Any tips or advice on starting a new travel club? Would like to hear from those who have been there and done that. What would you different? Any must do items?
Starting A New Travel Club
- Thread starter mleber
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Fundraisers and field time! Also have good relations with the local little league, Jr. High's and High Schools so you can recruit your players. Plan your practices so the girls are always doing something and are challenged. They want to be a part of your club to do something more challenging than what they are currently doing. Figure out how you are going to find friendlies/inexpensive tournaments so your team gets time to gel before the bigger tournaments. Figure out team/coach insurance (usually through whatever association you will play in) and lastly ensure you are comfortable with your own coaching philosophy and be clear on what you want to accomplish with your team.
Treat it like a business.
Get a least 25% more money than budgeted for.
Get money up front from parents
Build the team in the fall and practice all winter and spring
Make contracts that list all expectations from parents and players
Play as many friendly games (scrimmages) as poss. with other travel teams.
Fundraisers, corporate sponsors, donations, and player dues are your only sources of income.
Get access to an indoor facility for rainy or winter practices.
Get access to a ball diamond through local leagues. They typically want proof of ins. and a small fee.
Register with a sanction like ASA or NSA... the insurance is only about $13 per insured (coaches and players)
Build the team as if it were a cake. There needs to an ingredient list that's complete. What you put in it, is what you're going to get out of it. Good players, good parents, good AC's, will take you pretty far. One or two bad eggs and the cake is ruined!
Get a least 25% more money than budgeted for.
Get money up front from parents
Build the team in the fall and practice all winter and spring
Make contracts that list all expectations from parents and players
Play as many friendly games (scrimmages) as poss. with other travel teams.
Fundraisers, corporate sponsors, donations, and player dues are your only sources of income.
Get access to an indoor facility for rainy or winter practices.
Get access to a ball diamond through local leagues. They typically want proof of ins. and a small fee.
Register with a sanction like ASA or NSA... the insurance is only about $13 per insured (coaches and players)
Build the team as if it were a cake. There needs to an ingredient list that's complete. What you put in it, is what you're going to get out of it. Good players, good parents, good AC's, will take you pretty far. One or two bad eggs and the cake is ruined!
Slappers
Don't like labels
^^Spot on^^ all of them are.
The other thing I would recommend is having a good administrator or three. I am the coach, administrator, uniform finder, equipment purchaser, tournament finder, travel coordinator, treasurer...etc. It is a nightmare. I love coaching and I love being a part of the game and the kids lives but I am struggling doing it all.
My coaching has degraded as I am more involved with the other aspects than learning and becoming a better coach.
The other thing I would recommend is having a good administrator or three. I am the coach, administrator, uniform finder, equipment purchaser, tournament finder, travel coordinator, treasurer...etc. It is a nightmare. I love coaching and I love being a part of the game and the kids lives but I am struggling doing it all.
My coaching has degraded as I am more involved with the other aspects than learning and becoming a better coach.
- Nov 15, 2013
- 175
- 0
Since someone will eventually post it, I'll get it out of the way now:
Q: Any tips or advice on starting a new travel club?
A: Yes. Don't do it.
Q: Any tips or advice on starting a new travel club?
A: Yes. Don't do it.
Slappers
Don't like labels
It is hard, I am not going to lie. I spend quite a bit of time planning practices, and all the other things that I listed above. Throw in being a new team and not having your name out there makes it hard to recruit. Have players getting poached during your season and trying to hold things together is a lot of work.
We have one, maybe two more tournaments for the season and then it's regroup and get ready for a heavy spring schedule in a new division (18u) with some new personnel that are desperately needed. This fall is going to be a lot of fun.
- Nov 15, 2013
- 175
- 0
I guess I can add something to it. Know who it is you're going into business with. Know them for a long time. I started up a new club last fall, with two other people involved in it. The person who was in charge of the coaching and player development pretty much ruined it from the start. Not a people person, and has aggravated every parent to the point where I will be surprised if anyone sticks around for tryouts this fall.+
I sometimes speak to groups of parents that are wanting to start a team. The last ones, I knew 5 of them and I knew that they were paying me in bits and pieces. So, I spelled out the costs.
$50.00 per month
A buy in of $100.00 to get uniforms and equipment
Bats that aren't $25.00
Gloves that aren't $30.00
Cleats
Private lessons
Gas
Concessions
Paying for water (that you can't bring in, with you)
$4.00 per person gate fee (sometimes)
Hotel rooms probably once a month. This last weekend, the team was required to stay in one that was $148.00 a night, plus taxes.
Meals, while you are out of town.
I knew that the first year of 10U cost my nephew over $5,000 a year (We are year around ball.) He documented everything. I could see that when I told the group that, they had quit listening.
The team tried to grow too fast, and lasted about 5 months.
Oh, don't forget to tell people that almost every other activity will be missed, birthday parties, sleep overs, movies, weddings, vacations, etc. Your vacation days are used traveling to tournaments. Movies are are the town you happen to be in. And someone is going to be mad that you missed their wedding.
Good luck. If people didn't start somewhere there would be no teams, now.
$50.00 per month
A buy in of $100.00 to get uniforms and equipment
Bats that aren't $25.00
Gloves that aren't $30.00
Cleats
Private lessons
Gas
Concessions
Paying for water (that you can't bring in, with you)
$4.00 per person gate fee (sometimes)
Hotel rooms probably once a month. This last weekend, the team was required to stay in one that was $148.00 a night, plus taxes.
Meals, while you are out of town.
I knew that the first year of 10U cost my nephew over $5,000 a year (We are year around ball.) He documented everything. I could see that when I told the group that, they had quit listening.
The team tried to grow too fast, and lasted about 5 months.
Oh, don't forget to tell people that almost every other activity will be missed, birthday parties, sleep overs, movies, weddings, vacations, etc. Your vacation days are used traveling to tournaments. Movies are are the town you happen to be in. And someone is going to be mad that you missed their wedding.
Good luck. If people didn't start somewhere there would be no teams, now.
Slappers
Don't like labels
I started the team without throwing travel in there. We have enough tournaments that play within an hours drive to where we didn't have to worry about hotels and such. That is with all the different orgs you can think of too. NSA, ASA, Utrip, Pony, Softball Nation etc.
I also wanted to start slow and not have the whole thing implode on me and it seems to have worked. I have girls seeking us out and will be able to weed out the non motivated players. Still gonna be slow in developing but our wings are spreading a bit this fall and definitely next spring/summer.
$5000k for 10u is unrealistic in my view. Not in the sense that it doesn't happen but I'm not willing to shell out that kind of money. We have a fairly long fall/spring/summer seasons and with an indoor facility, my team payed around $1200 a player. Looks like that is going to go up this year though as we will play in more tournaments. We average two a month so we aren't playing every weekend either.
I also wanted to start slow and not have the whole thing implode on me and it seems to have worked. I have girls seeking us out and will be able to weed out the non motivated players. Still gonna be slow in developing but our wings are spreading a bit this fall and definitely next spring/summer.
$5000k for 10u is unrealistic in my view. Not in the sense that it doesn't happen but I'm not willing to shell out that kind of money. We have a fairly long fall/spring/summer seasons and with an indoor facility, my team payed around $1200 a player. Looks like that is going to go up this year though as we will play in more tournaments. We average two a month so we aren't playing every weekend either.
