Travel Ball inquiry response vibe

If you happen to know, and trust, any parents from the former team talk to them. Make sure the guy who started this team wasn't a problem parent that was asked to leave, etc. Also in addition to asking questions, try to blend into the background during practice, but close enough where you can hear what other parents are talking about. Can sometimes get a vibe of the team atmosphere that way.

Tom said:

If you happen to know, and trust, any parents from the former team talk to them. Make sure the guy who started this team wasn't a problem parent that was asked to leave, etc. Also in addition to asking questions, try to blend into the background during practice, but close enough where you can hear what other parents are talking about. Can sometimes get a vibe of the team atmosphere that way.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Unfortunately I don't really know anybody from former team, we are greenhorns when it comes to TB scene and while my wife does have some contacts on other teams,
her facebook network doesn't extend to the former team . I am just going to try and go with my instincts in terms how everybody interacts, coaches with kids, kids with kids etc.
The part of the evaluation involving knowledge about the game, how to run a practice, etc. won't be an issue. I have been around enough ball practices to tell when a guy is clueless.
The other stuff I may not be able to evaluate until they actually get into a game situation but I don't plan on making any long term commitment to the team (or any team for that matter) until I have a good feel for everything.
If they need that up front then I will walk. Part of me, at this age, would rather work with her on her fundamentals (swing, fielding mechanics,etc) in the Fall/Winter anyway but she really likes the team aspect of
the sport..must be some sort the female social interaction thing

Again, thanks for all the responses. So my daughter went to practice with the team last night. Some thoughts, both for me to get them down in writing, and for others to comment on if they want to:

The Good: Coach seems like a good guy and my daughter got along with the other girls and said she had a good time. His practice was organized. It was
fairly obvious he hadn't played past LL himself (which is ok) but had picked some stuff over the years while coaching his daughter and/or just watching practices
and looking online. His instruction in general was ok. They did some infield hands drills stuff (eg. gloveless work) at the beginning which was ok although using a tennis ball as opposed to a
softball makes those drills needlessly more difficult because of the bouncing of the ball. They then did popups with them having to throw to a target. Then some situational
stuff, bunting and then they got a few swings. First the coach, throwing bloopers, and then a girl who I guess is trying to pitch threw. My daughter was the only who volunteered to hit
against the girl and after seeing her throw I understand why (the other girls have been playing rec together for a while I think). I think she threw 20 pitches and 2 were close enough to swing at.
Plus she kept getting closer and closer to the point where she got to about 5 feet way before the coach told her to move back. It was kind of funny

However in general it was ok. Only thing I didn't like was him trying to instruct a certain batting style to everybody before he saw anybody hit a ball. Basically a no stride swing... If a kid has no clue
I have no problem with that but wait till you see somebody hit first.


The Good/Bad: The guy is super-positive about everything, almost as if he were trying to overcompensate for the situation
he left with the travel ball org. Apparently, at least according to him (he offered the info, I didn't ask) his DD's previous coach was sort of belligerent with
the kids on his DD team, to the point apparently, that he forfeited a game because of poor play by his team against a team he felt was
not worthy of being on the same field as his team...e.g. he walked off the field.

At this point you might ask why is super postive that bad? Well first I am not the type of person who can say something
is good when it isn't so it kind of got on my nerves when, for example, kid after kid incorrectly tried to bunt the ball and either by happenstance or because the
pitch was coming in so slow, that ball would be bunted to a good place and he wouldn't correct the form but only praise the result. Something like "that was bunted to a good
spot for (give the situation) but we need to try and bunt the ball like...." would have been better. He did show them at first how to bunt. His explanation was ok but resulted in most of the girls taking a bunting
position but then sort of swinging the bat. A lot of that is instruction style I guess and in terms of instruction about the mechanics of the game (pitching aside..which DD told the coach last night she didn't want to do..)
I can do that myself for my kid.

The Bad: The quality of the players on the team, at least the ones that were there, was only slightly better than my DD's rec team. His DD wasn't too bad and you could tell people had worked with her, but she doesn't appear to be very athletic. The others were ok but again, a game of catch between those girls resulted in more ball chasing than anything else. This will only be a problem if he limits the tournaments he plays in to ones where they will be competitive. They will be moving to 10U in the Fall (either I misunderstood about that detail or the original post by his wife was wrong) and I want my daughter to face good pitching once in a while. A combination of tourneys where they get their asses kicked in, e.g. face good pitching, good hitters,etc , and ones in which they are competitive would be perfect.

The Ugly: Only 5 kids were at practice. I asked the coach how many kids he had at the moment and he said 7. He said on Wed. there would be more kids. I asked what he thought the odds
of them being able to play a few tourneys this summer were and he said good. I am not sure I believe him..I believe he wishes it was good but I can't see how he can say that without knowing he has at least 9 committed kids unless he plans on rolling the dice and picking up for every tourney...

