Things to Consider Before You Try Out

Are you trying out for a travel ball team this summer? Most tryouts are within the next month or so, and you’ll have to be prepared with questions before you commit. Too many parents and players sign up for a year-long obligation are left feeling dissatisfied with their choice, only because they didn’t know what things to consider before they tried out.

The first thing to do is have a discussion with your daughter. Share ideas with each other about what her long-term softball goals are. As you know, pitching requires a parent/player partnership.  Your support and advice is imperative to your daughter's success. If you aren’t into it, she won’t have a chance of reaching her potential. You can get a good idea of her ambitions if she talks more about hanging out with friends than trying to get more playing time.

You need to ask yourself what athletic “success” means to you. As a parent, what do you want her to get out of this experience? What did you cherish from sports growing up? Would you simply like her to get out the house? Do you want her to make a few friends or build deep lasting relationships? Do you want her smiling all the time, or are you hoping she will get pushed to her limits so she reaches her potential?

Don’t forget your own goals, ones separate from your daughter. For you to get the most out of the commitment to this team you’ll need to have fun, too. Do you need to get along with the other parents or are you OK keeping to yourself? If you like to question coaches, are they the types that would be receptive? If you trust the coaches with their decisions, are you with a team where the other parents have a similar attitude? Does the team involve the parents with organizing and administrative tasks? If they do, are you willing to help with those?

If your daughter is trying to reach her potential, she’ll need a coach who will play most of games with skill development as the goal, and make winning be secondary. Victories would need to be saved for the end of the season or even years down the road. For example, a coach might challenge Emma to pitch her curveballs and change ups for an entire game as opposed to fastballs. While this might cost the team the game, pushing a player out of her comfort zone shows a focus on skill development. Jennie Finch has a great section at the end of her first instructional video when her 18U travel coach challenged her to do just this in a championship game of a big tournament. “Isn’t this the time to try to win?” she thought. He was actually preparing her for a higher goal, the ultimate victory of an NCAA National Championship. Is your prospective team long-term thinking or short-term oriented?

A personal example I have is from one of my relative’s teams. I think it was pretty neat when my Uncle Dan and his friend, Jerry Hajduk, coached a 12U Oak Park Windmills B-team back in the 90's.  Dan and Jerry made all of the players bat left handed an entire tournament in the Quad Cities. They expected to lose (and learn a lot), but they ended up coming in second place! More importantly, later that year the team* won the ASA national Qualifier with every single player except for two batting lefty. They went on to finish 16th in the ASA National Championships. Most of those players ended up playing at Division I schools on scholarship. A couple have come back to coach the Windmills. Imagine that for a B team!

Don't forget, as coaches we are here to guide our daughters and players do things they never thought they could do, and teach them to use failure as a learning experience.  

Join teams that challenge and develop pitchers for the long-term. Pitching has such a steep learning curve. Being impatient will lead to slow, inaccurate pitchers without movement.

If you can find a coach that understands these concepts, whether his or her daughter is on the team or not, I'd definitely try out.

See you at practice!
Abby


^Here is a list of questions to ask coaches when you try out. They will help you decide if the team is right for you. Remember, no coach, parent, or player is perfect!

*One of those players was Emily Hajduk of I.E. Fitness in Westmont. Her company has come out to train players at Practice Pro clinics. If you are serious about pitching I insist that you get a trainer.