Softball Question (NoVa)

[Anonymous]

DD 9 is playing 10U softball. She played 2 seasons in a different league in 8U. The first season was excellent, with good instruction. Second season, not so much--didn't learn anything, didn't improve. This fall we tried a new league. While we think the league overall is more organized and more robust, the coach is completely inexperienced although a really nice guy/dad. For example, he does not come with a plan for practice. We have also tried going to the free pitching clinics by the league but that also seems to be limited in actual instruction and consists of just hurling the ball into the fence 200 times, not at the actual pitching distance. My daughter has improved with her fielding and pitching purely by us going in the backyard and working at home, not at practice. Which leads me to my actual question: does doing "travel" usually get you better, more experienced instruction? I don't have a clue what a 10U travel softball skill level looks like and if my daughter would fit in with that. I suspect she is slightly below that, but I almost feel like it will be hard to improve much staying in rec ball, and it seems that it is a conundrum. Am I missing something here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD 9 is playing 10U softball. She played 2 seasons in a different league in 8U. The first season was excellent, with good instruction. Second season, not so much--didn't learn anything, didn't improve. This fall we tried a new league. While we think the league overall is more organized and more robust, the coach is completely inexperienced although a really nice guy/dad. For example, he does not come with a plan for practice. We have also tried going to the free pitching clinics by the league but that also seems to be limited in actual instruction and consists of just hurling the ball into the fence 200 times, not at the actual pitching distance. My daughter has improved with her fielding and pitching purely by us going in the backyard and working at home, not at practice. Which leads me to my actual question: does doing "travel" usually get you better, more experienced instruction? I don't have a clue what a 10U travel softball skill level looks like and if my daughter would fit in with that. I suspect she is slightly below that, but I almost feel like it will be hard to improve much staying in rec ball, and it seems that it is a conundrum. Am I missing something here?

The short answer is yes, you'll get better instruction at the travel level. But even there if you really want to improve at a specific skill like pitching, you need to supplement with private lessons. This isn't like soccer, which isn't as skill-oriented as softball. Most girls who do well in competitive softball get private lessons for hitting or pitching (if they want to be a pitcher).

That said, most softball in this area is "daddy ball" as well -- it's not like soccer where there are paid professional coaches. The key difference is the dads (and it's usually dads, although there are some mom-run teams) generally know how to coach the sport, having gotten training.

At the 10U level there aren't that many teams. But if you tell me where you are located -- NOVA or MD -- I'll tell you which programs are strongest/most active.

There are more teams at the 12U level.

Softball is played at A, B, and C levels, although as a practical matter there are very few A teams. Mostly B teams. 10UC kind of sucks because they have modified rules (no stealing home allowed, drop dropped third strike rule or infield fly, and 5 run limits per inning). B teams play three games on Tournament Saturdays, while C teams play 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD 9 is playing 10U softball. She played 2 seasons in a different league in 8U. The first season was excellent, with good instruction. Second season, not so much--didn't learn anything, didn't improve. This fall we tried a new league. While we think the league overall is more organized and more robust, the coach is completely inexperienced although a really nice guy/dad. For example, he does not come with a plan for practice. We have also tried going to the free pitching clinics by the league but that also seems to be limited in actual instruction and consists of just hurling the ball into the fence 200 times, not at the actual pitching distance. My daughter has improved with her fielding and pitching purely by us going in the backyard and working at home, not at practice. Which leads me to my actual question: does doing "travel" usually get you better, more experienced instruction? I don't have a clue what a 10U travel softball skill level looks like and if my daughter would fit in with that. I suspect she is slightly below that, but I almost feel like it will be hard to improve much staying in rec ball, and it seems that it is a conundrum. Am I missing something here?

The short answer is yes, you'll get better instruction at the travel level. But even there if you really want to improve at a specific skill like pitching, you need to supplement with private lessons. This isn't like soccer, which isn't as skill-oriented as softball. Most girls who do well in competitive softball get private lessons for hitting or pitching (if they want to be a pitcher).

