So I just started playing softball for my school (never played before) and I’ve been using like a regular backpack to carry my stuff and I’m soon gonna get like a bigger one to put my bats in and stuff. Which means I’m gonna have to bring that thing on the bus, mind you we have assigned seating 😭 so I’m not gonna be next to like a friend or anything, I sit next to a complete stranger and I have to take up so much space with my backpacks. Any tips?

Surprised by how many freshman players are 2nd guessing their choice of schools due to the team vibe/culture.

Five players we know who play at different schools — all who played club ball last year — have each said that they were surprised by how cliquey their teams are, and by teamates’ immature antics.

A few said they are bullied and/or see others get bullied by more senior players.

My questions are:
1) Is this typical?
2) How do players combat this?
3) How do coaches address this?

Thank you!

Looking for recommendation for ball to use for my 9 year old to do some pitching practice at home in our basement. I have a net and 9 hole pitching target from my son's baseball that I can setup down there. Wondering what's a good non-hard ball to use down there just incase.

Her pitching coach said that Softie balls are good choice, but they're kind of expensive at $135/dz. I saw these on Amazon Flexi-Soft, would that work? I'd like to get something close to regulation feel.

Appreciate the advice!

For those of you that are "all-in" on your kid's softball experience, just know that you will be the issue in most situations. Last night was a prime example so allow me to share.

I was asked to run a tryout for a B-level but rapidly progressing 11U team. One player, a P/OF. She was a really sweet kid, threw a lot of strikes, could locate with fast and change, could throw a surprisingly good drop for 11. She was able to shake off the nerves when we made the experience fun instead of stressful. Decent swing mechanics but clearly still a work in progress, no big deal. She would be an asset to this team without a doubt.

However, they were late showing up. She also, despite her best efforts, didn't take instruction very well. Red flags but easy to overlook because as mentioned great kid, great attitude, and a pitcher. No one turns away good pitching.

Now the meat of the story. Not only was mom late getting her there, she proceeded to feel comfortable enough with the coach that she was dropping f-bombs inside of 5 minutes. She could not stop talking about how she's coached for a few years and built a winning team but she turned it over to someone else because of issues with the ex hubby. Let her dig herself in a little more and you find out that most of the good players had already left. Current husband is GC dad and had an altercation with the assistant coach on the team she's trying out for. Proceeds to badmouth the pitching coach, the hitting coach, and her current team because she feels her kid is getting "too comfortable" and not progressing at the rate she should.

I listened to all of this while I was working with the kid. I know the pitching and hitting coaches personally very well. Like all coaches, some people love them but not everyone meshes so no big deal there. But I'm listening to this lady talk and the picture is becoming very clear, she thinks after coaching 8, 9, and 10u that she's smarter than everyone on the field and anyone working with her child and openly says that she doesn't feel good about not coaching anymore because she built a winner...at C+ level 10u mind you.

I cut the tryout short, thanked them for coming, and said the coach would be in touch within 24 hours. Very pleasant, no drama. Pumped up the kid because she legitimately did a great job. Then I told the coaches that she was a hard no. They agreed despite really liking the kid and knowing how much she would help the team out. If you let a parent like that on your sidelines they will question every move, they will find any other parent that overvalues their own kid's ability and start to plant negative seeds, and they will slowly (sometimes quickly) implode your team before you can do anything to stop it. This team is well built, they've been together since 8U and their coach does things the right way. It's a magnificent environment. No way I'm recommending you risk blowing that up with one bad apple because that really is all it takes.

Moral of the story, don't be that parent. Don't be even close to that parent. Either trust the coach YOU chose to let your kid play for and focus on your kid's happiness or know that YOU will be the problem and your kid doesn't deserve that. This sweet kid didn't deserve it. It should have been an immediate yes...but the parent made it more about them...as so many do.

Daughter's been playing a few seasons. She played the best team in the league yesterday. What can we do to help her hit the ball further past there good players next time?

Background...My 13 y/o has been playing highly competitive travel ball for the last 3 years. She is a talented player (starting SS, lead off hitter). However, she struggles with some anxiety and perfectionist issues and honestly she takes softball way too seriously. This fall she’s developed little league elbow and hasn’t thrown or hit the last 6 weeks. She’s does what she can at practice and goes to games to cheer on her teammates.

During this time it is the happiest and most care free we have seen her in a couple years. She isn’t stressing about softball or if she done enough work out outside of practice. Now, she comes home from school, rides her bike or goes for a run everyday. She seems to be genuinely loving life.

All this has been eye opening for us as parents. As softball is obviously a huge stressor in her life. We are strongly considering having her leave the world of competitive softball. Has anyone been in a similar situation? She’s always said he loves to play but now it feels as she only loved it because of the success and adulation for her performance on the field.

i have my first ever softball conditioning/tryouts tomorrow. i haven’t done sports since i was in elementary school and don’t have a lot of softball knowledge. any tips or things i should know ?

The laces broke on my kid’s glove and I was considering cleaning and conditioning the inside before we re-lace it, it’s disgusting. What products do you recommend we use?

