10U Tryouts Around Madison/Beaver Dam WI Area

[BobInMadison]

There are some good HS teams, but hard to play in the snow.

I know one guy whose daughter plays for the State Line Fury. He says softball gets a lot more competitive once one crosses the border into Illinois.

OTOH, there are a few top notch TB teams in Wisconsin, such as the Bandits, the Pride of the Midwest, and I forget the name of the team in Salem, near Kenosha.

Interesting, there are actually some good players in the UP. One of my son's friends goes to college at U of Northern Michigan, and there was lots of snow on the ground during finals.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

There are a few top notch TB teams in Wisconsin, such as the Bandits, the Pride of the Midwest, and I forget the name of the team in Salem, near Kenosha.

Usually all ya need to do is check the results of ASA-state or the ASA nationals to see who is a top organization in WI.

Bandits
Cyclones
Lightning
Xplozion
Firebirds
BATS (newer but seems like a strong org)

There are other very good "teams" but above I refer to the bigger clubs that consistently push out good product. I haven't seen Pride of Midwest at tourneys recently - are they still around? They had a good 18U "team" a couple years back but really haven't seen much of them since.

 

[BobInMadison]

Interesting information.

Most of these are in the SE part of the state, near Milwaukee or Kenosha.

The only one of these team within an hour's drive of the west side of Madison is Xplzion, although far more of the girls from Dane County play for the Bandits, way off in Horicon, about another 10-20 minutes drive each way. That is probably because of the indoor facilities for winter training.

Pity there aren't any really good organizations in the Madison metro area. There are some pretty good local organizations, such as the Verona Cougars, Mad City Crush, Mad City Kaos, and sometimes some decent teams in Sun Prairie. Sometimes some of the teams that pop up from West Madison Little League are good, and give way to decent, although short-lived, local C teams.

I'm not sure why no organization has popped up in Madison. Probably because it would take one of the big sports facilities, such as Hitters on the west side, to sponsor such a team. Hitters used to have a winter softball league, but they seem to have stopped that. In the meantime, they sponsor a tennis team.

This is assuming that Columbus, where Xpolzion plays, is not considered part of the Madison metro area. The Madison metro softball league goes all the way out to Beaver Dam, though.

 

[MadtownMike]

Wow, you know more about this than I do!

Let me clarify this.

It is very common for some of the better players in an age group at West Madison Little League to get together to form a TB team, just for those girls. Sometimes there are tryouts, other times these are invitation only. Sometimes a group of girls will be invited to try out.

At some point, the teams generally disband. This could be because of some girls being older than others, and choices about what age group to play in. Or, it could be personality conflicts. Whatever. In a few cases, a lot of the girls from a disbanded team will join a new team. In some cases, the better players will go to the regional powerhouses, like the Wisconsin Bandits or less commonly the State Line Fury in Illinois (both are the same distance from Madison). Some will join clubs on the east side of town, like Crush. Some are left hanging without a team.

What usually happens is that girls who age out of the teams, or else are left hanging when the team disbands, will try out for the Verona Cougars. A lot of the 18u Cougars aged out of 16u Rolling Thunder. A lot of the 16u girls were in the 14u Bam!. Many of the 14u Cougars were in the 13u Mustangs. Some former coaches from these teams now coach for the Cougars.

 

[MadtownMike]

Usually all ya need to do is check the results of ASA-state or the ASA nationals to see who is a top organization in WI.

Bandits
Cyclones
Lightning
Xplozion
Firebirds
BATS (newer but seems like a strong org)

There are other very good "teams" but above I refer to the bigger clubs that consistently push out good product. I haven't seen Pride of Midwest at tourneys recently - are they still around? They had a good 18U "team" a couple years back but really haven't seen much of them since.

Another program to watch is FirePro Fastpitch out of Steven's Point- their 14U team was terrific this past season. I believe they won 15U USSSA World Series this year.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

Another program to watch is FirePro Fastpitch out of Steven's Point- their 14U team was terrific this past season. I believe they won 15U USSSA World Series this year.

What!?!? SPASH area producing good softball players!?!?!?

