by anaomip » Mon Sep 23, 2019 4:56 pm
Need some insight on player development and positions. Hopefully some good peer opinions and feedback will help! My daughter just moved up to 14u this September. In 12u she spent both years playing for one organization/team. She played primarily SS/2B and got some outfield time as well. She earned her starting position and this past summer killed it at 2B during TCS and PGF, with 46 games played in 3 months and only 7 errors made, 62 total chances, with 53 of them ending in put outs. Thats just under .900 fielding percentage. Just want to give you an idea of the type of player she is. Remember is was only 12 at the time. After a great summer she decided to step up her game going into 14u to a well known organization with highly competitive teams. When she tried out they had her play middle infield. She did not play outfield during tryouts. The coach explained that every girl will have a primary AND secondary position. I expressed that it was important that she play middle infield and outfield both, which ever they felt was her primary was ok, as long as she had the opportunity to develop at the other one. They said definitely during practice and friendlies that players will get to develop their secondary positions. So we agreed to commit. Fast forward to 3 weeks in and she was told she will be an outfielder. Totally fine, she will play where the team needs her, but she expressed to the coach she wants to be able to continue to develop at middle infield as a secondary position during practice and a little at friendlies. Last practice she bounced back and forth. This past weekend she was told she will not play infield at all at practice or friendlies. The coach said she thinks she can be a really good outfielder, and that she is way behind all the other infielders (which is hard to believe based on her summer stats). The team is not overloaded on middle infielders either. Is this a red flag to be cautious of? Or is this normal at 1st year 14u to be pigeonholed into a single position? I have not spoken to the coach, as I am trying to teach my kid to speak up for herself. I understand that stepping up to a bigger more competitive organization my kid will need to work harder and have more competition, but she is struggling on working harder when she feels the coach wont give her the opportunity to earn anything but outfield. If a secondary position at 13 years old is not an option with a team should I be concerned? Any feedback would be appreciated as I want to handle this right, but I dont know how to help my kid. Should 1 coach define her at 13? Thank you!
Last edited by
anaomip on Wed Sep 25, 2019 10:36 am, edited 1 time in total.