We moved up to kid pitch the next year, but Coach J didn't coach because his daughter had Seiver's Disease (sever inflammation of the growth plates in feet) and was on doctors orders not to play. In his place was Coach Bob, whom had played with us on Coach James' team. And, wouldn't you know it, the rules for drafting were now completely different than the year before. I found myself with the exact team as I had the season before, more or less. Lo' and behold, that other team was back and they ALSO had the exact same team except suddenly they also had the best pitchers and we had no one that could get the ball across the plate. I requested we trade a player so that we had a chance to be competitive, but that didn't happen. I also noticed that one of the elite player that had been on our team was not on the roster. She had moved on to travel ball.
This year, instead of the "over throw rule", their new game was to have base runners go halfway between the bases and stand. For example, a runner would go halfway between third and home. If the pitcher threw it to 3rd, they would run home. If the pitcher threw it to the catcher, they would just stand there until the catcher came after them. When the catcher stopped and threw it to the pitcher, the runner would run home. This play would go on for minutes at a time. It confused the infielders something fierce and since they were young and couldn't really catch well, this meant that essentially every base runner scored.
This led to my first argument with a player's parents. One of the parents had seen the flaw in our game. We coaches knew it existed, but I refused to play the other team's game. It taught terrible base running and I didn't see the value for the fielders. It also meant we were run-ruled every inning because we would walk every batter, as it was. The parent no-so-politely blamed me for the inability to coach the kids to catch and throw the ball. In their mind, if the kids could catch and throw, we could get the base runners out. If they couldn't, it was my fault and they had no problem pointing out that fact.
There's truth to that, of course. Initially, my argument was that I wasn't going to play their game because it wasn't teaching anyone to do anything other than to win the wrong way. But it did call out something important and that was about the fundamentals of the game. I came to the conclusion that while our girls were struggling to throw and catch, it shouldn't be me that bears the responsibility for teaching them that at practice. There just isn't enough time in the day for a coach to teach that kind of minutia as well as the game itself.
Perhaps the way I told this parent that our problems were actually THEIR problem wasn't the best. Tact has never been my strong suit and because I prefer people tell me what I am doing and how to fix it doesn't mean others like hearing it that way. Regardless, when I said what I said, two things dawned on me:
These girls were playing 10U ball and couldn't throw or catch, my daughter included. Why was this? First, the premier talent was disappearing yearly from the league and somehow I had completely missed this. Secondly, those that remained, such as my daughter, were not getting the work they needed at home. These players needed more time, not less.
Eventually we took our two most fundamentally sound players and made them a third baseman and a catcher that could throw and catch and we were at least competitive. We could at least keep baserunners on third. As an aside, this was the revelation that catcher wasn't meant to be the big kid that couldn't run, despite my premonitions from my own past. I began to think that the best athlete on the team needed to be behind the plate and while this was true for just this league, it did change my outlook on the game and called into question my belief that softball was just baseball for girls.
It was really around this time that I began to wonder if this game was for Aubree. She couldn't throw, couldn't catch, and even though she could put the ball in play, it wasn't going anywhere and she couldn't beat out throws. Add in that I was wondering if EVERY park was like this and if they weren't, maybe we were in the wrong place.
This led to my first argument with a player's parents. One of the parents had seen the flaw in our game. We coaches knew it existed, but I refused to play the other team's game. It taught terrible base running and I didn't see the value for the fielders. It also meant we were run-ruled every inning because we would walk every batter, as it was. The parent no-so-politely blamed me for the inability to coach the kids to catch and throw the ball. In their mind, if the kids could catch and throw, we could get the base runners out. If they couldn't, it was my fault and they had no problem pointing out that fact.
There's truth to that, of course. Initially, my argument was that I wasn't going to play their game because it wasn't teaching anyone to do anything other than to win the wrong way. But it did call out something important and that was about the fundamentals of the game. I came to the conclusion that while our girls were struggling to throw and catch, it shouldn't be me that bears the responsibility for teaching them that at practice. There just isn't enough time in the day for a coach to teach that kind of minutia as well as the game itself.
Perhaps the way I told this parent that our problems were actually THEIR problem wasn't the best. Tact has never been my strong suit and because I prefer people tell me what I am doing and how to fix it doesn't mean others like hearing it that way. Regardless, when I said what I said, two things dawned on me:
These girls were playing 10U ball and couldn't throw or catch, my daughter included. Why was this? First, the premier talent was disappearing yearly from the league and somehow I had completely missed this. Secondly, those that remained, such as my daughter, were not getting the work they needed at home. These players needed more time, not less.
