by xyzdude » Mon Oct 14, 2019 6:33 am
A lot depends on the age group. At the younger age groups - 10U, 12U and some 14U parents should be selecting a team where your daughter will be able to play and get significant playing time. Some of this is a function of numbers - with 12 players, it is very easy to have all players play at least 50% of the time, with most of them playing more than 75% of the time. If your daughter is the 12th best player on a team, you should probably be happy with playing about 50% of the innings. this could mean playing two of three games on a Saturday and then only getting in a few innings a game or an at bat here and there on Sunday. As long as she is getting opportunities, learning the game and having fun that should equate to a positive experience. Part of the decision is if that individual will develop faster playing with better players or if she would be progressing more playing most of the time on a lesser talented team. Again, this may be a function of the coaching she is receiving. I have a host of items - like a check list that I would use to determine from watching the level of coaching of a team. These are not fool proof of course, but give you a pretty good idea of how advanced the coaching is.
__does team have a pre-pitch process; are all players paying attention and getting into a pre pitch athletic position that includes moving of the feet
___are the players getting a good jump on the pitch when they are on base, you should see a uniform running position (or two) by most of the players on the team
___is the infield positioned in a logical (and safe) way; are the middle infielders a little more up the middle and deep for double play situations; are the first and third basemen off the bag and slightly in front of the bag to field a ball (I would never put my daughter on a team where the third baseman is expected to play half way up the line to field a bunt - that is lazy coaching)
___are the outfielders taking an initial step back and tracking the ball; do they throw with a crow hop and a longer arm circle as opposed to an infielder. It is my experience that good coaches coach the outfielders instead of just putting them out there.
___is there good player communication during the play, or is the coach the only "voice" being heard [this may be indicative of an excellent coach who is too over the top in controlling everything and not letting the girls play the game]
___does the team do at least some situational hitting - this is going out of fashion these days and you won't see as much of it as you used to, but most average to above average hitters are helped by having some idea of the range of options to be successful based on the situation.
There is no easy path in team selection, but this is perhaps an easy guide to use to at least narrow down some of your selection process. By the way, I think the best time to look at teams is anytime other than tryout season. I would never advocate attending the big cattle call tryouts - that is only good for the coach and gives the player/parent very little understanding of how the team operates.
Just some food for thought.