Would you leave your daughter on this softball team?

Question

We recently about 4 months ago moved our daughter from rec. softball were she was just about top of the line as far as talent goes to select softball. The team has won 6 tournaments in a row. We moved our daughter because she really loves to play hard and rec. just wasn't cutting it anymore for her. We wanted her to be around better players instead of worse, thinking it would make her an even better player. This team that she is on their are alot of really great players, but a majority of the team is kin somehow. It's like they will put in the family members before my daugter even though she may be better than them. It also seems she is losing some of her fielding skills because they only practice her in the outfield catching pop flys, which she can already do 95% of the time. It's fun to be part of a winning team, but do we stick it out hoping that eventually they will notice that my daughter has talent just as much as most of the others. I am not sure what to do?

Bt the way she plays 8u. This is her second year in coach pitch next year she moves to kid pitch instead of coach pitch. She has been playing since she was 4 in rec.

Answer 1

well i really think its what she wants, because if she doesn't like it she will loose interest with it. the best thing you can do is keep her practicing. i would worry more about it when you get to were the kids pitch. right now i would let her play on whatever she wants, and have her work her butt off at home. then when she starts fastpitch(kid pitch), have her join a traveling team in your area, or an indoor team. what you can do is start getting her to hit off of faster pitching. get a pitching machine or start taking her to batting cages. work on bunting and stealing. this stuff will put her ahead for fastpitch.

hope everything works out!



you know all kids handle this differently, thats why i didn't tell you what to do. your daughter could feel exactly like i do about the situation or the exact oppite. thats why you need to involve her. some kids see riding the bench for a really good select team as being better that the rec team and it makes them want to push themselves to do better, or they could see it as an insult. you really don't know untill you ask them.

and with your daughters skil level droping, she could just be a little nervous. i am not saying this is hte problem, but i would consider it. shes seeing a hole new level of ball, talk to her and see if she is nervous. this could solve some problems.

Answer 2

Eight years old? That is way too young for all star and travel teams. Get her back in the rec league or with boys in baseball until she is excelling far beyond everyone else: hitting .600 or pitching no-hitters.

Was she succeeding because she was bigger than other kids her age? If she was, then she won't last long in an elite league without continuosly improving. Maybe she does need to spend a while on the bench until she catches up.

Keep her up on fundamentals. Send her to camps during the summer and clinics during the winter. The fundamentals don't change. You don't need the tournaments unless the competition is so bad, she isn't having fun.

Make sure whatever you choose (collectively) is what she wants.

Answer 3

You keep saying 'we moved our daughter'. Did your daughter also want to move out of rec softball, or is this your decision alone? Why don't you see what she prefers, having fun and feeling like the 'star' in rec softball, or being 'benched' in select. I have little cousins that play softball and they went through the same thing...The select team never wanted to include them, and others were picked ahead of them when it came to playing. You could also try talking to the coaches and voicing your opinion, but chances are things may not change if this has been going on for 4 months now...

Answer 4

Once she realizes that Mom and Dad aren't the coach of her team next year and that her brother is no longer there as well, I think her thoughts about playing softball may change. Kids are very impressionable at age 6, and usually assume the attitudes about things from their parents. Make sure she feels like softball is just as challenging as baseball, and it takes a lot of practice and hard work to have a good team regardless of which type of ball she is playing. I would be careful that I wasn't influencing her decision not to play "with a bunch of girls". Watch the comments that are made about softball around her. Im sure she is trying to please you as well as play on a team. I would tell her that Mom and Dad werent going to be coaching next year, and that it was time to make a change. From first hand experience, when our coaches (male coaches) have a parent that signs their daughter up for baseball just for their own convienience, it makes it hard on the coach. There will be many opportunities for her to shine on the softball field as well, so let her know that.

Answer 5

As someone that has a daughter that is 9th grade and she is playing Varsity Softball,basketball,volleyball,and track...her mother and i have been blessed with a VERY special young lady...this is why..she has always been the best on each team she plays for..she WANTS to play with her friends and we will never deny her that ( she will play travel Softball,and still play in a rec league with her friends) she had coaches in some leagues that say she is too good to be in this league,we usually just tell these coaches shes a 10-11-12 yr old kid what do u want us to do? i think if your daughter likes the team shes on keep her happy..their will plenty chances for her later...the most IMPORTANT thing i told my daughter..dont listen to the other people ,do your thing play hard,and ALWAYS support your teammates..

Answer 6

No offense meant here, but you moved your daughter from a rec league to a competitive league and she's under 8 years old? I understand the competition may help her get better, but couldn't you help her at home, or bring her to a training center? There are plenty of things for kids to get competitive about when they get older, at 8 years old (or younger) let her play with her friends and make that team better if she is in fact that good. She'll treasure the memories more of her playing with her friends than she will beating another team.

Answer 7

no, you should pull her from that team, when i was a kid i was a really good baseball player, i had moved up to a new level, and in my first year i was the strating shortstop(as a lefty) and hit lead-off, the next year i was on the same team but it was a new coach and almost all new players, the new players were the new coaches kid and all his friends, i didnt start a single game that year, playing mostly backup outfield and a little third base, and though i did play well when i was in it didnt translate to more playing time, what this experience did translate to was a loss of confidence in my ability and the begining of the end of my baseball career

Answer 8

I say you stick it out and she stays on the team. Cream always rises to the top and if she is better at some other position the coaches will come to realize this and she will have her chance. I would never be in favor of moving my son or daughter from team to team until I was happy with the exact situation, because the perfect situation does not exist. Good luck to your family in making this decision

Answer 9

8u, geesh I didn't know they field tournament teams that young.
I find it hard to believe that they only practice fly balls to the outfield, as I've never seen a 8 year old hit a softball on the fly to the outfield in my life, and my 8 year old plays softball. So just stick with it, its just for fun.

Answer 10

usually you can request to have her on another team... we find our son gets stronger and learns faster when he plays with kids that know more than him... but he gets the chance to play though... your daughter needs to be played at different positions to get better... if rec is the only way to strengthen her skills and there is no other team or league to help you out, then you have to go that route unfortunately, but something tells me you can make a change if you want to...