What am I missing?

This is the first year my 10 year old has played softball (fastpitch, NSA). We are part of a year round team and do not play league ball only tourniments. The only other experience I've had with kid baseball was with my son and that ended when he was 9 and that was several years ago. I kinda sorta remember how the teams were run but that was league ball and girls are different right?

The team has had barely enough players to play (9) and if someone can't play we've had to pull players from the 8 and under team. We've been looking for two or three extra girls to solve the problem. Coach found them and they came to play this weekend for the first time, they hadn't been to practice, but had been playing league ball so they were experienced players. If you think that gave us 12 players, you'd be logical but wrong. We had one girl out for health reasons and one that didn't show. We had 10, my Jenna being the only girl on the team that hasn't played ball before and 3 new ones.

The other 6 girls all played together on the sponsering group's 8 and under team last year and our 10 and under team is brand new, formed so these girls could continue to play.

Now for the problem: The coach told all the girls that he was going to move their positions around so he could get an idea of how the newcomers played. He told them this up front before the first of three games.

In the first game, he left the original 6 in their regular positions and put the new comers in at outfield (this is where Jenna plays) because this is where the absent girls usually play. Jenna he substituted in and out and I wouldn't allow her to pout about it because these girls have a year or two of experience that she doesn't have. She got to play plenty, saw the logic and accepted it. No problem.

Toward the end of the game our first baseman(K) got injured sliding into home. One of the new girls(A) had experience with first base, our secondary first baseman was pitching, so A was substituted in and did a very good job.

Second game, coach left "A" playing first and moved K to third, our usual third baseman moved to hind catcher, the girl there was moved to outfield(with the outfielders continuing to be moved in and out so everyone got to play).

After this game we had an hour and a half break until our third game. A friend of mine that lives in the area had come to watch and we left the team went to have a picnic and didn't return until nearly time for the next game. We had missed the fireworks.

For some reason, K and her family had taken exception to her being moved to third base and left. Yep, left.

Since I know practically nothing about about softball, I fail to see what the problem is. Was third base a "demotion" of sorts in K's eyes? Because our teams are privately sponsered(by the families of the players) do K's family think they are "buying" her position? Was it just bad sportsmanship on the part of K and her family?

Or is there some other dynamic that I fail to comprehend?

 

I know the coach told me personally, well before the games, that we new girls coming on that were more experienced than Jenna, but that she would still see playing time. What he told the other parents personally, I don't know. I do know that when he talked to the girls the parents/families were all standing around listening. So they had the opportunity to ask questions about positions then.

Hmmm, lets see, we are 0 and 6, I wonder what would make the coach think that?

Isn't it sorta expected that a coach will move players around to what he thinks will bring the result for the team? (winning would be nice)

I have to agree.