Advantages of Big Name Organization???

[Snotbubbles]

Mine's only 10U. Surely it doesn't matter at all at this age? She's been offered spots w/ a couple of big names and played on a kind of 2nd tier A team last year (not one of our big 3 but right below those) but it's not really something we want to do right now. Last year basically sucked. I see the big names at this age level are like a revolving door, even between fall and spring. Nobody seems happy, lots of stress and drama. I like to think this gets better as they get older. We were thinking of making the move to a big name, *if* she thinks she might want to play in college at that point, for 14U. As it is now she's the #1 pitcher on her team by a lot, and starting 3B or SS depending on who is pitching at the time. Strongest batter as well. So she's going to get more reps on this team (which is a solid B, not a junk team) than she would if we made the switch now. One of the big name 10Us here has something like 5 or 6 pitchers, all good enough to be #1 on another team. I don't really want to put her back into a situation like that when I don't even know if she'll want to play at a college level, ya know? Sorry for the hijack...

Similar situation for my DD in almost every aspect. DD is in her second year on 10u B team that she loves. No drama, everyone gets along. Coach doesn't have any kids on the team. My biggest concern is that she is so much better than the other kids on the team. I wanted her to be on a team where she had to bust her butt everyday to earn her spot like her first year on this team. DD's PC is a D1 college coach and she is steering us towards a big name organization that has had a lot of P5 committed players. Their youngest team is 14u so DD doesn't have to make any tough decision yet. If DD's still head and shoulders better than the other kids in a year or two, a bigger organization may her path.

 

[grcsftbll]

Similar situation for my DD in almost every aspect. DD is in her second year on 10u B team that she loves. No drama, everyone gets along. Coach doesn't have any kids on the team. My biggest concern is that she is so much better than the other kids on the team. I wanted her to be on a team where she had to bust her butt everyday to earn her spot like her first year on this team. DD's PC is a D1 college coach and she is steering us towards a big name organization that has had a lot of P5 committed players. Their youngest team is 14u so DD doesn't have to make any tough decision yet. If DD's still head and shoulders better than the other kids in a year or two, a bigger organization may her path.

Funny, that's why we went to the team with the name last year. On our 8U team DD was leagues ahead of the other girls. I wanted her in the middle. Top 7, for playing time, but not the ace. But it was just not a good year at all, for a bunch of reasons. I figure at this age, they should be learning the game, the fundamentals, and just having a great time. Fortunately the team we're on now is a much higher level B team than our 8U team. Her pitching is way ahead of our #2 but the other girls mostly hang with her on hitting and fielding. On our 8U team her development was being stunted by having to play down to the level of the other girls on the team. That's not the case this year, so it seems to be a good compromise.

 

[Me_and_my_big_mouth]

To the extent that a name might matter, common wisdom says you would want that as soon as you start the process. Unfortunately most younger TB teams, regardless of the organization are noobs with respect to the recruiting process. The most important aspect of selecting a TB team is to get with a coach that has actually gotten kids recruited in the past, especially if they have been successful with the schools your DD is targeting.

We're currently going through this right now. DD is 16u, and plays for a mid-level regional club. She is very happy being there. Great coaches, and she's really feeling productive and effective with them - which is exactly the development we wanted to see for her this year. She's athletic but needed confidence. So nope, not a stud. Just a hard-working athlete.

The issue with our club team is the recruiting. They just don't have the relationships with the schools that we wish they had. Some club coaches and/or recruiting coordinators can literally pick up a phone and get Coach Awesome at BetterThan U on the line, while others are lucky if they get an email answered by an AC. This is definitely a weakness of our club - but they are trying hard to improve.

What we have found, though, is that DD has been very proactive in contacting coaches - both email and phone calls - and several have actually shown up.

She's had NAIA, DIII, DI, and Ivy show up. When you look at the list of schools our club has "relationships" with, it is primarily DIII and JUCO's - so I sometimes get the impression that they're just as surprised as she is when a larger school shows up to watch her.

The big name org would help as far as networking, but I 100% believe that a short video and a profile speaks volumes. All of the coaches who came to see her mentioned her videos.

 

[Me_and_my_big_mouth]

Yes! The stress and pressure and all the cut throat stuff seems a bit much for 10 year olds. I *may* be a bit of an over-thinker...

Yeah I've followed you, too - and we're a lot alike. I'm just a few years ahead, but my DD started this journey much later so I missed all the 8u and 10u fun!

