Youth Sports - Coaching/Winning (1 Viewer)

[Football Menace]

My 7 year old son plays little league baseball in a league that's made up of a mixture of rec league teams and travel teams. He's on one of the rec league teams. I'm the asst coach. We have been getting whipped all year long by both the travel teams and most of the rec league teams due to the coach's philosophy. He is of the mindset that every kid should play. I agree. But he also feels that every kid should play every position. This is where we differ.

He literally changes the kids positions inning to inning. Not only does the positions change, but there's no rhyme or reason to what he's doing. For example, he'll put a kid on 1st base that's unable to catch. He'll put kids at short or 3rd that's completely afraid of the ball. In my opinion, this is hurting the kids more than helping them. Most of the kids have no clue what to do due to not being able to learn a set position.

We have 5 kids that are pretty good. But a lot of the times, these kids are buried in the outfield. My son is one of the pretty good kids and he's been pretty discouraged throughout the season because he knows they are getting whipped. I have to go through the song and dance after every game about not getting discouraged and the team is gonna get better, etc.

The coach has us scheduled to play in two tournaments. But my feeling is what's the use of playing in a tournament if you aren't trying to win? That upsets the spirit of competition if you're basically giving teams wins.

If you're the parent of one of the kids who can't catch yet or are afraid of the ball, would you want your son playing one of the hot positions? And when is it the right time to start teaching kids that some people are better at certain things than others? And in certain aspects of life, we are not all equal; and there will be winners and losers.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Hey, Ty Cobb...these kids are 7 years old. Let them have fun and learn how to play the game. Including learning how to play each position.

Settle down.

 

[Football Menace]

Hey, Ty Cobb...these kids are 7 years old. Let them have fun and learn how to play the game. Including learning how to play each position.

Settle down.

But that's my point. How are they learning if they're changing positions inning to inning game to game?

 

[Insein]

I would also disagree with the every position every inning philosophy. I wouldnt mind game to game switching things up to give a kid a feel of what its like to play that position a whole game. That way they have a better idea whether they want to keep playing that spot. Switching that often is counter productive IMO.

 

[Plaid Boxer]

Hey, Ty Cobb...these kids are 7 years old. Let them have fun and learn how to play the game. Including learning how to play each position.

Settle down.

It doesn't work that way. If you put a 7 year old at first who can't catch and/or is afraid of the ball not only are they not having much fun the kids at 2nd/SS who can throw actually have figured out that Timmy at 1st can't catch. So they do not make full throws because they don't want to hurt their friend. That doesn't help them either and it snowballs from there. I coach a slightly older age group and I tell the parents up front that players will be positioned based on their ability. I will work with any player that wants to become a 1st baseman/pitcher/catcher but it is doing no one any good to put a player at a position that they are not ready to handle. As the season moves along I am able to put players at more positions.

 

[Grady Wilson]

Hey, Ty Cobb...these kids are 7 years old. Let them have fun and learn how to play the game. Including learning how to play each position.

Settle down.

Well, this is wrong. Kids are starting to learn roles at this age. This doesn't mean if a kid is playing in the outfield he's never going to play in the infield. Our team had kids playing the same positions pretty much all year long. My son is 6 and he started playing in the outfield, but the coach saw that he was more valuable on 2nd base, so moved him there. That was really the only switch that the coach made all year long. Now, we would switch kids around at the end of the game if we were up by a lot so that the other kids could gain experience. I'm glad he left my son at second base and didn't try to move him to another position. Normally, it's fairly easy to tell which of the kids are able to play in the infield at that age compared to the kids that aren't quite ready to handle those positions. Maybe those kids will develop into being able to play other positions the next season. I still prefer letting certain kids improve at a certain position if they've proven they are the best one on the team at that position. Could be wrong, but our infield, and the infields of the other teams we watched all year long, had the same kids at the same positions for every game and you could see they were playing well together. Good luck...

 

[mphtrilogy]

They should play every position, wins losses don't matter at this age, exposure to the game and trying all slots should be....

