Playing time based on cheering

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Aug 3, 2018
17
3
Looking for advice for my DD, she is 13 so will be the one talking to the coach and deciding what to do about the situation. She has been getting progressively less playing time this season, now at about 50% of innings on the bench. Pick up players have been at every game & are playing every inning of every game. Fielding and batting are going great, good attitude, goes to practice, works on her own. At a game last Sun. coach didn't realize she could only play 9 until game time. She had never made a line up of 9 or done DP/flex before so was really flustered. DD ended up on the bench (no fielding or batting). She had been playing & hitting great all weekend so was confused and disappointed (pickup players did play). The coach has a rule that players cannot ask about playing time which is why DD has been hesitant to bring it up. At the beginning of the next practice the coach told the team that DD did not play because she was not cheering loud enough. Secondly, she also did not play because the coach wanted each girl to do a short dance (for fun while waiting) and DD didn't do a dance (she's an introvert & felt super uncomfortable, but had fun laughing & cheering for the girls dancing). DD does have a quiet personality (& voice) , her cheering is clapping, saying nice hit, lets go, etc. The team is LOUD, they do every chant, sing every song at max volume the entire game & warm ups too. I did notice the coach is constantly yelling at them to be louder. DD tries to be loud & felt like she was being loud (for her). Talking to DD, the team hates having to be so loud all the time.
DD's thoughts are she wished the coach would have talked to her before benching her. This past weekend DD was getting over a cold & had lost her voice by Sunday. But even without a cold she just doesn't have a voice that carries. She also doesn't think all the cheering benefits the team, the girls are all tired of yelling for hours, and are only doing it to get playing time.
She is deciding on 2 options:
1. Talk to the coach & let her know that she is trying her best to be loud and will do whatever she can to get playing time, but she is a quieter person with a quiet voice. This is what I think she should do, but I may be biased, because as an introvert it would be a nightmare for me to be told to do a dance or yell & sing for hours.
2. Not talk to the coach, she already told the team why DD didn't play. Try her best to be loud.

Thanks for any advice on this situation!
 
Jun 11, 2012
741
63
Being loud should not be a reason to not play. Is your daughter paying attention and watching the game? If so that should be enough.
I’d go with option 1 for now but if the Coach is not responsive I’d talk to them myself.
If that doesn’t get you anywhere I’d look for another team.
Also, are they short on players? Why do they always have guest players?
 
Sep 19, 2018
928
93
She is 13 but the coach was surprised at having 9 on the field? what kind of team is this?

Edit to add: Guest players should play. Are they guest players because you short or because the coach is bringing in better players?
 
Mar 8, 2016
313
63
There are 2 moments that stand out for me. The first I was assistant coach and I jumped on dd after the game about not be totally into the game while she was in the dugout with her team batting. It was a difficult ride home. Finally dd said "dad I am not the same player you were. I will never be the same player you were. You need to let me be mine own player." It hit me like an 18 wheeler. I realized she was right and I was the person in the wrong.
The second time she was dancing in the outfield to the music between innings. I grumbled to another dad I always sat with that she should be serious and warming up the whole time. He looked at me said she is 2-2 with a homerun and a double you need to chill out and let her have a little fun.
For your situation every girl has to be coached a little differently to get the most out of them. Your coach may not realize this and be trying to coach everyone the same. This is a hard lesson for a coach to learn and takes a lot of experience. Even then as a coach you sometimes make a mistake in the correct approach to get the most out of a player.
Some coaches just treat every player as an identical clone and refuse to acknowledge that these are a collection of individuals that are all different. If your coach is like this your only choice is to find another team.
If I was her coach I would appreciate her coming to me to discuss things. It would give me a better understanding of her. Hopefully this would lead to a better coach player relationship.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 
Apr 8, 2019
117
28
She is 13 but the coach was surprised at having 9 on the field? what kind of team is this?

Edit to add: Guest players should play. Are they guest players because you short or because the coach is bringing in better players?

Being loud should not be a reason to not play. Is your daughter paying attention and watching the game? If so that should be enough.
I’d go with option 1 for now but if the Coach is not responsive I’d talk to them myself.
If that doesn’t get you anywhere I’d look for another team.
Also, are they short on players? Why do they always have guest players?
If I pay my money to join this team and you bring in guess players who pay nothing. I am going to have a major problem if they play more than my daughter
 
Aug 3, 2018
17
3
Guest players were there because the team was short, with the guest players they had 11. The other benched player was another quiet teammate. DD is cheering and involved in the game, she's super competitive, just not yelling chants.
100% not the real reason she is not playing. If she never said a word and was a shut down short stop, who hit bombs, she would be in the line up. Dumbest thing I have ever heard a coach say.

I questioned the reason also, like you said it's dumb. The other benched player was a pitcher who is really good at coming in and shutting the other team down, but she is also quiet. DD normally bats 1st, 3rd, or 4th. The games she played over the weekend she struck out once, had one pop up caught by CF, a few doubles, one triple, the rest singles. She's a consistent hitter, nothing over the fence, but no one on the team has hit one over.
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
1 word...RUN! Find another team ASAP. There's no good reason for your DD to not get playing time even if only getting to play 9 players at a time. I have a second year 14U team playing showcases and qualifiers. Every member of my team gets equal playing time as much as I can manage, even when we have subs. The Subs are part of my team for the weekend and are treated the same as the rest. The only caveat is when a college coach comes to me or my college liaison and says, ' I would like to see #X play more or at this position.' Then I will do that and another player may sit an extra inning before I can get them into the line-up again. They understand because I would do the same thing for them under the circumstances.

There's another reason than lack of cheering IMO and it seems as if the coach isn't sharing. If a player of mine is getting less playing time, which will happen at 16U since I told them I will be putting the best 9 on the field to start and sub everyone in after, I actually encourage them to ask why and what they can do to break the starting line-up. To do anything otherwise is counterproductive to my player, their family and the team as a whole. I want my players to strive to get better and compete with each other. It only makes my team stronger in the long run. To not allow this conversation is counterproductive and poor coaching. Thus, I will reiterate...RUN!
 
Aug 3, 2018
17
3
Some coaches just treat every player as an identical clone and refuse to acknowledge that these are a collection of individuals that are all different.
That was my concern, the coach wants the team to be LOUD at all times. At 14U DD is past the constant screaming out of all the chants & songs. So are the other girls on the team, they just do it because the coach expects it. Some girls are very involved in the game & are super competitive but are just quieter. DD cheers for her teammates but is also watching the pitcher, looking for gaps in their defense, etc. We will see if her coach can understand this.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,474
Members
21,443
Latest member
sstop28
Top