I agree with sluggers, if you don't establish an A-level team then someone will be happy to take those players from your organization.
How serious should we become?
- Thread starter OregonSoftballDad
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Slugger...I grew up playing baseball and basketball against Christian Laettner. He was an awesome pitcher (you can only imagine at 6'11) but he never made a decision to dial in totally on basketball until his junior year.
Our best non-showcase team that has 2nd and 3rd place finishes at the world series in Columbus and the nationals in Virginia respectively to their credit, just started regular practices the first of the year because a bunch of them play travel volleyball. However, to your point, my DD1 is 13 going on 14 and has stopped all other activities to focus on TB. Her team has practiced 2-3x's a week since September.
IMO - in the bigger picture - and if I understood the OP's question correctly - an organization needs to allow for some latitude when setting guidelines for rec and TB. There is no perfect formula for sure...CP
Our best non-showcase team that has 2nd and 3rd place finishes at the world series in Columbus and the nationals in Virginia respectively to their credit, just started regular practices the first of the year because a bunch of them play travel volleyball. However, to your point, my DD1 is 13 going on 14 and has stopped all other activities to focus on TB. Her team has practiced 2-3x's a week since September.
IMO - in the bigger picture - and if I understood the OP's question correctly - an organization needs to allow for some latitude when setting guidelines for rec and TB. There is no perfect formula for sure...CP
- Jun 29, 2013
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Good question. Our local league has B level travel teams all the way to 16U, and everyone seems fine with that. Two things that come to mind: 1) If you have girls who are good enough, and interested enough, they are going to find an A level team regardless of what your league does; 2) Does your league want to be the org. that offers limited options but does them really well or do they want to try to be everything for everyone? It sounds like the league does a good job at developing talent to have three travel teams. Adding an A level team will change things and probably cost a lot more than what you're already doing, and I'm guessing that you'll get a few complaints if the league pays more for the A level team than it does for the other teams. Can you add this expense, and keep everyone else happy?
Same Cost
Elk...
In our organization, the only teams that have a higher cost are the showcase teams.
Our senior teams in each age bracket (or our "A" teams) pay no different than our C teams. It's been that way for 35 years in our organization...CP
Elk...
In our organization, the only teams that have a higher cost are the showcase teams.
Our senior teams in each age bracket (or our "A" teams) pay no different than our C teams. It's been that way for 35 years in our organization...CP
Great feedback everyone. Keep it coming. I suspect we will end up with a 16U team next year. That's a good thing. We've been fortunate to keep the interest level high for girls playing softball. A couple of years ago even fielding one solid 14u, 12u or 10u from the ranks of the local girls was nearly impossible. Now with the expanding interest, we're having to make decisions around growth, team make up, tryouts, philosophy, mission, etc. I concur with Sluggers' assessment that by14u they may be more one sport specific.
Put a stake in the ground
You started the thread with this:
QUOTE]I'm under the belief that they're young and should do lots of other sports, activities, etc. and not give up their soul-- and time-- for such a long and never ending season. We live in a blessed community with families with the financial means to travel, ski, play multiple club sports, etc. I am certain we'd lose some of the better athletes if we went down the "specialization" road or asked girls to start training/playing in winter, spring, summer and fall.[/QUOTE]
And just said this:
To my point: make your policy on this open and dynamic. You just changed your personal stance in about an hour.
Look...I've got no dog in this hunt...I really could care less if your organization decided to limit everything to just bronze level teams or said teams are required to practice 5x's\week and only play against national competition. Whatever you decide, you decide. What I have seen, is that when all is said and done, an organization needs to be consistent in its stance and in its message. Get this stuff down in writing in your constitution. If you don't, you will lose more girls and families by not having a firm stance on this...CP
You started the thread with this:
QUOTE]I'm under the belief that they're young and should do lots of other sports, activities, etc. and not give up their soul-- and time-- for such a long and never ending season. We live in a blessed community with families with the financial means to travel, ski, play multiple club sports, etc. I am certain we'd lose some of the better athletes if we went down the "specialization" road or asked girls to start training/playing in winter, spring, summer and fall.[/QUOTE]
And just said this:
To my point: make your policy on this open and dynamic. You just changed your personal stance in about an hour.