 

[Jlbmlb4]

We just went through this with my Ddd. Last year she played played on arguably the best 14u team in the state. They were not a nationally known name and the coaches did not have any contacts. The mentality was keep winning and the college coaches would show up. The team Dom inated regionally. They played some national exposure tourneys and competed well but never got to play the premiere teams on the main fields. Two regional D1 schools, a couple local D2 schools, and 2-3 NAIA schools watched some Gomes at some point during the year. We traveled a fair amount and spent a considerable amount of money doing so without much in return. And yes, the kids were emailing coaches. We probably would have been as well off just playing local against 18u teams(which we did some) and saving our$ on travel. We had a great year and my daughter improved her skills. Since the team was 01bday the team was rolling up to 16u the next year. My daughter, an 03 planned to move up also. A national organization with an 18u team of all D1 commits decided to start a 14 and 16u team. so we decided to go to the tryout to see what it was about. My daughter loved it and she thought it was awesome to be able to practice with kids of that skill level. fortunately she made the team. it was a hard decision leaving her current team but since they were older she would have to find another team in2 years anyway. The team played 3 showcase tournaments this fall and the amount of exposure has been unreal. I think she had been watched by almost every power 5 school. The amount of response and invites to camps has been overwhelming. It has been very eye opening for us. If an organization has relationships with coaches and a good reputation I feel at the 14u level it is definitely beneficial to be on a national level team. The opportunity to play on the main fields against the best competition is critical. not to mention the ability to get into the better invite tourneys. I am not saying it is impossible to get recruited from an unknown organization, it is just a lot more difficult. If you do get recruited from an unknown organization coaches will encourage you join a team that plays at the national level consistently.

 

[JAD]

Does anyone have any experience either way? My DD plays on a local team who plays showcase tourneys, but I feel she won't get as many looks as she would if she was part of a big organization. Am I right about this, or is it possible to get noticed with a small local organization?

It depends on the organization and the coach. In the last 2-3 years a lot of marquee organizations have expanded their number of teams as a cash grab for those at the top of the organization. So while your DD's team may get into some good showcases, their team may be relegated to EBF with the rest of the no-name teams who also paid top $$$ to participate in the showcase.

 

[Me_and_my_big_mouth]

Mine's only 10U. Surely it doesn't matter at all at this age? She's been offered spots w/ a couple of big names and played on a kind of 2nd tier A team last year (not one of our big 3 but right below those) but it's not really something we want to do right now. Last year basically sucked. I see the big names at this age level are like a revolving door, even between fall and spring. Nobody seems happy, lots of stress and drama. I like to think this gets better as they get older. We were thinking of making the move to a big name, *if* she thinks she might want to play in college at that point, for 14U. As it is now she's the #1 pitcher on her team by a lot, and starting 3B or SS depending on who is pitching at the time. Strongest batter as well. So she's going to get more reps on this team (which is a solid B, not a junk team) than she would if we made the switch now. One of the big name 10Us here has something like 5 or 6 pitchers, all good enough to be #1 on another team. I don't really want to put her back into a situation like that when I don't even know if she'll want to play at a college level, ya know? Sorry for the hijack...

Just in case someone else hasn't said it: if your DD is the strongest bat, SS, and #1 pitcher, then it's probably time for her to make a move upwards. That's a good thing. I think DFP wisdom is that you should never want your DD to be the best on the team, because it means she isn't being challenged.

Throwing that out there because you're talking about where she might land at 12u, and it sounds like she's going to be ready for solid A. So, maybe big name org might be worth a look-see. Yep, there's for certain going to be drama and revolving door kind of stuff, but that's because everybody on big name org wants their kid to be the best and get the most play time. If you can resist the urge to jump around and instead get dd to really dig in and fight it out, 12u is a great time to learn about earned play time, competition, and fighting to improve. She'll see better pitching, which will make her better in the long run - even if she struggles temporarily. Of course I only speak from my own experiences but I also rely heavily on DFP for input. Of course now, at 16u, DD makes the decisions about team and coaches, so we just write the checks and shut up about it.

 

[Me_and_my_big_mouth]

We just went through this with my Ddd. Last year she played played on arguably the best 14u team in the state. They were not a nationally known name and the coaches did not have any contacts. The mentality was keep winning and the college coaches would show up. The team Dom inated regionally. They played some national exposure tourneys and competed well but never got to play the premiere teams on the main fields. Two regional D1 schools, a couple local D2 schools, and 2-3 NAIA schools watched some Gomes at some point during the year. We traveled a fair amount and spent a considerable amount of money doing so without much in return. And yes, the kids were emailing coaches. We probably would have been as well off just playing local against 18u teams(which we did some) and saving our$ on travel. We had a great year and my daughter improved her skills. Since the team was 01bday the team was rolling up to 16u the next year. My daughter, an 03 planned to move up also. A national organization with an 18u team of all D1 commits decided to start a 14 and 16u team. so we decided to go to the tryout to see what it was about. My daughter loved it and she thought it was awesome to be able to practice with kids of that skill level. fortunately she made the team. it was a hard decision leaving her current team but since they were older she would have to find another team in2 years anyway. The team played 3 showcase tournaments this fall and the amount of exposure has been unreal. I think she had been watched by almost every power 5 school. The amount of response and invites to camps has been overwhelming. It has been very eye opening for us. If an organization has relationships with coaches and a good reputation I feel at the 14u level it is definitely beneficial to be on a national level team. The opportunity to play on the main fields against the best competition is critical. not to mention the ability to get into the better invite tourneys. I am not saying it is impossible to get recruited from an unknown organization, it is just a lot more difficult. If you do get recruited from an unknown organization coaches will encourage you join a team that plays at the national level consistently.

