To move on or not to?

[Buffalo716]

My 9 year old daughter is new to the travel softball world this year, but was recruited by one of the coaches to pitch for the “newly formed” 10u team.
My husband and I are caught in a pickle where we know she could flourish elsewhere after being told at the SECOND practice of the year that she may get a “couple games.” Now if the other girls on the team were hurlers and proved me wrong then I’d be fine with it. However, two are coaches daughters and the main one played on a different 10u team within the same organization (her team moved up to 12u). The coach gave us the excuse they want to get her “the experience.”
So right now my daughter is 4-5th in line for pitching after she was recruited by the one coach to pitch. She’s putting in the time with private lessons on the side to get ready.
We’re already feeling the coldness from the coaches. They lied to us about the number my daughter picked out back in August. We’re now finding out it was “already” picked by the coaches daughter but they never decided to tell us until they got their practice jerseys and proceeded to lie about it when we were there at the signing. They put in no effort to talk to us and I’m not talking about being best friends but communication is not there, only to the ones in their circle.

I don’t want to teach my daughter that when times get tough to just give up, but it is only 10u and this is the time these girls should be finding themselves and being coached to strive to better themselves. I just don’t know if the investment is there.

My husband and I both agree we want what’s best for her and we can see her frustration already……

 

[yocoach]

My 9 year old daughter is new to the travel softball world this year, but was recruited by one of the coaches to pitch for the “newly formed” 10u team.
My husband and I are caught in a pickle where we know she could flourish elsewhere after being told at the SECOND practice of the year that she may get a “couple games.” Now if the other girls on the team were hurlers and proved me wrong then I’d be fine with it. However, two are coaches daughters and the main one played on a different 10u team within the same organization (her team moved up to 12u). The coach gave us the excuse they want to get her “the experience.”
So right now my daughter is 4-5th in line for pitching after she was recruited by the one coach to pitch. She’s putting in the time with private lessons on the side to get ready.
We’re already feeling the coldness from the coaches. They lied to us about the number my daughter picked out back in August. We’re now finding out it was “already” picked by the coaches daughter but they never decided to tell us until they got their practice jerseys and proceeded to lie about it when we were there at the signing. They put in no effort to talk to us and I’m not talking about being best friends but communication is not there, only to the ones in their circle.

I don’t want to teach my daughter that when times get tough to just give up, but it is only 10u and this is the time these girls should be finding themselves and being coached to strive to better themselves. I just don’t know if the investment is there.

My husband and I both agree we want what’s best for her and we can see her frustration already……

As has been stated on here times too numerous to count. 8U, 10U and 12U are, and should be, used for player development. A majority of this development is physical skills. Being a pitcher, this means she needs to be practicing (at that age) 3-4 hours a week at home including lessons. More importantly, she needs a lot of reps in the circle during games to get game experience and hopefully develop that mentally tough mentality that is so needed to pitch day in and day out.

After coaching travel ball for as long as I have, there were immediate red flags in your post that you probably didn't recognize until too late. So here's my advice. Move on and ask for a refund but don't expect any money back. Start looking around for an established organization with a good reputation for player development and good coaching. Stay away from newly formed teams or organizations. Stay away from teams that have coaches or assistant coaches daughters also pitching on the team if at all possible. Ask to practice with them a few times before accepting an offer if one is made before comitting. If they say no, move on.The tryout process is a two way street and you are "interviewing" them as much as they are you. While they're practicing, talk to other parents sitting around watching and ask open ended questions such as what they think about the coaching staff. What kind of skills have their players developed playing for this coaching staff. Etc. Just remember to take everything said with a small grain of salt, Most importantly, before you accept an offer, talk to the coaches and ask questions pertinent to your player. Where do they see your pitcher fitting into the rotation? Will she be number 1 or #5? Do they pitch by committee (1/2 game for one then bring in a 2nd pitcher and rotate all pitchers throughout the number of games) or do they throw one pitcher until she struggles/becomes too tired/becomes inaccurate and needs to be replaced? How do they decide who starts on Sundays during bracket play? What role will she play on the team when not in the circle? And anything else at all you feel you need to know such as where and the type of tournaments they plan to schedule, team fees, what they cover etc.. One last thing, look at GameChanger or other scoring apps and see if you can find the team. Look at their record and if possible, the teams they played. You're trying to find a team that has roughly a 5-600% win percentage.

Anything else and the coaches are playing in tournaments that your daughter and the team will learn little as a general rule. Either getting your heads caved in or caving heads in during a game/ tournament teaches nothing IMO. Good Luck!

 

[Stedman00]

sounds like you got hooked with the "Daddy ball and friends" type team.

8 & 10U (and lower level 12u) are all about reps and learning. it's not hard to get all players reps.....unless the plan is to only get reps for some of the players...

Run, run fast, run far. Don't be afraid to call out these type of 'coaches' or orgs either. Let other know.

 

[Passion4theGame]

Plenty of teams looking.

