Starting A/B team..? on several tgings..plz help

What is the motivation for starting a new team vs. just having your kid join an existing highly competitive squad at 14U?

Aren't most teams already formed or forming by now. I don't know how good the girls who are not already committed by November will be.

Where we live is about an hour from a major city ...but we have a population of around 50000 within 20 miles from here. A lot of the girls travel a long distance because we have no true A/B teams in our area. The organization we are joining is a C group and many of their players are ready to make the jump or need to move up so that's the main reason I don't put my daughter on another team....i want to grow a competitive core here.

I have been coaching for 8 yrs and my DD is 14 and she has far exceeded the level she is at now

Click to expand...

My advice: Don't start a team.

You obviously want a scholarship for your DD so she can play in college...which is great. I'm all for it.

Which do you think a college coach will consider more important:

(a) Your team's win/loss record
(b) Your DD's skills

The correct answer, of course, is (b).

Unless your DD plays for one of the well-recognized teams....OC Batbusters, Beverly Bandits, etc....the college coaches don't care who your DD plays for. It is irrelevant to them.

The only thing that matters is your DD's skills. If her skills aren't as good as someone else, the coaches will pass.

How do you improve her skills?

1) She needs to work on her skills for at least one hour a day 5 days a week, 40 to 50 weeks a year.
2) She needs to *COMPETE* for playing time.

She won't get either if you coach.

You won't have enough time to work with her individually. You'll be doing "team" stuff. Every 10 minutes you spend on logistics, buying uniforms, attending meetings, etc. is 10 minutes less you have to work with your DD.

And, no matter how hard you try, she will never compete for playing time by playing for you. She will get X guaranteed innings, no matter how she plays. She will never, ever feel someone breathing down her neck about to take her job away.

What should you do?

Find her the best team around for her to play on. Then, work with her individually so she can earn playing time on the team.

When she gets her scholarship, *then* start a 14U team to coach.

Exactly what sluggers just said.

I don't see a C organization attracting A level players. Especially not this late.

sluggers said:

My advice: Don't start a team.

What should you do?



Find her the best team around for her to play on. Then, work with her individually so she can earn playing time on the team.

When she gets her scholarship, *then* start a 14U team to coach.

Click to expand...

My answer EXACTLY. Sluggers beat me to it.

Probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but the voice of experience does not always carry the expected message.

14U is usually too late to start an A-level TB team from scratch unless you have a solid CORE of 6 players, including at least one ACE pitcher and a catcher. You might be able to pull it off if you will be a part of a marquee organization that will bring in a lot of players due to their name recognition or if another team implodes leaving a group of players available. Most independent teams start at 10U and 12U, at 14U the number of teams starts to decline and the good independent teams partner up with a marquee organization for recruiting purposes.

chinamigarden said:

Aren't most teams already formed or forming by now. I don't know how good the girls who are not already committed by November will be.

Click to expand...

This post and a few others are hinting around at what I think some of us are thinking.

What happened with your DD during tryout season??? When you say she is at a higher level than her current team what does that mean? Is this a rec organization or just a low level C team formed from rec All Stars a few seasons ago? Why can't she and you work with the current team and get them better, although if your answer is your don't have a pitcher not a lot can be done and forming a new team without a pitcher won't solve that problem.

If the real answer is you just did not want (or for logistical/work reasons can't) drive more than an hour one way for softball that is fine, but my guess is a lot of "A" level girls in your area probably did.

If you are working with an existing organization are you planning on taking girls from an existing team?

Maybe this would have been a good plan to flesh out in late July but come November you are unfortunately probably too late, the girls you really want are committed to another team.

We live in an area where there are several strong teams that DD could have went to this season. She's a 12U pitcher with a good bat. She tried out for a few "B" 14U teams and got some offers.
We went with a new 12U team from a very well know organization that has a great 18U gold program.
I thought about coaching a team in our area, even had some discussions with a few other parents. It came down to the reasons Sluggers posted. It's a noble idea but may not be the best choice long term for your DD.
Good luck!