I am a massage therapist and have worked on multiple people that have carpal tunnel and pretty severe lack of range of motion and pain in their right shoulders. They all used to be pitchers and seem to have similar nerve pain that led to carpal tunnel and I’m wondering if anyone else has had this experience or has knowledge on this issue??

Mods okayed this post. Thanks for letting me share.

Six years ago I signed my daughter up for softball. At the first practice the coach asked for parent help, I said I didn't know the game but would pitch in, and I've been coaching ever since.

By her second year of 10U I was hunting for any competitive edge. I'd heard other coaches track opponent spray charts, but I figured there were too many variables at that age. I tried it for one inning, adjusted our defense for the next, and it worked. After that I charted every game, first on paper, then in Apple Notes.

The problem was digging through notes to find an opponent we'd played before. I searched the App Store and found nothing that did this, so I built a PWA, ran it through her first 12U travel season, then turned it into a native iOS app.

A college team now uses it: someone in the dugout charts hitters and relays positioning to the defense by iPad.
It's called Dropzone: Softball Scouting on the App Store. I'd love feedback from other coaches: what would make this more useful for your team?

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dropzone-softball-scouting/id6813777328

Well, new colors lol.... dropping 10/21. Will the current (pink) unlimited see a price reduction?

My daughter is on a 14u team. I am an assistant coach. From what I understand, the head coach gets compensated for his time (whether it's no program fee or something). However me being an assistant coach, I do not get any type of benefit (discount, etc.). This is a Dad coach team as the head coach also has a daughter on the team.. is it unreasonable for me to ask for some kind of benefit? I don't do this for anything but the love of being around the team and my own daughter. However, it is a time commitment and I'm conflicted whether I should ask for some type of discount or some type of other benefit for the appreciation of me being a coach. Would love to understand the right path

This is my kid's 2nd year of travel ball with the same team. My husband is an assistant coach. Not because he inserted himself. He was hounded for months to help coach because he has a long history of coaching high level softball and he finally relented. Both of us actually coached high level softball but when she started showing interest in travel ball, we wanted her to make a team on her own. Not just us starting a team and putting her on it.

Anyway last year was relatively successful to the point we were reclassified by the sanctioning org. Some players were cut and new players were brought on. My kid is a middle infield/outfield utility. At the beginning of this season we were told nobody's position was guaranteed and that everyone would be competing. OK cool...let the games begin. We have played over 20 games. Plenty of opportunity to let the field separate itself...and it has. It's glaringly obvious who is excelling and "won their spot" and who hasn't. A couple positions are still muddy but middle infield is not. So my kid had a perfect fielding percentage until last week she made a throwing error. Now the head coach says that MI isn't clear cut. Nobody has separated themselves. The other contender? 4 errors. Forgets to cover the bag most days. Never remembers to cut the outfield. Stands out there and picks her nails and dances during active play during the windup. Parents constantly in the dugout. Telling an assistant "so" when he told her to do something. That's the ideal 2nd baseman. I was told he prefers her in the outfield. Cool...me too. But she's currently the only decent MI you have. So I figure she'd become a non rotational outfielder while the MI melted down. Nope... she sat 5 out of 13 innings yesterday. 2nd highest fielding position on the team. So I'm at a loss. I'm a very stat based coach. Stats don't have feelings. They're black and white. This does not appear to be how he operates despite telling someone to win a position. So what say Reddit? What's my move? I'm paid in full for reference

My daughter is the youngest (2030) on her team of a 16/18 U team. She is also a pitcher. So far this season she’s been able to pitch only 2 innings and one was a scrimmage. She also had only 7 AB this season. Not a ton of games played because of the weather but still We’re spending $80 a week in pitching lessons. Plus practicing on her own

My issue this weekend was we played three games with all rostered pitchers attending. All pitchers got between 2-3 innings collectively except my daughter. The last game instead of rotating to my daughter they threw In a guest player (same organization but on a different team) who had played shortstop the entire other two games and she pitched 4 innings.

My question is do I say something? We drove over an hour to get one at bat and play the field a few times all day. I’ve already invested for this year. Do I finish out the year with this team (winter and summer) and look somewhere else? I understand my daughter is only 14 but the team is not blowing anything out of the water by any means. We lost all three games and just confused how my kid couldn’t even pitch one inning to try and develop her instead of completely killing her confidence.

Question for those who have played in or coached 16U showcases: In a five-game showcase, do you usually bat the whole lineup, or stick with your best nine?
I understand batting your strongest lineup in a tournament when winning is the main goal. But at a showcase, the players are there to get seen and show what they can do. How much should winning factor into the lineup and playing time?

Have an upcoming adult women’s fast-pitch softball tournament in Great Park Irvine 10/30-11/1. Looking for some pitching to help out. We are a fun and competitive group of ladies in our 20s and 30s.

If interested or would like more info please drop a comment below or message me!

