New team with new players

[MPT23]

My first season in rec ball with a bunch of guys i worked with, we had three guys who could play, four with potential and three trucks. We didnt win a game. 0-12 for the season and we were in the lowest division. Oh, the horror !!! But listen man, just try and practice as much as you can get the fellas together. The more you guys play together and learn each others tendencies the better off you will be. If you continue to lose for a bit. Some of the less dedicated guys will quit and you can upgrade at that point and hopefully get better. Most importantly, try and have fun regardless. If your not have som fun, then whats the point !!!

 

[CodyBear]

My first season in rec ball with a bunch of guys i worked with, we had three guys who could play, four with potential and three trucks. We didnt win a game. 0-12 for the season and we were in the lowest division. Oh, the horror !!! But listen man, just try and practice as much as you can get the fellas together. The more you guys play together and learn each others tendencies the better off you will be. If you continue to lose for a bit. Some of the less dedicated guys will quit and you can upgrade at that point and hopefully get better. Most importantly, try and have fun regardless. If your not have som fun, then whats the point !!!

We had alot of fun playing..... see you in december for a Tourney

 

[2TransAms]

We try that but they don't hit it far enough and get thrown out. I'm hoping we get a win tomorrow we play a team that has only one win it's by forfeit.

Hawk

*Snort* Reminds me of a church team I was on...summer and fall, our combined record was 2-23 and one of those wins was a forfeit on the last day of fall league. Nearly every loss was by run-rule. That team may have been the worst team I've ever seen, let alone played with. So when I say you're doomed if you have no talent, it's because I've been there. Sometimes you just gotta know when to fold 'em.

Sounds like that's not the case with you guys though, so keep on keepin' on.

Another question: are you the manager? Because if so, at some point you have to be realistic and decide if you want to keep fielding a losing team, or cut the dead weight and start winning. You know if someone's holding you back. Losing every week is not fun. You can only kid yourself for so long. I say this because if you're winless for over two seasons in rec and still say you have a good team, you might be a little optimistic about your team's abilities.

 

[Schiffy]

I put my team together and we won our second game ever playing together... i plan on kicking ass and taking names in our second tournament saturday. maybe ya'll just suck.

 

[MPT23]

I put my team together and we won our second game ever playing together... i plan on kicking ass and taking names in our second tournament saturday. maybe ya'll just suck.

How about we play a rousing game of " Who gives a f*** " ? Not me, your turn.

 

[Schiffy]

How about we play a rousing game of " Who gives a f*** " ? Not me, your turn.

I'm speachless...

 

[MPT23]

We had alot of fun playing..... see you in december for a Tourney

That was before we played together. I think we were 6-4 that season. I may be wrong though.

 

[Edmonton_fan]

Playing with lots of new players takes commitment - and a different strategy than working with an experienced, winning team...

out of 11 people on the team only like 5-7 come out for practice. We can never get our entire infield there nor can we get all the out field there.

Hawk

Keep those 5 - 7 unless there is a good reason not to... The remaining get replaced unless there is a very good reason - because if they do not have a commitment to their team mates, there should be no commitment to them.

they don't hit it far enough and get thrown out.

1) fast single hitter.
2) right field batter - runner on first doesn't slow down; goes directly to 3rd base. This batter has to be astute - if the ball is going to 3rd (no cutoff), this batter heads to 2nd base getting rid of the force.
3) Single hitter.
4) Power hitter.
5) Rinse, repeat...

Aggressive smart base running with a 3rd base coach who can judge arm strength and runner's speed... And who remembers how many outs and who is coming up to bat next...

We have athletes just can't get rid of errors mis reading balls bad throws stuff like that.

Practice and communication; lots of both... Communication means the fielder watching the play yells to the cut-off man where to throw (or hold the ball) to save a second on defense; it means telling infielders where to head to cover overthrows. It means talking about what you are going to do if the ball is hit to you (before the pitch) and where you expect your team mate to be - and where you will head to if the ball is hit to them.

And yes, practice, practice, practice - while joking around and having fun (and beer afterward)...