Except for first base the more seasoned players should rotate there to reward a good play at the other positions, you hate to see a dropped ball if the infield made a nice play

IMHO

 

[Football Menace]

Hey, Ty Cobb...these kids are 7 years old. Let them have fun and learn how to play the game. Including learning how to play each position.

Settle down.

It doesn't work that way. If you put a 7 year old at first who can't catch and/or is afraid of the ball not only are they not having much fun the kids at 2nd/SS who can throw actually have figured out that Timmy at 1st can't catch. So they do not make full throws because they don't want to hurt their friend. That doesn't help them either and it snowballs from there. I coach a slightly older age group and I tell the parents up front that players will be positioned based on their ability. I will work with any player that wants to become a 1st baseman/pitcher/catcher but it is doing no one any good to put a player at a position that they are not ready to handle. As the season moves along I am able to put players at more positions.

BINGO! This is exactly what's happening. Just last game, my son's at short, ball is hit squarely to him. He fields the grounder nicely, comes up ready to fire. But when he sees who's on first, he double clutches and throws a lob instead of throwing a rope. The batter barely beats out the throw. I can't blame him for that. He didn't want to hurt the kid at 1st. By playing the kids the way that he does, he's teaching bad habits to the others.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Hey, Ty Cobb...these kids are 7 years old. Let them have fun and learn how to play the game. Including learning how to play each position.

Settle down.

Well, this is wrong. Kids are starting to learn roles at this age. This doesn't mean if a kid is playing in the outfield he's never going to play in the infield. Our team had kids playing the same positions pretty much all year long. My son is 6 and he started playing in the outfield, but the coach saw that he was more valuable on 2nd base, so moved him there. That was really the only switch that the coach made all year long. Now, we would switch kids around at the end of the game if we were up by a lot so that the other kids could gain experience. I'm glad he left my son at second base and didn't try to move him to another position. Normally, it's fairly easy to tell which of the kids are able to play in the infield at that age compared to the kids that aren't quite ready to handle those positions. Maybe those kids will develop into being able to play other positions the next season. I still prefer letting certain kids improve at a certain position if they've proven they are the best one on the team at that position. Could be wrong, but our infield, and the infields of the other teams we watched all year long, had the same kids at the same positions for every game and you could see they were playing well together. Good luck...

This is just silly. They're first and second graders.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Hey, Ty Cobb...these kids are 7 years old. Let them have fun and learn how to play the game. Including learning how to play each position.

Settle down.

But that's my point. How are they learning if they're changing positions inning to inning game to game?

 

[Mr. Retukes]

We have been getting whipped all year long by both the travel teams and most of the rec league teams due to the coach's philosophy.

You're getting whipped because the travel teams have better players. You want to win? Get your kid to the point where he's good enough to join a travel team.

 

[Football Menace]

We have been getting whipped all year long by both the travel teams and most of the rec league teams due to the coach's philosophy.

You're getting whipped because the travel teams have better players. You want to win? Get your kid to the point where he's good enough to join a travel team.

He's good enough to play travel ball. This is the first year to be eligible. Tryouts are at the end of summer. But thats not the point. I don't expect to beat travel teams, but we could be a lot more competitive. And we could beat every rec team if we would field a competitive team position wise.

 

[joffer]

You know what's fun? Winning.

 

[Mark Davis]

I came from a town that was pretty serious about baseball. Our little league was pretty competitive. In general, teams would have 11-12 players which meant 6-7 players played the whole game and the remaining 2-3 positions each split half the game. In general, we were coached to our positions but we would have practice sessions where for 15-20 minutes at the end we would rotate positions to be able to back up for someone who wasn't there on a given night or to see if someone had a better feel for a given position. I think this was a good way to learn. To throw a kid who has no practice time at SS or 1B into a middle of a game against a travel team to me is just cruel to the kid.

 

[BeTheMatch]

people are so #######ed stupid

 

[The Gator]

The coach is going about it wrong. The changing positions needs to happen in practices or scrimmages, not tournaments. He has the right idea about letting each kid try each position, but he's going about it the wrong way. Even then, you can't just rotate kids for the sake of rotation. They need to be comfortable playing each position they are at during a game.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Travel teams for kids under 11 years old should be illegal.

