For anyone that has gone to a big name org (Batbusters, Bandits, Finesse, TX Glory etc.) how quickly did the org dismantle your team? We are supposed to be joining a one of these orgs and were originally taking 8 or 9 of our girls and adding a few more. Now we are being told we are only able to bring 6 or 7 and they already have players for us. We also know that our coach, who is a parent coach, will be replaced after next year with a non-parent coach. Anybody got experience with this?
Going to a big name organization
- Thread starter BuckeyeBW
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
- Mar 4, 2018
- 126
- 28
I personally think that there is a big difference between the teams you listed. Batbusters will have about 100 different teams under their name, and Texas Glory will have around 60-70 teams under there name. The Beverly Bandits are completely different. The Bandits only have about 16 teams spread between the 5 different age classifications. Quality over quantity when speaking about the Bandits.
My guess is that you are currently with either the 10U, or 12U Motor City Madness teams that are joining the Beverly Bandits next year. You need to understand that that team will have a lot of new faces by the time they reach 14U. There are girls willing to travel from a very large region to play on a team like the Beverly Bandits. The other thing you will need to understand is how much money will be spent on travelling if you are on a team like the Beverly Bandits. To put things into perspective, the families will be spending 10k+ to play 10u softball for a team like the Bandits. The cost only goes up from there.
You can expect the bottom three girls to be replaced every year, which is not much different from most competitive teams. The difference is the bottom three girls will be pretty damn good. There will also be larger rosters as the kids get older.
My guess is that you are currently with either the 10U, or 12U Motor City Madness teams that are joining the Beverly Bandits next year. You need to understand that that team will have a lot of new faces by the time they reach 14U. There are girls willing to travel from a very large region to play on a team like the Beverly Bandits. The other thing you will need to understand is how much money will be spent on travelling if you are on a team like the Beverly Bandits. To put things into perspective, the families will be spending 10k+ to play 10u softball for a team like the Bandits. The cost only goes up from there.
You can expect the bottom three girls to be replaced every year, which is not much different from most competitive teams. The difference is the bottom three girls will be pretty damn good. There will also be larger rosters as the kids get older.
DD went to a big name org 2 years ago. Her coach at the time held a tryout which all of the current girls were required to attend. The head of the local chapter of the org attended the tryout as well and "gave his input". Ultimately only 6 girls from the original team became part of the new team (but honestly I don't know if that was the old coach's choice or a decision made by the bigger org).
Being a part of a big name organization was not a good experience for DD (she left the team by her own choice last year) - but I do think it had more to do with the coach than the org. Honestly I don't think the team represents the org well...but that is another story for another day. The coach as been allowed to continue thru 14s but there is talk he will be replaced by a coach of their choosing if they want to continue with the org.
Being a part of a big name organization was not a good experience for DD (she left the team by her own choice last year) - but I do think it had more to do with the coach than the org. Honestly I don't think the team represents the org well...but that is another story for another day. The coach as been allowed to continue thru 14s but there is talk he will be replaced by a coach of their choosing if they want to continue with the org.
The grass isn’t always greener...
DD and a bunch of other girls walked from a big name organization to a much smaller one 3 years ago. Not only was it the best decision we ever made, the following year so many kids from big name organization came to our team that our coach made a second team.
DD and a bunch of other girls walked from a big name organization to a much smaller one 3 years ago. Not only was it the best decision we ever made, the following year so many kids from big name organization came to our team that our coach made a second team.
Good guessing, and judging by your screen name you are from Lasers Silver. You guys have an excellent Org and if we lived in OH I would have my daughter try out for a Lasers team. We are really skeptical of the move and second guessing moving to them.
The org we joined did not dismantle our team, nor did they tell us who coached nor was anyone placed on the team and so on. Once we were vetted to join, as long as we maintain our standards it will never be an issue. Thee is now 12 teams in the state under this banner with more coming and none of them have ever been forced to lose someone or take someone they didn't want to.
Other orgs locally who joined other big names who do want these things... about 8 weeks. Certainly no more than a season.
As i said in the other thread - homework. All these big names orgs have differences both nationally AND locally. And often it is the person who is local that makes the real difference.
- Mar 4, 2018
- 126
- 28
The Bandits do not practice much as a team very often, maybe 10-12 times throughout the entire year. Generally the practices are 3 hours long on Sunday's. You will be expected to do almost all of your training by yourself. Hopefully you can see how expensive training on your own can become unless you can do this in your house/basement. I can't speak for your exact team but that is how it is done with the Chicago based teams.
There is certainly a lot to be skeptical about. Most of the girls that play on the Bandits really bust their azz to stay at that level, which is not easy. Deep pockets and your daughter has to really want to succeed at softball to stay on that team as they get older.
- Nov 29, 2009
- 2,975
- 83
Silver.. You are spot on with the way Bill runs the Bandits. The expectations are high and there is very little room for mediocrity in the Bandit program. As for the Batbusters, Firecrackers and other large organizations franchising teams. Bill has said he would never do it. He doesn't need the money and he will not give up control of a team that has the Bandit name on the jersey. His ego would not let him do so. The other thing you failed to mention is Bill will also change coaches if he feels the need to adjust. Several of the coaches from last season were not asked back.
We were expecting to go to 3-4 hour practices on weekends anyway for next year as we are starting to get interest from girls from further away (pre Bandit talk). Our girls all already do a lot of work on their own, private coaches etc and your right it isn't cheap, I know I pay about $250-$300 per month plus some camps here and there. I keep making sure my daughter is ready and willing to make the sacrifices.
