So, our first 10U tournament is in two days. I don't understand all of the ranking systems. It appears that three of the top four teams in the state, based on some ranking, will be among the 10 teams competing in this tournament. Our first game is against a B team from an academy run by the tournament organizer. I've never even seen any 10U team play, but word is that we can win that game. I'm not sure we'll win a second.
One parent is an experienced travel ball coach. His son seems to hop from team to team. That gives me pause. He's a non-paying fill-in who will be offered a permanent spot. But my coaching staff thinks he's not likely to shell out any money. This guy has been making remarks to indicate that he thinks we'll get pounded, that we're not ready, that I don't know enough about travel ball rules and strategy, etc.
So I figure I'll come here and soak up as much advice as possible. All I can say is that I feel we have a very talented team. Yes, we have a few pitchers who struggle with throwing strikes. But we also have 3-4 who are very accurate. Most of them will get hit hard. Their velocity is not superb. They probably throw in the mid- to high-40s with a few topping 50. Our defense is superb. Catching is a concern. We have four experienced catchers, but I'm unsure how well they'll perform in a game situation with runners leading off, etc. Our hitting is, in my opinion, weak. We spent a great deal of time working on hitting last Sunday, and we made some progress. This certain dad thinks that we should be spending more time on defense. And that's the goal for tonight's practice. He doesn't think we should be concerned about hitting. Hmmm.
What advice do you have for me? It looks like we play late afternoon/early evening games on Saturday.
One parent is an experienced travel ball coach. His son seems to hop from team to team. That gives me pause. He's a non-paying fill-in who will be offered a permanent spot. But my coaching staff thinks he's not likely to shell out any money. This guy has been making remarks to indicate that he thinks we'll get pounded, that we're not ready, that I don't know enough about travel ball rules and strategy, etc.
So I figure I'll come here and soak up as much advice as possible. All I can say is that I feel we have a very talented team. Yes, we have a few pitchers who struggle with throwing strikes. But we also have 3-4 who are very accurate. Most of them will get hit hard. Their velocity is not superb. They probably throw in the mid- to high-40s with a few topping 50. Our defense is superb. Catching is a concern. We have four experienced catchers, but I'm unsure how well they'll perform in a game situation with runners leading off, etc. Our hitting is, in my opinion, weak. We spent a great deal of time working on hitting last Sunday, and we made some progress. This certain dad thinks that we should be spending more time on defense. And that's the goal for tonight's practice. He doesn't think we should be concerned about hitting. Hmmm.
What advice do you have for me? It looks like we play late afternoon/early evening games on Saturday.
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