I have been talking to many players in the last few weeks at hitting lessons, trying to gauge how much their teams are playing in the fall season. What I am seeing is a trend of teams having already played 8-9 times (seperate events) since returning from Nationals the first week of August, with more events scheduled before the snow flies. Most of these players took part in tryouts/evaluations the weekend they returned from Nationals and began playing immediately thereafter. A high school age player has now likely practiced weekly from January to March with their travel team before beginning 6 days per week of high school games/practice from March-June. Regular summer travel season begins the same weekend as the HS state finals and plays every weekend thru August 1, where the forementioned fall schedule begins.
All of this with no appreciable downtime! As I watch these highly competitive kids work in hitting lessons, I see fatigue (both mental and physical) that is surprising and a little concerning to me, especially considering it is OCTOBER. My question is..How much is too much and is anyone else seeing these signs?
IN
Gunshy, I can only speak for myself personally and what I've dealt with, with my DD. We have always taken the month of August off. She does usually go to the tryout, but that's about it. The last couple years as the recruiting process has been happening, we've hit it pretty hard in September and October. We've played 10 different events over 9 weeks this fall. It's worked out fairly well, but as we neared the beginning of Basketball season this past Monday, I can tell it's time for her to take a break. We play this weekend and that's it for us. FWIW, Basketball is a fun diversion for her. She's athletic enough that she can contribute to the team, without putting a great deal of time into off-season training. So even though, she's maybe not getting the physical rest she needs, she is getting a rest from the mental aspect. She's a competitive kid, and playing Basketball gives her a competitive escape from the rigors of year round Softball.
She will not have much Softball work during November and December as she plays high school Basketball. She's start hitting it hard on Softball right after the first of the year, primarily just hitting. She won't be doing much defensive work until after Basketball season is over, some time in February.
The one thing with my DD, she understands that her time is now. The goal is playing at the next level and she knows now is the time to push and work harder. And honestly we've spent more time this fall in the cage than she has in her career.
As a parent, no one knows your kid like you do. My kid has had the dream to play college Softball since she was very young. Our deal was as long as she kept her grades at an acceptable level, I would provide her with the tools she needed to make it to the next level. It was up to her to do the work and make it happen. Being the parent in this situation, you have to walk a very fine line. There are times you have to push. There are times you have to back off. There are times you have to make her do things maybe she just doesn't feel like doing that day. That's why it's so key to know your kid and know what she needs.
The short answer is there's no right or wrong answer. I think every situation is different. But I am a firm believer that you have to create downtime for them. Also if nagging little injuries become an issue, pack it in for a month or two. That's a clear indication that physically they need a rest.
Sorry for the rambling post, great question.
She will not have much Softball work during November and December as she plays high school Basketball. She's start hitting it hard on Softball right after the first of the year, primarily just hitting. She won't be doing much defensive work until after Basketball season is over, some time in February.
The one thing with my DD, she understands that her time is now. The goal is playing at the next level and she knows now is the time to push and work harder. And honestly we've spent more time this fall in the cage than she has in her career.
As a parent, no one knows your kid like you do. My kid has had the dream to play college Softball since she was very young. Our deal was as long as she kept her grades at an acceptable level, I would provide her with the tools she needed to make it to the next level. It was up to her to do the work and make it happen. Being the parent in this situation, you have to walk a very fine line. There are times you have to push. There are times you have to back off. There are times you have to make her do things maybe she just doesn't feel like doing that day. That's why it's so key to know your kid and know what she needs.
The short answer is there's no right or wrong answer. I think every situation is different. But I am a firm believer that you have to create downtime for them. Also if nagging little injuries become an issue, pack it in for a month or two. That's a clear indication that physically they need a rest.
Sorry for the rambling post, great question.
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slapperdad - Posts: 887
- Joined: Fri May 01, 2009 7:28 pm
gunshy wrote:I have been talking to many players in the last few weeks at hitting lessons, trying to gauge how much their teams are playing in the fall season. What I am seeing is a trend of teams having already played 8-9 times (seperate events) since returning from Nationals the first week of August, with more events scheduled before the snow flies. Most of these players took part in tryouts/evaluations the weekend they returned from Nationals and began playing immediately thereafter. A high school age player has now likely practiced weekly from January to March with their travel team before beginning 6 days per week of high school games/practice from March-June. Regular summer travel season begins the same weekend as the HS state finals and plays every weekend thru August 1, where the forementioned fall schedule begins.
