trying to start a tourney team in my house league

Hxcburrito · Jun 7, 2016

the rec league my kid is in doesn't have anything other then house for girls...... but they have almost 2 travel and 2 tournament teams for each boys age group...... so, im trying to put together something for the girls

i have a 10u team, and possibly 2 of them...... and they're trying for a 12u

my issue with the 10u is...... they are mostly 9 yr olds, and ill have (3) 8 yr olds - i did make all the parents and coach's aware of this age difference

some of the coach's in the leagues upper level have done travel with their older daughters, and have filled me in with what to expect...... which was to not win. were all good with that, as we are aware that this is an attempt to build something within our league.

anyone willing to give some tips or advice or a heads up on what to look for in the tournaments? such as, any specific ones i should look for, or certain rules or classes (levels)....... do i need to follow any bat rules? what is better for pitching..... speed or accuracy?

were in southeast michigan

please..... i dont need to hear how bad were going to lose, or that this is a bad idea......i was able to get parents and coach's on board with this, i dont need any discouragement. im not expecting anything other then for the girls to have fun, and to keep this going in my league! the girls only options after a certain age is to try out for another cities travel, or find a new city rec ball league.

sorry if this is under the wrong topic....... i didnt realize i was under ratings when i posted

grcsftbll · Jun 7, 2016

Losing isn't the end of the world. We lose all the time but they're learning and growing as players (also 10U). The improvement on this team from the time we joined in early March to now is really astounding. Trophies are just cheap plastic but watching these girls reach their potential is gold. I say give it a shot, maybe start off in some low level tournaments to see how they do, take it from there. If they're competing pretty well step it up a notch. Around here after a little while in travel ball you learn which tourneys are low level, which are high level, which are in between. Ask around, talk to some travel ball coaches and find out from them where might be a good starting point. BTW our 10U team plays A ball with 100% kids who have never played 10U travel before this year. We have one 05 birthday who played rec until this spring. The rest are all 06s who played 8U coach pitch last year. In the fall the team lost 93% of their games. This spring we've lost 60%. In the past several tournaments losses have dropped to under 50%. Don't let the naysayers get you down, I say.

quincy · Jun 7, 2016

Not really what you are asking but you are going to cause some hard feelings and rifts inside your League. Make sure you think it is worth it.

canyonjoe · Jun 7, 2016

I'm a little confused by what team you are trying to start? Is it a 10U team? If so you are fine. I wouldn't put a bunch of 9's and 8's who never even played
all-stars into a 12U situation

If it's a 10U don't worry about losing. I will tell you that some parents say they are OK with losing but they don't really mean it. You need to expect that and move
on. The goal should be to continue to get better. Find someone who knows some hitting or learn it yourself, the same with pitching.

There are several things you need to look at

1. Set up a budget and how you expect to fund it. This includes uniforms, bags,helmets,etc, bownets, ball, and tournament fees. If you are going to do it monthly find a parent
who is willing to be treasurer and be able to show where funds are going.

2. Make sure you are insured. Likely the league can cover you.
3. Write up a set of conduct rules. Search this site so you can find them.

As far as playing
I would suggest as you start practicing to find some tournaments and go watch them play. It is not the same sport as a local league. You can get an idea of which ones
you might be competitive in. For me I don't mind losing every game as long as we aren't just getting killed. It's no fun for anyone.

Bats in most tournaments need to have the 1.2 bpf stamp on them.

Pitchers. You have to have some. Speed is nice, but if they can't throw real strikes you can't play. Even at 10U they'll call real strikes so you need to be accurate. Get yourself
some good catchers so you don't get run off the field.

I will warn you in advance that once you start playing travel ball many players are not going to want to go back to rec (house).

Snotbubbles · Jun 7, 2016

Pitchers and catchers are a necessity.

At 10u, from my experience, walks can't be defended and the player usually is on third after two pitches. Then a wild pitch or passed ball scores a run. Dropped 3rd strikes suck, too. If you can nail down your pitchers and catchers, the rest is fairly easy.

Hxcburrito · Jun 7, 2016

canyonjoe said:
I'm a little confused by what team you are trying to start? Is it a 10U team? If so you are fine. I wouldn't put a bunch of 9's and 8's who never even played
all-stars into a 12U situation

If it's a 10U don't worry about losing. I will tell you that some parents say they are OK with losing but they don't really mean it. You need to expect that and move
on. The goal should be to continue to get better. Find someone who knows some hitting or learn it yourself, the same with pitching.

There are several things you need to look at

1. Set up a budget and how you expect to fund it. This includes uniforms, bags,helmets,etc, bownets, ball, and tournament fees. If you are going to do it monthly find a parent
who is willing to be treasurer and be able to show where funds are going.

