Starting a 12u team

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Apr 20, 2016
4
0
Makanda, IL
I am starting a new 12u travel team in August. What are the must haves in order to run a team? Hoping to play USSSA tourneys in the area and some friendly games against local teams.
 
May 13, 2012
599
18
Line of credit at the liquor store and prescription Xanax. Start simple bucket balls, wiffles, tee and good screening process of parents. Plan for practice and realistic expectations of your team and play in tournaments accordingly.
 
Mar 14, 2014
5
0
Recruit good families. Recruit a treasurer. Loyal assistant coaches with the same vision. Having an Ace pitcher and strong catcher helps. Don't try to do everything yourself. Have expectations & dues in writing for all.


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Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Recruit an Ace pitcher and one that is really close as well as a decent #3 that may be a little slower but has pinpoint accuracy as well as huge movement; in other words a junkball pitcher. Make sure to give them all adequate amounts of circle time. You will need 1 very good catcher and 1 above middlin' to very good catcher to get through a weekend of tournament play especially if you are playing games close together time-wise and you plan to play in a hot/humid environment. The problem you'll have, like the pitchers, you absolutely, positively need to put your expectations and playing time allotments up front to the parents so that they understand and you need to make sure you follow through on what you say as far as circle time and plate time goes.

You'll need to make a budget. Figure out how many/which tournaments you want to attend, their costs, a uniform supplier, 2 uniforms cost, socks, belt, batting helmets/costs/ decals/costs, bat bags including the larger catchers bags/costs, indoor training facilities if applicable, outdoor field charges and any other miscellaneous charges you could possibly think of. Determine the number of players you want to carry on the team and divide the total by that number.

As Tcats said, get a treasurer and have them account for every penny. Make the finances transparent to everyone so that they know where the money goes. Also, make sure to pick people as AC's that hold the same vision as you do. Remember, 12U is still about having fun with a big lean towards player development with a greater goal of team development. At 14U, you want to push more towards team chemistry while still continuing to develop your players.

No matter what, make sure you have a list of goals; both short and long term. Recruit players and families that buy into them. This will reduce parent/player drama. Also, make a list of expectations/ player rules/ parent rules and have both the parents and players sign it. Make copies and return a copy of them to the parents. This will also reduce drama. I'm sure others will come up with some more pointers but for now, this would be a good start.
 
Last edited:
May 28, 2013
60
0
Try very hard to stay away from players that are sisters. If things go bad, You could be put in a very tough spot, if that parent starts to threaten the team. I know that this is not always the case, But I will never do it again.
 
Last summer I explored this as a rec coach. DD wanted to go to travel and I really considered it. I drew up about a 12 page plan with everything from potential recruits to insurance to facility, everything. I think it could have been doable, but fall got here too quick and it just never materialized.

Fast forward a few months, we joined a newer organization in March that one of DD's friends joined last fall. They still had a spot left. It's opened my eyes some, but I still definitely think it could have been done. We've learned a lot although since only 3 girls had any travel experience before last fall, it's probably not the same as joining an established team.

Depending on where you are, facilities could be a problem. For instance, our local rec has all the school fields tied up. They are 100% against travel, so they would have blocked anything local for us. There are some other places within reason, but that's the kind of stuff that varies from place to place.

The other thing is don't get too fancy in year one. Black pants, an off the shelf helmet, maybe some inexpensive girls cut athletic T-shirts in a couple colors will get you started. Pick up used balls off ebay or Craigslist. As my dad used to say, "No one ever won by looking snazzy..."

Finally, work on fundamentals and get all the outs you can get. DD is a 2003 and I can say that around here, if any team makes all the "routine" plays, they are usually the winners. Giving the other team 5 or 6 outs an inning is a recipe for a bad experience. I wouldn't waste time with a lot of trick plays and fancy defensive plans.

And buy a set of earmuffs...:cool:
 
Aug 12, 2014
644
43
Depending on where you are, facilities could be a problem. For instance, our local rec has all the school fields tied up. They are 100% against travel, so they would have blocked anything local for us. There are some other places within reason, but that's the kind of stuff that varies from place to place.

This is my thought as well. There is a ton of competition for practice fields here (Denver) in the spring. There would be no point in even trying to start a team here without having something locked down up front.
 
Sep 28, 2015
85
0
1 is your daughter a pitcher. 2 if she is don't start team unless it is with people you know and believe your daughter is going to be a great pitcher. That is the best stress reduced plan
 
Apr 20, 2016
4
0
Makanda, IL
My daughter is a pitcher. She and a few other girls aged out of 10u, and their head coach asked me to run a 12u team. I coached or was assistant from tball to first year of 10u rec. We decided to go with 10u travel this past spring when a local team was looking for a couple of players. I have tryouts set up for the end of the month with fingers crossed. I still plan on taking her to some other team's tryouts just in case this idea flops.
 

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