Opinions on this...

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Not that uncommon for a travel ball player to play on a REC team to be with friends. Also not uncommon for her to be one of the better players and likely a pitcher on the REC team even if she doesn't pitch for her travel team. Let the kid play and pitch, but I would be sharing innings with other pitchers on the team, not pitching one kid only. Teach them all to play mutiple positions. IME her making all REC activities that don't conflict with travel team, might mean she's there more than some of the kids who only play REC ball (i.e. there will be lots of kids missing games for lots of reasons at REC level). If you want to be part of a team that penalizes kids for missing practices and team events, play travel, otherwise let this kid get as much enjoyment as she can from playing with her buddies.

When I coached REC my policy was pretty simple you played an equal amount of the time you were there. If you miss a game I won't play you more the next game to make up for it, but you'll share time with the other kids that show up that game. So in the situation above if the the travel girl makes it to 1/2 the games and there are three pitchers I would think it reasonably fair for the travel girl to pitch about 1/3 of the time at the games she makes it to.

This is pretty close to what I do. I keep a spreadsheet on who played when and where. I have a column for "Absent" and count that.

The only consideration I place on missing practices and games (in REC) is a player not knowing what to do during the game. If you miss a bunch and don't know when to cover a base I won't put you there and I'll gently tell the player that I'll give her more time there when she has picked that knowledge up. I may put here there later in the game "depending" but that is up to the game.

As far as pitching I'd agree with the above that she is considered 1/3 of the staff but I probably wouldn't make her the star and give her most of the innings. You DO have to have an incentive for coming to practice and games, with the reason for not doing so in mind. I have had players miss due to other valid commitments and I've had players miss just because the parents are too sorry to bring their kid. Is it the kids fault? Usually not but part of playing a sport is being taught some responsibility by the coaches so I try to work that all in with the knowledge that it is a rec league.

 

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Well now we know your beef.

Since you don't know me from Adam, I would ask that you refrain from judgement on my motives. I had the same opinion with the team we played for last year. We had a girl who was a travel catcher and the games she showed up for with us, she caught the whole game. I felt this was even less fair than the situation I asked for opinions on.

At no point did I say I think my DD is a superstar and deserves special treatment. And I did say that there is yet another girl this pertains to. I was just asking for opinions on the situation, not on my character.

 

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If she is going to pitch a lot with her travel team and this is the only chance that the other pitchers have to face batters, than that player should play another position to allow the opportunity for the less experienced pitchers to get better. Plus, this is her opportunity to get better some where else. The more positions you can play and understand, the better overall player you will be.

Agreed. My DD somewhat fits this scenario too, but our Coach knows WE/SHE have ZERO requirements to pitch or play anywhere and that dd is simply wanting to play with her school friends when she can. And BTW this team had 16 players last year and 13 this year, so not being there for "some" games is probably liked by most kids/parents. Playing time is sparce to begin with.

Our view is at this point, whatever Rec Coach decides to do with her is his choice and WE are fine with that. Hope the other parents realize it's about the friendships and whatever Coach does, is what coach does. We won't be complaining about if/where we play, we are there to have fun with our friends, and apparently Coach is OK with that. I suspect Coach will want to try and win a few games that he might not have a shot at normally, when we are there, but again... THAT IS HIS CHOICE and WINNING is fun. ^_^!

The other side of this is, these parents that are worried about their own kids time/experience being lessoned do to the travel player playing rec, needs to go the other way and realize the real opportunities their child and them will have receive excellent information to learn and grow from both the Travel Player and her parents that are more likely willing to share their knowledge , experience with your child to improve her skills too.(FOR FREEE) The glass is HALF FULL here for those that realize it.

 

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Okay, I'm not opposed to her playing. I think it's great that she likes the sport so much as to play on two teams. I guess my biggest issue is the tournament situation. If she won't be pitching for us in tournaments, I don't think she should pitch in regular season. The reason I say that, is that the two pitchers we have are both first year pitchers. And as much as I want this to be fun for them.... how much fun is it to lose all the time? So wouldn't it make more sense on the coach's part to not pitch the travel player so that the other two get more practice/experience under their belt? And to clarify, this travel player is a heck of a player. Pretty sure she can play wherever you put her and she's a heck of a nice kid, to boot!

I'm of the mindset that even though it's not travel, it can still be competitive and fun. Maybe not travel level competitive, but you have to make the best of what you're given.

Under that same premise, wouldn't it make sense to play your best players at all the positions so they get even better and you maybe win more games? Should it be equal playing time all around with-out penalty for playing travel outside the rec team or should it be put your best 9 on the field?

Would you want to not play one of your shortstops much because they wouldn't be at the tournament?

Just some thoughts.

 

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Under that same premise, wouldn't it make sense to play your best players at all the positions so they get even better and you maybe win more games? Should it be equal playing time all around with-out penalty for playing travel outside the rec team or should it be put your best 9 on the field?

Would you want to not play one of your shortstops much because they wouldn't be at the tournament?

Just some thoughts.

I see your point. I guess I'm just thinking that if she isn't playing in tournaments, the other girls could use all the help they can get in order to do their best in those tournaments. I suppose, in the overall scheme of things, it really doesn't matter.