 

[Football Menace]

The coach is going about it wrong. The changing positions needs to happen in practices or scrimmages, not tournaments. He has the right idea about letting each kid try each position, but he's going about it the wrong way. Even then, you can't just rotate kids for the sake of rotation. They need to be comfortable playing each position they are at during a game.

I would agree with this. The way these kids, even at this young age, are hitting the ball; there's no way a weak fielding kid should be playing the infield.

I would like to know what parents think about their son's playing a hot position even though they are a weaker fielder right now. Anyone?

 

[Football Menace]

Travel teams for kids under 11 years old should be illegal.

They start at 7/8 here, and even younger in other areas.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Travel teams for kids under 11 years old should be illegal.

They start at 7/8 here, and even younger in other areas.

Brilliant

 

[Cjw_55106]

I've coached a lot of teams over the past decade as my son went through the ranks. First off, travel teams shouldn't be playing games with rec teams as part of the league. Sure, they could meet up in tournaments, but shouldn't be in leagues together.

As far as positions....pitcher, catcher and first base I made the kds prove they could play the position. Everywhere else, they got a chance if they wanted it. Some kids are afraid as was mentioned...I wouldn't force them to play third base for example. Kids won't get better without repetition, which is a million times more likely to happen at practice and not in games. Overall, I agree with those that stated the kids are seven. Winning isn't everything. In fact, I have a ton more respect for coaches that elevate the talents of the worst kids on the team by years end than I do the teams that win at 10u.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

The coach is going about it wrong. The changing positions needs to happen in practices or scrimmages, not tournaments. He has the right idea about letting each kid try each position, but he's going about it the wrong way. Even then, you can't just rotate kids for the sake of rotation. They need to be comfortable playing each position they are at during a game.

I tend to agree with this.

On the one hand, I do think that people involved with youth sports at the age of 7 should certainly keep some perspective and recognize that the point is to acclimate the kids to the game and give them experience with what it is like. Not trying to be Tinkers to Evers to Chance.

On the other hand, I don't think it is really helpful to have the kids trying all different positions all the time. My daughter is 9 and her softball league does it this way. Her team does not have practices, which doesn't help either, but every inning, all the kids are switched around, with no system at all. Half the girls who play first base still don't even run to the bag on a ground ball. A lot aren't quick enough mentally to make a play at any position, let alone all of them. There was a girl on third yesterday and the batter hit what was effectively a bunt. The pitcher ran up and grabbed it about 2 feet away from home plate and then just stood there while the girl on third ran home even though the catcher was right on the plate.

I want to try to explain different plays to my daughter after the game and how they should work, but it feels like a waste of time because there is so much coming at them, they can't absorb it all.

So while I think that they should be trying to have fun and get experience, I really think that they would be best served by trying to work on specific positions. Probably ideally each kid could play one position for 2-3 games in a row and have specific practice time just for that position in between.

 

[cheese]

I coach 8u and I try to have OF work with an infielder during practice learning 1 INF spot. I tell the infielder to work with his backup and he will replace him for an inning. During that part of practice I hit balls to both goin around the infield. I tell the normal INF to encourage the OF and try to use it to learn leadership. In the games I get the OF 1 inn at an INF spot they at least somewhat know from the last practice. I try not to put all subs in INF at once though.

Not perfect, but that's my attempt at finding the balance. Good luck, it's a fun age to coach because the kids are really progressing at 7-8 and can get noticeably better through the season.

 

[ClownDogs]

I coach a team of 15 kids in a 7/8 year old league(with some 6 year olds). There is just no way I can put about 7 of the kids in the infield, not cause I care about winning/losing, but I care about them getting a line drive to the head when they can't catch or are not interested in the game at all and playing in the grass/dirt.

