When do you know they are ready for select ball?

[ranstl]

Stephanie - I feel your pain all too well. We've been contemplating moving our second year 10U team to select. We have a travel team that plays a rec schedule at our club and we usually hang with them pretty well, but some of the parents are afraid to make the jump. We decided to play a few extra tournies this summer to see how we stack up. That will decide our path forward. I think you (and I, and everyone in our position) needs to accept the fact we might have to break up the team to do what's right by the better players (better = those ready and wanting to play select).

I think I'm more concerned with the parents. For the most part, I don't think they all really understand the difference between rec ball and select ball. We always play to win, but there will be times when I'll put in a lesser pitcher or put girls in positions they normally may not get a chance to play during a game. That can't happen in the select world.

 

[SnocatzDad]

There are definitely parents/players that are better suited for recreational ball vs select ball. Regardless of your ability if you feel that more practice and more games is a bad thing, not a good thing, then your not ready for select ball. Players with marginal talent but willing to work hard and work more than their peers are ready to move on. Players with more talent that can't wait for the season to end, or dread practice aren't ready to move on.

An important thing I learned was that to not judge those who aren't ready to make the move and ask that they not judge your kid because she maybe is ready to move on. When we started in Rec I met some great people and great kids who were having fun playing this game, but had no desire to play more or put in extra work. They had other passions, that doesn't make my kid's decision to leave wrong, or their decision to continue to play at that level wrong. It would have been equally selfish to force them to play/work more to keep my kid satisfied as it would have been to ask my kid to stay and stop working/playing so much. Probably more important than joining a team with a high winning percentage is to find a team that is a match for your kid in terms of ability and time commitment.

 

[stephanie]

Great replies, and THANKS!!
For the first time in 5 seasons of Rec Ball, I have a team of girls who could ALL play the infield. WOO HOO!!
So, I'm gonna keep teaching them how to be aggresssive on the bases, how to think about the play ahead, not the one they just messed up, how to throw harder, stronger, straighter, and keep it fun. And at the end of the season, I'm gonna have to convince some parents they need to make the move...because these kids are like SPONGES right now! And they have so much talent...

 

[absdad]

Great replies, and THANKS!!
For the first time in 5 seasons of Rec Ball, I have a team of girls who could ALL play the infield. WOO HOO!!
So, I'm gonna keep teaching them how to be aggresssive on the bases, how to think about the play ahead, not the one they just messed up, how to throw harder, stronger, straighter, and keep it fun. And at the end of the season, I'm gonna have to convince some parents they need to make the move...because these kids are like SPONGES right now! And they have so much talent...

Keep that core together, sounds like you have a good thing there. The initial shock from going from rec to travel is HUGE. Been there done that. It might help in the beginning to ease into it, local tournaments, and try and keep the costs down as much as possible (sponsors, fundraisers, etc). One thing I wish that a coach would have done when my dd made the move, was invite all the girls and parents to a tournament, and let them watch the level of play. I think the girls will make the transition easier than the parents will. Keep the parents as informed as possible, with no surprises, and high fees, and it should be fairly smooth. Good luck.

 

[mudbug]

You may not be able to play up to your competition if you lack correct mechanics, but you will usually play down to them if you are much better than them, and that does no good either. If you have a good bunch, make the jump. It will force you and them to get better, and you all will LEARN from the competition.

You may lose, but you will be learning and improving, and thats more important than winning.

If you cant make the jump, then convince parents to at least pony up to enter a couple of easy tournaments to see what its like. Of course that requires registering in some organization, insurance, etc too. Gets a bit complicated.

I have no experience with rec ball. But I have seen B teams play A and get stomped. While the girls werent great athletes, and pitching was weak usually, in most cases, is not really the girls abilities that make them so poor, it is usually obvious that they havent been taught and drilled properly in how to pitch, field, throw, swing, etc. They didnt appear to be well practiced at what they were doing. Proper mechanics, infield plays, etc drilled into them until it happens automatically without hesitation is the key.

A good coach can take athletic girls that have never even played softball, and turn them into decent players in a couple of months. Claiming that girls arent ready, need another year of rec ball, B ball, etc is just making excuses.

At the same time, if they dont have hand-eye coordination, balance, agility, and an avg throwing arm, etc they probably wont ever have it.