Importance of Hitting

[Ivy's Dad]

My DD who's in sixth grade recently attended a meeting for girls interested in trying out for her middle school softball team in March 2011 (only seventh and eighth graders are eligible to try out). At the meeting, the coach indicated that during tryouts he will only be interested in throwing and fielding, and won't be evaluating the girls on their hitting. Since my DD is a very good hitter, a pretty good fielder, and an o.k. thrower, this type of tryout obviously places her at a disadvantage. Needless to say, we'll be working vigorously on her throwing between now and March.

Is this typical for a middle school softball tryout? My father was a middle school baseball coach, and he always emphasized hitting. He always said the best you could do with zero runs was tie. It is what it is, and we'll do the best we can to prepare for it, but I was very surprised about it. Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[SoftSocDad]

If the other team doesn't score, you'll never lose a game.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I have never seen a team win, that didn't at least score 1 run. Great hitting is a great way ( if your fielding is below average ) to play the DP ( varsity level ) school ball.

If your pounding the ball your gonna get noticed. PERIOD!!

 

[Ivy's Dad]

If your pounding the ball your gonna get noticed. PERIOD!!

That's basically what I told my DD. Hopefully there'll be at least an opportunity for the girls trying out to hit the ball during some part of the tryout, and if she hits like we both know she can, the coach will have to notice. I can't imagine the coach not taking hitting into account, even if he says he doesn't. FYI, the team was 6-3-1 this year. Not a bad record, but I'm sure some hitting could have turned the tie into a win.

 

[Ivy's Dad]

Another thing I find odd is the coach emphasizes ground balls. I understand that a caught fly ball is just a "loud" out, but a line drive is much more likely to get a base hit than a grounder. I'm just confused I guess.

 

[sluggers]

Are you teaching your DD to sit around, whine and cry when someone makes a demand on her that she isn't prepared for? Or are you teaching her to take the bull by the horns and take control of the situation?

If your DD wants to play, then she has to do what *THE COACH* thinks is necessary, not what you (or any of us) think is necessary. The coach has his reasons. It doesn't matter if the reasons are logical because he is still going to be the coach.

Your time would be better spent out in the backyard working on groundballs and throwing then sitting around crying about this.

The better approach is to say, "Well, we better get to work and improve your skills." I have yet to meet a player who didn't need to work on groundballs.

 

[Ivy's Dad]

Are you teaching your DD to sit around, whine and cry when someone makes a demand on her that she isn't prepared for? Or are you teaching her to take the bull by the horns and take control of the situation?

Your time would be better spent out in the backyard working on groundballs and throwing then sitting around crying about this.

As stated in my first post, we are "working vigorously on her throwing between now and March". The coach has a specific way he wants the girls to throw, and my DD is adjusting her throwing mechanics to be what he wants. Since she was never a strong thrower anyway, it's not that big of a deal. We throw and work on groundballs every night for about 30 minutes. We were doing this before the coach's meeting. My DD is trying her best to be what this coach wants.

Realistically, given this coach's priorities, my DD may not make the team. My DD was fairly confident about making the team before the coach's meeting, but now not so much. My DD wants to play, and I assured her that she'll be able to play somewhere next year. If she doesn't make the middle school team, she'll be able to play ASA or in the local rec league. I think she is actually handling the situation well. She's always been proud of her hitting (she has a natural talent for it), and I know it was a psychological blow to her hearing "hitting isn't important". Instead of giving up, she hunkered down and focused more of her energy on throwing (her weakness). Hopefully it will be enough.

 

[redhotcoach]

My dd always thought I was being over critical about her throwing mechanics and really didn't listen. I got her to watch the free video on sportskool.com from Candrea a few times then go work on what they show. Her throwing has improved greatly with just a few changes. There is a fielding video on there too.

 

[SoftSocDad]

I cannot imagine the level of play in that middle school being better than what she'd see in ASA.

 

[Ivy's Dad]

My dd always thought I was being over critical about her throwing mechanics and really didn't listen. I got her to watch the free video on sportskool.com from Candrea a few times then go work on what they show. Her throwing has improved greatly with just a few changes. There is a fielding video on there too.

Thank you very much for the info on the videos. I took a quick peek at them, and they look like they will be very useful.