and I think any issues average out over time across the team. However, she cannot get out of bottom third of order.

HC says he has confidence that every girl on team can hit (and they are a good offensive team), and he does bat everybody whenever allowed, but rarely changes lineup around, basically only because of absent players (but she is nearly always bottom 3rd, couple of times hit 5 or 6 when they only had 9 or 10). but never moves anyone around really, even in scrimmages/friendlies.

not certain what else she can do to move up in the lineup to get more PA.

Without knowing the team dynamic none of us can accurately assess the situation but generally speaking your place in the lineup is more than just a reflection of your stats. Every coach has their own philosophy on lineup construction but rarely is it just a 1-9 listing of kids in order of some stat. For example my DD is a lefty slapper, for the last 6 years she has only hit in 3 slots in the batting order 1,2,9. She has never been the worst hitter on the team but has occasionally batted last because her coach believes those slots are where he feels comfortable with slappers. I would not look at it as punishment for performance or lack of reward for performance. Especially if the team is performing well. You may not agree with his reasons, and frankly they may be terrible(not all coaches are great just like players) but I wouldn't be overly concerned about the difference in plate appearances between batting 7 or 5 as they will be relatively small over a season. Frankly it doesn't sound like she is too far out of position if she is 3-6 in most stats and is batting 7-8 that can easily be attributed to lineup construction quirks like fast kids in 1&2 hole if that is coach's preference.

 

[badmonkey]

Some of the situational stuff, catcher that can be ran for, and general base running abilities of the others on the team can impact hitting as much as your DDs ability at the plate. My DD leads the team in BA and hits, but she's usually in the 6-7 hole because she's slow and a timid base runner. I usually try to get her in behind everyone with a decent OBP, and just in front of the holes in the lineup.

I've also had lineups that I've made where I had two sets of 1-5 hitters. My 6 hole was basically the top of the order again. Sometimes it's hard to make a traditional lineup with the pieces you have. You may have two many leadoff type hitters. You may have 3 number four hitters, or you may have four 9 hole hitters.

 

[bmakj]

if it was 7 v 5, would not be worried, it is more like different between 5/6 and 10th (where she consistently bats when he has all 12 available and can bat all 12, which has been all but one game so far, a game with late arrivals was only games he used).

and I get lineup construction, but cannot see it in his lineups past other than 1-4 hitters (good OBP, good contact hitter, then two power hitters who also have good avg and obp). I always liked groups of 3 (speedy/good OBP, then good contact hitter to move runner, then power hitter, repeat). if she was power hitter in third group of three (she is 3rd on team in extra base hits) in a lineup like that, would make sense. and I get trying not to have big glaring holes in lineup as well.

and if the situation were pieces that don't necessarily fit into cohesive order/strategy, wouldnt that lead one to experimentation, rather than stagnation?

 

[bmakj]

I love this! I've always told my girls if the bottom third of the lineup can get the top of the lineup back to the plate, they'll win a bunch of games!!

and I have always said big offensive innings start in bottom of order.

 

[radness]

lead one to experimentation, rather than stagnation?

Tb coach-Stagnation Or complacency without recognizing it!

As previoysly suggested
Have her talk to coach about goals. Team goals and she can express her individual goals.
Her wanting to play varsity is a good goal. Glad that is in her sights.

 

[badmonkey]

if it was 7 v 5, would not be worried, it is more like different between 5/6 and 10th (where she consistently bats when he has all 12 available and can bat all 12, which has been all but one game so far, a game with late arrivals was only games he used).

and I get lineup construction, but cannot see it in his lineups past other than 1-4 hitters (good OBP, good contact hitter, then two power hitters who also have good avg and obp). I always liked groups of 3 (speedy/good OBP, then good contact hitter to move runner, then power hitter, repeat). if she was power hitter in third group of three (she is 3rd on team in extra base hits) in a lineup like that, would make sense. and I get trying not to have big glaring holes in lineup as well.

and if the situation were pieces that don't necessarily fit into cohesive order/strategy, wouldnt that lead one to experimentation, rather than stagnation?

I guess that depends on whether or not the line up is working. And don't get me wrong, I've seen a lineup or two that had me scratching my head. Could be that it's working so they don't want to change it. Could be simply that the coach is not looking at stats, and going by feel. Could be that the coach just doesn't want to give it any more thought than he did at the beginning of the season because he's being lazy.

 

[black17]

If it were me, I'd show an interest in the coaches line up selection philosophy, but I wouldn't mention anything even close to "hey my kids wants to hit in the top half of the lineup'. Hopefully the message is relayed successfully indirectly. If not, you would be pushing your luck to do much more.

My kids freshman year she had the highest BA on the team by over 100 points and batted 6th. That is where they wanted her. I don't feel she was shorted anything and still won lots of awards at the end of the season. All-conference, All-area, team offensive MVP, etc.

Our current school team has the third highest BA hitting 9th. That is because our #9 has good power and is a doubles machine. If #9 gets on, #1 that follows her will gap you to death. If not, literally anything could happen. Giving your leadoff RBI capability can easily get you an extra run or more a game. Its a slick setup and works very well for us.

 

[texasheat]

Your position in the batting lineup affects 2 things. Pride and # of AB's. Both of which are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. How many more AB's would she have if she were batting 5th in 25 games? Not enough to go to the coach about when you look at the big picture I can assure you. An extra 20 AB's will not be the difference in her lettering or not nor will it be the difference in her playing P5 softball versus D3.

Just sit back and enjoy the ride. It's over too fast to be worried about a few extra AB's.