Tournaments in the Fall are for Learning - or is it just me

[Hawk_]

Can I say I hate this "We aren't here to win, we just want our girls to get better" type stuff all of the time. Yeah we want our girls to get better, that's why we practice all of the time...... We play the games to win though. Everyone wants the girls to just learn until they are on a team that never wins. Then they bounce to another team super fast.
Go to tourneys to compete and win...... go to practice to get better.

 

[_MIA_]

Can I say I hate this "We aren't here to win, we just want our girls to get better" type stuff all of the time. Yeah we want our girls to get better, that's why we practice all of the time...... We play the games to win though. Everyone wants the girls to just learn until they are on a team that never wins. Then they bounce to another team super fast.
Go to tourneys to compete and win...... go to practice to get better.

Oorah!!

 

[HunterMO]

We joined a new team in September. The team is a 1st year 14U and they have 8 returning players and added 3 more - DD being one of them. They played in their first (and only) Fall tournament this weekend and finished second place. This was a getting to know each other as well as getting an idea of how the competition will be next spring/summer at 14U.

DD’s situation is very similar this Fall. Joined a new team. Everyone (including DD) will be playing 14u B as first years.

Played a tournament two weekends ago and played against some older 14u squads out of KS. DD’s team did good but fluttered out in bracket. While it was a good feeler for the HC….the girls were not happy with the early exit. Did they learn and experience? Yes. Were they happy not winning? Definitely not.


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[jsoftballcoach]

You play to win the game.

For teams moving up, yeah take your lumps and get used to playing at that level. Those teams want to win too though.

There are opportunities in the fall, for example win a paid entry to 2022 pgf nationals. There are things to play for.


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[Lightning]

Can I say I hate this "We aren't here to win, we just want our girls to get better" type stuff all of the time. Yeah we want our girls to get better, that's why we practice all of the time...... We play the games to win though. Everyone wants the girls to just learn until they are on a team that never wins. Then they bounce to another team super fast.
Go to tourneys to compete and win...... go to practice to get better.

DD left a team that was all about winning, and that actually super sucked.

The coach wanted his best defense on the field almost every inning of every game, whether it was pool play, bracket, or a friendly. It didn't matter if it was a blowout, he didn't want to rest his top 9 more than one inning per game.

He also carefully selected friendlies and tournaments because he needed to win, so he couldn't play larger tournaments (the top 9 couldn't have done more than 3 games per day with no rest, after all) and he rejected friendlies from teams that were too good.

Lots of wins, not a lot of growth. Sometimes girls learn more by a good old fashioned butt-kicking than they do by winning a lot.

 

[HunterMO]

Lots of wins, not a lot of growth. Sometimes girls learn more by a good old fashioned butt-kicking than they do by winning a lot.

Sometimes a good butt-kicking is the best motivator a player can have. It's embarrassing and the feeling sucks.

 

[Greatdaytobeawildcat]

The Fall is for whatever your team determines it’s for. But it is not reasonable to expect that to be the same thing as the teams you’re playing against.

And whatever it’s for may not be the same thing weekend to weekend.

 

[clarity]

I happen to think this is a great topic. I would hope that coaches would use the fall to develop depth at different positions, especially those reluctant to do it in spring/summer pool games.

 

[radness]

If that’s the case let’s just stop keeping score.


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Oy ve' please dont encourage that...

 

[JOHNN]

Maybe its just me.

I am talking 12U and early 14U (09s playing at 14U)

I see fall tournaments as practice. The goal is to let the girls play competitive competition. Identify things that need improving or to built upon work on those items...work on something new......then play the next tournament......

Everyone is so caught up on winning or losing instead of improving......

Because our team is a grade based team 7th graders. we have a few december 08s that is forcing us up to 14U...we are fine...just need more practice and I see tournaments as that.

Or maybe its just me.

I think the answer to your question depends on the goals of the team (and the individual players as well). When I played fall ball as a kid, the fall was solely to just get more practice work in and play some games that truly didnt matter. We also had a much smaller pool of players than you did when it was actually baseball season in Spring/Summer since most boys were playing football (at least around me). Back then you also didnt have kids at young ages feeling the pressure to specialize in one main sport like so many do now.

Fall these days has changed tremendously though and thats why I say it depends on the team. There are many teams that play in the fall bc they are moving from one age group to the next and you want to take your lumps in the fall so that they know what they need to work on to actually be competitive in the spring. Obviously you always want players to be improving (no matter what age they are) but you also want your team to be competitive since you want the girls to have fun and keep morale high. If youve ever been on a team that constantly loses, you know just how quickly it can start to tear a team apart. Best recommendation I can say is to find out a coach's mindset meaning are they a "win at all cost" type where only the best 9 play no matter what the situation, or do they want all of the girls on the team to actually develop where later on in the season they can trust that any player will do their job.