In need of an attitude adjustment or just need some time?

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DD is looking forward to summer season. She has been less than happy about her freshman ball experience, feeling the affects of the sophomore attitudes and the strain of being in the dugout with girls more interested in discussing boys/relationships than focusing on the game.

Situation: 6 girls competing for Div 1 pitching spots. 1 cut, 1 injured, 2 on V and 2 on JV. She was put on JV and told she was a swing player, never got called up but the frosh on V was pulled down a couple of times. DD?s current record is 6-1. She put her soul into winter ball and team conditioning/try-outs, looked like a V pitcher. Now she pitches like she did 2 years ago: inconsistent speed and not hitting her spots.

Mom?s questions: What happened to the skills? Where?s the chick with the drive? What happened to working 6 days a week?

DD?s answers: Coaches don?t give us time to pitch at practice. What?s the point in working that hard? Starting V pitcher is only a junior so it?s going to be a while before I ever see varsity.

Mom?s next questions: Do you still want to pitch? Are you still looking to play college ball?

DD?s answers: Of course I do!

Mom?s questions for those of you with a few more years experience:
How best to handle this situation? Will she reach the next level of maturity soon? Will the summer season be enough to re-ignite the fire?

 

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Can't wait to hear what people have to say about this one

 

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My question Travelin... is:

Q: Is it skillset or politics that is keeping your dd on JV?

I have seen politics take the passion out of many pitchers who happen to land in the wrong school district. I have also seen many girls in the same situation come into the summer with a super drive to prove something. Do everything you can to keep the passion alive and reminder her that school ball is more of a social event than anything else. Use it to prepare for summer, not as a replacement for it.

 

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Might want to point out that not every freshman starts out playing in college either and if she is going to stop working because an upperclassmen has a spot that's a good way to make sure you get beat out when your older by an underclassmen.

 

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She needs to work harder and improve her pitching or she definately won't make the varsity next year. The best way to show you are deserving of a postiton is to be BETTER than the player who holds it. If the coach sees her skills are going down hill because she is mad about not making the varsity that is a BIG red flag for the coach, a sign of an attitude problem.

Most team practices aren't for working on individual skills, that should be done at home on your own.

 

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My daughters do their catching & pitching AFTER practice. Politics determine where people are and what they do in most things, unless you are so much better and work so much harder than the person sitting where you want to be that those in charge have to put you there. I always tell my girls, and it is a quote from President Garfield, "...if you are not too large for the place you occupy, you are too small for it."

If your daughter has any inclination to play college ball or HS varsity, she has to use everything that she is experiencing as motivation to be better than she was yesterday, whatever it takes.

 

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Let me add this: coaches would never know that she is unhappy or mad. I can see it because I know her so well. She has actually exhibited a great deal of maturity for a freshman, she saves her rants for the car ride home. She follows the rules, is the last out of the dugout because she is cleaning up and carrying team equipment, keeps her mouth shut when the older ones are doing the “I’m a sophomore” routine, and doing her best to model softball etiquette and sportsmanship.

DD been okay with being on JV because she gets playing time, unlike the frosh on V who doesn’t. She thrives on competition and is usually grace under pressure in the circle.

She is upset that winter ball and conditioning were so challenging and now practices (which occur because of rained out games) are shorter and more for lip service than skill building with the focus on hitting rather than plays or pitcher/catcher time to work on situations and pitch selection (catchers are new at calling pitches). She is asking for and needing the instruction but is crying out for balance at home-thus the not working for 30 minutes with dad in the evening. Gotta have time to eat, do homework, and socialize before getting to laundry and shower.

Just wondering how to help her bear up under the high school girl thing. She dropped s***** last fall to focus on pitching. Is playing year-round a bad thing? Or are we just looking at coping skills maturing at a different rate than ball skills?

 

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My daughters do their catching & pitching AFTER practice.

Thank you, this is exactly what I have been telling DD and dad all spring.
I am sure he will see this later.

 

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It is real simple:

Imform your daughter of a couple of things:

#1- she should always give 100% effort for herself, it is about personal pride, you give 100% effort because you are representing your family and yourself, you do not give effort for the coach...........

#2- she should realize that she will never know who is watching, and the coach watching will not want a player that only goes 100% when she feels like it, or the mood is right

#3- and finally, by acting and performing that way she is modeling how she believes the coaches feel about her, so she is becoming what they may have told she is, that is BS

And one more thing. My wifes HS coach told them all at the first day of practice that the success of the season had nothing to do with the coaches. That her senior year the players ran practice because the coach was not interested. That it is on them to make it a great season. And that if they were waiting for her to "make them great" they would be waiting a long time. Now this coach was very good. And had won State Champ in BB and went on to coached BB in a small college where she may have won a NC (lower levels). She was an excellent SB coach also and they made it to States a few times but nver won it all.

Her attitude is "her problem" not the coaches or the situation.

 

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My Daughter Trapped on JV on a Very Good DIII Team... Better Defensively than All the Varsity OFers...(No Sluch at Plate Hitting over .500 with serveral Extra Base Hits including one HR hit Out... but Varsity Team winning. Not much I can say ...But Hope shes called up for Tourneys to Help Wherever she can. Spots open next season. Thats life... Some things are Possibly Politics and some are just Bad timing.

 

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I am an asst at both hs and travel. I am not able to see very much of the JV's but i do peak in on them from time to time. All i have to go on is what i see for myself, which sometimes isn't pretty. HER ATTITUDE IS ON HER! If she's not putting in the effort to be better, and has even slid backwards, why should I give someone else's spot and playing time to her?