Eventually we took our two most fundamentally sound players and made them a third baseman and a catcher that could throw and catch and we were at least competitive. We could at least keep baserunners on third. As an aside, this was the revelation that catcher wasn't meant to be the big kid that couldn't run, despite my premonitions from my own past. I began to think that the best athlete on the team needed to be behind the plate and while this was true for just this league, it did change my outlook on the game and called into question my belief that softball was just baseball for girls.
It was really around this time that I began to wonder if this game was for Aubree. She couldn't throw, couldn't catch, and even though she could put the ball in play, it wasn't going anywhere and she couldn't beat out throws. Add in that I was wondering if EVERY park was like this and if they weren't, maybe we were in the wrong place.
Changes had to be made and I didn't really know how. I did luck into several important things. First, I attended a coaches camp by local legend Dale Palmer, who has coached Sparkman High School to a handful of state championships. He has put untold players into college. I knew Dale from before all of this when he was coaching me on the football team. We also went to church together for the better part of a decade or more.
I came away with a few bullet points. Coach Palmer stressed tempo at practice. Have several coaches. Break kids into groups. Drill them over and over. This flew in the face of everything I had ever known. We practiced situational defense constantly as a kid. That is, put kids in positions and hit one ball at a time. This was the opposite. Keep them moving and hit them as many balls and make them throw as many as possible.
Next, he directed me to his hitting facility and his hitting coach. It was really more than I could spend and I didn't think I really needed a coach, but I quickly learned that they had facilities that I did not and Aubree could therefore hit more balls in a shorter amount of time. He knew more drills and while I could pick that up fast enough, Aubree listened to him better than me, which I know now that players are all like that. They will listen to a complete stranger more than a parent. I hated paying for lessons and we didn't have a lot of money, still don't, but we needed to do for her what we could.
That included buying a $75 bat, which I thought was just the dumbest thing, ever. With that said, I am a very frugal person, by nature, and it seemed asinine to spend the money on lessons and on a bat. The thought of spending $500 or more per season for travel ball seemed excessive. Perhaps the most eye-opening part of this is experience was the hitting coach almost immediately moved Aubree to the right side of the plate to hit left handed. He believed she saw the ball better from that side and it was pretty evident she did, although she had issues with mechanics, obviously. I was worried that working left handed would just set her back even more than she already was. I rolled with it.
Lastly, he sent us to his summer camp, which was only a few days, but was excellent for Aubree to see girls of different ages and talent levels. It made her work in a different environment that was outside of her comfort zone.
That time spent wasn't just about getting her better but building contacts and learning philosophies. I was shocked at how wide-spread travel ball was, but I came away knowing that that was the future, but Aubree probably wasn't ready yet. I did have her start playing up to 12U whenever we could. She was already the smallest player in 10U and now she was the tinniest player by feet, not inches. But, she rose the the occasion, something that I knew would pay dividends later, if I could harness it.
At the season's end, coach Bob signed us up for a "rec ball only" tournament nearby. Bob had older daughters that had played travel ball and I guess he knew what needed to be done. Our eyes were truly opened that day. Not only were we way off the pace fundamentally, but the style of play we were having to bend to at the park had pushed us down the wrong path. Of course, it didn't help that none of these teams were real rec ball teams. They were all All-Star teams.
We knew, right then, our days of rec ball were over, at least at this park. That was driven home by the fact that we moved to the other end of the county and we couldn't play at that park, anyway. It didn't matter. Travel ball was the future, but with whom would she play with? It was a brave new world that I had no idea how to tackle. But we had to start somewhere.
Lesson's Learned
- Softball is an evolutionary game. If you limit your exposure, you limit the data and adapt to it, which may push you down the wrong path.
- Fundamentals should be learned at home.
- Parents are going to disagree with coaching and umpires, it's a fact of life. Prepare yourself to deal with both.
- People who push boundaries will always push boundaries.
- Players listen to coaches that are not their parents.
- Practice, especially at an early age, doesn't have to be long but it should be high-tempo. Get them reps, as many as you can.
- Attend camps, not just for players but for coaches, even if you aren't a coach.
- When your player quits adapting and growing, its time to move on.
- Push your player to play beyond their level. For some, this is just within the game itself, to make plays they don't think they can make. For others, that's playing up.
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