Playing Time on Saturdays

[B286708]

Want to check in with the bucketeers to see if I am being one of those crazy softball parents. So my 12u player is on a team of 15, was only (12 when made commitment) and after the first practice or two became very clear mine was ranked 15 out of 15 and being that this is Travel ball I had very little expectations that she would play at all on Sundays. But on Saturdays I figured she would get some opportunities to play. but in one tournament she she got got 2 ABs and 0 innings on defense. After that my player talked to coach about what was needed to get more playing time. She put in extra work, has shown signs of improvements. Next tourney she got 2 ABs and 1 inning on defense, Played ok, no major(costly) mistakes went 1 for 2 at plate. Thought progress was being made. But this last tourney, 3 more ABs (1 for 2 with a walk) and only 1/3 of an inning on Defense (essentially was in for two batters). So now my player is very upset feeling like she is doing what is asked showing improvement but frustrated by lack of playing time. SO with that being said I pose 2 questions?

1. Are coaches obligated to give reasonable playing time on Saturdays? I mean he offered her the spot and took my money same as everyone else

2. Why the heck would he put her on this team? I think best case is poor job putting team together, worst case this was just a cash grab.

Let me know your thoughts and try not to bash too much.

[SwingMan]

At minimum - no one should get less than 1 1 /2 games on Sat. Sunday - no guarantees.

[PuraVida]

Want to check in with the bucketeers to see if I am being one of those crazy softball parents. So my 12u player is on a team of 15, was only (12 when made commitment) and after the first practice or two became very clear mine was ranked 15 out of 15 and being that this is Travel ball I had very little expectations that she would play at all on Sundays. But on Saturdays I figured she would get some opportunities to play. but in one tournament she she got got 2 ABs and 0 innings on defense. After that my player talked to coach about what was needed to get more playing time. She put in extra work, has shown signs of improvements. Next tourney she got 2 ABs and 1 inning on defense, Played ok, no major(costly) mistakes went 1 for 2 at plate. Thought progress was being made. But this last tourney, 3 more ABs (1 for 2 with a walk) and only 1/3 of an inning on Defense (essentially was in for two batters). So now my player is very upset feeling like she is doing what is asked showing improvement but frustrated by lack of playing time. SO with that being said I pose 2 questions?

1. Are coaches obligated to give reasonable playing time on Saturdays? I mean he offered her the spot and took my money same as everyone else

2. Why the heck would he put her on this team? I think best case is poor job putting team together, worst case this was just a cash grab.

Let me know your thoughts and try not to bash too much.

In 12U no play time, Its a cash grab. time to move. she will not improve sitting on the bench.

[NumeroUno]

Coach has no clue, its about developing every player and teaching them to love and respect the game.

Talk to the coach first and if he doesn't make changes move on, she needs to play

[PDad]

@ B286708 - Has the team played in any friendlies? If so, how much playing time did she get?

12U should be about development. Weekends with a good practice on Saturday and a friendly on Sunday are very productive and should outnumber tourneys.

Lesson to be learned from OP - things to find out before joining a team:
1. How many players does coach intend to carry on team.
2. How is playing time distributed at friendlies, pool games and bracket games.

[B286708]

I have learned my lesson on this one, Fortunately is just for fall ball so we are almost done and can move on. I did make the mistake of not asking how many does coach plan on carrying, But I did ask about how playing time would be divided. I specifically asked him if he emptied the benches in scrimmages and in blowouts. Of course he said he did, but he doesn't. In blowouts he will tell my player to get ready and then by the time he puts her in the clock expires and she may get 1 AB but no time in field or 1 inning on D and no ABs. Once or twice he had a big enough lead he would give her a full inning or two. But there have been at least 3 blowouts where she has played 0 defense.
For the Scrimmage thing it is marginally better, she usually gets 1 or 2 innings over 2 games. But even then that is after he has given all the 1 & 2s time and built a lead. Ultimately, I made the mistake of seeing a winning Coach and thinking it was a good program that developed players. But really it is a Coach that is good and getting W's even at the expense at the back of the line up, And because he gets a lot of W's he draws talent from all over which allow him to keep getting W's.

[Dugout Dad]

Does he have a DD on the team?

[AlwaysImprove]

Agree with above sentiments.

That said in our area, 12U you play local tournaments. Those tournaments often divide into gold and silver. You loose a game on Saturday, you are running risk of playing sliver on Sunday. Sliver bracket were awful, a complete waste of time.

We would often have some very established players 5-6 and some very talented players 2-3, and some kids that needed a bit more work 2-3. If one of the developing kids is a pitcher things would become pretty tough.

Put in your A players and A pitcher first game, and get a win. There were parents that were on the team to play gold and if you did not start out with a win, you drew a ton of feedback. So game 2. Go with B pitcher, but then you are pushed hard to play A defense behind her, so she has a better chance. Or you could go with A pitcher and B defense. You get a loss you have are back to game 3 and looking to go with A pitcher and A defense to secure your spot in gold.

I lobbied super hard to get people to understand pool play on Saturday that counted for seating on Sunday was causing the teams to churn needlessly. They just were not getting it.

[Opposite Field]

I agree that the gold/silver brackets have changed the dynamic of "pool" games. Those games can be very important for the 8 through 12 roster spots on your team that need some more playing time. If it was just seeded to one bracket, then you could play everyone knowing that you were going with your best on Sunday.

[jonriv]

Never was a fan of the the Gold, silver, bronze etc.... makes it confusing to follow and really changes the dynamics of a tournament. Combine that with oversized rosters and you have a recipe for trouble

Our teams will consist of 11 players, each player will have a rotation schedule set up for Saturday play. Each player will play minimum of 2 innings (in the field, batting in each of the games) always playing to win. On Sundays, we play to win the tournament, but we work everyone into the games.

This is from the website of an organization founded by one of my DDs TB coaches(rival HS coach) This was the philosophy he followed when she played for him.