All of this with no appreciable downtime! As I watch these highly competitive kids work in hitting lessons, I see fatigue (both mental and physical) that is surprising and a little concerning to me, especially considering it is OCTOBER. My question is..How much is too much and is anyone else seeing these signs?
Are you not the parent? How about taking charge and being the parent. It is that simple.
- SDTitans
- Premium Member
- Posts: 933
- Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:50 am
I agree with Slapperdad. There's just not a one size fits all answer, way to many variables---position played (I'd be much more concerned with a pitcher or catcher), fitness, goals, grades, age, amount of travel involved (in addition to the games themselves) etc. etc.
My daughter's are in much the same boat Slapper being two sport athletes (basketball) in High School. We also tend to shut down the softball after the last fall tourney (hit one night a week) until after the first of the year. They also realized that this past summer and fall were crucial times for them and put in a ton of practice time. The only place my approach differed was I let them make the call when they wanted to practice and when they felt they needed a break. They knew how they were feeling physically and also knew what they were working towards. I thought it was important that it wasn't me pushing them but rather them pushing themselves.
Between school, homework, practice time, off-season high school workouts, high school ball, travel ball, contacting colleges, church and everything else these days...I'm glad I grew up in the era that I did...prehistoric times!
My daughter's are in much the same boat Slapper being two sport athletes (basketball) in High School. We also tend to shut down the softball after the last fall tourney (hit one night a week) until after the first of the year. They also realized that this past summer and fall were crucial times for them and put in a ton of practice time. The only place my approach differed was I let them make the call when they wanted to practice and when they felt they needed a break. They knew how they were feeling physically and also knew what they were working towards. I thought it was important that it wasn't me pushing them but rather them pushing themselves.
Between school, homework, practice time, off-season high school workouts, high school ball, travel ball, contacting colleges, church and everything else these days...I'm glad I grew up in the era that I did...prehistoric times!
- Scooby26
- Posts: 42
- Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:41 am
Titan, I am not the parent in this instance as my DD is off to college. I am also not complaining about anything or anyone, just making an observation about the wide range of players I see and HEARING what they say.
- gunshy
- Posts: 178
- Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:17 am
Parents have got to watch for the signs. We didn't and DD, who everybody just always knew would play in college, gave it up. DD caught and it was softball/365. She just "had" to be the one catching every game, warmup, practice, pitcher's lessons or camp. We missed the subtle clues about fatigue and injury. Her final year of TB, she insisted she wanted to play another position and was thrilled when she got the chance to go to 1st full time. Unfortunately, team mate's injury put her back behind the plate and she was back in the downward spiral.
Most parents think it won't be their daughter that burns out, but watch out. Looking back at the things we missed, there will be changes in the way we handle her brother's activities.
Gunshy, you can be an important part of the process. A couple of times we told DD to take it easy, but she wouldn't listen. However, had her hitting instructor or coach suggested to her she should take some time off and explained why, she would have taken his suggestion in a heartbeat. Come to think of it, I would have appreciated it if her coaches would have said something simple to us like "she's showing sign of fatigue to me. I think you should get her some downtime". I am sure we would have been much more insistent.
IMHO, the signs are all around us; they are fatigued. We all need to do a better job recognizing it and finding the best ways to allow them to rest and recover, both physically and mentally.
Most parents think it won't be their daughter that burns out, but watch out. Looking back at the things we missed, there will be changes in the way we handle her brother's activities.
Gunshy, you can be an important part of the process. A couple of times we told DD to take it easy, but she wouldn't listen. However, had her hitting instructor or coach suggested to her she should take some time off and explained why, she would have taken his suggestion in a heartbeat. Come to think of it, I would have appreciated it if her coaches would have said something simple to us like "she's showing sign of fatigue to me. I think you should get her some downtime". I am sure we would have been much more insistent.
IMHO, the signs are all around us; they are fatigued. We all need to do a better job recognizing it and finding the best ways to allow them to rest and recover, both physically and mentally.
- smokenmirrors86
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 12:48 pm
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