When and how did you know?

[444]

Hey folks,
When and how did you know your child was capable of playing at the next level?

Was it the drive of practicing daily without proding?
Was it the amount of home run balls blasted?
Was it a physical thing? ie 5-10, 145lb 12 year old, etc..
Was it batting average?
Was it playing in a competitive team and doing well?

and is there a right peaking age? ie. we've seen kids play amazing at 10.. but by 12, they are below average and so on as other kids grow and get stronger, etc...

 

[tim_s]

DD #1 was 9, softball 8 - she tried out for our local travel team - was #13 on the list, they kept 12......she walked out and said "i know what i need to do for next year", and went out and put in some extra time and worked to be better for next year......these days she's won 7 straight USA state titles with 2 orgs, an undefeated Class C State championship, is top 3 in her class and is committed to play at Simmons University next year majoring in Pre Law

not because she's the biggest, fastest, strongest, smartest........it's because she's not afraid to work, and she's not afraid of a challenge.......and that was apparent way back when she was 9

 

[Eric F]

If your DD is playing TB at the 16U-18U level, there's a place for her in college softball, if that's what she wants to do. Being one of the better players is not required.

By 14U, you can start to tell who might have the skills/talent to play high-level D1 ball...if they stick with it. It's not based on just stats. It's based on how they play the game overall - physically and mentally.

In our journey, there were some real standout athletes at 10U that continued to be top-level players, and are now committed to play D1 ball. Other early standouts plateaued, faded, or changed sports. Other girls started slow and developed their talent later. Young kids are unpredictable.

My DD has gotten interest from multiple D1 schools. At the moment, she is on the fence about wanting to play college ball. If she does, it will probably be at a D3 where she really likes the location and the academic opportunity. Playing softball at the highest level is not a top priority for her.

Bottom line: At 12U, the ONLY focus should be having fun and getting better. Actually, that's a good focus at every level.

 

[Shiloh]

My DD took the Fall of 7th grade off. Which meant no softball from August to March. about 6 months.

Told me later "that's when I knew".

Has never looked back.

 

[_MIA_]

No idea (obviously..my kid is 12) but what I can say is that for me, for the most part, it is best to ignore the inner voices which tell you your kid has potential. I sort of envy people who are not able to see such things and just are able to see (accurately hopefully) where their kid is at the moment and recognize that they are better today then they were a week/month/year ago. Extrapolation can be dangerous as it sometimes ignores (for me at least) the learning curve (which is often times not monotonically increasing) that every player goes through.

 

[Vertigo]

I kind of had a basic idea when dd would go to her pitching lessons and just pick up things her PC would teach or show her very easily, and then be able to transfer it to the field. Realized she had the talent probably in MS.

I saw the competitive side come out during her freshman HS season. Her team had a rough season (only 2 TB players) and she did not enjoy losing so she continued to put the work in and do the extra stuff (lifting, agility, etc) on her own time. Saw her HS season do a complete turnaround record-wise the next season and this fueled her fire to continue to improve with hopes of being recruited. She also realized that softball could open doors for her at schools that are notoriously academic reaches, so she wanted to play that card. Worked out for her in the end.

 

[444]

No idea (obviously..my kid is 12) but what I can say is that for me, for the most part, it is best to ignore the inner voices which tell you your kid has potential. I sort of envy people who are not able to see such things and just are able to see (accurately hopefully) where their kid is at the moment and recognize that they are better today then they were a week/month/year ago. Extrapolation can be dangerous as it sometimes ignores (for me at least) the learning curve (which is often times not monotonically increasing) that every player goes through.

yeah. my problem is i'm the opposite. I don't see her potential (she's probably going to end up 5-3" and searching teams for uni's she wants to attend have max 1 or 0 players at that height). I tried to get to quit, but she keeps progressing and doesn't want to go quit.

She also wants to attend these summer events at colleges or boarding schools, but they all run in July which is Travel Season for us.

My wife tells me i'm too harsh on my kids, so i just wanted to see if most parents found softball to be a function of pure grit or a function of natural talent with focused practice.

 

[_MIA_]

yeah. my problem is i'm the opposite. I don't see her potential (she's probably going to end up 5-3" and searching teams for uni's she wants to attend have max 1 or 0 players at that height). I tried to get to quit, but she keeps progressing and doesn't want to go quit.

She also wants to attend these summer events at colleges or boarding schools, but they all run in July which is Travel Season for us.

My wife tells me i'm too harsh on my kids, so i just wanted to see if most parents found softball to be a function of pure grit or a function of natural talent with focused practice.

I see the (physical) potential and expect her to reach it by age 12 ..Mental part I am not sure about.

With regards to being harsh, your wife should meet me..I would probably make you look like Mr. Rogers (see above sentence as for reason...I think I am improving though..ever so slowly).

 

[Eric F]

yeah. my problem is i'm the opposite. I don't see her potential (she's probably going to end up 5-3" and searching teams for uni's she wants to attend have max 1 or 0 players at that height). I tried to get to quit, but she keeps progressing and doesn't want to go quit.

She also wants to attend these summer events at colleges or boarding schools, but they all run in July which is Travel Season for us.

My wife tells me i'm too harsh on my kids, so i just wanted to see if most parents found softball to be a function of pure grit or a function of natural talent with focused practice.

How old is your DD right now?

EDIT: Since you're still guessing what her height is going to end up being, it seems that she's probably 12U, at the oldest. It's WAY to early to make any determinations about her college ball future. At 12U, college camps might be fun, and that's all good, but I wouldn't put them as a priority over TB team events. The focus right now should be...1) Have fun, and 2) Get better. Skill development matters more than anything, especially at the young ages. If she has big dreams of playing top-level D1 ball, that's fine. Let those dreams drive her motivation to keep working on her game.

I invite you to step back, stop trying to find reasons that why she shouldn't play, and enjoy watching your DD play the game she loves, in this moment, right now.

 

[schwabach]

DD #1 was 9, softball 8 - she tried out for our local travel team - was #13 on the list, they kept 12......she walked out and said "i know what i need to do for next year", and went out and put in some extra time and worked to be better for next year......these days she's won 7 straight USA state titles with 2 orgs, an undefeated Class C State championship, is top 3 in her class and is committed to play at Simmons University next year majoring in Pre Law

not because she's the biggest, fastest, strongest, smartest........it's because she's not afraid to work, and she's not afraid of a challenge.......and that was apparent way back when she was 9

Any kid who approaches challenges in their life like your daughter is a winner, period, regardless of results.