Should we drop travel softball if DD is no longer in to it?
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Anonymous
| DD plays 12u travel softball (both travel and rec). She made travel team last fall but just is not in to it and made several comments last fall as well that it’s boring. I can’t tell if it’s the social dynamic with the players who have all played together for years but she has also been doing more lacrosse and seems to prefer it and has been asking to try out for a club lacrosse team and then stay on rec softball. I feel like once we drop the travel softball, it will be harder to get back in but at same time, she’s pretty strong at lacrosse. Any recommendations? |
Anonymous
| Drop it. She should want to REALLY do it at age 12. |
Anonymous
| If she’s not into it yes drop it. This seems like a no brainer. |
Anonymous
|
Keep forcing her to do something she doesn’t like.
How is this a question? |
Anonymous
| You can always get back on a travel team. My daughter was on one at 9, 12, and 16, and not inbetween. |
Anonymous
| Why wouldn’t you drop it? This isn’t like a kid who says they don’t want to take math anymore or something. And she already has an active activity she wants to do. You’re not ever allowed to change your mind about a hobby?? |
Anonymous
| 12 is a great age for them to try something new if they show interest. |
Anonymous
| I totally understand your concerns but I would allow it, if that is what she wants. Rec softball will be fine- she won’t fall that far behind in a year. Does she take any lessons (pitching, hitting etc)? If so, I might keep up on those. My DS made a similar decision around the same age (with baseball- dropped to rec) but took batting lessons on the side. I think it really helped him keep skills up and was not very time consuming. He did end up becoming more serious about baseball again, and that is his main sport now in high school. |
Anonymous
|
“We” don’t play travel softball, your daughter does.
So “we” will not be the one dropping it, your daughter will. See how that works? If your daughter, who has her own experiences, opinions and preferences, wants to do one activity in place of another, or just stop doing one she no longer enjoys, your role in the process is to help her think through her decision, not to make that decision yours. |
Anonymous
| Drop it especially if she wants to play travel lacrosse (this is coming from a travel softball parent)… but that being said make sure it is not the team rather then the sport. Travel softball is a huge time (and cost) commitment in high school. I would have never wanted to do it if my kid did not love the sport. Also if your kid is going to switch sports it is better to do it now. My child is a strong athlete but did not start travel until 9th grade. She had to work harder as she had less experience and all of the other kids had played travel. Luckily she was there because she loved it but it was hard coming in that late and if she had not had a few things going for her might have struggled to find a team. We did have to look around to find one and as she developed as a player we moved on from the initial team (she ended up being recruited and received a number of high academic D3 offers) but really only grew into herself as a player in Spring of 11th grade (which is ok for high academic schools that want Junior grades and test scores). |
Anonymous
| And per the note above, I did not play travel ball but it felt like by the amount of time I spent traveling, taking kid to practices etc. I grew to like the sport and enjoy watching games but it is a huge time commitment not only for kids but for parents (lots of weekend tournaments, many overnights, possibly fly-aways etc.) |
Anonymous
|
OP you seem to be looking for someone to tell you to force your kid - and your family - to stay invested in something kid doesn’t want.
Why? Just get your own glove & find your own team. and leave your kid alone. |
Anonymous
| Every year DD asks if she can quit. We discuss alternative activities and she signs up again. |
Anonymous
|
Yes, let her drop it. She can go back if she wants to later. Let her try lacrosse.
I have a kid who plays travel baseball and has been on and off. It’s doable. Just have her do some softball hitting clinics, etc in case she does want to go back to travel. |
Anonymous
| Why would you make that time and monetary commitment if she says she's not into it? Let go of the FOMO. Listen to your child. |