by Momo's Dad » Tue Oct 26, 2010 5:37 pm
Twinsmom - Terrific insight and suggestions, thanks so much.
We typically have a 7-week/14-game season here, which is what we see in many northern California rec leagues. After that, 10/12/14/16u all-stars generally have a 6-week season during the summer. This past summer, a handful of leagues sent 8u teams to play a few round-robin friendlies, but most of the leagues in the region elected not to participate. The cost was around $100/team per game day. The notice about the 8u offerings didn't come out until summer, but although most leagues didn't want to bother with it (for some it was a hassle, while others don't believe in 8u all-stars), the people who did participate told me they loved it. The girls liked being included in something they considered special, and the coaches liked the fact that there girls were getting more games along with the laid-back setting.
Our teams actually have a chance to get in 6-8 practices before their first official games, but it's been my observation that we have a significant number of girls who simply haven't played enough catch with Mom or Dad or a sibling. I'm not saying that a 6-year-old needs to perform like Arod, but our coaches are essentially starting from scratch and it's my non-expert opinion that this is a tough task and that it's especially tough for those new or young coaches who've played the game all their lives. Intuition might tell them that any 7-year-old can throw a ball, but telling a kid to 'throw to 1st!' doesn't mean much if kid-friendly basics aren't reinforced from that very first practice.
One of the things we're possibly going to implement for 2011 is a pre-season clinic. This will give parents and younger players something to work on together prior to the start of formal practices. More reps generally = more coordination and certainly more confidence. It might also help to get some of the 3rd-4th year players out to start sharpening their skills before evaluation day.
I know that each coach has the required certification and many of them are former ball players who bring their own instructional philosophies to the league, but maybe a little more uniformity would be a good thing. True, kids are adaptable, but I think we lose a little something when a kid is asked to unlearn something she learned in spring in order to satisfy her fall ball coach.
We do allow t-ball clusters, but that goes away for 8u and above with the exception of siblings and coach pairs. I was initially opposed to the 8-year-old shuffle, but when it was explained to me, I understood and accepted why most rec leagues out here choose to hold a draft. But as for ensuring more competitive balance, when looking just at the results, I would say the draft system was as big a failure as allowing coaches to recruit directly. lol In 8u, my daughter's team won only 2 games. In all but a few games, I'd say they were competitive. In 10u, however, there was a team that didn't win a single game and they were never actually *in* a game, as they were outscored by 100 runs on the season.
Yes, losing is a part of life, but the winless 10u team is losing their best player to travel ball and I don't know what the rest of the girls will do.
With the exception of the pre-season seeding tournament, all games are played on Sundays during the fall, which allows the girls to play soccer.
I don't know if we have the numbers to support it yet, but maybe we could coordinate with other nearby leagues to get a mid-level program going for those girls in the 8-12u range who are too advanced for rec, yet not quite good enough for - or willing to commit to - travel ball. Although I see this missing link as one of the biggest laments for a lot of parents and players region-wide, I'm wondering why this has never come together as opposed to everyone and his brother thinking he needs to start a travel team in order to keep his daughter progressing. I may not have the time to work on something like that next spring, but I'll definitely present it to our board and see whether anyone is willing to take it on, because I think it's a great idea.
I would absolutely love any tips/tricks you could offer. I'm here to learn!
Thanks so much for the thorough post. I appreciate your time in sharing. Yes, even though my own daughter is older, I'm fully committed to helping our league rebuild its foundation. My fingers are crossed in hoping that the parents - even those whose daughters have aged out of 6u - will support what we're trying to do here.