He does have one kid, a pitcher, who has played 10U already who will be on the team in the Fall when they move up but she can't play 8U. There is also that kid who pitched in practice but I am not sure
I will be able to stand there and watch that for 5 innings or 80 minutes His daughter is taking pitching lessons apparently but from seeing her play I don't if that will be tenable.

There are a few kids on my DD's rec team who are interested in playing TB. DD's manager's daughter is one of them and I told him I would talk to him today at my DD's rec game about how the practice went. Part of the reason I am offering up this thesis on the first practice...
If we get two or three from the rec perhaps it might be possible...we'll see I guess.

Conclusion: My DD had fun so I think we will go to a few weeks of practice, but if I don't see a team together within a few weeks I may have to punt. I am not sure I am willing to have my
kid go to practices for 6 weeks without any games when the instruction provided won't be any better than I can give my DD one on one every day.

"using a tennis ball as opposed to a softball makes those drills needlessly more difficult because of the bouncing of the ball" making a drill difficult not a bad thing, this teaches them to squeeze, I do same thing popups, bare hand, and with glove (plus launching balls with tennis racket as opposed to hitting softballs helps my ailing shoulder)

"Conclusion: My DD had fun so I think we will go to a few weeks of practice, but if I don't see a team together within a few weeks I may have to punt. I am not sure I am willing to have my
kid go to practices for 6 weeks without any games when the instruction provided won't be any better than I can give my DD one on one every day." Do this, but take out the maybe. if they cannot get the girls together to field a team quick, and be competitive at least at some level, leave and do not look back. But I think at 8u, with some good coaching, most halfway athletic rec players could be coached to be half decent, so it may be worth it to have some from the rec team come out. beware though, if you get enoujgh, and some are better than what he has, you may be "disrupting" some peoples plans.

one thing you did not mention was if he has help, and if you are willing to help. if a number of girls are having basic catch and throw issues, they may need intense one on one or one on two coaching for most of the practice. no sense doing situational fielding untl they have the skills to execute. at younger ages, most practice should be drills in small groups, for lots of reps.

bmakj said:

"using a tennis ball as opposed to a softball makes those drills needlessly more difficult because of the bouncing of the ball" making a drill difficult not a bad thing, this teaches them to squeeze, I do same thing popups, bare hand, and with glove (plus launching balls with tennis racket as opposed to hitting softballs helps my ailing shoulder)

"Conclusion: My DD had fun so I think we will go to a few weeks of practice, but if I don't see a team together within a few weeks I may have to punt. I am not sure I am willing to have my
kid go to practices for 6 weeks without any games when the instruction provided won't be any better than I can give my DD one on one every day." Do this, but take out the maybe. if they cannot get the girls together to field a team quick, and be competitive at least at some level, leave and do not look back. But I think at 8u, with some good coaching, most halfway athletic rec players could be coached to be half decent, so it may be worth it to have some from the rec team come out. beware though, if you get enoujgh, and some are better than what he has, you may be "disrupting" some peoples plans.

one thing you did not mention was if he has help, and if you are willing to help. if a number of girls are having basic catch and throw issues, they may need intense one on one or one on two coaching for most of the practice. no sense doing situational fielding untl they have the skills to execute. at younger ages, most practice should be drills in small groups, for lots of reps.

Click to expand...

I am willing to help if asked, and no it appears he doesn't have any help. The only issue I have with tennis balls is those drills are supposed to be focused on getting the butt down, back flat, etc. e.g. proper position to field the ball consistently and with 7 and 8 year olds the bouncing just takes away from concentrating on those aspects. Matt Antonelli has a youtube video of some of the hands drills he does, which are similar to what was done last night, the ones I did in college and what I do with my daughter sometimes now.

Most annoyed I have been in SB was when DD was shutdown for 6 weeks. I did not care she was shutdown, annoyed me she was not informed. She would have practiced more but always worried about needing to pitch in game.

If they do not have pitching she might be in for some long games. 9 players would be nice too.

Two things I would like to point out. I read through everything from the OP and the responses so far.

#1.....she is 7 and playing 8u. You mentioned several times about the bad play in rec, and them playing catch and having to chase balls down etc, and the bad level of play. It is 8U. I think you are expecting way, way too much for a bunch of beginning 8-9 year olds. Just as someone who has been through it...there will be ball chasing and bad play in 10U. There will be ball chasing and bad play in 12U. There will be ball chasing and bad play in 14U. Of course each level will get better,and there will be less and less errors and bad play in each level. Again, this is 8U.

#2. "I am an emotional wreck already during games and all she is playing is SS" Your quote. I understand the feeling. I was that dad too. You have to take it down a notch or five. Seriously. If your dd is playing 8U and you are already that invested that you are an "emotional wreck" it is not healthy for you or your DD. I don't mean to harp, but she is 7. She may decide that she doesn't even want to play a year or two down the road. I was at 12U when I had to step away from coaching/helping/continually wanting to practice with DD. Best thing I ever did was step away,and just be a dad sitting in the stands relaxing.