That said, most softball in this area is "daddy ball" as well -- it's not like soccer where there are paid professional coaches. The key difference is the dads (and it's usually dads, although there are some mom-run teams) generally know how to coach the sport, having gotten training.

At the 10U level there aren't that many teams. But if you tell me where you are located -- NOVA or MD -- I'll tell you which programs are strongest/most active.

There are more teams at the 12U level

Softball is played at A, B, and C levels, although as a practical matter there are very few A teams. Mostly B teams. 10UC kind of sucks because they have modified rules (no stealing home allowed, drop dropped third strike rule or infield fly, and 5 run limits per inning). B teams play three games on Tournament Saturdays, while C teams play 2.

We are in Fairfax. The leagues I am aware of are VGSL, CYA, SYA, and BRYC.
Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD 9 is playing 10U softball. She played 2 seasons in a different league in 8U. The first season was excellent, with good instruction. Second season, not so much--didn't learn anything, didn't improve. This fall we tried a new league. While we think the league overall is more organized and more robust, the coach is completely inexperienced although a really nice guy/dad. For example, he does not come with a plan for practice. We have also tried going to the free pitching clinics by the league but that also seems to be limited in actual instruction and consists of just hurling the ball into the fence 200 times, not at the actual pitching distance. My daughter has improved with her fielding and pitching purely by us going in the backyard and working at home, not at practice. Which leads me to my actual question: does doing "travel" usually get you better, more experienced instruction? I don't have a clue what a 10U travel softball skill level looks like and if my daughter would fit in with that. I suspect she is slightly below that, but I almost feel like it will be hard to improve much staying in rec ball, and it seems that it is a conundrum. Am I missing something here?

The short answer is yes, you'll get better instruction at the travel level. But even there if you really want to improve at a specific skill like pitching, you need to supplement with private lessons. This isn't like soccer, which isn't as skill-oriented as softball. Most girls who do well in competitive softball get private lessons for hitting or pitching (if they want to be a pitcher).

That said, most softball in this area is "daddy ball" as well -- it's not like soccer where there are paid professional coaches. The key difference is the dads (and it's usually dads, although there are some mom-run teams) generally know how to coach the sport, having gotten training.

At the 10U level there aren't that many teams. But if you tell me where you are located -- NOVA or MD -- I'll tell you which programs are strongest/most active.

There are more teams at the 12U level

Softball is played at A, B, and C levels, although as a practical matter there are very few A teams. Mostly B teams. 10UC kind of sucks because they have modified rules (no stealing home allowed, drop dropped third strike rule or infield fly, and 5 run limits per inning). B teams play three games on Tournament Saturdays, while C teams play 2.

We are in Fairfax. The leagues I am aware of are VGSL, CYA, SYA, and BRYC.
Thanks.

OK, there are a lot of programs and they're not all affiliated with rec leagues.

Vienna has: Vienna Stars, which is a pretty elite program that draws regionally. Long-distance travel. College scholarship track. A-ball. Also, Vienna Velocity, which is a step down (although still a decent program). There's also a summer Vienna Raiders program, which is a good taste of the travel lifestyle without the full-year commitment.

Fairfax has NVGSA Firebirds, which is a good travel program that draws regionally. They also do the Dimensions, which is like the Raiders -- a summer or "travel lite" program.

CYA has the Chantilly Lace, but I don't think they field a 10U team. They may not start until 12U or 14U.

BRYC has the Stingrays, which is a good program like the Firebirds.

In Arlington, there's the AGSA. Arlington has the Sage program, which is same caliber as Velocity, Firebirds, Stingrays, etc. These are all rival teams.

There are also teams in Manassas and Leesburg (Revolution).

If you want to see a good list of them, click here: http://www.usssa.com/fastpitch/Rank2/#/?gdSport=16&stateID=54&classID=1095&seasonID=21&ranking=2

or here: http://www.usssa.com/fastpitch/Rank2/#/?gdSport=16&stateID=54&classID=1096&seasonID=21&ranking=2

[Anonymous]

Thanks! -OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks! -OP

And there's also the McLean Magic.

