complain or not

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I need to ask this, dd is in a slump which in turn leads to less playing time. Now other young ladies are also struggling, I guess my complaint is if she only plays sparingly over the weekend how is that giving her a chance to work through it.

 

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I'd ask.... I know this is a pregnant issue but one that can't be left alone. Has she been working at home on her own or doing something differently that you can present to the coaching staff. My oldest plays on a team I don't coach and I too have to occasionally be the "complaining parent"... no fun!

 

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Best thing to do is do her job when she needs to , and hope the coach is watching. Mabey ask what they think you need to be working on to get her out of the "slump". That will show you are trying to work through it and he may notice. If not, buy the coach a cold one and steal the line-up sheet. ;&

 

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If you want to make sure your daughter gets playing time during a slump, you have to be the coach or the parent who keeps the scorebook or books the hotels. My daughter plays for a team with two coaches. Each has a daughter who's not hitting her weight and playing poorly on defense. They never come out of the lineup. Other girls make a couple of outs in a row and get moved down in the order or wind up on the bench. It's very sad.

 

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I don't know if your dd's team practices during the week between tournaments, some try to, and some simply can't due to conflicts in schedule. If they do practice, make sure you impress upon your dd that she treats these practices like a tournament final game. Be on time, be attentive, work as hard as she can, have her ask the coach for some help, and always in general hustle. She's at the point where she needs to do something to catch the coach's eye. If they don't practice, she needs to ask the coach what he thinks about her slump and how to work through it, and then follow though with what he thinks. REMEMBER it's about her playing time and he's the one filling out the line-up card. When my dd struggles, we spend extra time to get it fixed, it's not because she's the coach's daughter, but the only way to fix problems is to attend to them.

 

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Yes talk to the coach, not good to keep things building up. Not Right, If certain girls are giving special treatment. but it happens.
Good luck

 

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Become a coach and start your own team. Or become more involved with the coaching staff. Politics and sports go hand in hand. Or she can become apart of the greatest team ever like my daughter and join the United States Marine Corps. Enjoy the softball experiance as much as you can. They grow up fast.

 

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I need to ask this, dd is in a slump which in turn leads to less playing time. Now other young ladies are also struggling, I guess my complaint is if she only plays sparingly over the weekend how is that giving her a chance to work through it.

Ya'll are missing the question here. The question is not about team politics, it is about working on and fixing skills. What Steve is describing happens on any type of team from high school to professional.

Does the team have any practices during the week? It sounds to me that there is no development happening during the week. The girls need to work on their deficiencies during the week, either with mom and dad or with a coach. If your team coaches cannot fix the problem, it might be time to look at going to a "professional" coach (one that is getting paid to teach). Work on the deficiencies during the week and let the team coach know about the progress.

Now for the second part. Yes, it is a fact of athletics that playing time decreases if performance does not keep up. I believe that in the younger age groups, it should be about getting repetitions. If the coach is unwilling to see this, then it is probably time to find another team that does understand about developing players. Definately have a talk with the team coach about where they see the skills and playing time for your DD. There are organizations that have a "I will not discuss playing time" policy. If this is a younger team, then should be obvious that they are not interested in developing players, they just want to win at all costs.

 

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DD once went from #4 to #9 in a matter of 2 tournaments. SHE (not mom & dad) went to the coach and talked to him. Obviously, her "slump" was not helping the team achieve it's goals - which is to win games. A few sessions with her hitting coach helped with her approach, and she slowly crept back to #4. No politics or sweet-talking needed. It's about game performance and run production.

Why waste time focusing on the coaches DD's batting average? You can't change that anyway! Focus on your OWN DD's skills and performance. There are two paths you can take: Your DD drastically improves her hitting skills, or go play rec. ball where playing time is equal, and batting average and OB% don't really matter.

 

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The key is to show what your DD brings to the table, not what the other girls arent doing. If the caoch wants to win the best nine will find their way into the lineup, if they dont you have that sickness DADDY BALL. There is no cure, just take your lumps and hope for a better year next year.

 

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Thanks everybody for your input, greatly appreciated.

 

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I think that T work and wiffle ball pitching is under estimated. Work on hand and eye cordination drills.Hit the T's, Hit the T's and Hit the T's!! If that doesn't work , try and find a good hitting instuctor.

 

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Become a coach and start your own team. Or become more involved with the coaching staff. Politics and sports go hand in hand. Or she can become apart of the greatest team ever like my daughter and join the United States Marine Corps. Enjoy the softball experiance as much as you can. They grow up fast.

Being Involved in the Coaching staff wont help unless the Head Coach is weak... Most Head coaches are going to do what they Do , and If You coach and your daughter IS the topic. Tread lightly.. You can do more harm than Good.

 

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I think that T work and wiffle ball pitching is under estimated. Work on hand and eye cordination drills.Hit the T's, Hit the T's and Hit the T's!! If that doesn't work , try and find a good hitting instuctor.

LOVE WiffleBall Work. And HARDBALL Cages... At Speeds slightly above the Average speed of you Daughters Classification.

 

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I think all coaches want to win and try to put there best 9 out there. I also think that most coaches try to rotate the girls as best as he/she can while still trying to win - delicate balance. Coaches are not always right but can only go on what they see and believe. I agree on the open communication thing also.

 

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pitch kidney or pinto beans to her to go along with the wiffles and other soft toss.

They have to remain focused and concentrate on the beans in order to hit them....