I have a pretty steady lineup of infielders I use. I have about 7-8 kids that currently don't have the skills or want to play the infield, so I keep a steady substitution of outfielders inning by inning. (1st will be 4, 2nd will be other 4, so on and so forth) We are in a "teaching" league as they call it, but still competitive since the kids do understand winning and losing, we just don't focus on that aspect, we focus on playing better game by game. Every game every player that shows up is required to bat, so we bat 14/game.

This is the age group where you start to focus on players sticking to certain positions. In my opinion, switching positions all the time only hurts the players ability to learn and get better at a certain position. It is hard to teach game situations when you have a player on third one game, catching the next, 1st the next, outfield the next. If you keep him on SS most of the time, he will start to understand where to go when there is a runner on first and a ball is hit to the 2nd baseman.

 

[Football Menace]

I've coached a lot of teams over the past decade as my son went through the ranks. First off, travel teams shouldn't be playing games with rec teams as part of the league. Sure, they could meet up in tournaments, but shouldn't be in leagues together.

As far as positions....pitcher, catcher and first base I made the kds prove they could play the position. Everywhere else, they got a chance if they wanted it. Some kids are afraid as was mentioned...I wouldn't force them to play third base for example. Kids won't get better without repetition, which is a million times more likely to happen at practice and not in games. Overall, I agree with those that stated the kids are seven. Winning isn't everything. In fact, I have a ton more respect for coaches that elevate the talents of the worst kids on the team by years end than I do the teams that win at 10u.

I guess for me its not necessarily about winning , but being more competitive and the teaching and learning aspects. Im more afraid for the weaker fielders more than anything else. With these lightweight, big barrel, composite bats, these kids are absolutely ripping the ball. And I could understand why they are getting out of the way. But IMHO, they shouldn't be in this position to start with. Put these kids in the outfield, and let them chase balls after it lost some steam.

 

[Football Menace]

I coach a team of 15 kids in a 7/8 year old league(with some 6 year olds). There is just no way I can put about 7 of the kids in the infield, not cause I care about winning/losing, but I care about them getting a line drive to the head when they can't catch or are not interested in the game at all and playing in the grass/dirt.

I have a pretty steady lineup of infielders I use. I have about 7-8 kids that currently don't have the skills or want to play the infield, so I keep a steady substitution of outfielders inning by inning. (1st will be 4, 2nd will be other 4, so on and so forth) We are in a "teaching" league as they call it, but still competitive since the kids do understand winning and losing, we just don't focus on that aspect, we focus on playing better game by game. Every game every player that shows up is required to bat, so we bat 14/game.

This is the age group where you start to focus on players sticking to certain positions. In my opinion, switching positions all the time only hurts the players ability to learn and get better at a certain position. It is hard to teach game situations when you have a player on third one game, catching the next, 1st the next, outfield the next. If you keep him on SS most of the time, he will start to understand where to go when there is a runner on first and a ball is hit to the 2nd baseman.

Exactly. Good Posting.

 

[ClownDogs]

Hey, Ty Cobb...these kids are 7 years old. Let them have fun and learn how to play the game. Including learning how to play each position.

Settle down.

Please don't be offended, but do you have a son that plays/played ball at this age? If you do, you should see how much they learn/retain if they really are interested in the game. We do focus on having fun, but there is no way that anyone that has seen a 7/8 year old game would say "let them play each position". It just isn't plausible.

 

[Treynwreck3]

There is a place for "everybody plays". Some kids who have an aptitude for a sport can't and won't play in rec leagues, because the rules where everybody plays turns them off. That's precisely why you have select or travel teams. These kids get it, and their development should not be hindered by teaching johnnie how to throw and catch.

These advanced kids are competitive. My son's pitching coach just had his 8 year old team win their first tournament. The pictures tell the story. These kids get it.

 

[parasaurolophus]

You should be happy you have a pretty good coach.Takes a lot of guts to put kids that aren't good at positions in those positions.

The kids that are good at 7 are not usually the same kids that are good at 17.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Hey, Ty Cobb...these kids are 7 years old. Let them have fun and learn how to play the game. Including learning how to play each position.

Settle down.