Back to your original question. I would at least give this team a couple of weeks look, and see how the coach is with instruction to the girls. I would be up front that you want your dd to get some games/tourament play in this year, and it it doesn't look like he is going to have enough players, that you will probably be moving on. Good luck to your DD on her softball journey. However long that may be.

quincy said:

Most annoyed I have been in SB was when DD was shutdown for 6 weeks. I did not care she was shutdown, annoyed me she was not informed. She would have practiced more but always worried about needing to pitch in game.

If they do not have pitching she might be in for some long games. 9 players would be nice too.

Click to expand...

They apparently have that 1 kid who has pitched in 10U already and the coach said she was pretty good..but tbh I won't believe it until I see it. My daughter had the best arm there last night
(not really saying much tbh) and could probably pitch but she doesn't want to and although I haven't communicated this with her, I really don't want her to either. We can't really afford lessons, and unlike hitting and fielding, I am
not confident that I could instruct her myself. I pitch windmill to her at the field but I am confident I look like a duck out of water doing it Plus she has some issues with her swing which at the moment
are taking a slow and agonizing path towards correction (understandable for a 7 yo I know but no less agonizing) and I really want to spend the time we have working together on ironing those things out.

pattar said:

I am willing to help if asked, and no it appears he doesn't have any help. The only issue I have with tennis balls is those drills are supposed to be focused on getting the butt down, back flat, etc. e.g. proper position to field the ball consistently and with 7 and 8 year olds the bouncing just takes away from concentrating on those aspects. Matt Antonelli has a youtube video of some of the hands drills he does, which are similar to what was done last night, the ones I did in college and what I do with my daughter sometimes now.

Click to expand...

I guess I misunderstood, tennis balls are mostly for developing soft hands, not mechanics of fielding grounder as you describe (although I think they can be useful for teaching them to get all the way under a pop fly, catching above their shoulders, as well as teaching them to squeeze). although he might just be trying to develop the mechanics using something the girls are not afraid of, get the habits ingrained, ie.

Il softball fan said:

Two things I would like to point out. I read through everything from the OP and the responses so far.

#1.....she is 7 and playing 8u. You mentioned several times about the bad play in rec, and them playing catch and having to chase balls down etc, and the bad level of play. It is 8U. I think you are expecting way, way too much for a bunch of beginning 8-9 year olds. Just as someone who has been through it...there will be ball chasing and bad play in 10U. There will be ball chasing and bad play in 12U. There will be ball chasing and bad play in 14U. Of course each level will get better,and there will be less and less errors and bad play in each level. Again, this is 8U.

#2. "I am an emotional wreck already during games and all she is playing is SS" Your quote. I understand the feeling. I was that dad too. You have to take it down a notch or five. Seriously. If your dd is playing 8U and you are already that invested that you are an "emotional wreck" it is not healthy for you or your DD. I don't mean to harp, but she is 7. She may decide that she doesn't even want to play a year or two down the road. I was at 12U when I had to step away from coaching/helping/continually wanting to practice with DD. Best thing I ever did was step away,and just be a dad sitting in the stands relaxing.

Back to your original question. I would at least give this team a couple of weeks look, and see how the coach is with instruction to the girls. I would be up front that you want your dd to get some games/tourament play in this year, and it it doesn't look like he is going to have enough players, that you will probably be moving on. Good luck to your DD on her softball journey. However long that may be.

Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.

#1 I am probably expecting too much I agree. However the top tier 8U teams I saw in that one TB tourney I went to with daughter made pretty much every routine play so it is possible. However I agree
that perhaps I need to lower my expectations. If my daughter moves on from this team it won't be because they aren't filled with Ozzie Smiths


#2 I have always been too high strung when playing sports....that was my worst trait. My college newspaper, when writing about the upcoming season when mentioning me prefaced my name with the word Fiery ......and it wasn't because I ran like a house on fire. Anyway my daughter doesn't see any of that during the games or practices. I take my chair and put as far from the field as possible so anything I say under my breath or maybe not under my breath is only heard by me. Luckily my DD seems to have more of my sister and brother's temperament when playing (not my wife..she is like me) which is great. If she doesn't want to play anymore at a certain point that is fine, I will be disappointed because I enjoy working with her, but I will deal.

Regarding sticking around for a few weeks that is the plan. I also kind of made it clear that I wanted her to play tournament games fairly soon which is supported by the fact that the coach just texted my wife (unprompted) saying "After looking at our roster, we should be two girls away from being able to enter some tournaments. If you can speak to or give my number to the parents of the two girls from your old team, that will really help. Hopefully we will be a good fit for them as well. Thanks."

I guess, in reading that comment, he is assuming my DD is a good fit Don't remember telling him that...