Cut your losses and find a new team that will value and teach your daughter.

 

[M & R Davis]

Agree with the above completely. Sure there are teams in that age frame that are looking for pitching. May e begging for pitching. Find them, see how the fit is and you will find the right situation. Good luck.

 

[daboss]

While I will not disagree with the other's evaluation of your dilemma, I sense the possibility there could be more going on here over and above the "daddy ball" "coach's daughter" thing we see so often. I need to ask some questions.

Did you try out for any other team? How was your daughter discovered? Had you heard of travel ball before being approached? Does your daughter have pitching experience at any level of competition? Did you have older kids that have done the travel ball/select ball thing before?

I'm asking but I think I know the answers to most of these questions. This post may not go well for you.

First off, coaches are going to fall over themselves to get a pitcher at any age. I joke with my past pitching students that are now starting their own families, every time they have a girl my response top the news is "Congratulations, does she pitch?" We recruit early. lol. So, knowing that any coach would give up their front seat at a Taylor Swift concert for a front line pitcher, is your daughter indeed that player? I can only assume you've seen other girls in this age group so how does your daughter stack up? If the answer you are formulating includes "she's just as good" or "she needs more time" or "It's too early to tell" than what I'm hearing is she's average at best. "Potential" is jokingly referred to as a French word meaning "Ain't done it yet" and that's not going to have coaching staffs leaning on the fence in awe. You have a daughter throwing a 40-50+ mph fastball and a solid change up with a 35% speed difference with a 70% strike ratio and you can write your own ticket for 10u. Until this is a reality, you better get her some quality instruction and a practice schedule that has her throwing 4-6 times a week, at least 80-100 pitches a session. Don't forget, this 9 yr. old will need a parent with her the entire time, even if she's simply throwing at targets in the garage or basement. Girls want you to watch them. I've never seen it work out any other way at this age.

This is a family commitment. So, how bad do you want it? She's 9, she knows what you want. She should get a vote but you have the power to make an executive decision. You want to play, we support you. You want to play with the big dogs, this is the beginning stages of the next 10 years of your family's life. We support you.

I sense you really don't know what it takes. I sense you are unaware. I think you should objectively go watch some 10u pitchers go thru their paces from a reputable pitching instructor. Take a few classes in a group setting. Perhaps you'll have a different perspective.

Is "where you are" where you should be? Maybe not. But you need to know what you have, what you are leaving, before simply jumping ship. You need goals and an objective in mind. Either way, we support you.

 

[DoraLindgren]

My 9 year old daughter is new to the travel softball world this year, but was recruited by one of the coaches to pitch for the “newly formed” 10u team.
My husband and I are caught in a pickle where we know she could flourish elsewhere after being told at the SECOND practice of the year that she may get a “couple games.” Now if the other girls on the team were hurlers and proved me wrong then I’d be fine with it. However, two are coaches daughters and the main one played on a different 10u team within the same organization (her team moved up to 12u). The coach gave us the excuse they want to get her “the experience.”
So right now my daughter is 4-5th in line for pitching after she was recruited by the one coach to pitch. She’s putting in the time with private lessons on the side to get ready.
We’re already feeling the coldness from the coaches. They lied to us about the number my daughter picked out back in August. We’re now finding out it was “already” picked by the coaches daughter but they never decided to tell us until they got their practice jerseys and proceeded to lie about it when we were there at the signing. They put in no effort to talk to us and I’m not talking about being best friends but communication is not there, only to the ones in their circle.

I don’t want to teach my daughter that when times get tough to just give up, but it is only 10u and this is the time these girls should be finding themselves and being coached to strive to better themselves. I just don’t know if the investment is there.

My husband and I both agree we want what’s best for her and we can see her frustration already……


Prioritize your daughter's happiness and development. If the current situation doesn't provide a positive environment for her to flourish as a pitcher, consider exploring other opportunities with better support. When looking for reasonably priced assignment help, I had an image of an EduBirdie platform with knowledgeable writers who could finish assignments completely and on time. Additionally, to assist students in perfecting their work before submission, this fictitious website would provide editing and proofreading services. For students looking for affordable, high-quality assignment help, such a resource would be quite helpful.

Prioritize your daughter's happiness and development. If the current situation doesn't provide a positive environment for her to flourish as a pitcher, consider exploring other opportunities with better support.

 

[Hendrix]

There are many teams that are actively looking for new members. I recommend that you focus on cutting your losses and finding a new group where your daughter can receive appropriate assessment and training.

 

[Captain_Thunder]

There are many teams that are actively looking for new members. I recommend that you focus on cutting your losses and finding a new group where your daughter can receive appropriate assessment and training.

Nice first post!
But unfortunately If this poster hasn't already left the team in the last 6 months since he originally made this post, they probably aren't leaving now.
But we will probably never know, since it looks like he joined this site to just make that post and hasn't been around since 2 days after posting this...lol