Thinking about having my quit for a while...

[JAD]

I feel your pain. My dd thinks because she is as good or better than the girls in her league she doesn't have to work. I told her two weeks ago I was done scheduling for her, when she wants to do something she can let me know. Haven't heard anything since . She is 11. It wouldn't upset me if she were devoting her time to something else, but that's not the case. I'm about ready to tee up her I pad to remind her what the tee is used for.

If a better TB team is available in your area, I would highly recommend you check into getting your DD on it. If a better TB team is not an option, looking into playing up an age level. Players need to be challenged. If you let her become complacent just being better than the girls in her league she will never reach her full potential.

 

[JAD]

Now my 11 year old (the soccer girl) will go work out with a trainer, then come home and do an insanity dvd...everyday.

You cannot coach "heart", and it sounds like your 11 year old soccer player has it!

 

[JAD]

Whatever the case may be, if she is willing to do it, I am more than willing to spend the time with her.

I am firm believer that the parents who are willing to spend the time and effort to help their kids are the ones who will excel.

 

[Rocketech1]

I am firm believer that the parents who are willing to spend the time and effort to help their kids are the ones who will excel.

True...however the kid still has to want it as much as the parents otherwise it is fruitless.

To the OP, it's sounds like his DD like the iDEA of being on a travel ball team but lacks the fire and drive to get better and challenge herself. As I said before, I would take a step back and see if she is better suited for rec league until if and when she has the desire to play at a competitive level. Nothing wrong with playing a sport for the fun of it without all the pressure to excel at it.

 

[Momo'sDad]

We went through a long period of that here, too. She'd be hot for a couple months and then do the bare minimum for a few months, but I'd always remind Mo's mom that - as Coogan'sBluff said - it's her hobby, not ours. It's her job to put in the work necessary to be ready to contribute to her team when her number is called and it's our job to support her. That means taking her to practices, games, and lessons on time and making ourselves AVAILABLE to work with her, even when she doesn't want to put in supplemental work. Encouragement isn't a bad thing. A gentle nudge might be necessary and quite beneficial from time-to-time.

We were very deep into the recent fall season when all of a sudden, something just snapped and she decided she wanted to practice almost every single day, whether it was tee work or just working on her overhand throw in the backyard. Mojo is 11 now, which is comfortably in the range of when most young athletes make the decision to become serious about their chosen sports.

Relax and watch the magic happen.

 

[knightsb]

My DD didn't start asking me to pitch or hit until she was 13, up until that point, it was me always initiating practice outside of practice. Now at 15, she is totally motivated and works on her own a lot of the time. I think 10 is too young to quit on her if she says she likes playing. I agree with others, you want her doing something, involved in something like softball, why not nurture it and see if it grows. I think you can get creative and get her out practicing and making it fun for her to practice. Good luck.

 

[GatorGirl]

I started reading a book Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports: Brooke de Lench: Amazon.com: Books and it was a real eye opener. It really focuses on how kids think, think about practice, work etc. Please don't be turned off by the title because it really doesn't talk too much about a "mom's role" at least in the first several chapters.

The knowledge in this book has really helped my relationship and my daughter with softball. I was really getting burned out with the "no drive" that you are all talking about and it has made all the difference. It really teaches that this is "their game" and not ours and how to be ok with it.

Since I have backed off, she has finally found the "whip" in pitching and is farting around with leap and drag in the house on her own. She has a little Winter camp tomorrow that she is super stoked about that she wanted to do, not me pushing her to do it.

Highly recommended reading for all. The one advantage for us is that because it was written by a woman, it does have a slight tilt toward the female athlete which is a bonus for us!

GG

 

[bpeck]

Thanks for all of the input on this.. I just want to make sure she is playing because she wants to. I am going to let her keep playing and see what happens..

 

[JJsqueeze]

Thanks for all of the input on this.. I just want to make sure she is playing because she wants to. I am going to let her keep playing and see what happens..

Bpeck,

This is going to sound dumb, and I might have missed it in your post, but is this TB or Rec you were referring to?

 

[Cannonball]

DD played with a young lady for a while who didn't seem to have that drive. However, the problems began when it seemed to be an ego thing for the parents. She was always middle to low in BA. She was always just OK in fielding. She was great at socializing. Very good kid and a lot of fun. Still, with each year, the parents were worse. They could not let her play on her terms. Long story short, somehow this young lady became a very good 2b in HS. She did not want to continue playing after HS. She, "needed a break." I give her a lot of credit for continuing to play. It could not have been much fun when she left the ball park.