High School Criticism / Player Or Not !!!

First Of all---

Going to the principal is not a good idea, makes the coach more angry,and you may be shutting the door completely, if the AD is not hearing your plea, the road to success maybe a very hard one. The AD of a school that my DD once attended over the course of past years could care less about softball, so he did not hear my complaints. I would say if your DD is better than the majority of the team, and she is not being brought up to the Varsity then there are issues that probably want get resolved due to the political aspect of the game !!! I know I wasn't much help,but LIFE IS A ^&*%* sometime, and there are issues that bother me also. Hopefully that the coach will clear his or her head and see that the wrong players are in the wrong place, and that your DD will have her chance !!! I think there is nothing harder in the game to see your kid get short-changed,and not getting the opportunity to show what she can do !!!

Guru

 

It gets better...

My (younger freshman) DD is the one I am talking about. She has been brought up to Varsity for four games this year because the JV team did not have a game on the same day. She has delivered offensively and defensively in all 4 games including hitting a game winning HR, getting the only RBI's in one of the games, and catching a bullet of a shot in left field (I know she is my DD, just tryingto make a point). The best part is that her older sister (the 'Fashion Designer') is on Varsity and it is great to see them play on the same team for the first time. I am not sure who I feel worse for, my younger DD, or my older DD and the rest of the Varsity team who is being sacrificed so the JV team can 'compete'. Very frustrating!

 

JV competing?

If your younger daughter is not a pitcher I really can't imagine that her presence on the JV is necessary to keep the team competitive. The problem I find with many HS coaches (especially males) is the idea that freshmen aren't physically or psychologically ready for varsity competition. Some seem to almost fear the reality that a kid can be one of the nine best players in the school without having 'been in the system'. Of course this is plain stupid when the University of Arizona is extending scholarship offers to pitchers after their Soph year in HS. In fact, I would argue that by the time a player (particularly a pitcher) is 15 those who know the game can pretty tell if a kid is college prospect or not.

 

I'm in the same boat but, my daughter is the catcher (and back up pitcher). Trust me it takes more than a pitcher to be competitive. She is not a catcher on TB and doesn't really want the job. The fact is she can play the position and is willing to do what is best for the team. Hopefully the varsity coach will reward her efforts someday.

 

Not a pitcher...

...but she can pitch (get the ball over the plate most of the time and only hit one or two girls a game) and that is the latest reason why they are keeping her down. The problem I have with all of this is JV means NOTHING, Varsity is the only team that really matters. JV is your farm team that should be used to develop your girls and get them ready for Varsity. The only reason your JV team should be winning or dominant is IF AND ONLY IF your Varsity team is completely stacked and winning everything. Okay, I am done venting now. Thanks for listening...

 

Now there's a healthy attitude that I hope you've personally shared with each and every player on that JV team. NOT!

Now you reverse yourself. JV now means something. And a smart varsity coach wants to do just that. And if your JV pitcher makes every game a walkfest, what good is that doing your JV team? They're not getting any relevent defensive game experience. They are probably also getting a negative impression of playing softball for that school. Not a good thing for that program.

That's probably the only reason they should be dominant, but not the only reason they should be winning. I've seen a lot of unhappy parents grousing because their DD is stuck on JV when they could be playing Varsity. Which poisons the water their DD is drinking and makes everybody around them bitter (for one reason or another). Doing something for "the good of the team" may also extend to "the good of the program." And I think this is a good example.

Your daughter is important to both teams within the program, and the Varsity Coach clearly understands this. Maybe you should try to see this from his shoes.

 

I was on a roll venting and misspoke. Meant to say the Varsity win/loss record is the only one that matters (because of playoffs) and yes, most of the girls on the JV know this (I coached many of them).

Not going to go into here. Will just say you need to experience this in person to understand it. Everyone involved with this program knows that nothing is done for 'the good of the program'. There is no 'program'...

 

It always amazes me...

It always amazes me that a player can be good enough to pull up to the Varsity,but isn't good enough to be on the Varsity!
I think that coaches have no clue as to what goes on within 2 groups of girls (JV, Varsity)! The other players on the JV team, talk about and taunt the player who gets pulled up to Varsity for some games! They say it's because that player thinks she is all that! The other players on the Varsity, act as though, that player is a virus or something saying she isn't on Varsity for a reason, she isn't a part of us! This is turn puts this particular player on the outside of 2 circles, with no way to the inside of either one! That player is allienated by both teams!
Believe it or not, girls can be quite mean when they want to be! This experience can be pure hell for a player!

 

The good news...

Both teams (JV and Varsity) know that she should be on Varsity so luckily this scenario is not happening. It is actually the opposite. The JV team is wondering why she is there and the Varsity team is wondering why she is not...

I must also say that I got caught up in my rant and should have mentioned that my daughter is not the only one. There are 4 - 6 JV girls who should be on the Varsity team (strictly talent wise) most of whom would seriously challenge for starting positions. Sorry for leaving you out ladies! You know I didn't mean it...