How do families do it ?

[JJsqueeze]

Reading the responses, a couple of things clicked. Thanks, I think I know where I will vote should she make the squad.

to answer some of the questions/feedback-

Eric- I talked to her in detail and she even listed the pros and cons and she is all for it, but she has been known to make rash decisions. It has something to do with her undeveloped frontal cortex I hope and not just poor impulse control.

Dbron- I have had the majority of my weekends spent on some sort of field as well, both rec and travel and trust me when I say that this is another notch above that with the time and the fact that it is both weekend days every weekend. Other teams have typically had weekday practices and Sunday friendlies with Saturdays free most weekends. One way or another we always seemed to have at least a couple of weekend days with no softball at all. This would eliminate that. Furthermore, previously we could get away with an occasional missed practice with no ramifications, I do not get the sense that would fly here at all.

China-The professional tone and the fact that the girls were between 8-10 was probably the thing that was most striking. I kept having the nagging feeling that if she is not one of the 1% of girls that naturally want to just compete like hell all the time then she will not last and the enjoyment would be sucked out pretty quickly. BUT if she is one of those 1% ers then this would be the ideal home for her. I just don't know where she falls on that spectrum. She's competitive, but I just don't know if she is that competitive.

Sluggers- Good points, there is no way we would be able to attend the practices, now would I want to, but we would be tied pretty close to the field for drop off and pick up and it would break up the day such that not a whole lot else could be done.
As for her playing and having fun, it was hard to tell, since she knew it was a tryout she had a pretty serious demeanor, but normally she is a little looser. She does seem to have fun showing her stuff though.

 

[JJsqueeze]

Did the fees include the midweek conditioning and hitting workout? There are often additional costs involved with them.

They did. The finance side of things was a really pleasant surprise, it is a great value if you are a kid angling towards that highly competitive environment/D1 track. I don't want to make anyone jealous in other parts of the country, but dues/fees wise it was impressive what you got for your buck. Of course later on travel would get expensive but that is another story. This org was the opposite of what older DD experienced last year where you could tell the org had lining the owners pockets as a goal. This org has one goal.....build softball machines and win championships. I am sure the owner does just fine financially though.

 

[Eric F]

Eric- I talked to her in detail and she even listed the pros and cons and she is all for it, but she has been known to make rash decisions. It has something to do with her undeveloped frontal cortex I hope and not just poor impulse control.

Rash decisions and impulse control can be an issue for 10yos....and 40-somethings

 

[JJsqueeze]

I will say this about 40 year old's though....rarely do they think that a candy bar is a good breakfast food.

 

[dbronstein]

Dbron- I have had the majority of my weekends spent on some sort of field as well, both rec and travel and trust me when I say that this is another notch above that with the time and the fact that it is both weekend days every weekend. Other teams have typically had weekday practices and Sunday friendlies with Saturdays free most weekends. One way or another we always seemed to have at least a couple of weekend days with no softball at all. This would eliminate that. Furthermore, previously we could get away with an occasional missed practice with no ramifications, I do not get the sense that would fly here at all.

I get it. Again, you just do it. Stuff doesn't get done around the house, that's just how it goes. Eventually you get caught up. Yes, it's a drag sometimes. What I actually find the most annoying is it's impossible to get together with friends because we can never find time between our kids' schedules and their kids' schedules.

 

[riseball]

I get it. Again, you just do it. Stuff doesn't get done around the house, that's just how it goes. Eventually you get caught up. Yes, it's a drag sometimes. What I actually find the most annoying is it's impossible to get together with friends because we can never find time between our kids' schedules and their kids' schedules.

That is what god created HS softball. To give TB coaches and parents a break. Weekends are typically free. Get caught up or even ahead and then everything waits when TB season starts up again.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

That is what god created HS softball. To give TB coaches and parents a break. Weekends are typically free. Get caught up or even ahead and then everything waits when TB season starts up again.

Except when you specialize in coaching 12U and 14U. Then there is no break.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I wouldn't do it. I know a similar program. The little girls have no life outside of softball. They even find it hard to quit because they don't know much else.

I would rather stay where we are happy (at 10) and encourage her to play other sports.

 

[slingnit]

I get it. Again, you just do it. Stuff doesn't get done around the house, that's just how it goes. Eventually you get caught up. Yes, it's a drag sometimes. What I actually find the most annoying is it's impossible to get together with friends because we can never find time between our kids' schedules and their kids' schedules.

My yard was perfect, 2 acres of lush green grass(exaggerated a bit), before softball. I couldn't keep up with it with one kid playing, could not imagine both playing. But have had the same conversation with my wife. 2 trips out of town, twice the gas, twice the hotel rooms, etc... Props to those that can do it! Lucky my youngest is a "drama nerd", her words not mine. A couple or 3 plays a year and that's still 4-6 weeks of practice and 4-6 shows. Still a lot less than tb!

 

[PA SB Dad]

What I'm trying to get my head around is what gets accomplished in a 4 hour practice that can't be accomplished in a shorter period of time (at least for the younger age groups). There are multiple teams in my area where they practice both Saturdays and Sundays in the fall for 4 (or even 6!) hours a day. Is what is being done in the last two hours as effective as what gets done in the first two? The expectation for my team is that they are working during the week on their own in terms of hitting, fielding, and throwing, and our practices are focused on base running, cut-offs, bunt defense, etc (things that you can't do by yourself). It seems to me if you have kids motivated enough to practice 8 hours on a weekend that they would be committed enough to spend 30 to 60 minutes a day on a tee, soft toss, ground balls, etc. during the week.