Projecting player development from 8U

[CoogansBluff]

So, let's say you're watching an 8U rec league, four teams, 10 players on each team, 40 players total.

About 6-8 years later, about 10 of them will be playing A-level travel. The rest are no longer playing.

Which is the best predictor of who those 10 will be?

A. Athleticism at 8U
B. Ability/skill level in 8U
C. Love of the game at 8U
D. Their parents

I'm going to say D, easily.

With too much time on my hands today, I thought back on my DD's 40-player 8U league in spring of ... I think it was 2008.

Nine of those 40 still play travel ball. Of those nine, six had parents who became head coaches of travel teams. One other was a highly involved assistant coach. Only two had non-coaching (although heavily involved in other ways) parents. Of those nine, all are daughters of married parents.

I can 8 or 9 others who played travel ball, but quit before 10th grade. Only two of those had a travel-ball head coach. Of those 8 or 9, only two had non-divorced parents.

Note that I am not praising or giving credit to the parents of those that remained in the sport. Being the coach of a year-round youth activity doesn't mean someone is a good parent, and not doing those things doesn't mean someone is not. Being married or divorced does not make one better than someone else. I'm making an observation, not a judgment, and I'm not sure if there is a point or any value in that observation. Just food for thought, which is ...

The No. 1 predictor of who is going to be an A-level travel player at 15 is the parents. That is more important than the athleticism, desire or skill displayed at age 8.

Thoughts?

 

[CoachHarley]

That's a tough one. I would say that its C and then D. I know that helping my daughters and seeing that they are both highly motivated to play the sport has caused me to play a bigger role in their development and softball careers. If I would have seen that they did not want to pursue travel ball from rec, then I would have just been happy with what makes them happy. Parents that play into a childs interest and help as much as they can will of course have the kids that are on the upper levels of whatever the kids have chosen. The kids still need to love it as I have seen plenty of kids that should not be on the field, but the parents think they are the best kid on the field.

 

[riseball]

I would say D so long as they do not screw it up.

 

[CoogansBluff]

That's a tough one. I would say that its C and then D. I know that helping my daughters and seeing that they are both highly motivated to play the sport has caused me to play a bigger role in their development and softball careers. If I would have seen that they did not want to pursue travel ball from rec, then I would have just been happy with what makes them happy. Parents that play into a childs interest and help as much as they can will of course have the kids that are on the upper levels of whatever the kids have chosen. The kids still need to love it as I have seen plenty of kids that should not be on the field, but the parents think they are the best kid on the field.

At some point, I think the kids need to own it or they'll drop out. Having parents who are heavily involved widens that window of opportunity for the kids to own it. There's an assumption that the kids who play the longest are those that loved it from day one. Sometimes they're just along for the ride for the first few years. Some of those decide they've had enough of that, but others learn to love it over time, especially if they become pretty good at it and take pride in that. Sometimes they pass the ones that used to love it at the start.

 

[CoogansBluff]

I would say D so long as they do not screw it up.

That's pretty much true.

And I'd say about one in three will screw it up.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I think a lot of combinations will work well, but at some point softball becomes a family activity and if the family does not really support it then it won't go very far. so I say D is the biggest factor but that goes with the general caveat that just as many parents ruin it for their kids and burn them out or make it a chore.

 

[CoogansBluff]

... with the general caveat that just as many parents ruin it for their kids and burn them out or make it a chore.

So you would put my estimate that one-in-three will ruin it to one-in-two will ruin it.

That might be my speech to 8U parents if I'm ever a rec-ball coordinator again: "These young girls will take softball as far as you, the parents, take them. But half of you will not like softball enough for your kid to be any good, and of the half that do like it enough, half of y'all will ruin it and make your kids want to quit because you are insufferable in some way. So that leaves a quarter of kids who have a chance to be good, so long as they have a little talent and desire of their own.''

 

[inde53546]

May want to add
E. Involvement or lack there of in other travel heavy sports.
We lose alot of girls to other sports bball, hockey, vball, swim and god forbid soccer and lacrosse is growing too. There is a lot of emphasis on "travel/tournament teams" many of these have turned into year round sports

 

[JJsqueeze]

So you would put my estimate that one-in-three will ruin it to one-in-two will ruin it.

That might be my speech to 8U parents if I'm ever a rec-ball coordinator again: "These young girls will take softball as far as you, the parents, take them. But half of you will not like softball enough for your kid to be any good, and of the half that do like it enough, half of y'all will ruin it and make your kids want to quit because you are insufferable in some way. So that leaves a quarter of kids who have a chance to be good, so long as they have a little talent and desire of their own.''

Seems about right, but my girls are still inside of the do what daddy says window, so I have not seen team mates actually quit yet, although I have seen some signs that some girls are not long for the sport unless dad chills the F out. I think once they hit 14-16 they get the nads to tell jerk dad to go take a leap.

 

[CoogansBluff]

May want to add
E. Involvement or lack there of in other travel heavy sports.
We lose alot of girls to other sports bball, hockey, vball, swim and god forbid soccer and lacrosse is growing too. There is a lot of emphasis on "travel/tournament teams" many of these have turned into year round sports

Great point. My daughter came up through a small rec program where probably half of all kids that played rec for more than one season wound up playing at least a little travel ball. Larger rec programs don't give you that many opportunities. You have to really stand out in a league of 8-10 teams before people start asking you to be on all-star/travel teams. And I've also seen big programs that don't allow travel teams at their parks. Those players, many that are very good, stay in rec ball until they're 12 because they don't know that travel balls exists. Meanwhile, less talented kids with more opportunities pass them because they are two years ahead in travel ball.

What you said is similar but a little different, though. I guess you're talking about the competition from other sports and how popular travel softball might be in a given year. All good points.