Building a U14 team from scratch

Karchify said:

Tryouts happened, again while I was returning from vacation. My other coach was there and he was overwhelmed by the number of girls that tried out (we had 37 between the tryout and the makeup date in the 14U age range). So probably around 30 for the main tryout date. So to break it down about 10 of the girls were from the other 14U team, 8 or so from our invites, and about 12 others.

When I returned, we got together and went through the girls that tried out. We naively thought these girls wanted to be on our club team, most did not, but we didn't really know that. We called and offered 5 girls spots on the team 3 pitchers and 2 catchers/infielders. None accepted on the spot and in hind sight, our offers were too vague and open ended. We called and offer 4 of the core girls spots, that makes 6 with our 2 DDs but we still needed pitching and catching.

My wife and I really hadn't really discussed her being a coach but she was a catcher in college and even though she was traveling I texted her and told her she was now a coach. It was another bullet point to try to convince these girls to play with us "we have 2 female coaches, 1 a current college pitcher and 1 a former college catcher/3B".

I brought my DD to the makeup tryouts hoping we'd see more pitchers but still uncertain how we'd get out of the offers we have out there. There were about 7 14U girls there, and the other 14U team was pretty much done with their team. One girl stood out, I called right after tryouts and it didn't look good. Our college pitcher/coach, suggested I move quickly on the next 2 pitchers on the list before they accept other offers.

With all the bad news we also added another LL player right away that was at the makeup, mostly to lift our spirits and move forward. So now we had 7 players, all from LL (1 had select experience previously). We continued to call the others that we had made offers to but most couldn't decide. Eventually all but one moved on with other teams or we decided to mutually rescind the offer.

We learned the hard way there are:
- Families that tryout everywhere hoping to get on the best possible team, they will even accept offers knowing that they are "last resort" for them, just to have it in their back pocket.
- Families that have been on a team, are testing the waters, but when push comes to shove, they go back to their team
- There are even girls that go to tryouts for practice or maybe to boost their ego and get calls
We had all of these.

Had I to do it again I would (and will next year):
1. Ask lots of questions, probing about their tryout, teams, other tryouts, etc. with experience, some good people skills, and enough time on the phone with the parent you're pretty likely to get the whole story figured out.
2. Call the parents of the kids you're interested in after tryouts before you make an offer. Don't call with an offer assuming they want to play for you.
3. If you get to the offer, make time based offers. I think 48 hours is reasonable. Follow up in writing on email. And follow up again after you call when the time frame is up. With good questioning in #1 you should know if they wont even be able to answer your offer in 48 hours because X team has tryouts next week, etc.
4. Get the player fee asap, it seems many teams are getting more strict on this because of all the non serious actions going on. Some, I've heard are even moving to a deposit at tryout that you get back if you don't get an offer but loose if you get an offer and decline.

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A couple of things to note:

I would not attend a tryout with a deposit that I lose if we get an offer and decline unless the team was so well known and good that we had already made our decision to join before tryouts. A policy like this will really choke down attendance at your tryout. Would you rather see 30 girls you might get or 4 you definitely will get?

48 hours to make a decision is not enough when tryout season is 2-4 weeks. i know coaches want clarity quickly, so do families, but the reality is that a girl may want to try out for three teams with vastly different dates. You have to find a way to creatively navigate the free agency period offer wise. Blanket rules like 48 hrs are a big turn off.

For every family that does the things you mention above there is a coach that has promised things and not delivered. So you have to understand when they want to get a few options on the table and then decide. In this situation they are the customer....and the customer is always right. But you do retain the right to refuse service

I find the timing to be extremely complicated. Parents typically want to take their time to ensure they make the right decision. Coaches typically want to move quickly and iron out the roster. I understand both viewpoints. The fact that tryouts are typically held throughout the entire month of August (here) doesn't make it any easier. The better players typically hold all the cards and the mid-level and lower players are the ones that are stuck to suffer. Think about it.... A team has an opening for a pitcher. The team has interest in 3 pitchers that show up at tryouts. They make an offer to the first choice but are told "we won't be able to make a decision for another week". What now happens to those other two pitchers? Either they are stuck waiting for girl #1 to make a decision, or they need to move on themselves. There is always someone who gets the short end of the stick.

fastpitch26 said:

I find the timing to be extremely complicated. Parents typically want to take their time to ensure they make the right decision. Coaches typically want to move quickly and iron out the roster. I understand both viewpoints. The fact that tryouts are typically held throughout the entire month of August (here) doesn't make it any easier. The better players typically hold all the cards and the mid-level and lower players are the ones that are stuck to suffer. Think about it.... A team has an opening for a pitcher. The team has interest in 3 pitchers that show up at tryouts. They make an offer to the first choice but are told "we won't be able to make a decision for another week". What now happens to those other two pitchers? Either they are stuck waiting for girl #1 to make a decision, or they need to move on themselves. There is always someone who gets the short end of the stick.

