grumbling, rant, or how do we approach the coach

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May 6, 2015
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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.

you missed one, confidence. in fall, she struggled, lost some confidence. she worked hard, improved her hitting relative not only to herself, but to several other players on team, and the result was . . . if she moved up a couple of spots, her confidence would improve even more, and it might light a spark undeer some of the others.

maybe now that SB is only sport ("winter" sport just ended, thanks covid), maybe coach will see her more often at practice as well as how she hits in games, it might change things.
 

Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
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.

I feel your pain. DD is typically at least that strong, but can't get off the bottom-third. We joke that she's the best 7-8 hole hitter in the state...that may not be exaggeration. Coach has his reasons for the lineup...some legit...some quakery...some just plain inertia. However, the team typically does well, she's always in the batting lineup, and rarely sits defensively. That and other positives overcome this annoying issue. If that weren't so, it wouldn't be something to laugh about or overlook.

Personal griping about where you fall lineup can be a sensitive thing. I used to run a fairly decent men's SP team. Stats were public knowledge, as was my methodology. People might ask to be moved down because they felt like they weren't performing, or we might have collective discussions about how to produce more runs. However, it was considered bad form to personally complain about not hitting higher in the lineup.

Regarding the courtesy running, that's potentially a legit gripe. If it's two outs or a long and hot day, the catcher should come out. Otherwise, it's not unreasonable to say "Coach, I need experience running bases". Ultimately, your kid is a catcher, and that offers some leverage. There are more teams in need of a good catcher than there are good catchers.
 
Last edited:
Jun 26, 2019
256
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One thing i see that has been only breifly discussed on this thread is her getting an opportunity for more base running. This would be a reasonable topic for her to bring up with the coach. Even if it is situational and in scrimmages, it might help her to get some more base running in. It also lets you test the waters with the coach amd may open up some communication
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
Is the team winning?
yes, and often times lopsided, mostly scrimmages and friendlies so far, one unsanctioned tournament, one sanctioned. to me the "preseason" scrimmage and friendlies should have been a great time to experiment.
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
One thing i see that has been only breifly discussed on this thread is her getting an opportunity for more base running. This would be a reasonable topic for her to bring up with the coach. Even if it is situational and in scrimmages, it might help her to get some more base running in. It also lets you test the waters with the coach amd may open up some communication
I saw it posted somewhere, but it said you are doing your players a disservice if you Courtesy run for your catcher all the time. When they get to college, they will have to run. My DD was subbed out all the time in TB, and she now is way too aggressive on the bases that it gets her in trouble. She thinks she is way better than she is!!! I know in certain life or death situations you will need to get a faster runner in the game for whatever reason and maybe it's in the middle of summer playing back to back games in the heat where it makes sense.
 

Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
Don't look at the lineup position as a punishment. There are way more important things in the softball world to be complaining about. Back when the kids starting transitioning to 12U where the hitters started banging the balls to the OF with regularity, all the parents thought their kids should be playing in the IF. Hey Parent! Your kid is the fastest player on my team and I need her in the OF to chase those balls down. I have my innies, and I need some outies! Errors in the IF cost bases and errors in the OF cost runs.

If you want to be a stranger to the bench, become a good outfielder, particularly a good RF. At older age groups and college, games are quickly lost out there.
 

Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
yes, and often times lopsided, mostly scrimmages and friendlies so far, one unsanctioned tournament, one sanctioned. to me the "preseason" scrimmage and friendlies should have been a great time to experiment.

That can be a big reason why Mr Coach is unwilling to mess with his lineup. If you weren't scoring, he'd give it more attention.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
If you want to be a stranger to the bench, become a good outfielder, particularly a good RF. At older age groups and college, games are quickly lost out there.
this is our other concern, when she is not catching (about 65% of innings), she has not seen OF in several weeks. she needs to stay versatile, and get it reps. now again, part of this might be she has missed considerable practice time due to her winter sport extending due to covid. he mostly has made indoor practices (including virtually every P&C session). now that she should not miss any practices, maybe she can get practice reps in the OF and then see some game action.
 

Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
this is our other concern, when she is not catching (about 65% of innings), she has not seen OF in several weeks. she needs to stay versatile, and get it reps. now again, part of this might be she has missed considerable practice time due to her winter sport extending due to covid. he mostly has made indoor practices (including virtually every P&C session). now that she should not miss any practices, maybe she can get practice reps in the OF and then see some game action.

"Coach...I want to play some OF when I'm not catching". THAT is something that should be well received by Mr Coach. A word of advice based on experience...team practice isn't the time to get OF practice. It's the time for DD to show off what she can do out there. You hit to her...alot. Reading the ball off the bat is an acquired skill that comes from chasing balls, and plenty of fast players suck at this. Learning to gauge the hitter, how the ball sounds and assessing trajectory at contact will greatly increase the effective range of a slower player, and will make a faster player scary good. She won't get that at team practice. Work on where the ball goes in given situations so that she knows something when asked. That alone will place her ahead of the curve.
 

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