Whole team moving

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Jul 18, 2014
4
0
Our coach had been asked to join an organization. 9 girls are going and 3 are not.
Has anyone else experienced this? Does the team get picked apart? Coach says he is doing it to better the girls.
 
Aug 29, 2011
2,581
83
NorCal
I believe that too can be common too. I think there was a thread last week on here from a coach contemplating such a move and asking about the pros & cons.
 
May 18, 2009
1,314
38
Today's softball world seems more about the individual than the team. Players used to strive to be better for their HS team and that has been lost in TB. Now it's about the showcase and the feel of the local team is lost. It's the nature of the beast.
 
Mar 23, 2010
2,019
38
Cafilornia
Common around here, though you might cynically read "to better the girls" as "to get better girls". Generally, if he were happy with the number and skill of girls at tryouts, he would stay put.
 
Jul 2, 2013
681
0
12U softball is the last of the community based good travel teams in my opinion.

Then it typically becomes a free for all. The better player (and associated coaches) are looking for better opportunities.

It becomes a business. The business being getting each DD best in line for a scholarship.

Those left short want to blame others. Do not do this. For the same powerful players and coaches who you feel gave you the shaft, will be the exact same people who can advance your DD in the near future.

Yes ... It is expected ... Is the nature of the beast ... Everyone goes through it ... And is how you handle it that matters. Directly after the fun loving, 12u season.
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
Around our area, I wouldn't say it is common, but it definitely happens. A coach may take a team a 10u team from a "B" level organization and transition to a 12u "A" level organization. When this happens, a core group of players will stay with the coach and go. The coach then depends upon the reputation of the new organizations' success to fill in the other players that he/she lost due to families not wanting to leave their current organization that they are happy with. There can be many reasons this happens. For example, the coach may be asked to leave for various reasons or a majority of the families are not happy with the level of play they are facing.

There are many pros and cons when this happens, especially for the team itself. The pros will be that the girls will usually play better competition since they will be expected to enter bigger/higher skill level tournaments. When they see better competition, the girls should want to improve their skills to be able to compete at that level. This is what commonly is used as the reason for the transition, to better the girls and their game. I completely agree that the better the competition a team plays, the more the girls will develop their skills.

Another pro, at least in our area, and I'm sure others as well, is that these organizations have better contacts with college coaches. At least one of them that I know of around here even has a recruiting service available to the girls from the organization.

That being said, the cons can outweigh the pros. One of the cons is that the coach is usually splitting up a successful team to make the move. Now they have the possibility of destroying the success they had with the old team since they will be introducing new players and their families that may not fit with the teams' established players/families.

Another con is that the team will almost always be expected to perform right out of the gate. The organization will want to maintain it's high reputation so it can, and usually will, put pressure on the new team to do well. Since the team hasn't gelled yet (or may never gel at all due to player/parent drama, bad chemistry, etc.) they have a tendency to struggle their first year.

Yet another con, at least in our area, is that many of the high level tournaments are more expensive and the organizations need to pay for their own facilities such as a batting barn/indoor facility mortgage/lease, field rental/mortgage/lease, nicer/flashier/higher quality uniforms and various other costs so the organizational team fees are higher. The bigger/higher level tournaments are also further away so require more travel and further expenses for gas, hotels, meals, etc. Many of the families aren't expecting this and more players and their families leave to go somewhere else putting the team in further jeopardy.

I would much rather see a successful team at a lower level stay with their current organization and move the entire team to high level tournaments/showcases (after a frank discussion with the parents of course) and develop that organization and their own college coach contacts as opposed to moving to another. JMHO
 

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