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Very good points here. Picking a travel ball team is a huge deal for both the player and the parent. With that being said to do it right you should try out for multiple teams if for nothing else to get your face and name out there. Then you have to put the ego aside and find the best fit for player first then parent. The tryout is actually the easy part. The tough part is picking a team. Think about it, when we as adults make big decisions we take our time and assess our options. Heck, most of us get nervous buying a refrigerator for crying out loud. The refrigerator has no social or psychological affects if we make the wrong choice, but get your DD on the wrong travel ball team and watch out. Good luck and trust the process

nicelag said:

Very good points here. Picking a travel ball team is a huge deal for both the player and the parent. With that being said to do it right you should try out for multiple teams if for nothing else to get your face and name out there. Then you have to put the ego aside and find the best fit for player first then parent. The tryout is actually the easy part. The tough part is picking a team. Think about it, when we as adults make big decisions we take our time and assess our options. Heck, most of us get nervous buying a refrigerator for crying out loud. The refrigerator has no social or psychological affects if we make the wrong choice, but get your DD on the wrong travel ball team and watch out. Good luck and trust the process

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Both of you made some very good points. But the several questions remain unanswered. Parents want to pick the right team for their DD. Coaches want to solidify their roster. Tryout seasons vary widely depending upon region. With that being said, what do you as a parent consider a reasonable amount of time to consider your options? What do coaches consider a reasonable amount of time to offer time for parents to consider their options?

Around our area, most tryouts last the first 2-3 weeks of August. Would you say that maybe a 1 week period is enough time for both of your considerations? Is it fair to the rest of the girls on the team to have to wait for 3 weeks before an offer is made to the second or third choices for the team? What happens to those girls that never got an initial offer? More often than not, they might accept an offer from another team just to play. Hypothetically, the first team may fold due to lack of players.

Again, OILF, good points made. There is indeed plenty of good kids with potential out there. There are also "Daddy Ball" coaches and many coaches out there that are constantly looking to upgrade their roster with better players and will replace a lesser player at the drop of a hat. I also agree that in some areas of the country, tournament schedules may be getting out of hand. With all of that being said, let's break this down a little more.

Kids with potential are exactly that. They need a coach that will develop their athleticism and talent. But at what age does it become too late to try? Some will say that it is never too late. Others will say if they don't have "it" by 16u, it is too late; at least for TB. Don't forget, TB softball was first conceptualized as a platform for getting the best softball players scholarships to colleges. Since it's inception, TB softball has exploded and I will concede that for some organizations, it has become all about the almighty dollar. I will also concede that there are coaches constantly looking to upgrade their rosters and their rosters look like a revolving door. There are "daddy Ball" coaches out there in the TB world as well.

To answer your question, TB showcase tournaments, both large and small, select the teams to participate primarily by the teams winning record and their level of competition, i.e. gold/elite. Since it is most TB coach's goal to get his players noticed, seen and possibly recruited by college coaches, it becomes a necessity to play in showcases. The corollary then is that they must win at the second year 14u level and the 16U level against the best teams. So yes, it is all about winning at that age and level of play. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, I'm just pointing out the reality.

The other reality is that the chance of these athletes being "discovered" at a showcase, at least without prior contact with college coaches beforehand are slim. However, it's not unheard of.

But don't forget the fact that less than 1% of athletes actually get an athletic scholarship to college to begin with. This is the other point I'm trying to make. In Ohio there are 13 D1 colleges as an example. 13 x 12 scholarships =156 D1 scholarships. There are 6 D2 colleges in Ohio that have Softball teams. 6 x 7.2 scholarships=43.2 D2 Scholarships. That's a total of just under 200 scholarships for Softball between both Divisions. There are over 55,000 softball players in the state of Ohio alone.

College Coaches' jobs depend upon them WINNING. Do you think they will make scholarship offers to those great kids with potential or do you think that they will go to these TB showcase tournaments and look at the best, proven, established players they think they have a chance of getting and offer to them?

This is not a justification of TB coaches having the revolving door roster nor for "Daddy Ball" coaches or the coaches which don't develop players. It is not a justification that some of the coaches considered the "best" at the older age groups and higher levels of play are, in truth, assemblers of the best players they can recruit. However, is this not what college coaches do on a yearly basis to win? Again, this is reality, not what we would like to see happen.

In today's world, everything is about competition. Getting the best grades in school or an Academic scholarship to college is a competition with ones self. Class ranking in school, getting a job promotion, your social standing, sports, getting an athletic scholarship etc.etc, is all about competition with others. This means that there will always be winners and losers. This is life as we know it. For parents to want their children to be "winners" and succeed in life is nothing to be ashamed about IMO.

Out in Left Field said:

I am with the parents on this one. Why does the coach treat filling his roster as if his or her life depends on it, or perhaps, worse, winning? There are plenty of good kids, all with potential, out there. Get a team together, but let people decide how they want to spend what is now a lot of money, but more importantly, affects their kids in serious ways. Many coaches are holding out for better kids or messing around trying to make a team for just their kid to star on. Obviously you like to pick the best fit for the puzzle, but if you are such a good coach, coach the kids you get once decisions are made stand by them. If the parents are only in this for winning, shame on them too.

