super teams? or spread thin?

[JJsqueeze]

This is also my measuring stick for a well-coached team at 10U/12U.
Are there statues out there in the outfield? or is each OF position moving on EVERY play.

If I were ever to get back into coaching again, I would volunteer to "take charge of the OF crew";
and get them running like a well-oiled machine. Not only because I find that part of the game interesting,
but also because nothing drives me more crazy to watch than stationary OF, that look surprised or fearful when one is hit out there...

Same here, but I would also want to work with the pitchers

 

[Momo'sDad]

We can teach them everything we know, but in general, the strongest outfielders are just naturally good at it and have learned to read the ball off the bat on their own through repetition. Reading batted balls isn't something that can really be taught. It's almost all feel.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

This is a true statement from what I've seen this year. The "A" teams have elite level outfield play. If there pitcher isn't great then the rest of the team is capable of playing good D. The one exception I've seen are the teams with elite pitching who's defense is rarely used tend to struggle against teams that put the ball in play a lot.

ELITE=Top A teams that I've seen in my area.

Yep. Good D everywhere on the field is the hallmark of an elite-level team. Add elite pitching to that, and you have a monster team.

I'd even go a step further and add that truly elite teams aren't only strong 7-9, they're strong 10-12, as well. Tournament play is grueling and you need all the girls to contribute if you want to go deep in meaningful tourneys (read: double elimination).

I admit it is hard to get 12 elite layers to join one team. Elite players (especially their families) want to be the "star" so you'll often see them going where they can be the unquestioned "best player." However, it is not hard to get maybe 4-5 elite players to join one team and then find 7-8 talented players who can be coached up to elite level. You just have to be very diligent about doing your homework on the parents and make sure you aren't taking team jumpers, parents who will get in the face of the coach or parents who complain about things in the stands.