Pick Up Players

[SOSoftball]

I wanted to post this thread regarding pickup players and teams using pickup players.

My daughter played on several teams this fall and winter and we have had different experiences with each one.
I will start off by saying this was the first year that we had any interest in playing as a pick up player. My daughter is a 03 birth date and has been on the same team since she was 8u and is going on her 6[SUP]th[/SUP] year with this team.

Her team finished up in late October and she still wanted to keep playing through the fall and winter. I posted on the site a little information about her and got several opportunities for her to play in additional tournaments for teams needing another player.

This being the first time she has played for another team let alone being just a pick up player and we had no idea what to expect. My daughter is not the most outgoing kid so I am sure she had some anxiety going into it also. Each time we played we traveled between 2 and 2.5 hours to play.

I just want to offer some advice that will help make this easier for the player, her parents, parents already on the team, players and coaches.

1. I am listing this one first because I think it's the most important. Coaches...please let your current players and parents know that you have a pickup player coming and why. There is nothing worse than showing up and no one else on the team knows you brought in a pickup player or why.

2. If you have enough players don't pick up a player unless it is for a specialized position (pitcher/catcher) and your player is not going to be there. If your team has 11 kids and you pick up a player, you are setting yourself and the team up for trouble.

3. If you do have enough players don't start the pickup player over the players on your team. As a pickup player I don't want to drive two hours and not see my daughter play but there is a balance between playing girls that made your team and being fair to the kid you picked up. Nothing worse than seeing the pickup player run out onto the field to start the game in Centerfield while the team has two girls sitting the bench.

4. Talk to the parents of the player you are picking up so they know what to expect regarding playing time, games played, etc.

5. As a pickup player know ahead of time what the playing time will be so there are no misunderstandings. Show up on time when requested and be ready to help the team with whatever is needed.

6. How the parents already on the team welcome the pickup player and her parents make all the difference to the player and her parents joining the team for that day.

We had some good experiences during this process and some not so good experiences. There are teams that we would play with again if they needed help and there are others that we wouldn't.

I understand that a coach doesn't know what kind of player he is picking up just from a post on a website. But the player and parents don't know what they are walking into either when they show up. How the coach and parents interact with that player/parents when they first show up gave us an idea how the day was going to go.

For teams and players this can be a win/win if it is done properly. It allows girls additional playing time and allows teams that may be short players to be able to play in a tournament.

I know some of this seems obvious but trust me it isn't.

 

[allcorners]

Good Post!

 

[24GahannaLadyLions7]

Really good post!!!

 

[SMc4SMc]

We have had some awkward situations as mentioned above that usually happened when a team was fractured. Subbing has been a great opportunity to audition, grow, compete, cut up, and share with future friends. The awkward situations usually centered around a family or two on the bubble that may not be growing in the same direction as the team.
No matter the circumstances of the team the girls have always been the best.... the adults 80/20.

 

[bkachaylo]

Great post. I would like to hear the advice other parents would give coaches picking up their dd as a sub.

Last summer was our first experience with travel ball and subbing, which was itself a limited one. We only sought out one opportunity, which was fulfilled through a Cleveland team at the Toledo Tune-Up tournament.

Of course, the dramatic difference between all facets of travel ball (coaching styles, new, seemingly bizarre drills, parental involvement, game pace, new rules, etc.) made our experience intense- I can only imagine what our daughter experienced personally- though she assured us that it was positive.

Fortunately, our experience was all positive. The parents were friendly and inviting, and the girls welcoming and kind. Even still, the experience revealed just how much could go wrong. That is, what are we exposing our daughter to by walking into such varying, potentially extreme environments, and is it worth the risk to her sanity? So far, we believe the answer is yes, as long as it remains more positive than negative. Perhaps we just need to loosen up.

Nevertheless, one thing's for sure: the key to a positive experience is "communication."

Your post, with added responses, could pave the way to better communication between parents and coaches, ultimately improving the experiences of apprehensive parents like us.

Again, thanks for your post. It contained great points!

 

[allcorners]

I would recommend that all players and parents take advantage of Sub opportunities. You meet so many different people that make up this great softball community. My dd subbed for the first time as a 12u player and has subbed quite a bit since then. She has met girls that she has remained friends with over the years and is still friends to this day. If she would not have got outside of her comfort zone, she would never have gotten to know these girls. I know that sometimes every experience is not a great one, but for the most part players and parents have been very nice and welcoming. There are a lot of great people out there that are on this site and that play this game.....get to know them. This is also a great way to see something other that what you are used to seeing from your team.

 

[SOSoftball]

Overall we had a great experience also. I have communicated with a few of the coaches since my daughter filled in for them and hopefully we meet up again sometime this summer if my daughter's team plays in the same tournament.

We would definitely fill in still this winter and next fall/winter if the opportunity presents itself. I hope the original posts doesn't turn teams away from offering a spot to fill in for my daughter in the future. That was not what was intended.

And maybe the coaches can offer advice for pick up players. Although we tried to do everything we needed to do. We showed up usually at least a half hour earlier than what was asked. This allowed my daughter to change jerseys if they had extra, get to know the coach a little and the other players as they arrived. As I stated above she is a little shy so this way she got to meet the other players as they arrived. We also did not hover around the team during warm ups. She went with the team and we stayed by the parents. We also made sure that she thanked the coaches for giving her the opportunity to play.

 

[bucketime]

My DD (now third year in college softball) we did as much subbing as we could; Even down in Florida as Guest player. We had one bad experience (parents were wheewww). Overall a great experience and I always frowned on the teams who would not let their players go sub for another team. If you have the opportunity; do it. If you have a bad experience tighten your boot straps and do it again, she doesn't regret it and made many new friends and seen so many different ways of the game and of course you walk away with leaning something and in most cases teaching something,