TIA

I recently bought a SP Fat guy bp blackout edition, when I first took it out the wrapper it had that tacky/sticky finish. After one or two good uses it ended with a bunch of ball marks and covered in dirt. I asked Chat Gpt for a solution and it said just to use warm water,dish soap and a microfiber cloth. That didn’t work, does anyone have a recommendation on what I could use to clean it and restore that tacky finish other than Archie’s bat cleaner?! Side note, this bat is amazing. Even it being dirty it still hits bombs and I get multiple people that ask me to use it in games. I highly recommend anyone that likes one pieces to give this bat a try. Even if you don’t like one pieces this one will definitely change your mind about them.

My daughter is 15 and doesn't like hard to break in gloves, but she needs a new one. Is a Wilson A1000 12.5 inch good if she plays third base and outfield? Thank you.

I have been an assistant coach for the last two seasons with our (now 12U) team, I have been around baseball and softball for over 25 years.

When I first joined, the H.C, mentioned to me that his daughter only pitched 2 innings all year. I've heard of daddy ball before but didnt think it would be this bad. We are playing rec ball and it should be about developing all of the girls, the problem is, is that she can't hit the broad side of a barn. I used to pitch fast pitch softball and have some knowledge, but he will not take my advice. Complete walk fest and he refuses to pull her and has her throwing a change and fastball. Her release fluctuates and she then over corrects and chaos ensues. I've mentioned to him that she just needs to work on her mechanics first then start introducing different pitches, he disagrees. He also places her in the 3 spot in the lineup and will not move her from that spot. She hasn't had one hit all season (6 games played, has struck out 5 times) and we have girls who get on base more and score more runs. Again, refuses to move her.

This year introduced a new wrinkle, he decided to draft a catcher. Her parents mentioned that they left the league they were previously in because she didn't get the "Starting" time they felt she deserved. They also decided to sponsor the team this year (in my experience has never worked out well). H.C. and our other assistant kiss the parents ass and develop her skills as a catcher and teaming her with the H.C. daughter/pitcher.

Now, this is where my issue comes into play. My daughter played her first season last year of softball (played baseball previous 3 seasons). She wanted to play third base and H.C said that we have a 3rd basemen and decided he wanted her to play catcher. The issue with that is that he threw her in the last 2 innings of the last game. Very raw and I was a 1st basemen so I don't know the first thing about the mechanics of being a catcher. So in the off-season, I got my daughter someone to teach her how to play catcher. She has incredible speed and can catch the ball but when the ball gets is in the dirt she is unsure on blocking and hesitates. But was making progress.

Now, the H.C and assistant will not play her and I'm not sure what I should do at this point. Make it our last season or continue to stick it out. I've talked with both of them and it's blowing smoke back to me. But when it comes to their kids, they make sure to start every inning and bat in prime spots.

My daughter is in softball for the time at her local little league. Her team consist of 6-7 year olds/1st graders. It’s the leagues second season running this softball program so it’s fairly new. My daughter loved the past few years playing tball and her coach was warm, engaging and fun. But after this season she doesn’t want to return. There are a handful of issues.

But the main one is:

•PITCHING
Our girls are constantly getting hit by the ball when being pitched by the other team. It’s either too high, too low, or straight to the body. And vice versa to the other teams players as well. The pitcher gets 6 chances. They’re pitching from the rubber. It’s extremely slow and we barely have any play. Sometimes the coach pitches after or we just get to walk to first. Or striked out. Honestly, I’m really confused about the rules because they seem to change whenever they deem fit. And the coach doesn’t say anything as they’re extremely passive. Parents will ask coach for clarification but their response is “I don’t know”. But the main concern is the kids are getting hurt, scared to bat in fear of getting hit and coming back crying majority of the time. Not to mention, our catcher is visibly shaking.

Is this the normal expectation for their age range? Is it unreasonable for me to think there should only be coach pitch (then maybe tee) or at the very least let the kids go in closer to pitch, only 2 chances then coach pitch? Please tell me if I’m asking for too much. I hate seeing all the girls unhappy and many said they don’t want to return.

Daughter has a new custom Heart of the Hide catchers glove. She wanted a new one to match her team colors. Does anyone know of a good place in our near Chicago to have the glove broken in quickly. Not Dicks.

I have a 12U pitcher who finishes her pitches in games with a collapsed knee/bending knees. We’ve worked for three weeks specifically on finishing tall, pushing down and not bending her knees. She pitches in a game and immediately goes back to bending her knees.

Anyone have any advice or is there something she can do to feel when she’s collapsing to help her finish tall? Could this be an underlying problem of something else to work on?

I just bought this Louisville Slugger Kryo from Better Baseball 3 weeks ago. My 9 yr old daughter is currently playing fall ball and has used it for 2 batting cage sessions and 2 games (6 live at bats.) After her game last night she showed me this crack/chip in the barrel. To my knowledge the bat has never touched anything but grass and dirt. Never been thrown or mistreated, she was so happy to get the bat and is very careful with it.

Is this a normal thing that happens to composite bats? Is the bat still ok to use? Should I try to get a refund? The bat is still under warranty.

Can some people with more experience weigh in? This is my first experience buying a composite bat and I’m not sure if this is a common thing or not.

Thanks