2. Make sure you are insured. Likely the league can cover you.
3. Write up a set of conduct rules. Search this site so you can find them.

As far as playing
I would suggest as you start practicing to find some tournaments and go watch them play. It is not the same sport as a local league. You can get an idea of which ones
you might be competitive in. For me I don't mind losing every game as long as we aren't just getting killed. It's no fun for anyone.

Bats in most tournaments need to have the 1.2 bpf stamp on them.

Pitchers. You have to have some. Speed is nice, but if they can't throw real strikes you can't play. Even at 10U they'll call real strikes so you need to be accurate. Get yourself
some good catchers so you don't get run off the field.

I will warn you in advance that once you start playing travel ball many players are not going to want to go back to rec (house).

im putting together a 10u team, that consist of 8, 9 & 10 yr olds

the 12u will be 11 and 12 yr olds

the league is backing me on this, so they are going with the same price as the boys. they said that will be uniforms and 4 tournaments. i will be under there leagues insurance. theyre giving me a field, for me to schedule my own practices and find my own tournaments. the time frame is now until mid august.

big question for me..... is tourney ball and travel ball diff? ,my league has both for the boys. the tourney is from june to august. rec spring is from march to june and rec fall is from august to oct

canyonjoe · Jun 7, 2016

Hxcburrito said:
im putting together a 10u team, that consist of 8, 9 & 10 yr olds

the 12u will be 11 and 12 yr olds

the league is backing me on this, so they are going with the same price as the boys. they said that will be uniforms and 4 tournaments. i will be under there leagues insurance. theyre giving me a field, for me to schedule my own practices and find my own tournaments. the time frame is now until mid august.

big question for me..... is tourney ball and travel ball diff? ,my league has both for the boys. the tourney is from june to august. rec spring is from march to june and rec fall is from august to oct

I'm guessing the tourney ball they are referring to will be playing against other leagues versus playing open Travel ball teams. If that's the case it's a great way to get your feet wet. Teams are limited to players from their league versus TB teams which recruit from all over.

Maybe the players will want to come back and play for the house teams in the fall or next spring, but once you start playing tournament formats it's hard to go back. If you have the league backing you with funds,etc I would absolutely go ahead and do it. Your players playing 4 tournaments will play 16-20 games of real softball plus get some good practice in. Every kids who plays will be an asset to their team next year.

Tom · Jun 7, 2016

Hxcburrito said:
i will be under there leagues insurance.

You may want to double check this with your insurance provider. If your league is Little League sanctioned they will not cover players playing in non-Little League events. We went down this road a few years ago in baseball. I believe most league insurance only covers players during designated season periods and only during sanctioned league events. Getting a general liability policy for the specific teams is fairly inexpensive and will cover you for all tournaments. The USSSA site has some listed and I assume ASA PGF etc. do as well.

If you can find a tournament (any age or classification) near you, just attend a few games and ask around about different leagues and levels. Most parents or coaches at these tournaments can point you in the right direction and get you in tune with all the local resources.

You may want to consider trying to find a few reasonably local tournament teams and hosting a friendly tournament or a scrimmage. This may give your players a taste of what to expect so they are not shell-shocked in the first tournament in the event they get paired against a stud team in game 1.

Bats all need to be 1.20 bpf, and have appropriate stamps for tournament type.

Hxcburrito · Jun 7, 2016

Tom said:
You may want to double check this with your insurance provider. If your league is Little League sanctioned they will not cover players playing in non-Little League events. We went down this road a few years ago in baseball. I believe most league insurance only covers players during designated season periods and only during sanctioned league events. Getting a general liability policy for the specific teams is fairly inexpensive and will cover you for all tournaments. The USSSA site has some listed and I assume ASA PGF etc. do as well.

If you can find a tournament (any age or classification) near you, just attend a few games and ask around about different leagues and levels. Most parents or coaches at these tournaments can point you in the right direction and get you in tune with all the local resources.

You may want to consider trying to find a few reasonably local tournament teams and hosting a friendly tournament or a scrimmage. This may give your players a taste of what to expect so they are not shell-shocked in the first tournament in the event they get paired against a stud team in game 1.

Bats all need to be 1.20 bpf, and have appropriate stamps for tournament type.

my girl currently uses a hard ball bat, because the drop is higher, so she can swing it faster then her softball bat, and seems to have more pop to it. if she tries that in the tournaments, will they notice? i have no problem with getting her the proper gear.... i jsut know she loves this bat over the few weve got her for softball

quincy · Jun 7, 2016

Got to have the softball stamp or stop using it.

If she does get caught someone might remeber, better just playing by the rules for equipment.

trying to start a tourney team in my house league

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