Please don't be offended, but do you have a son that plays/played ball at this age? If you do, you should see how much they learn/retain if they really are interested in the game. We do focus on having fun, but there is no way that anyone that has seen a 7/8 year old game would say "let them play each position". It just isn't plausible.

I have two sons. They are both older now. They both played soccer, baseball, football, and wrestled.

I also coached or assisted soccer and baseball. Having each kid get a shot at playing each position a few times a season isn't a bad idea.

And it is 100% "plausible" since the OP told us it is happening.

I can also tell you that 10-15 years later I have never once looked back at the decisions I made while coaching and said "If only I had played Timmy at 3rd base all season his life would have turned out different. Little SOB could have gone pro if it wasn't for me."

Or "I can't believe that the world continues to rise everyday even though I let every kid on the U8 Red Raptors play offense and defense as often as possible. I feel like a monster."

 

[houston]

Isn't the job of asst coach to get these kids' skills up to speed with the other neighborhood 7 year olds?

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

to all of Pete Malloy's posts here. at some of you thinking your 6 year olds team should be treated like it's MLB.

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

I generally agree with Tanner, but I'd also add that baseball is a terrible youth sport and that's where a lot of these problems are coming from. In soccer, I can play any kid at any position, except maybe goalkeeper with a few kids, and it will work out fine and can still be a good experience for everyone. Baseball can't die quickly enough in my opinion. Every time I see twenty little kids just standing around watching one kid throw a ball to another kid over and over, I cringe.

 

[NCCommish]

Travel teams for kids under 11 years old should be illegal.

They start at 7/8 here, and even younger in other areas.

Ridiculous

 

[Plaid Boxer]

to all of Pete Malloy's posts here. at some of you thinking your 6 year olds team should be treated like it's MLB.

I don't think that has been anyone's POV in this thread. I like how you brought the age down a year as well to make your 'point' seem more valid.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

to all of Pete Malloy's posts here. at some of you thinking your 6 year olds team should be treated like it's MLB.

I don't think that has been anyone's POV in this thread. I like how you brought the age down a year as well to make your 'point' seem more valid.

My fault. Change it to 7. That makes all the difference in the world.

 

[Patriotsfatboy1]

I've coached a lot of teams over the past decade as my son went through the ranks. First off, travel teams shouldn't be playing games with rec teams as part of the league. Sure, they could meet up in tournaments, but shouldn't be in leagues together.

As far as positions....pitcher, catcher and first base I made the kds prove they could play the position. Everywhere else, they got a chance if they wanted it. Some kids are afraid as was mentioned...I wouldn't force them to play third base for example. Kids won't get better without repetition, which is a million times more likely to happen at practice and not in games. Overall, I agree with those that stated the kids are seven. Winning isn't everything. In fact, I have a ton more respect for coaches that elevate the talents of the worst kids on the team by years end than I do the teams that win at 10u.

This ^

I have been coaching my sons' since they were 7. One played in summer ball and is now 12. When he was 7/8, they played in tournaments and the quality was pretty good. Summer tournaments are meant to be competitive, but the reality is that you never know who is going to be good in HS (or beyond) when they are 7. So you coach them all up.

I have been coaching with the same guy for the last 7 seasons in Rec. Every kid plays at least a couple of innings in the infield, everyone hits the same amount (we change the batting order every game) and everyone sits the same amount. That includes a kid on our team with Down's.

You move the kids around and you let them play different positions. Last year (ages 10-12), we had 10 kids on our team and 9 of them pitched. The only one that did not was playing baseball for the first time.

With that said:

• you only pitch if you can throw strikes. I don't care how fast you throw, but baseball completely sucks if the pitcher can't throw strikes. Everyone stands around and it is boring.
• you only play catcher if you can catch the ball, you have a cup and you can throw down to 2nd base. Game is boring if the catcher is running to the backstop on every pitch.
• you only play first base if you can catch the ball and get off the base to block a wild throw. This is a safety issue and it is not fair to the other infielders if their good throws are dropped.

