Pick Up Player Advise

freak98guy

freak98guy

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This is actually a thread best suited in the fast pitch board but there's so little traffic there....

I"m wondering what the proper etiquette is when it comes to playing time for a pick up player? I help coach a 12U competitive fast pitch softball team that my daughter plays on. The coach (who was hired for this paid coaching position) brought an extra pitcher to a recent tourney. The other parents didn't object initially but after the tournament there seemed to be some concerns raised about the playing time of this pick up player. Primarily, we only bring a pitcher as the pick up player as we are pretty thin at that position. But, I'm not sure it's entirely fair to this 11 or 12 year old girl to make her sit the bench the entire tourney only to get in to pitch a few innings so we try to mix her in to other positions from time to time to keep her interested.

To parents and coaches that have been in this situation, what's your take on an acceptable amount of playing time for a pick up player? We had 12 players total and played 7 games that weekend so it's not as though anyone sat the bench for any extended period of time. We did our best to keep everyone involved. Are we just dealing with whiny ****ing parents or is there a unwritten rule I am missing?
 
Paulypal

Paulypal

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freak98guy said:
This is actually a thread best suited in the fast pitch board but there's so little traffic there....

I"m wondering what the proper etiquette is when it comes to playing time for a pick up player? I help coach a 12U competitive fast pitch softball team that my daughter plays on. The coach (who was hired for this paid coaching position) brought an extra pitcher to a recent tourney. The other parents didn't object initially but after the tournament there seemed to be some concerns raised about the playing time of this pick up player. Primarily, we only bring a pitcher as the pick up player as we are pretty thin at that position. But, I'm not sure it's entirely fair to this 11 or 12 year old girl to make her sit the bench the entire tourney only to get in to pitch a few innings so we try to mix her in to other positions from time to time to keep her interested.

To parents and coaches that have been in this situation, what's your take on an acceptable amount of playing time for a pick up player? We had 12 players total and played 7 games that weekend so it's not as though anyone sat the bench for any extended period of time. We did our best to keep everyone involved. Are we just dealing with whiny ****ing parents or is there a unwritten rule I am missing?
Click to expand...

Having 12 players for 7 games gives everyone enough playing time - in fact 12 players over 7 games over a weekend may be a little light.

Your problem is not the kids as with anything else involving kids and sports the whiney ass parent are the issue.

First rule of coaching kids:

Every mother/father is raising the next Messiah, the next great athlete, and future Nobel Prize winner.

Your not going to win when you bench Jesus, Bo Jackson, and Albert Einstein all rolled into one.

You just pencil JeBoStein into the lineup.
 
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R

robokill

Manager
If you have a primary pitcher I think letting her pitch more innings than the pickup is the play as long as she is competent. The pickup player should also not be sitting much more than anyone else - let them play a bunch of other positions.

If the pickup is the ringer ideally everyone would be alright sacrificing a bit of playing time/their favourite positions for the good of the team, but obviously that doesn't always happen, so you have to balance winning and keeping everyone happy.
 
cremory8

cremory8

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Can't speak to the fastpitch part of it but I've coached that age group in basketball for years. It's always some gripe about playing time and it's usually from the parents. Not trying to give you a cop out answer, but just do what feels right. Play to win the game. If a kid doesn't get in Game 1, let her start off Game 2 if she's talented enough. If not, just be sure you sub her in the next game. I tried never to have the same kid sitting a ton in back to back games.

However, some of the kids I've dealt with over the years are just there b/c their friends are. I've had parents rake me out over Junior not playing but 2 mins when the kid's on the bench telling me he doesn't want to go in when I've asked him. The thing is parent's always want you to play to win, as long as their All-Star is on the field helping you do it.

More specific to the pickup player. IMO, you only pickup a player if you know you're either A) shorthanded or B) thin at a skill position like P or C. If you have to go that route, you have to play the kid you bring in a fair amount of time. If parent's complain, tell them to teach Suzie Q how to P and you won't have this problem.
 
louconn

louconn

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the proper way to pick up a player is to remember to lift with the knees, not the back. keep you back straight. you're welcome
 
MaverickAH

MaverickAH

Well-Known Member
Hmmm....... Let me gather the facts:

Coach: "Hired" to do a job.
You: Well, let's face it. You "help".

You get where I'm going with this, don't you? At best, you can probably have a private, one on one conversation with the coach just to get a better understanding on what he's doing. You don't, after all, know what kind of agreement he had with this player or her parents especially since she doesn't seem to be a full-time team member based on your description. Definitely don't make your conversation (if you decide to have one) confrontational.

As for the other parents, I don't think that it should be any of their concern. I am assuming that the only reason you hire & pay a coach is to teach, improve the team, win & shed a better light on you organization. With that comes the possibility of inequities in playing time. But what do I know............
 
hacker72

hacker72

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Saturday, everyone gets to play. Sunday, those who give you the best chance to win, PLAY!!
 
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