All of this is new to me. A bit of background: My daughter will be a senior in a few months and has taken to the sport of basketball. she played the sport in elementary for a year at the local YMCA; then briefly on a Travel Team but was not motivated enough and so did not continue. Fast forward to junior high school, she played all 4 years but theirs was not a very competitvie leage and she never played for a club team during that time. Upon entering high school, she began playing and was invited to play for the JV Team, which we were happy about and couldnt believe it because they did have a freshmen team as-well. By this time, my daughter was 5'9 inches tall.

By he 10th grade, the coaching staff changed and something else happened and i wasnt as involved because i work fulltime and my husband was sick and we're raising two kids and so i was not as involved. My daughter decides to quit basketball sophmore year and to focus on shot-put.

Her teammates from her freshmen year had moved up in the basketball rankings and was beginning to show lots of improvement winning games and falling short of wining the CIF Champtionship. My daughter, who was still good friends with most of the players took the lost hard. You'd have thought she was on the team. But she reasoned, had she been part of that maybe she could have contributed in some way.

So, in the summer (her junior year) she made the decision to return to Basketball with a renewed committment and motivation. She wanted to play. Of course, she came back not as fit as before, running slower, and skills were undeveloped (she is not naturally talented and has to work really hard). So thoughout she continued and the coach really worked with her but by the end of it, she could not make the Vasity squad and was assigned to JV again.

That was fine by me. i would rather her be playing then to be warming the bench all season. She needed to compete. So my daughter as a junior began the year at 6'0 tall. and was assigned to her usual Post position and she slowly made a comback losing 25 lbs in 5 months - it was her time. The JV Team was undefeated and my daughter had a lot to do with that.

So here we are presently, my daughter is now 6'1+ and will be a senior and for the first time i have shelled out big bucks to have her play for a club team, in addition, i've hired a fitness and conditioning coach (college division 1 trainer) to work with her. She is not naturally gifted but she is motivated and wants to play the game so i feel that i need to support her as much as possible.

But seeing these girls on the club team is a whole different story. they are clearly more experienced than my daughter but i can see that the coaches have taken a vested interests in my daughter or is that to be believed after reading the comments above. I'm worried sick that she wont be prepared by the time the seaon begins again. and we are coming late to the party as-is. So my questions....

To be a well rounded (decent) player competing at the high school varsity level, what percentage of the pie is 1)natural (god-given) abilities 2) strength and conditioning 3)skills 4) experience?

What is the likelyhood that my daughter will be strung along her senior year and not get any playing time?

How can i best prepare my duaghter for the club team experience?

Y -

First of all, your daughter moving in and out of the sport didn't help her game.... but thats in the past. You say that the coach has shown some interest in her.... probably because she is 6' tall + and has some skills.... one thing we cant teach is height.



One thing you haven't mentioned here is being a hard worker..... that is very important... and at her size she could be a great rebounder... all that takes is a little desire. There aren't that many players that have a lot of God given abilities... somewhere along the line they were taught how to play the game. Strength and conditioning is important, if you tire easily, you will have slow feet and end up reaching,. resulting in fouls or being late on every part of the game. Being a Varsity player, especially a good one takes some experience... your daughter has some but has missed a few years. She played JV ball all last year, so she knows the system fairly well I would think.... so she has some valuable experience.



I cant answer that question..... but IF she can be a GREAT rebounder, that will make her a valuable part of the team.... IF she can play good defense, that is also a plus. Every team needs a good post defender and rebounder.

As for preparing her for the Club, talk to the coach and ask him what your daughter needs to play on his team. You seem to be doing a lot of things to help your daughter ... now the ball is in her court.

I truly enjoy the ambition of young women in sports. Keep her shooting...

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