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I agree with much of what you wrote here. But I am also trying to think of the "downstream" families. I will explain our most recent process so maybe you can get a better idea of where I stand. Our team for 2014 had 12 players. Near the end of the season we spoke with all 12 families. We had no issues with any of the players or any of the parents that would make us consider cutting/dropping any of them (we had none of THOSE parents!). We offered all 12 a spot on our team for 2015. We are aging up to 16u from 14u. Due to age, 3 of the 12 decided to stay at the 14u level but stayed with our organization. We would have gladly moved them to 16u with us, but they made their choice, and that is fine. So when tryouts began, we had 9 players already committed. We had 8 players show up to tryouts. Shortly after tryouts ended, the coaching staff met and selected 4 of those 8 as players that we wanted to offer spots to (hoping that 3 of the 4 would commit, getting us back to 12 on the roster). The other 4 were placed "on hold", if you will. Two of the four we offered spots to accepted immediately. The other two requested some time. We gave them 1 week to make up their minds. We then contacted the other four families, thanked them for attending the tryout, and informed them that all decisions would be made in one week. Before the week was up we got one more commitment from the two that requested more time. The fourth player accepted a spot on another team. We then called the other four and informed them that our roster was full. I have since helped two of those girls find spots on other area teams.

So, yes. I agree that each family is making a big decision and must weigh all of their options. But, while they are doing this, other families are also waiting (the 7th or 8th choices in my example above). Tryout season can be very stressful for parents, and I understand that. The better players will always be able to find a team to play for. Some others are waiting by the phone every night hoping that someone calls them. Those four we placed on "hold" is the reason that we set a deadline. Not so much because we were concerned about our roster size, but because we felt those other four families deserved an answer and we didn't want to delay the process for them any longer than we needed to.

Out in Left Field said:

I can't go there with the showcase teams...I have seen about 30 in the last month and only a few were really an elite team. I agree that you should put all stars of TB on a showcase team (that used to be the case). Now everyone calls themselves a showcase team. It used to be you were selected internally in your org and then were collected from the other teams for the showcase. If you are an elite team from a mecca, you may also get a pitcher from somewhere else to join you.

I am working on a verbal for one of my HS players and it has nothing to do what team she plays on or showcases (although she went to several). She went to the camp at the school.

I posted the link to the Student Sports verbals list, and if your showcase team is not on there with multiple players year after year you are not a showcase team in my opinion. But I don't think this OP's team is anywhere near that level.

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True, but you asked in general terms why TB coaches made it all about winning. I gave you the answer. BTW, I hope everything turns out and you can get the verbal for your player. Good Luck!

JJsqueeze said:

A couple of things to note:

I would not attend a tryout with a deposit that I lose if we get an offer and decline unless the team was so well known and good that we had already made our decision to join before tryouts. A policy like this will really choke down attendance at your tryout. Would you rather see 30 girls you might get or 4 you definitely will get?

48 hours to make a decision is not enough when tryout season is 2-4 weeks. i know coaches want clarity quickly, so do families, but the reality is that a girl may want to try out for three teams with vastly different dates. You have to find a way to creatively navigate the free agency period offer wise. Blanket rules like 48 hrs are a big turn off.

For every family that does the things you mention above there is a coach that has promised things and not delivered. So you have to understand when they want to get a few options on the table and then decide. In this situation they are the customer....and the customer is always right. But you do retain the right to refuse service

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Good feedback, after re-reading from my side I would only make the offer after having that long discussion with the parents and getting to a point where you feel an offer is warranted (and could be successful). We made the offers too soon not knowing. Also after this I had a discussion with our organizations other head coaches (at one of our meetings) and one of them viewed it as the only time the player/family has control, for the other 11 months they are locked in, an interesting take on it.

Knowing how the system works, I will work within it next time. By this I mean we will promote the positives, like our 2 female coaches, the girls love them way more than us guy coaches. They will be front and center next year and visible at our games and tournaments this season. Ideally we can add additional reasons to come play for us and do some subliminal selling along the way.

Added some more to the story, although it's not really a story, its just a journal, I hope it helps someone. I'm making progress to catch up. Thx.

Karchify said:

as the only time the player/family has control, for the other 11 months they are locked in, an interesting take on it.

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That is a really good way of putting it.

I have a general list of tryouts with the teams in order of initial preference. From there I would not pick a team prior to going through all, or most, of the tryouts I have on the schedule. As stated the tryout season is generally about 3 weeks, and there are generally not many friendlies nor tournaments during that time. So why the hurry? I would be more worried about my coaches rushing to judgment than the players. Unless you come across that stud of course. But even then you should be patient. If you put all of your energy into that stud and she doesn't pick you then what? You are going to be in trouble because you didn't give all of those girls that tried out after her an honest look or eval.

So, I don't think 2 or 3 weeks is reasonable. Just try to maintain open lines of communication during the process. Inquiries and interest about my DD show me you care, not pressure tactics and deadlines.