 

[Red450]

This is our team's second season. We went 3-7 last season and played horrible. We forfeited two games due to flakes. We dropped a few flakes and lost two good players. Picked up a few more which are close to the ones we lost. This season we are 5-1-1. Our only loss was last week and we played with 9 players. Our problem was everyone was trying to be "that" guy and hit home runs. This season we have less ego and expectations. We have been doing good and have even mercied 3 teams. I manage and it's hard to get everyone playing where they want (or can). I still have a few flakes and two with absolutley no talent. The key is putting people in the right places and getting rid of the flakes.

 

[fiveoneooo]

Yea i just started playing on another night and our team is new. We dont have any chemistry which is weak but it will grow.

For your team I suggest as many others are and practicing, even if you can get 5 guys out there bring 30 balls and have a pitcher, batter, 2 outfielders and a cutoffs. Even with five guys if you can get everyone to try, hustle and hunt down balls like it is a game situation then those guys will improve dramatically. Those are the guys that are keepers on the team.

Second how is your background in coaching? Do you feel pretty knowledgeable in softball, do you know what style of player should play each position and what style of batters should bat in certain spots of the order? Maybe you should make a list of your players with their talents and downfalls and then we could do our best to help you make a lineup. Rank them on the basics like hitting, speed, range, power, arm strength and so on. With this knowledge we could make a crude lineup for you to tweak from there.

Also if errors are a problem then only practice or many more games can fix that.

 

[murc]

It took a good three years before our team got good and started winning leagues and tournies. We went from a 4-9 record our first season in a lower division to constantly finishing near the top in the upper division after around a year. Just this past season we took top of the table for the first time in upper, but crashed out in the playoffs. We went from being goobers to having solid local respect and a pretty good following of good players who always wonder if they can pick up with us if we travel. It's been fun watching us grow and improve over the years.

 

[injury]

I'll add in my 2 cents that noone has mentioned yet that I see alot especially in young teams starting out.

You need to make sure you guys are playing smart softball. Keep the force alive, don't make heroic throws that lets the rest of the runners advance extra bases on a low percentage tag play, back EVERYTHING up, etc. At BP work on solid base hits not jacking home runs. It's obvious but those are the common faults I see when I watch inexperienced teams.

If it was me the 5-7 that showed up to practice would get their pick of the spots. Those are your try hards and give a damns and it lets you put an incentive on being one of those guys.

 

[Judd 5/4]

Your bestest bud

Eventually, you will have to decide if you want to keep your best friend(s) happy playing ball with you or if you will sit them on the bench when somebody better (at their position) comes along. You get to decide if you are willing to make the hard decisions for the betterment of the team while your child hood buds get butt hurt.

 

[Kramit]

My first season last fall with my current team we went 4-10 or something like that. This spring we went 12-10 so ifll get better

 

[mhawk75]

Well we finally got a win this season against a legit team like us no legit wins, they had a forfeit. We mercy ruled them in the bottom of the 6th We had them 13 to 1 going into the fourth but then our good friends error and not playing where we where supposed to be caught up with us, but luckily we left them in the 4th and pulled out the ten runs in the 6th to take the game. Hitting in the 5th wasn't good, but one inning we did bat around twice which was nice, until a teammate popped up with 1 out and the guy on base took off cause he thought there was two outs.

Hawk

 

[Prince Mop]

I put my 1st tournament team in ISA D States last weekend and went 2 and a bbq

 

[Hawk75]

Yeah we definitely have players that try to throw people out from the fence but we are getting better on that. We played well last night with few eerie. As for the lineup it's pretty much set up the way u listed.

Last night in the bottom of the 6th we had a guy on third and 2 outs and the guy on our team that can hit a homer and tries too almost every time, and right before he went to hit I looked dead at him and said dude a base hit when's the game, he shuk his head that he agreed and for the first time ever I seen someone on our team just do what épée needed he sent the ball right between SS and 3, he didn't swing as hard as normal and we won. I will say we are improving but that was also against a week team. We have play offs tomorrow so we will see how well we dow when we play some of the other teams again.

