Need ADVICE: Starting a 12u travel team

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Nov 29, 2009
2,975
83
I know I'm late getting the ball rolling. I do not have any kids personally, so I'm not interested in this for my own child. I'm interested in getting more local girls to play tougher competition than what they typically see, and our town is NOT a softball town. I'm not too worried about those who are playing elsewhere.

I'm just looking for advice getting the ball rolling. How do you go about signing up for tournaments? Where do you get team insurance? Any advice to help me would be appreciated. I still have time.

Coach, you're running headlong into the unknown with blinders on and one hand tied behind your back. I can understand your long term intentions and they should help your HS team a few years down the road. However, we can only give you a general overview here. Different parts of the country have a very different softball environments. The best lesson is the one learned 1st hand. Contact a local travel organization and volunteer to assistant coach a 12U team for a season or two. You'll have a good idea about how everything works at the end.

As far as not being worried about what everyone else is doing. That is something you need to watch and learn from. The softball world is very dynamic, it changes rapidly. Your future HS players will be facing those girls in travel and HS.

I have coached 10-14U teams with no kids on the teams for the last 14 years. Some of my first players graduated college last year. I know the in's and out's of coaching at that age from teams just out rec to a team in a nationally recognized program. With everything I know I would not try and start a brand new team with no supporting organization. If you do it with no experience you're stumbling blindly down the path taking players and families with you. The world of travel ball is a very, very different animal compared to HS ball.

Let me ask you this Coach. What would your advice be to someone who wanted to be a HC in HS with no experience or knowledge of how things work?
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,481
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top