Playing Up

[sittingonabucket]

Peculiar?

what the heck.

this is Texas softball. It's very very difficult to find anyone to play against or that is committed at the 14U level. 99% of the coaches are daddy ball.

We elected to stick with a coach and a bunch of girls our own age. It was the coaches decision to move up.

Two choices, go play for a dad or stick with him.

We decided to stick with him and limit her playing time.

Which brings up an interesting topic. What causes Burn out? For us, if the kid is in an environement with drama and not having fun, that causes the burnout.

I agree , i wish the coach hadn't moved up, but maybe in other parts of the country, i.e. Softball Heaven in California it's better, but most of Texas is made up of rec players managed by their daddy's as coaches.

It's a limited opportunity for some of us.

[Battle]

Ed. I'll post my 2cents worth, but it's probably redundant. I have a 14 year old that plays 18U. we played 16U at 13.

I think a lot of it depends on the position of the player. fast is fast at any age. If she's a really fast kid, age doesn't matter for most positions.

I think, at least for us, pitching is a little different. Pluses on playing up is mistakes and bad habits get exposed (i.e. over the back fence), downside is injuries. We can only hold up to 7 innings a weekend at the 18U level. 14U is a walk in the park.

What we have done is try and play some 14U and 16U on the side while we are on this crazy 18U ride. It helps keep her confidence up striking out a bunch of 14U kids, when at 18U, we might strike out 1 or 2.

Bat bat swings also get corrected real quickly playing up. or you sit a lot.

good luck.

as a foot note. I'm on my second one. I burned the first one out with all the playing up and pressure. Trying to learn a new trick as an old dog.

I'll admit the wild ride part is a family affair but, do you pitch too?

Edited to fix the to too two typo! They're you go ... Corrected!

Had a college coach tell me one time, "Parents need to quit using the word We. It's Her. You don't do anything but pay The money, drop Her off, and support Her."
NOW STOP IT!