Hawk

 

[baldgriff]

Well we finally got a win this season against a legit team like us no legit wins, they had a forfeit.Hawk

So another team with no wins is a legit team? Again I am not trying to be a pain, but saying a team with no wins is a legit team is absolutely silly. You need to define "legit". When other teams look at the schedule and see they are playing a team with no wins - do they really think "Hmmm legit team, better be careful?" Nope, the thoughts are things like:

If we lose tonight - we suck
I hope we get done early so we can make happy hour
Good I dont have to run hard tonight


Seriously, you cant say a team with ZERO WINS is legit. Comparing your team to a team with ZERO WINS, is like comparing your crap to dog crap... Its still all crap.

There have been some good suggestions in this thread about how to get better, but I think being honest with what you consider legit and the level you think you should be playing needs to be thought through. There is nothing wrong with being an average rec team. This is softball and should be played for enjoyment (winning is more enjoyable though).

 

[mhawk75]

You need to define "legit". .

Legit as in legal bats. Which is why I personally can not wait until the new bat rules come into effect. The best defense in the world can't defend against a HR.

Hawk

 

[Prince Mop]

Legit as in legal bats. Which is why I personally can not wait until the new bat rules come into effect. The best defense in the world can't defend against a HR.

Hawk

Nothing will change. Hitting will still remain the same.

 

[Rmc1981]

Hawk,

Keep your head up man, whether they admit it or not, pretty much everyone played on a crappy team at one point or another. It takes a while to learn the game of softball. We won a total of 7 games in our first three seasons. Couple things that helped us:

1 - we had to continually add and drop players to find those who are committed to being there AND to getting better
2 - it took me a while to figure out where everyone needs to play, but once I did, the consistency really helped.
3 - can't afford to let inadequate equipment beat you. You've got some decent bats. Get them broken in and game ready. Buy some xrocks or tattoos and plenty of them. When in doubt, throw in a brand new ball.
4 - play smart in the field. most new teams throw the ball all over the place trying to be superstars and throw behind everyone. We would end up giving up way to many runs this way. Make sure your SS will hold the ball and kill the play if he needs to.
5 - smart baserunning. can't give away outs on the bases like running on a popup with one out. make sure your base coaches are calling out instructions

Finally, have fun and stick with it. I've learned a ton on the website and you will too if you read and can get through the junk.

Good luck to you.

 

[mhawk75]

I'm trying to get them to stick with it, but they don't understand that it takes time to get everything down. Mutiny is rapid threw out the team with people wanting to break off and start a new team with the same players. Personally my defense is my strongest aspect. I normally go at least 2 for 3 getting on base, and I'm fine with that it's just my second season. I want to keep the same team if I can get them to stick it out cause we have potential, we just have to find it. Our in field can't consistently hit 1st in the chest no matter where the ball is, that's a major problem as well when first has to come off base or hope that the ball takes the projected hope into the glove to get the runner out. But people never want to take infield practice so what can you do, all they want to do is hit, hit, hit. Thats cool and all but we need infield. The whole team has the attitude of oh it's just softball you can't practice it to get better. And I try to tell them differently but they don't listen, because I'm their age. I might not have a softball back ground and my baseball was well little league but I know you have to practice or you'll never get better.

Hawk

 

[Prince Mop]

Well first off I'm new to softball my self at only 23 years old. Started out mostly friends on the team we are about to finish our second season and haven't won a game this year. Last fall was our first season and only won one reg season game, and one play off against the same team. What I'm wondering is how long did u guys take before u started winning? Also we don't have any shaved bats or special balls just all stock.

Hawk

You'll start winning when you make new friends that can play the game.

 

[baldgriff]

Legit as in legal bats. Which is why I personally can not wait until the new bat rules come into effect. The best defense in the world can't defend against a HR.

Hawk

If you are saying that you have not won a game because all of the other teams swing shaved sticks - you need a new excuse! Yes it takes teams a while to gel or learn the game. I get that. Every team you play against is not swinging glass and it is your team's skill level that is the primary thing to look at.

So have people practice and take BP and learn to keep the force in play, etc.... but you also have to be honest about whether or not you have real talent.

 

[Prince Mop]

Put your friends on the bench and get players to put as starters.