HS parents chance to tell HS coaches your opinion.

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High school coaches in many programs, not all, struggle with what to do with a kid that will excel at JV but is just not quite ready, for what ever the reasons (I.e.: better players in front of them, maturity, skill sets, etc.) to play every day at Varsity.

Would you rather your daughter play every day against weaker competition and possibly get better or even as I have witnessed, regress?

Or would they (the player) be better served to practice with and be a member of varsity, play a role as necessary, and spend the year in a "grooming" mode?

Granted the key to make the second item work requires good forthright and continuing communication between the staff and player. Let's assume that this is happening.

I have my opinion and it somewhat varies with the kid, her position and many other circumstances. I will not elaborate further or respond to any posts. But I would love to hear the opinions from the masses of parents of players that are here on OFC to see if you as a parent could tolerate your daughter getting limited playing time on varsity in this situation.

 

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My dd would definitely rather play JV than sit Varsity. Also she's a catcher, so where is she gonna get more work, catching a decidedly less talented JV pitcher or sitting Varsity and watching games. The beauty of being a catcher is, the worse the pitcher is the better you get.

 

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Maybe this is the wrong question.

I think that a great high school coach is looking not at developing individual players, but rather building the best team - year after year.

If building the best team means having a player be on the JV team so that they can get more repetitions - which will make them better for the playoffs or next year - then do that.

The player should be given specific goals to achieve - at whatever level they are playing. The coach measures progress toward those goals. The only reason a player should "regress" when playing JV is if they are failing to achieve their goals - or if the coach didn't establish goals.

That doesn't mean that the player (and parents can help) can specifically ASK the coach what the player should be striving to achieve based on their playing assignment.

Developing the team - over the long run - is why I think that sometimes the 12 best players aren't on the field. Sitting a player on the bench doesn't develop skills. A player expected to step in and take over a senior's role (assuming that they can't do it now) may be better off getting the reps on the JV field, then coming up for a few varsity games and the playoffs.

 

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My DD made varsity as a freshman. Coach explained that she needed to be there to "learn the way we do things on the vasity team." She didn't play a total of 5 games the whole year. I was quite p*****d off, as she wasn't told that although you made the varsity team, you won't be playing. Her playing regressed to the point she was really behind the first month of summer ball with live pitching. I would have rather her either played JV and moved up to varsity when she was going to play on a particular day, or just play solely JV. Since she "learned the way they did things" during her freshman year, she has been the starting catcher her next three years. (if she starts this year)

 

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If you are an underclassman, go to the place where you will get more reps. Some high schools practice more than others so it may work out (by getting more intense instruction and playing with better talent), but sitting on the bench will not get you any better.

 

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Kids want to play, I say wherever your going to get the most playing time. The more you play the better your going to get.

 

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I've posted my thoughts on this issue on a different thread, so I'll keep it short. I hear what ya'll are saying about wanting PT, but if you are in an area where softball isn't real strong, you really have to think about whether your DD will benefit from playing what can be almost so bad as to qualify as modified slow pitch.

I'm not at all sure I'm on the right side of this debate (it's a close question as to which reasonable minds can disagree) but I KNOW I've seen some JV contests that couldn't have been doing any good for a seasoned and/or skilled travel ball player.

 

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Go where she can get the work she needs to be better.Humility is a hard thing to learn,but if she isnt playing ,i guess humble will do.With everygrain of salt,drink water.
I have seen some who should be out there and are not.This shouldn't be discouraging,if she gets the right guidance she should push that much harder.Sometimes the sidelines can be more encouragement.If she is that good others will ask why she isnt on the field.

 

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Some of the answer here could depend not entirely on time played in actual games, but the quality of the coaching and practices. If a girl is getting better coaching and more quality practice time on the varsity level then she would on JV, that should be considered as well. Ignoring that, I am pretty sure my daughter would have preferred to play JV vs. sit on varsity.

 

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Having experienced this ourselves, I would definitely say that my daughter would have been much happier playing on JV than sitting the bench for varsity. She eventually played more innings as the season progressed, but it definitely hurt her sitting on the bench. Sitting on the bench means a whole day of not practicing or playing. Add in 2-4 games a week, and that is a lot of practicing that is missed. There were times we would take her to the batting cages after the games or have her practice pitching or catching after the games, but many times she got no time in at all because she had homework she needed to complete.

 

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I guess it depends on the school and program. My daughter started varsity as a freshman at a D1 school. Its easy to say now.. but I truly believe she would have been
happier sitting at Varsity than playing lesser ball at JV. I'm probably in the minority on this board, but I absolutely love H.S. softball. I love the intensity of the play, I like that there is no time limit. I think it is a better game than summer ball. JMO.

crosley

 

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I guess my dd was lucky, she played on both, enough to letter as a freshman but was predominately on JV so that she pitched every day. She did very well on both teams. She dominated on JV though.