However, it is not easy being a coach. You walk that fine line of teaching the kids how to play the game the right way, being competitive and everyone having fun. I coach baseball, basketball and football and it is the same in all of the sports. My usual goals are to make sure that everyone got better and that everyone wants to come back next season.

 

[playin4beer]

My daughter plays travel softball on a first year travel team.. they aren't very good, even by rec standards.

The problem is, it's a new coach to travel ball also. He literally changes every girl, every inning. He doesn't want

any of the girls to sit the bench more than one inning. We had a tournament this weekend and went 1-4 and honestly

I don't know how we won the first game.

My daughter was upset and disappointed because she hates losing and at 12 years old, already knows the coach

is over his head.

I help coach her rec team that she plays on, and we could beat her travel team 3 out of 4 times.

My philosophy is, we paid quite a bit of money for her to play travel ball.. I expect the best girls to play and play

the same positions game in and game out, even if that means my daughter rides the pine.

"You play to win the game"

 

[NCCommish]

My daughter plays travel softball on a first year travel team.. they aren't very good, even by rec standards.

The problem is, it's a new coach to travel ball also. He literally changes every girl, every inning. He doesn't want

any of the girls to sit the bench more than one inning. We had a tournament this weekend and went 1-4 and honestly

I don't know how we won the first game.

My daughter was upset and disappointed because she hates losing and at 12 years old, already knows the coach

is over his head.

I help coach her rec team that she plays on, and we could beat her travel team 3 out of 4 times.

My philosophy is, we paid quite a bit of money for her to play travel ball.. I expect the best girls to play and play

the same positions game in and game out, even if that means my daughter rides the pine.

"You play to win the game"

IMO a waste but it's your money. But then again every other girls parents played quite a bit of money and maybe they expect that to mean their daughter plays.

 

[joffer]

to all of Pete Malloy's posts here. at some of you thinking your 6 year olds team should be treated like it's MLB.

I don't think that has been anyone's POV in this thread. I like how you brought the age down a year as well to make your 'point' seem more valid.

My fault. Change it to 7. That makes all the difference in the world.

Or just delete your post, which was awful.

 

[tdog]

I've coached a lot of teams over the past decade as my son went through the ranks. First off, travel teams shouldn't be playing games with rec teams as part of the league. Sure, they could meet up in tournaments, but shouldn't be in leagues together.

As far as positions....pitcher, catcher and first base I made the kds prove they could play the position. Everywhere else, they got a chance if they wanted it. Some kids are afraid as was mentioned...I wouldn't force them to play third base for example. Kids won't get better without repetition, which is a million times more likely to happen at practice and not in games. Overall, I agree with those that stated the kids are seven. Winning isn't everything. In fact, I have a ton more respect for coaches that elevate the talents of the worst kids on the team by years end than I do the teams that win at 10u.

This is the perfect response.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

to all of Pete Malloy's posts here. at some of you thinking your 6 year olds team should be treated like it's MLB.

I don't think that has been anyone's POV in this thread. I like how you brought the age down a year as well to make your 'point' seem more valid.

My fault. Change it to 7. That makes all the difference in the world.

Or just delete your post, which was awful.

 

[Dentist]

You play to win the game. Be ruthless... yell a lot... make them run laps.. argue with the umpires a lot... yell more.

let them know life is hard and their odds of making the MLB are nill so they should give up quick.

 

[playin4beer]

My daughter plays travel softball on a first year travel team.. they aren't very good, even by rec standards.

The problem is, it's a new coach to travel ball also. He literally changes every girl, every inning. He doesn't want

any of the girls to sit the bench more than one inning. We had a tournament this weekend and went 1-4 and honestly

I don't know how we won the first game.

My daughter was upset and disappointed because she hates losing and at 12 years old, already knows the coach

is over his head.

I help coach her rec team that she plays on, and we could beat her travel team 3 out of 4 times.

My philosophy is, we paid quite a bit of money for her to play travel ball.. I expect the best girls to play and play

the same positions game in and game out, even if that means my daughter rides the pine.

