Team Selection

[MidwestFastpitchDad]

My 12u had to make this choice this year. We loved her coaches but her skill was very mismatched this year. The previous year she had been 10u and the other players were 2nd year 12u so it worked. This year all the other girls moved up and she was left with essentially a rec team when the new kids came. Her individual skills continued to grow which was fine, but she never clicked with the new team and was out of place. I knew it was time to go when she made her Little League All-star team. The other team's pitchers were throwing 55+ but she had not seen that speed at the C level tournaments she had been playing. So even though she had the skills she had not been using them and struggled at the plate. She got on base once when she is normally getting doubles and triples. I kind of realized she needed higher competition and also needed to be catching for girls throwing those speeds. She ended up making a 12B team for next season that she is very excited about. Looked like a solid group she could actually grow and move up with.

I think any opportunity to make a lateral move to a better organization is great. An opportunity to move to a higher level of play is even better.


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[4Martini]

My daughter has played 14 rec (as a 12yo) 14c, 14b and just committed to a 16a team for next year. Seeing as I had no idea competitive softball existed 3 years ago it’s been a heck of a ride. My daughter has really enjoyed playing with kids who take the game more and more seriously. This year she is really looking forward to grinding hard in practices that hopefully look like they will be on a totally new level.

That said her old 14c team is now a 16b team and the coach made sure she knows she is always welcome back. That team has a fabulous atmosphere and if she ever wanted to play more for fun- we would go back in a heartbeat.

You can try a new team and go back if it’s not the right direction and you keep good relations. Personally- If she is pushing for more- I would explore your options for a more challenging environment. If she’s happy then stay while keeping an eye out.

 

[steve1244]

Coming up on the off season we are considering whether to stay with the current team moving to 14u. My DD is a pitcher and her pitching is significantly above the skill set of the team. The team really can’t compete against most teams without her pitching and I think she would benefit having a supporting cast around her to push her and continue her growth, but she is currently continuing to improve. The practices aren’t the best but she does a lot of work outside of them. She has very close relationships with all the girls and there is zero drama. She’s obviously getting plenty of time in game currently. My question is does it matter if the team isn’t great? I don’t know how the showcase process works in softball and find myself taking advice from people who also likely don’t know that tell me if she’s not on a good team no one will see her. Is there any harm in giving the team another year to grow or making a move prior to second year 14u rather than now?


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Assuming you have good options when it comes to a move, I'd leave on terms that are as good as you can make them on the way out. If you and your daughter are at all serious about softball, the situation you're in sounds like a slow road to nowhere, albeit with nice people.

We've left two teams at this point and, to me, this has always meant a face to face, honest convo with at least the coaches about how much we've appreciated the opportunity to play on the team and the time and effort the coaches have donated, and the reasons why we're deciding to leave with an emphasis on exploring new opportunities, etc. In both cases, they didn't like that we were leaving, but appreciated the honesty and respect that came with reaching out to have a face to face, especially since a lot of times departures like this are handled via text or simply not showing up and not paying the next month's dues. Frankly, I'd be kind of surprised if your coaches aren't expecting you to leave anyway.