So, I'll just work with my DD and help her do her best and let the coaches and everyone else worry about the rest. Ultimately, that's all that any one parent can really do, anyway.

 

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I just wonder how fun the game is to the girls if you have a travel pitcher pitchng rec ball. In most cases it is "lights out"; she will more likely strike everyone out. While all this is going on, the rest of the players are twittling their thumbs, thinking of other things. If this is Little Leauge and you are going for District and then State, I would give the other girls more oppurtunity to pitch so that they can have more reps to get better. And if the opposing team hits off them well then it gives the defense something to do.

 

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Last year, my 10U dd did both. She's a pitcher. I also coached both travel and rec (only rec this year). So I was her coach.

In travel, no one established themselves as a true ace, and they all received equal pitching time.

In rec, I only had my daughter. Now, I knew that she was better than most players in rec and one of the best pitchers in rec. I'm also big in developing other players (I do not coach my dd now in anything but at home only and she now only plays travel so my rec team I have no dd) especially pitchers. I had 5 pitchers (4 in developement and mine). So all got equal playing time at pitching at the beginning of the year, 1 inning each. When we got to the middle and towards the end of the season, it was about further development of the pitchers, and if they deserved it, they got back-to-back innings.

I also based it on who we were facing. The stronger teams faced stronger pitchers with 1 weak pitcher also pitching (to see what it was like to face good batting). The mediocre teams faced the mediocre pitching with the better pitching getting 1 inning, maybe 2 (to help the batters face both types of pitching). The weak teams faced the weak pitchers with the better pitchers getting only 1 inning (to show the batters what a strong pitcher is like).

My rec team is a machine fed team (7-8 yr olds) and I'm hoping that these girls take advantage of my free pitching lessons.

 

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As a coach of a 10U rec ball team, I have zero problem with it. I do have some travel players, they happen to make all my practices, but if they didnt make practices because they were at there travel practices I am ok with it. If I had a rec team full of travel players, who couldnt practice with me because of their committment to their travel teams, I would have more free time on my hands lol.

As far as pitching now even though she wont be at the tournament, again zero problem with it. If she's a pitcher and since she cant make a tournament, I tell her im not going to pitch her, she might not want to play. My goal with my 10U team is to get as many kids involved as possible, in hopes they all stick with softball and end up playing in high school together. The other thing as pointed out, normally travel players are better then just rec ball players, well at the very least more expierenced. Kids that age are little sponges, if they see a player on their team playing a certain way, sliding, getting bunts down, pitching well etc. they start to pick up on those things, you might even get one of the non travel player pitchers, to practice more on their own, maybe seek out an instructor work on their game and then turn around and become a travel player. To me its kind of win win.

In my short time in rec ball ive found out, Parents are far to worried about what other kids are doing, how much they are playing, what positions they are playing, how they are playing those positions....instead of going out to the ball field on their own and working with their kids themselves, to improve their play. Much easier to complain about other kids then sit on a bucket for an hour, or to pound ground ball after ground ball to their kids, or fly ball after fly ball to their kids or pitch to them and let them hit lol.

Sorry to get off subject...but almost every single good ball player have 1 thing in common, a Mom/dad/grandparent/sister etc. that works with them outside of team activities.

Well said and so very true , my dd takes pitching lessons 50 min drive 1 way , I catch for her for an hour and my job is easier than hers , These young ladies work hard to play at travel level ,5 or 6 days a week

 

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My personal feeling is every girl has the opportunity to make themselves better. Last year my daughter couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. She hit and walked more girls then she probably thru strikes too. We had 2 pitches and neither could take over the position. My daughter worked hard to get herself better and it paid off. She made a travel team and has put herself in position to get some pitching time on the travel team. She plays on her rec team and starts for the team, we continue to work with the other pitchers at practice. Just because she plays on a travel team doesn't mean she is pitching. She is just playing more competive ball.
At the beginning of the year we put it out for anyone who wanted to try to be a pitcher stay after, we had 8 girls. So what do you do in that situation, pitch everyone? So you make the decision whos in or whos out. The best starts. The back ups continue to work and improve. We teach hard work pays off and here is the proof. Just like in real life.

 

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Agreed. My DD somewhat fits this scenario too, but our Coach knows WE/SHE have ZERO requirements to pitch or play anywhere and that dd is simply wanting to play with her school friends when she can. And BTW this team had 16 players last year and 13 this year, so not being there for "some" games is probably liked by most kids/parents. Playing time is sparce to begin with.

Our view is at this point, whatever Rec Coach decides to do with her is his choice and WE are fine with that. Hope the other parents realize it's about the friendships and whatever Coach does, is what coach does. We won't be complaining about if/where we play, we are there to have fun with our friends, and apparently Coach is OK with that. I suspect Coach will want to try and win a few games that he might not have a shot at normally, when we are there, but again... THAT IS HIS CHOICE and WINNING is fun. ^_^!

The other side of this is, these parents that are worried about their own kids time/experience being lessoned do to the travel player playing rec, needs to go the other way and realize the real opportunities their child and them will have receive excellent information to learn and grow from both the Travel Player and her parents that are more likely willing to share their knowledge , experience with your child to improve her skills too.(FOR FREEE) The glass is HALF FULL here for those that realize it.

