Cannonball
Ex "Expert"
- Feb 25, 2009
- 4,885
- 113
Ok, so if I understand you correctly the following is normal travel ball:
- team formed in September but never receiving an equipment bag until May and never getting cleats that were promised and paid for;
- qualifying for an end of the year national tournament (which was a goal at the beginning of the season) but deciding not to play because the competition is weak or it's too much money?;
- in the middle of the season adding both young players (10u and 14u) without consulting the 12u families who are shelling out $150 a month dues,
- complete lack of communication including no email or text that the season is over. These girls have been playing together for 10 months and not a single email acknowledging the end of the season?
Again this is well established travel ball org with 20+ years of experience.
Maybe my expectations are too high? But when I coached I took the job seriously and didn't leave parents and players hanging but maybe this is the current status of travel ball.
I agree with softballphreak that this list in condensed version is a "Wow Factor." I would have to say that this is dysfunctional at best. As an FYI, I am a jerk when it comes to me paying money and not getting what I paid for. If I had paid for cleats, they had darn well better show up. DD guest played on a regular basis for a team when she was 12 and they were 14. It was really like she was on their team every other weekend. They qualified for a national tournament with BB pitching and then, opted to stay local at a "Northern National." It was not pretty when the various parents became involved in what they thought that they had paid for and what they received. So, yeah, that does happen more than it should. (Side note, the national qualifying game was the "spider bite" game for BB. I'm sure some of you might remember that. Adding players is always a sticky subject and especially when long time team members have to sit. In short, I ain't hip. Finally, there is no reason for a lack of communication.