 

[vcackerman]

We were in Janesville a few weeks back. The Cyclones put a spanking on us at 10U.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

We were in Janesville a few weeks back. The Cyclones put a spanking on us at 10U.

In my opinion the Cyclones club will put together the best teams in the state of WI more consistently than any other. Ya every generation will have a super-dominant pitcher that will take a specific year of a no-name club and put them on the map for that moment,..but I am talking about organizations who are consistently strong 8u through 18U.

I believe it's the numbers game. Yes the Milwaukee region has a bunch of other teams but I believe that in these more dense populous areas teams like the Cyclones get a reputation and then the best just come flocking to their doors. Of course it helps being closer to the more SB-psycho (meant in a good way) state of IL and the Chicago area....

I would submit that all the rest of the clubs in WI are really sort of a rag-tag pull together of a wide geographic region and it's more difficult to put together the top WI team that way. This is why the Bandits are so special (in my mind and heart). To put together a competitive team based out of a town of 3,700 with farmlands surrounding!!!! Think about it.... They are doing something really right!

For 18U I am pretty sure the Cyclones won ASA state. We lost to them in extra innings in a very fun game to witness. That is the main goal => being able to compete with the best.

 

[vcackerman]

Their complex in Janesville is awesome as well. The fields were great and really felt like a pro complex out there.

 

[BobInMadison]

Wow, you know more about this than I do!

Having had two daughters who played in WMLL, one who still plays, I may know more about the teams that have sprung out of WMLL. OTOH, you very likely know more about the teams in other parts of Madison.

The HC for 16u Rolling Thunder (which may have disbanded now that HC's kid aged out, I will have to ask him) is a friend of mine, and coached DD #1 in rec ball. DD #1 was on the team briefly, until she quit SB (the first time). HC is DD #3's PC, and DD #3 used to practice with Thunder. HC and AC ran some free softball clinics this summer, and DD #3 went to almost all of them.

The girls who were on the defunct 14u Bam! team were mostly friends of DD #1, and she played with a lot of them, including HC's DD, on various rec league and HS teams. At one point in her freshman year, when DD #1 was torn between track and softball, one of the Bam! girls put her arm around DD #1's shoulder and marched her over to the softball team. So, DD #1 played softball that year.

Both of the coaches of the defunct 13u Mustangs team coached DD #1 in rec ball. One of them is the guy who sold us our house, and the other coach is DD #3's TB coach, and has coached DD #3 in rec ball as well. DD #1 played with a LOT of the girls on that team. (Interesting thing: DD #1's bedroom used to be DD #3's nursery. Before that, is was the nursery for the Mustang's AC's DD. So, the former Mustang's HC, has coached all three girls.)

As for the teams that still exist:

The coaches of the Tornadoes (12u last year, 13 u starting in the fall), coached DD #1 in rec ball once, and DD #3 in rec ball 3 times. I was "team rep" one of those times. DD #1 has played with a few of the girls on that team, DD #3 has played with and/or against every girl on the team in rec ball. Also, DD #3's TB team has played scrimmage and tournament games against the Madison Tornadoes (NOT to be confused with the Beaver Dam Tornadoes, which is a more established organization)

DD #3 plays on the Warriors (11u last year, 12 u starting in the fall).

The coaches for the Mavericks (10u last year, I hope they continue as 11u this fall) coached DD #3 in rec ball last spring. Of course, she has played with some of the girls in rec ball, and against most or all of the other girls.

As for the teams in other parts of Madison, and Dane County, I am often a bit clueless. I do know girls on some of the Cougars and Crush teams, and DD #3's 11u TB team played against the 11u Crush team 3 times: Lost 10-9, won 10-9, and tied 9-9. Pretty evenly matched.

I don't know much about Mad City Kaos. DD #3 was on a rec league all-star team that played against Kaos in a Sun Prairie tournament. Kaos won 11-0 in 5 innings. DD #3 was pitching, and expected to be pulled after 2 or 3 innings, but they kept her in the entire game. It turns out, that was the best game DD #3 ever pitched. It's just that her team was completely overmatched.