So you're saying that, if DD gets recruited/commits as a sophomore, the college she commits to would encourage her to change club teams for the duration of her HS career? Wow, I just constantly am learning new things! She thinks she's doing the right thing by staying loyal and keeping with the same club for years, and we like it, too (not as much fan gear to buy!).

 

[grcsftbll]

Just in case someone else hasn't said it: if your DD is the strongest bat, SS, and #1 pitcher, then it's probably time for her to make a move upwards. That's a good thing. I think DFP wisdom is that you should never want your DD to be the best on the team, because it means she isn't being challenged.

Throwing that out there because you're talking about where she might land at 12u, and it sounds like she's going to be ready for solid A. So, maybe big name org might be worth a look-see. Yep, there's for certain going to be drama and revolving door kind of stuff, but that's because everybody on big name org wants their kid to be the best and get the most play time. If you can resist the urge to jump around and instead get dd to really dig in and fight it out, 12u is a great time to learn about earned play time, competition, and fighting to improve. She'll see better pitching, which will make her better in the long run - even if she struggles temporarily. Of course I only speak from my own experiences but I also rely heavily on DFP for input. Of course now, at 16u, DD makes the decisions about team and coaches, so we just write the checks and shut up about it.

She played A last year and did well. She was #3 pitcher and starting 1B on our fall team (she'd never pitched before except at lessons and practice at that point), and #2 pitcher by only a few innings and starting SS on our spring team. But ugh, not fun. The movement on the teams, the seriousness and kind of cut throat nature of everything (at 10U!), the lack of loyalty in either direction. We went back to her old coach this year, the one who's coached her since she was 5 except for last year. Her best friend (his daughter) is her catcher now, and she's good. I love watching them play together. I have this secret hope (not secret now I guess) that we can build THIS team into one that can compete w/ those big names, only without the crazy. We played several A teams in the fall with our little B team and did OK. Didn't win, but no shut outs, no blow outs. We even have at least 3 girls who are brand new to travel, so I think that's pretty good. This team has a lot of heart & talent (some of which definitely needs to be developed to reach full potential), the girls all get along, the parents all get along. We're good friends w/ the coach so though DH is the AC, he has influence in the direction the team takes. The positives to us outweigh the negatives for now. And if we could just get a solid #2 pitcher, we'd be golden. We're probably going to have to develop one though; our org is big in baseball but new to softball. No name recognition. Perhaps we can change that though. That's my hope. Is that naive?

 

[Me_and_my_big_mouth]

She played A last year and did well. She was #3 pitcher and starting 1B on our fall team (she'd never pitched before except at lessons and practice at that point), and #2 pitcher by only a few innings and starting SS on our spring team. But ugh, not fun. The movement on the teams, the seriousness and kind of cut throat nature of everything (at 10U!), the lack of loyalty in either direction. We went back to her old coach this year, the one who's coached her since she was 5 except for last year. Her best friend (his daughter) is her catcher now, and she's good. I love watching them play together. I have this secret hope (not secret now I guess) that we can build THIS team into one that can compete w/ those big names, only without the crazy. We played several A teams in the fall with our little B team and did OK. Didn't win, but no shut outs, no blow outs. We even have at least 3 girls who are brand new to travel, so I think that's pretty good. This team has a lot of heart & talent (some of which definitely needs to be developed to reach full potential), the girls all get along, the parents all get along. We're good friends w/ the coach so though DH is the AC, he has influence in the direction the team takes. The positives to us outweigh the negatives for now. And if we could just get a solid #2 pitcher, we'd be golden. We're probably going to have to develop one though; our org is big in baseball but new to softball. No name recognition. Perhaps we can change that though. That's my hope. Is that naive?

Maybe a little naive, but at 10u it's about fun. Actually, I continue to think even at 16u that it has to be about fun. Unfortunately, that isn't always the case. When you've spent $2500 as a family to travel across 6 states so your kid can play in front of coaches at a showcase, the fun part tends to take a backseat to the, "You better step it up and bring the best version of yourself, kid, you get one shot at this" mentality. Don't get me started on the showcase stuff. ::::sigh:::: Encourage her to have fun now - enjoy her best friend and the cool parents and coaches. There will come a day, in the not so distant future, when she'll say that she wants to try out again for big org, and you'll have to assess your goals and hers as far as what she wants for the future. With 8th graders being recruited (especially P/C) it's gotten stupid out there and that makes parents and kids even more paranoid and "save yourself" mentality. I remind my DD - This is YOUR game. Play it YOUR way. Love it, be passionate, and enjoy it. You have the rest of your adult life to have to do things you don't want to do. Some days, though, that message is lost and she forgets that she's 15.

I think this has already been referred to a couple times, but still a great read and I sure hope they get some changes made: Ivy League pushes for NCAA legislation to limit recruiting before junior year | | USA Today High School Sports