This is the exact scenario we have with our Middle School Club Softball Team....DD wants to play with friends, and really wanted to get to play somewhere else besides her normal travel ball position. Didnt work that way, she is in the same position.....and as far as she is concerned it is not fair to the other players who could play the same position. She just wants to play and have fun with her friends, and the coaches just want to win. Pretty much the last 3 maybe 4 games the same 9 girls have played the whole game. I believe they have substituted maybe 1 or 2 players in each of these games, so the same group of 5 or 6 girls are sitting out everytime. But at one of their last practices, they where talking about how they are trying to get them ready for the next level of ball..(how do you get ready for the next level, when you never play in the game? they practice all the kids in the same positions for the most part, and then play them somewhere else in the games) Guess I have just been around way to long....LOL. But for me I sit way back away from everyone and my opinion is only voiced to my boyfriend, I believe this has been an unfair year to quite a few of these girls. Will my DD play next year? That is yet to be determined, it will be up to her and what she wants to do.....because in the long run it is her choice not mine.

 

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take away the rec vs travel side of this...what if she missed due to family matters, say divorce, or sick parent, and couldn't come all the time or every other week? Just asking...

My opinion is flawed and I'll reserve full comment for now. Rec ball is totally about fair play and if you want to balance that... let her pitch half the game or every other or every other 3rd game. Make it possible to show the girls what a 10u pitcher can be and then the rest will work out. I'd also fully communicate to my team and parents what is going on and if they all understand it could be ok but that is so generalized I'm scared for even mentioning it.

We had this very situation at 10u and having a girl that played for 2 travel teams 3 years ago... same issue... but at the travel level. No sanctioning issues due to the teams individual schedules. Everyone knew the situation and agreed to play her when we could because she was an asset in her position and at the plate.

 

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I am suprised it took me so long to stumble across this one.

OK here it goes: This thread is in regards to my dd. My dd is a 2nd year travel ball player. she started every game last season as an 8yr old. This season as a 9yr old she is the youngest and by far the smallest on her travel team. Our travel team is one of the better 10u teams in the state this year and she has seen a total of 1 1/3 innings pitching in 27 games so far this season. She is probably the # 5 pitcher on that team. She wanted to become a pitcher ever since she saw Taryn Mowatt pitch in the College World series on TV. She started taking pitching lessons at 8yrs and has worked her tail off to get better. The down side is that she is only 63 lbs and can only generate so much power and speed out of her little body. She wants to be a pitcher so bad and works so hard at it. With that said she is a very solid pitcher and would pitch on many 10u travel ball teams.

I was the assistant on the travel team and the head coach of her rec team last season. That has changed, as I am the head coach of travel and an asst. on the rec team. I did not want her to play rec ball, BUT for her to continue to develop as a pitcher I felt she needed to pitch against live batters as often as possible. ( next season as a 10yr old she will be one of my pitchers on the travel team and will not play rec ball.) I am very active with our local youth softball/baseball program(coach younger dd pee wee team, handle all equip., take care of fields.) and talked in length to the Pres. and the new head rec coach about her level of comittment this season. Everyone was made aware of our situation and agreed to her playing and pitching. The only practices she has missed for rec ball as been due to either pitching lessons or travel ball practices or games. I even went as far as saying when she is not pitching, feel free to take her out of the game. This rec team as mentioned above does not have a single player on the team that has pitched before in a game. So going into the season, my dd was the pitching staff. There is a 4 inning limit on pitching in these games so it is not like she is pitching whole games and stealing everyone's innings. These rec ball games gives her a chance to play with some of her friends as well as valuable pitching time to continue her development as a pitcher. She is a great kid who just loves the game of softball.
Please do not fault or try to punish my dd for working harder than everyone else.

The crazy thing about this whole situation is that I actually tried to help this OTHER pitcher with her mechanics, gave her mom #s of pitching coaches all to try to make her better, and now I read that Mom thinks my dd should not be pitching on this rec team. WOW!

 

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Jeff,

I do feel I owe you an apology. The original post was made at the very beginning of practice time. I was wrong in my original thinking. The nice people here pointed out that I was being a petty jerk. And I agree. The original post was written before I got to know you and your dd. I think you and your family are fantastic. Watching your dd play has motivated mine to work harder to be a better player. I think your dd is a terrific kid and I really do appreciate all the help you have given my dd. That is why I edited my original post. I was wrong. Again, I apologize whole heartedly and hope you will accept my apology and not hold my closed-minded ignorance against me.

 

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Now, that's class and the way things are done... it for the kids !!!!

 

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Now, that's class and the way things are done... it for the kids !!!!

I agree, hopefully they get it worked out.........

On another note, they are lucky to even have those issues to work out. Up here in NEO, most rec leagues do not allow you to be on a travel team roster if your going to play rec. Unfortunately this forces the skill level of rec to be very,very low and usually doesnt help anyone.

Its unfortunate becasue i think your number 10,11 or 12th player could really get some needed innings in rec ball if they dont play much in travel.