Look...I've got no dog in this hunt...I really could care less if your organization decided to limit everything to just bronze level teams or said teams are required to practice 5x's\week and only play against national competition. Whatever you decide, you decide. What I have seen, is that when all is said and done, an organization needs to be consistent in its stance and in its message. Get this stuff down in writing in your constitution. If you don't, you will lose more girls and families by not having a firm stance on this...CP
I attempted to get our rec organization to create a travel team out of all our (back then it was 12U) teams. We had 5 or 6 at the time. Kind of an All Star team of girls only out of our fields. Schedule rec games during the week and get the "All Star" team together for some weekend tourneys. I couldn't get anyone to listen to me. We ended up leaving the organization to play TB. They are at 14U now and can only field 1 team. Most have left for TB. That team we left (who is coached by the guy that runs our park) is not even playing rec ball this year. They made the moved to TB.
I hated leaving the community fields. We sunk alot of our lives in there.
I think you have to give your better players something more competetive or they will find it somewhere else. We would have stuck around and I'm sure many more would have too.
I hated leaving the community fields. We sunk alot of our lives in there.
I think you have to give your better players something more competetive or they will find it somewhere else. We would have stuck around and I'm sure many more would have too.
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There are different ways to do it, and you will never meet the expectations of every player and family. Some want the more relaxed approach where there is time to do other things and play other sports. Then you have the players and families who want softball 24/7/365. You can do a couple of things, one keep doing what you are doing, knowing that you will eventually lose people to a new organization who will have greater expectations and require greater commitment. Or you can change to appeal to these people and you will lose people to a new organization who thinks the life balance approach is better. Or you can split up your org and have a designated turbo team who plays and practices year round and who has a much larger financial burden. Once you do that the people in the other teams will start to accuse the org of pandering and giving preferential treatment, and will leave to new org who will not have a caste system...
No matter what you do you will lose people eventually. So poll the group, see what most people want and stick with that. Accept that you will lose players and don't take it personally.
Chrispots - Well, I didn't completely change my mind. I did say "may" be more one sport specific. 
I jokingly (but half serious) suggested to a board member that it may be the parents that are interested in more year 'round softball than the kids.
Obviously, it's ok if kids leave for something better. If someone wants to drive across town because the "A" level is what they want and the "B" level doesn't cut it....great. No issues with me. There are plenty of A teams right now in Oregon that are still looking to add players to their rosters. Interesting that no less that 7 "private" club teams are calling our organization looking for fields for practice time.
On a side note, I've become fascinated with the study of youth sports and the whole psychology around kids/parents/competition, etc.
I jokingly (but half serious) suggested to a board member that it may be the parents that are interested in more year 'round softball than the kids.Obviously, it's ok if kids leave for something better. If someone wants to drive across town because the "A" level is what they want and the "B" level doesn't cut it....great. No issues with me. There are plenty of A teams right now in Oregon that are still looking to add players to their rosters. Interesting that no less that 7 "private" club teams are calling our organization looking for fields for practice time.
On a side note, I've become fascinated with the study of youth sports and the whole psychology around kids/parents/competition, etc.
Make an "A" team and "B" team in each age division. Play teams with equal talent. "A" team Try to play 1-2 travel tournaments each summer against travel teams.
Have pitching coachs come in and teach. Have hitting coachs come in. Try to get the same pitching and hitting coachs to do the whole league with the same instruction.
Come up with practice plans that every team does a good part of them before doing their own drills.
Straightleg
Have pitching coachs come in and teach. Have hitting coachs come in. Try to get the same pitching and hitting coachs to do the whole league with the same instruction.
Come up with practice plans that every team does a good part of them before doing their own drills.
Straightleg
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