BalekFekete
Shared on Wed, 05/23/2007 - 08:30To those of ya' out there who have kids, and those kids who play recreational sports, I hope you will be able to relate to this. I finally had to send an email to my daughter's softball coach to call him out on some practices that he's been getting stuck in that isn't making the experience terribly positive for my daughter. For the backdrop, we are talking 3rd/4th grade fast pitch softball, and the first year the girls actually pitch for themselves.
Dear Jim,
I've a few things I want to take a minute to bring to your attention. First is a quick reminder that Jacqueline is double booked tonight and will not make it to the game. It is her last dance class before the spring recital, and she needs to honor the commitment she gave to that class being so close to the end. I believe Gayle has already let you know this, but I'm just making sure so you're not hung out with a missing player.
The other item I want to bring to your attention is a growing level of dissatisfaction I'm having with the rotation of the players during our games, specifically - and this should come as no surprise to you - at the pitching position. I've seen you surrounded like a old west wagon train by girls every game, and yet the pitching rotation that has been used predominately include Allyson and Melissa. A few things makes this troubling for me as a parent, and I need to ensure you're aware of the feelings which, I would hazard to say, I do not hold alone.
At the beginning of the year, you told the girls everyone would pitch. When they, and we as parents hear that, especially given this is the first year/level of self-pitch, it is heard as "equal time". Problem is we're not seeing that. As a wild guess, and I might be wrong, but I'd wager Allyson and Melissa have pitched half of our total innings, or more? Am I far off on that? With 12+ girls on the team - and let's just for arguments sake say 8 total want to pitch...that should mean every girl would pitch an inning every other 4-inning game (or more infrequently if there are more who want to pitch).
Jacqueline relayed to us last night that the reason the pitching rotation has been limited was that "you wanted to get to the playoffs"? Is that the message she was given, or is she off base? If that is the case, I can fully understand it from a coaching perspective, but looking at it from a 3rd/4th grade league perspective, it's not right. Those girls should be out there to learn...and have ALL of them learn. Right now, with the rotation you're running, we're striking out what...1-2 batters, if not all 3 in an inning? Is that useful for developing the skills and talents of our infielders and/or outfielders? You know as well as I do it won't be long until the kids can hit Allyson and Melissa, and then they won't have a team behind them to help (look at our one loss of the season for proof). This is the right time to develop that, at the same time as allowing other girls who want to pitch to learn how.
Jim, I give you all the credit in the world for doing what I can't - coach, both because of the time commitment and the stress that comes with it. However, I hope you can take this as constructive criticism and think on whether there is any validity in it. Personally, as a parent, I'd rather see them lose every single game and the girls remain active and engaged and learn the sport, than go to the finals, get a plastic trophy that sits in my basement for untold years, and be marginally better than when they started the season.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like to talk more in detail about this before the next game we can make.
Best regards,
At the beginning of the year, you told the girls everyone would pitch. When they, and we as parents hear that, especially given this is the first year/level of self-pitch, it is heard as "equal time". Problem is we're not seeing that. As a wild guess, and I might be wrong, but I'd wager Allyson and Melissa have pitched half of our total innings, or more? Am I far off on that? With 12+ girls on the team - and let's just for arguments sake say 8 total want to pitch...that should mean every girl would pitch an inning every other 4-inning game (or more infrequently if there are more who want to pitch).
Jacqueline relayed to us last night that the reason the pitching rotation has been limited was that "you wanted to get to the playoffs"? Is that the message she was given, or is she off base? If that is the case, I can fully understand it from a coaching perspective, but looking at it from a 3rd/4th grade league perspective, it's not right. Those girls should be out there to learn...and have ALL of them learn. Right now, with the rotation you're running, we're striking out what...1-2 batters, if not all 3 in an inning? Is that useful for developing the skills and talents of our infielders and/or outfielders? You know as well as I do it won't be long until the kids can hit Allyson and Melissa, and then they won't have a team behind them to help (look at our one loss of the season for proof). This is the right time to develop that, at the same time as allowing other girls who want to pitch to learn how.
Jim, I give you all the credit in the world for doing what I can't - coach, both because of the time commitment and the stress that comes with it. However, I hope you can take this as constructive criticism and think on whether there is any validity in it. Personally, as a parent, I'd rather see them lose every single game and the girls remain active and engaged and learn the sport, than go to the finals, get a plastic trophy that sits in my basement for untold years, and be marginally better than when they started the season.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like to talk more in detail about this before the next game we can make.
Best regards,
Going to be a TAD bit awkward at the next game for sure, but I heard two other parents having the same type of conversations with their girls just last night. It just had to be said.
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Submitted by Deman267 on Wed, 05/23/2007 - 10:12
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Submitted by H2Daddy on Sat, 05/26/2007 - 13:25