Looking for some advice on HS ball because this dad is driving the struggle bus (Sorry another HS topic)

[Frost033]

So my daughter is a sophomore and played on varsity last year. She is a pitcher who plays 1st and some OF. Last year she got a bit of time at those positions but being a freshman she didn't get a lot of field time. What she did do quite a bit was DP/Flex almost the whole year and ended the season 3rd on the team in BA (.412) and in the top 5 in RBI and OBP. This year is a new coach and assistant coach. She's been working all off season to get stronger, throw faster, improve her pitching, etc. So far this year she's seen 0 pitching time during games. She hit in 1 game and was 1-3 with an RBI and hasn't been up again. At practice she throws BP and because they're resting the starter she doesn't get to hit at practice. She comes home almost every day after practice ready to break down because the coaches do not let her practice positions in the field or at pitcher. I urged her to speak to the coach about it and let him know she wants to do whatever is necessary to play more. She has twice now, but he doesn't give her much of an answer but told her that she MIGHT pitch next week if the starter is tired.

Thus far I've stayed out of it because she's a HS player and should advocate for herself but I can see how much this is killing her. Last night, for the first time every, she came home and said "Dad, I hate playing softball, I don't know if I want to play anymore". I asked why and she said that at practice the coaches put the 9 starters on the field and had the other players sit off to the side while they ran through situations. They didn't rotate at all. I think she's going to quit in the next week and I'm not sure I will try and talk her out of it or stop her. Looking for any help or advice that anyone has.

 

[Lance Steckler]

classic tale of two coaches. and it's far too common. But she's either gotta "be so good they can't ignore her", or walk. and honest, same exact thing could happen in few years at any college.

She needs to talk to coach and get a real answer. And throwing BP only is crap. Throw like it's a game, see if they can hit her then. None of this grooved FB malarkey.

 

[JayW]

I’ve been talking to a lot of pitcher’s parents who are going through some form of this issue. A lot of girls who pitch at Varsity don’t get any at bats and don’t play in the field, even if they’re not pitching. It’s almost like their position is “Justincase” as in Sit on the bench just in case we need you. Of course, your DD’s situation is worse if she’s not pitching at all.

My DD ended up on JV because she’s a pitcher and Varsity already has 4 pitchers. She didn’t have a catcher or defense. If she didn’t pitch, she rarely played in the field. She wishes she had just tried out for Varsity as a non-pitcher.

If your DD wants to play Varsity in the future, she should probably just stick it out for the season and decide whether she wants to be a pitcher in the future.

Good luck. I know she’s not having much fun.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

At practice she throws BP

This is the most concerning thing. What is the context?

 

[Frost033]

classic tale of two coaches. and it's far too common. But she's either gotta "be so good they can't ignore her", or walk. and honest, same exact thing could happen in few years at any college.

She needs to talk to coach and get a real answer. And throwing BP only is crap. Throw like it's a game, see if they can hit her then. None of this grooved FB malarkey.

The last time she threw BP this is exactly what she did. She came home, really excited because she felt like she FIALLY got to show what she could do. She said nobody hit the ball hard on her and she struck out a lot of the team including the top hitters. Nothing has changed so what little excitement she had was quickly removed. And what you said about being so good they can't ignore you is EXACTLY what I pushed on her all off season. She worked SO hard on improving all aspects of her game. I know I'm dad so I'm biased, but she's still one of the best hitters on the team and never gets ABs.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she's the best pitcher on the team, the other girl is an upper classmen and is slightly better, but its not a huge difference between them. Not to the point that pitching my daughter would be a liability or a major step down.

 

[Frost033]

This is the most concerning thing. What is the context?

What do you mean, what is the context? During practice she is put in the circle and has to throw batting practice to the rest of the team but since the only other pitcher on the team is the starter, they don't have her throw BP because they're saving her. This means my daughter never gets to have BP and on top of that, ONLY throws BP.

 

[Frost033]

If your DD wants to play Varsity in the future, she should probably just stick it out for the season and decide whether she wants to be a pitcher in the future.

Good luck. I know she’s not having much fun.

She's been a pitcher since she was 8 and has worked hard to get to where she's at. On her travel team she's their #1 pitcher and does awesome there. Her travel team has 3 other pitchers so even though she's their "#1" there is a rotation so she doesn't start every game or pitch every inning. I figured HS would be similar to this even a 60/40 split would be expected, but 100/0 is a bit insane.

 

[JayW]

I have noticed a much different dynamic in pitching strategy for HS. Likely because it is one 7 inning game. Often one pitcher will get most of the work.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

What do you mean, what is the context?

It's unusual for pitchers to throw batting practice for many different reasons. Is she throwing strikes going full speed or is she throwing front toss behind a net? Is it a game simulation where she is trying to strike them out? Does she do this every day?

 

[Rick M]

I have noticed a much different dynamic in pitching strategy for HS. Likely because it is one 7 inning game. Often one pitcher will get most of the work.

I have seen this too, is it too generous to call it a ‘strategy’??

DD’s varsity team has two committed seniors as pitchers. All other pitchers (including DD) were put on JV. There’s always a JV pitcher on the bench to jump in if needed, but the seniors have routinely thrown 130+ pitches in a single game.

They’re both good hitters but are always Flexed. I think that’s more due to the coach trying to get as many players into the game as possible (they’re always pinch-run for as well).

HS coaches have a balancing act of trying to win games and giving the upperclassmen their time on the field. After all, they probably had to wait for their turn to play as well.


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