"You play to win the game"

IMO a waste but it's your money. But then again every other girls parents played quite a bit of money and maybe they expect that to mean their daughter plays.

It's her first year playing travel ball.. and probably her last. She wanted to try it, so I told her we'd pay for it.. Kinda hard to say no when her older sister

is in dance classes 4-5 nights a week and the cost for that is probably 5 times what travel ball costs..

Like I said, I wouldn't expect her to play if she wasn't good enough, it's travel ball. I expect the best girls to play in the same positions, every game.

Rec ball is where girls get the chance to try out different positions and "everybody plays"...

 

[Long Ball Larry]

There is a place for "everybody plays". Some kids who have an aptitude for a sport can't and won't play in rec leagues, because the rules where everybody plays turns them off. That's precisely why you have select or travel teams. These kids get it, and their development should not be hindered by teaching johnnie how to throw and catch.

These advanced kids are competitive. My son's pitching coach just had his 8 year old team win their first tournament. The pictures tell the story. These kids get it.

Tommy John surgery?

 

[NCCommish]

My daughter plays travel softball on a first year travel team.. they aren't very good, even by rec standards.

The problem is, it's a new coach to travel ball also. He literally changes every girl, every inning. He doesn't want

any of the girls to sit the bench more than one inning. We had a tournament this weekend and went 1-4 and honestly

I don't know how we won the first game.

My daughter was upset and disappointed because she hates losing and at 12 years old, already knows the coach

is over his head.

I help coach her rec team that she plays on, and we could beat her travel team 3 out of 4 times.

My philosophy is, we paid quite a bit of money for her to play travel ball.. I expect the best girls to play and play

the same positions game in and game out, even if that means my daughter rides the pine.

"You play to win the game"

IMO a waste but it's your money. But then again every other girls parents played quite a bit of money and maybe they expect that to mean their daughter plays.

It's her first year playing travel ball.. and probably her last. She wanted to try it, so I told her we'd pay for it.. Kinda hard to say no when her older sister

is in dance classes 4-5 nights a week and the cost for that is probably 5 times what travel ball costs..

Like I said, I wouldn't expect her to play if she wasn't good enough, it's travel ball. I expect the best girls to play in the same positions, every game.

Rec ball is where girls get the chance to try out different positions and "everybody plays"...

See here's the thing. Travel ball has become about making money not making budding stars. I know several guys who make a living off travel ball and their whole focus is how to get in more checks. So it isn't all the best kids any more it's all the kids whose parents can be talked into spending money. And lots of it. Not to mention the time drain and really the loss of a childhood IMO. Really given the dearth of scholarships available I don't see the value to anyone other than the guys making the cash.

 

[playin4beer]

My daughter plays travel softball on a first year travel team.. they aren't very good, even by rec standards.

The problem is, it's a new coach to travel ball also. He literally changes every girl, every inning. He doesn't want

any of the girls to sit the bench more than one inning. We had a tournament this weekend and went 1-4 and honestly

I don't know how we won the first game.

My daughter was upset and disappointed because she hates losing and at 12 years old, already knows the coach

is over his head.

I help coach her rec team that she plays on, and we could beat her travel team 3 out of 4 times.

My philosophy is, we paid quite a bit of money for her to play travel ball.. I expect the best girls to play and play

the same positions game in and game out, even if that means my daughter rides the pine.

"You play to win the game"

IMO a waste but it's your money. But then again every other girls parents played quite a bit of money and maybe they expect that to mean their daughter plays.

It's her first year playing travel ball.. and probably her last. She wanted to try it, so I told her we'd pay for it.. Kinda hard to say no when her older sister

is in dance classes 4-5 nights a week and the cost for that is probably 5 times what travel ball costs..

Like I said, I wouldn't expect her to play if she wasn't good enough, it's travel ball. I expect the best girls to play in the same positions, every game.

Rec ball is where girls get the chance to try out different positions and "everybody plays"...