Tryouts for all these teams are in late July to early August.

[Anonymous]

Also, VBC in Merrifield has camps and clinics, especially in the summer for softball. They post their calendar on their webpage.

[Anonymous]

It's true teams are put together in august, but sometimes teams pick up additional players before spring, like now. Most teams break in Nov and Dec, start working out for spring. Try play softball.net on which coaches post openings. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's true teams are put together in august, but sometimes teams pick up additional players before spring, like now. Most teams break in Nov and Dec, start working out for spring. Try play softball.net on which coaches post openings. Good luck.

This website appears to be for Richmond teams. Is there a similar one for NoVa? THanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's true teams are put together in august, but sometimes teams pick up additional players before spring, like now. Most teams break in Nov and Dec, start working out for spring. Try play softball.net on which coaches post openings. Good luck.

This website appears to be for Richmond teams. Is there a similar one for NoVa? THanks.

playsoftball.net is not just for Richmond teams. however, I would concede the softball scene is more robust down there and in the tidewater area.

But tryout information is always there, including for NoVa teams. It's just that most tryout information was published in June/July.

There's also a Virginia Travel Softball Facebook group you can ask to join and ask. (Search for Virginia Travel Softball Teams).

I do know Arlington Sage is putting together a 9U squad for Spring/Summer play (at the 10U level). There may be other teams looking to do this. These would be more 'developmental' in nature -- being a young 10U is a hard slog.

[Anonymous]

oh sorry--I was looking at softball.net, not playsoftball.net --skipped over that word completely since there was a space in between! thanks!

[Anonymous]

Just posted:

ANNOUNCEMENT: AGSA- Sage 9U OPEN Practice

Sunday, Nov. 6th from 1:00-3:00 at Greenbrier Field #1 (Yorktown High School)

AGSA will be holding an “open” practice this coming Sunday in order to evaluate interest in forming a Sage 9u travel team for the 2017 season.

This practice is also intended to gage the level of talent at key positions that would be necessary to form a viable travel team roster. The open practice will be limited to players with 2006-2008 birthdates.

A “rain” makeup day is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 13 from 1:00-3:00 at Greenbrier.

Please register online:
•go to the AGSA website agsafastpitch.com
•Click on: “Click Here to Register Online”
•Log-in to your account and register for the Sage 9U open practice

*Register even if you cannot attend the Sunday Nov 6th open practice and explain in the comments section.

Additional Information:

We are also rolling out a new method for the formation of our youngest travel team in the form of a “standing” 9U Head Coach and Staff that will conduct the fall open practice(s) and the winter training sessions of each new team.

In the early spring several things will happen:
1.Tryouts for the new 9U team will occur.
2.The coaching staff will transition with the “standing” coaching staff turning the team over to a newly selected coaching staff and team manager that would then be responsible for running the team for the foreseeable future.
3.Offers for joining the new 9U team will be extended to players.



Winter Training:

Based largely on the open practice this Sunday, the coaching staff will extend offers to attend the 10 week long winter training sessions. Due to limited space in our training facility, the number of players attending the winter training will be held to a TBD level. It must be strongly emphasized that participation in these winter training sessions will in no way guarantee eventual placement on the new team.

The winter training is held indoors on Sundays in January, February and March at the Swanson Middle School. A will be assessed each participant in order to cover the operating costs of these sessions. The fee is based on the number of participants and will be in the $150-$175 range. Specific details (i.e. dates, time slots, fee, etc.) are still being worked out and will be available in late November.

“Standing” 9U Coaching staff:

The Standing Head Coach for the Sage 9U team is Coach Bree Hanafin. Bree will be selecting her coaching staff from among the numerous former college players that she employs as instructors through her private enterprise, Hanafin LLC. You can download a complete bio of Bree and many of her instructors on our AGSA website at: https://agsafastpitch.siplay.com/site/ClientSite/article/1420167

(left hand drop down menu: Instructor Bio’s/ Bree Hanafin & Staff)

Questions- Contact Steve Severn- [e-mail]