what to look for (good or bad), what questions to ask before we sign on dotted line

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May 6, 2015
2,397
113
9YO DD looking to play travel ball. she worked (indoor with safety balls) out with a team last night, good fit skill wise with the girls, coaches seemed nice enough. work they did all seemed very relevant and appropriate for the girls skill levels (fielding, throwing, crow hop, little mini 1 inning game, P and C stayed 30 minutes extra to focus on that). She liked the workout, was enthusiastic at end. Gonna go to hitting practice with same team this Saturday. Already discussed finances with some people in the organization, VERY reasonable.

Any suggestions on what questions I need to ask, things to look for (good or bad)?

Organization is mostly run by people with players at one level or another. they get help from local HS coach, and a few former and current college players from the area (ie there was a girl there in her 20s the part of practice for P and C, worked with all 6 or so girls working on pitching). I have already learned from one parent who is friends with one of the coaches (they play together on an adult FP team), most of the girls are first year, plan seems to be to not do a great deal of tournaments this spring, focus on development, do a few for experience. Coaches indicated on phone most of the team is 9 YO like my daughter (I see this as a plus).
 
Nov 26, 2010
4,784
113
Michigan
What position does your dd play, what positions do the coach's dds play? If your dd is a pitcher or catcher you don't want your dd playing behind the HC's and AC's kids
How many girls will be on the team?
How will playing time be decided?
What is the practice and playing schedule?
Any out of town tournaments? How many? How often? Make sure the teams travel expectations match up with yours, (the coaches idea of a few might be different then yours)
Whats the plan for next year?
How big is this org?
Whats the goal for the team? Is it all about getting kids to like the game, develop players, win tourneys? ( why is this important? Are you willing to watch your kid sit on the bench for whole games, days, or weekends in pursuit of a tourney trophy?)
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
What position does your dd play, what positions do the coach's dds play? If your dd is a pitcher or catcher you don't want your dd playing behind the HC's and AC's kids
How many girls will be on the team?
How will playing time be decided?
What is the practice and playing schedule?
Any out of town tournaments? How many? How often? Make sure the teams travel expectations match up with yours, (the coaches idea of a few might be different then yours)
Whats the plan for next year?
How big is this org?
Whats the goal for the team? Is it all about getting kids to like the game, develop players, win tourneys? ( why is this important? Are you willing to watch your kid sit on the bench for whole games, days, or weekends in pursuit of a tourney trophy?)

All this ^^^...and costs...

What are the monthly fees, and what does that cover?
How much are start-up costs, and what all is included (jerseys, pants, socks, practice shirts, bag,...)?
Is there specific required gear/brand that needs to be purchased (bat, helmet, cleats, etc.)? Can that gear be purchased anywhere, or do I have to buy it through the team?
Are there any other costs I should expect?
 
Apr 28, 2014
2,316
113
All the above (great) also ask about fundraising. Our team this season does not fundraise. Last 3 years other team did. I can tell you that our family would rather pay a little more versus mandatory fundraising. Usually the one or two weekends off are spent fundraising. Everyone's financial situation is different but know what your going into.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
I am a big fan of getting girls the same age and sticking together as they age up. I would ask the coach their objectives. Too many coaches get caught up in winning at the early age groups when they need to make it about fundamentals and fun. College is about winning...TB is about improvement.
 
Jun 29, 2013
589
18
At 9, 3 questions: 1) Will they give your DD a chance? 2) Are the kids on the team nice? 3) Do the coaches believe in her? That's what my DD said at the same age last summer when we started looking for a new team. Hope it helps. :)
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
Thanks to all for the feedback. Hitting practice was Saturday, talked with hitting instructor for organization who is heavily involved in running the organization as well, in addition to the HC of team. Organization has basically one team at each age level. Got started as a feeder program for this town’s HS team, still run with that in ming.

Finances are not finalized yet, but they indicated we are looking at about $500 outlay for the year. First $150 is for two practice t-shirts, hoodie, batting helmet, and insurance. Further outlay will be for unis (no pants, just black pants, we already have several), umpires, tourney fees, etc. Seems they do real good job of keeping costs down, indoor facility for hitting practice donates the time (run by member of the org, who does hitting instruction for organization, as well as private lessons), free indoor time as well at local MS (they use safety balls for these workouts).

Practice schedule for spring is not yet finalized, but will be Sat plus two weeknights. They expect players to make 80% of practices, absences for school reasons are excused. Coach seems keen on development and keeping it fun. Organization seems very committed to girls development, hitting instructor and another member of the org recently attended a seminar with several top level NCAA coaches (MI, TN were the names I remembered), to me indicates a good commitment to teaching the girls they best they can. Tournaments will all be within a couple hours away it seems for right now. Reason for keeping number of tournaments fairly low is coach wants to make certain they do not get hammered too much, as it is a first year team, but wants to get them experience, so I do not think they are chasing trophies.

DD indicated all the girls have been very nice. Parents seem nice so far as well.

As far as positions, seems like they do not yet have a set pitching rotation, and only one catcher, so seems to be good opportunity for DD. Did not ask what positions coaches kids play, not certain how to frame that one. On questionnaire, they ask the girls to complete what positions they want to play, DD listed P, C, then “don’t care”. She will be 9th or 10th player to join team, and HC said they will be carrying 11 or 12 only. She fit right in skill wise with the rest of the girls from what I saw at workouts, and HC basically invited her to join after first workout, so I do not think they will give her short shrift for playing time (esp since whole org was developed as feeder program for their HS, and she is in different district, and they still really seem to want her on team).
Giving them a check at this Thursday’s workout… and away we go!
 
Feb 20, 2015
643
0
illinois
Seems like a good fit for your DD. $500 for the year for any type of select/travel ball is reasonable. The only thing I see as a potential problem down the road,
is your DD being from a different school district. Are they gonna treat her different as they get closer to high school age, would be something I personally would worry about. Other than that, sounds great.

Side note......man am I freaking jealous when I read about someone just starting out with a young player. My DD is almost 17 and all we have left is school ball this year and next year.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
yeah, she and I are both excited. think it will be easier to get her to go down to local park now and practice, now that she is on a team where she is not clearly in the top 2-3 players.

as far as different school district, that thought had crossed my mind, but I think it will take a few years to happen, so we will deal with it when/if the time comes. I try not to borrow future potential trouble.
 
Mar 8, 2016
313
63
First enjoy the fun and make sure you do your best to ensure your dd enjoys it. I cannot believe how much my priorities have changed. I went from thinking how crazy parents were to spend an entire weekend at the ball field to being disappointed on weekends we do not play. You will make some mistakes along the way. Asking for help here will help limit those. I have learned a lot from this site. Some of my best memories are going to the local indoor facility when DD was 10-11. When we would finish she would always want to book another time for later in the week. I did a lot of things wrong like teaching her to hit off a pitching machine but I am glad I went every time I possibly could. Best quality time I have ever spent with DD. At dinner tonight DD asked when I thought she became a good softball player. We spent all of dinner talking about various points along her softball path. I suggest you start a running list of softball memories. Last fall I started writing down memorable things that have happened so I will not forget those moments. At her age I don't think you have anything to worry about with regards to the school district.
 

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