Politics are tough to deal with if that is what is happening. But the drive to be better and improve has to be there in order to be on V no matter what grade she is in.

I tell my travel players who are in similar situations to keep the bigger goal in mind......work hard because the summer season starts in just a few weeks and the team needs you ready to hit the ground running. There is no time to wait for u to get back to where u were last fall. That may mean throwing to dad after practice, taking reps in the garage, or going to the cage on Sunday. Alternative is be prepared to sit. Again, this comes down to her stepping up because she can, and not because of what group of girls she is playing with.

Good luck!

 

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When she goes to her travel team practices, when does she get time to practice pitching? Does she have to show-up early or stay after to get the pitching practice?

The regular practice, HS and Travel, deals mainly with defensive practice and batting practice. Live pitching rarely happens. If pitchers want to get in pitching practice, then it is either before or after the regular practice.

Yes, that means that practice will be longer for her, and her catcher, but that is the price for wanting the lime-light position.

 

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I know My Kid... Plays JV ... Likes playing... and is waiting for an Opportunity. I dont see the Point in Having a Bad Attitude over stuff like that. Cream will rise to the Top when opportunity is there. MAybe mt Daughter in different Situation because our Varsity team is So Good... But thats not a Horrible Problem. I have friends from other school Districts who "Cant Believe" Shes JV... but we all knew when these kids were 11 and 12 there was gonna be a Log Jam. Now if my kid was being treated totally unfair... Maybe it would bother me more. In the meantime , she has excelled this year and hopefully get a chance to join the Varsity and make a run. Thats ALL Attitude... not one time I heard her Complain this year. Maybe that why shes played so well. Stay positive ... you will get rewarded in the long run.

 

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High School politics have KILLED many a players desire.
When HS coaches start coaching like it is travel season things will look a little different. If the Freshman pitcher is better than the senior, then the freshman should get the bulk when needed.

Of course you need to look ahead to the future and when possible get your other prospects their time, but make it known upfront that we are in it to win it.

;&

 

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CentervilleFP already said it. Pitchers, especially support pitchers, need to work after hours on their game. Same way with hitters that possibly sit the bench. If you don't keep yourself peaked you'll never be able to take advantage of your opportunity when it comes. This is really no different than travel ball pitchers and catchers being told to show up at least half an hour early to warm up. It takes more time for a specialty player to get ready and to keep their skills honed. A freshman pitcher probably hasn't been at it as long as the senior and 3 more years perhaps she can slack off a little. You need to take control of your own destiny. Just because the high school coach says he/she's finished for the day, doesn't mean you're done if you want to stay sharp.

 

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Opinions
-varsity coaches assume that by this age,most players have thier own pitching,catching,hitting coaches.Varsity coach would probably be criticized in changing one of these players game,depending on who the varsity coach is.
-varsity coaches put together thier best line-ups given what they see or know about the players and develope thier game plan to what thier roster gives.
-coaches would love to have 3 let alone 6 pitchers but need 1 ace?
-players and parents should acknowledge the pitching depth of a team before saying it is favoristism.If I were a #3 pitcher on varsity,that already states playing time.
-coaches should not take freshman if they are not starters-let them play all the time on JV.
-everybody on the bench and in the stands talk-it will get back around.More bad than good,even if the comments are misunderstood.
-remeber that the bad attitude sticks more than the good.Good attitude may superceed a better players playing time?
-betting at dd's 20 year class reunion,they wont talk about her not being a 4 year starter.They will talk about when she were a starter?
-don't show an attitude that puts you in the "politics" side of playing time

 

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She needs to work harder and improve her pitching or she definately won't make the varsity next year. The best way to show you are deserving of a postiton is to be BETTER than the player who holds it. If the coach sees her skills are going down hill because she is mad about not making the varsity that is a BIG red flag for the coach, a sign of an attitude problem.

Most team practices aren't for working on individual skills, that should be done at home on your own.

This is getting ridiculous, but I agree with Klump. Seems Klump and I are on the same page lately hahaha.

 

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Sounds like she's lost her mojo. Probably disheartened when she didn't make Varsity where she felt she should have been. Understandable, but not helping her own cause.

She needs to get her head back on straight. She's gotta keep her skillz sharp (which doesn't necessarily mean practice 6 days/week) and show the coaches that she's hungry.

She's gotta pitch on JV so well that it embarrasses her coaches...so well that it makes the opposing team accuse them of stooping to calling down a "ringer" from V, lol.

Pitching is such a mental position...more so than any other on the field (sorry, but it's true). She needs to find whatever can motivate her (revenge, ambition, pride, whatever...) and use it to drive her to continue to improve and get to where she wants to be.

Good luck.

 

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Thanks Kat-that EXACTLY it, she's lost her mojo. Just gotta help her get her groove back.

 

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Sounds like she's lost her mojo. Probably disheartened when she didn't make Varsity where she felt she should have been. Understandable, but not helping her own cause.

She needs to get her head back on straight. She's gotta keep her skillz sharp (which doesn't necessarily mean practice 6 days/week) and show the coaches that she's hungry.

She's gotta pitch on JV so well that it embarrasses her coaches...so well that it makes the opposing team accuse them of stooping to calling down a "ringer" from V, lol.

Pitching is such a mental position...more so than any other on the field (sorry, but it's true). She needs to find whatever can motivate her (revenge, ambition, pride, whatever...) and use it to drive her to continue to improve and get to where she wants to be.

Good luck.

Great post!