T-ball rosters: 6 vs 9

[Momo'sDad]

T-ball is about a group of young kids outside having a blast while playing some softball. The kids are going to be as bored as the coaches let them, and they're also going to have as much fun as the coaches let them.

Trying to "teach softball" to a 5 year old is like teaching long division to a 5 year old. Sure, some kids may "get it" at that age, but just like math, "getting it" at a young age will not make them better at it when they're older.

I don't disagree with any of that, but what I feel we've not done (speaking only about the local leagues I have observed in recent years) is to give the girls the best opportunity to enjoy themselves. I know that field availability for games can be a problem, so we'll be using the '2nd set' of fields for many t-ball/8u games this season and hope we'll *need* them for even more next season. We've been using both sets of fields for practices, and those slots are at a premium. I'm not sure what we're going to do if we do manage to get 4-5 additional teams next year.

But lack of space should not be the reason we dumb the game down. When we were in SoCal, we had so many teams that at least 1/3 of the t-ball games had to be played on grass. The only part the parents didn't like was that it was a slightly longer hike from the parking lot. The kids loved it and some of them would even try to slide when the grass was moist, even though sliding was not allowed.

What we want is for the girls to 'go get the ball and throw it to 1st' and we want the girl on 1st to make an effort to catch the ball. With these 12-girl infields, you've got a few who might go for the ball, but a whole lot who are happy to watch another person come get it. And I cannot tell you how many times the girl who ended up with the ball didn't have a clear throwing lane to 1st anyway.

As much as we want their parents to bring them back, kids are consumers, too, and we should give them a product that makes it worth their time to participate. Some girls want the uniform and a bat, but are more concerned with having access to the dirt out by 2nd base to play in. But other girls want to get the ball and throw it as hard as they can so that they can hear 'Go Sarah!' above all the other noise in the crowd.

It doesn't take much more effort at all to give the girls a better game and who knows, maybe some of the daisy-pickers will get engaged more sooner than you'd think if they look around and happen to hear those dads cheering Sarah and Suzie. That is not a must, no, but I wouldn't underestimate the value of those moments in shaping young lives, even if they never play another season of softball as long as they live.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

I feel our local rec league does a good job of preparing the players in T-ball (6U). 10 - 11 players per team, with 7 infielders (including catcher) and 3 or 4 players that play on the edge of the grass. Coach pitch for four pitches than it goes on a Tee. If the batter hits it on a fly to the grass, she can attempt to go to 2nd base. The players are taught proper fielding, throwing, and hitting techniques. They also are taught how to set-up and lead-off correctly when on base. Outfielders are taught to back-up throws to the bases. A lot of ground balls make it to the outfield so the players get lots of experience going after a ball and getting it back to the kid pitcher position in the pitching circle. After two years, most of the players are prepared for 8U, when they will face "live" kid pitching and base steaing to 3B. Frequently, when an 8U team is short a player, a t-baller can play-up to round out the line-up for that game.

It has been mentioned a few times on this forum that you should just "let kids be kids" and it's all about fun. I don't disagree that everyone should be having fun, but IMO the better you do something the more fun it becomes. When a 6 YO catches a fly ball in the infield or fields a ball cleanly and makes a good throw to 1B, the kid is ecstatic. Dumbing down the game doesn't make it more enjoyable, in fact I think it makes it less enjoyable (e.g. its no fun not being able to catch a ball). When I was a t-ball coach, I always felt that I had an obligation to the players to teach them the proper skills necessary to play the game reasonably well. If you don't want your kids to play in a structured, skill learning environment than have them play softball in your backyard or pick-up games at your closest park.

 

[starsnuffer]

You do have an obligation to teach the game, but as a coach you know most of that teaching is done at practice, you can't really stop the game and show them how to catch and throw.

I'm the division director for our rec league t-ball division as well as the 12u travel coach, so I have a good idea of what skills are and are not being taught as the kids progress from t-ball (7u for us) to 10u (regular fastpitch) and 12u and on up and it's easy for me to go talk to coaches and work with them on better ways to get the skills across. They do a really good job and our t-ballers all seem to have a blast playing. We transition all our 7u tballers to coach pitch halfway through the season (at my discretion), they get 3 strikes then we put the ball on a t for them to hit. It seems to work pretty well for us, even with 9 or 10 kids on the field.

-W

 

[Thor]

It seems that we try to get near 9 players per team. A little over is always good, because inevitably there will be absences &/or dropouts. We play all the infield positions, with the remainders filling in the holes just beyond infield. It's been a couple years since we were at that level, but we thought nothing of stopping the game for instruction. We always batted through the lineup, each player getting to base - whether thrown out or not. Then - the last batter clears the bases.

As for a catcher, I see it serving no purpose other than to get someone hurt. At that age, it's too easy for the batter or the catcher to be oblivious to the other. When we do start to do a little coach pitch, we either have another coach or big brother/sister catch & toss back.

Those years may not be the most productive, but they can be the most entertaining. I can't think about t-ball without recalling the image of a very protective mother standing in the field holding a parasol over her daughter to prevent her from getting too much sun. If the kid went after a ball, mom went too.

At that level, I think it's important for all the coaches in the league to work together and take every opportunity to provide instruction and make it fun. I see the real goal of t-ball is to give them a taste of what ball is, and make them want to come back out next season.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Trying to "teach softball" to a 5 year old is like teaching long division to a 5 year old. Sure, some kids may "get it" at that age, but just like math, "getting it" at a young age will not make them better at it when they're older.

If it's fun, the kids will want to come back, and you know what, they'll learn softball just as a sheer accident, and they'll keep learning just as long as they keep having fun.

-W

Maybe softball is played differently in my region, but I have never seen a player learn the sport by sheer accident. What I have seen are players that are taught and practice good technique, perform lots of repetition, and try their best everytime are they ones that learn the sport.

I used to coach 5 and 6 year olds for several years and I can tell you that they are more than capable of learning all the basics of softball, IF you allow them the opportunity. I ran fun but instructional practices and during games we constantly reminded the girls of the basics. Contrast this with the occasional coach who let the kids "run wild" during practice and games, never correcting them all season. These players did not learn a thing about softball. Were these kids happier and had more fun than my players, I really doubt it. Kids like some structure, especially when learning new things, softball is no exception.

If I was on the rec league board I would definitely challenge these kids, in a fun and productive way so that they learn and acquire the appropriate skills to continue on in the sport. Anything short of that is doing them a disservice IMO.

 

[starsnuffer]

What I meant by "learning by sheer accident", is that if the coaches make all of the practice, technique, form, and repetition into fun activities, then the kids will "play the games" with their focus being on play, while they learn the techniques they are being thought. It isn't about running wild or being uncontrollable, by any means. Again, this was in response to a coach who felt his kids were bored.

-W