See here's the thing. Travel ball has become about making money not making budding stars. I know several guys who make a living off travel ball and their whole focus is how to get in more checks. So it isn't all the best kids any more it's all the kids whose parents can be talked into spending money. And lots of it. Not to mention the time drain and really the loss of a childhood IMO. Really given the dearth of scholarships available I don't see the value to anyone other than the guys making the cash.

Like I said, it's the first year for travel ball for her and I.. and I'm seeing what you are saying loud and clear.. that's why I said it's probably her last year also..

Here's the thing.. she eats, breathes and sleeps softball/baseball.. I have four daughters, she's the only one that will sit and watch an entire Detroit Tigers game with me..

Beg me to take her to Tigers and Whitecaps baseball games and Spartan softball games.. Ask me all the time to take her up to the field and practice with her.

I'm not the prototypical dad that is pushing his kid and making them play/practice when they don't want to, it's pretty much the other way around.

She has to beg me to get my lazy ### off the couch to go practice with her.

 

[Cjw_55106]

My daughter (10) is playing travel ball for the first time this year. I don't expect them to make her into a budding star. I knew the cost when I signed up. She's in travel ball because the rec league was worthless. Walk after walk after walk until the run limit for the inning was achieved. No pitches to swing at and no balls hit to you in the field. Waste of time IMO. I see the value in the travel league...and I'm losing money, not making it.

 

[NCCommish]

My daughter plays travel softball on a first year travel team.. they aren't very good, even by rec standards.

The problem is, it's a new coach to travel ball also. He literally changes every girl, every inning. He doesn't want

any of the girls to sit the bench more than one inning. We had a tournament this weekend and went 1-4 and honestly

I don't know how we won the first game.

My daughter was upset and disappointed because she hates losing and at 12 years old, already knows the coach

is over his head.

I help coach her rec team that she plays on, and we could beat her travel team 3 out of 4 times.

My philosophy is, we paid quite a bit of money for her to play travel ball.. I expect the best girls to play and play

the same positions game in and game out, even if that means my daughter rides the pine.

"You play to win the game"

IMO a waste but it's your money. But then again every other girls parents played quite a bit of money and maybe they expect that to mean their daughter plays.

It's her first year playing travel ball.. and probably her last. She wanted to try it, so I told her we'd pay for it.. Kinda hard to say no when her older sister

is in dance classes 4-5 nights a week and the cost for that is probably 5 times what travel ball costs..

Like I said, I wouldn't expect her to play if she wasn't good enough, it's travel ball. I expect the best girls to play in the same positions, every game.

Rec ball is where girls get the chance to try out different positions and "everybody plays"...

See here's the thing. Travel ball has become about making money not making budding stars. I know several guys who make a living off travel ball and their whole focus is how to get in more checks. So it isn't all the best kids any more it's all the kids whose parents can be talked into spending money. And lots of it. Not to mention the time drain and really the loss of a childhood IMO. Really given the dearth of scholarships available I don't see the value to anyone other than the guys making the cash.

Like I said, it's the first year for travel ball for her and I.. and I'm seeing what you are saying loud and clear.. that's why I said it's probably her last year also..

Here's the thing.. she eats, breathes and sleeps softball/baseball.. I have four daughters, she's the only one that will sit and watch an entire Detroit Tigers game with me..

Beg me to take her to Tigers and Whitecaps baseball games and Spartan softball games.. Ask me all the time to take her up to the field and practice with her.

I'm not the prototypical dad that is pushing his kid and making them play/practice when they don't want to, it's pretty much the other way around.

She has to beg me to get my lazy ### off the couch to go practice with her.

Well in that case I hope she finds a good coach along the way. Girls have a better shot at a full ride than guys.

 

[NCCommish]

My daughter (10) is playing travel ball for the first time this year. I don't expect them to make her into a budding star. I knew the cost when I signed up. She's in travel ball because the rec league was worthless. Walk after walk after walk until the run limit for the inning was achieved. No pitches to swing at and no balls hit to you in the field. Waste of time IMO. I see the value in the travel league...and I'm losing money, not making it.

I have seen some pretty sorry travel teams. The reality is a lot of travel league is rec ball for more money these days.