Field teams by age or select?

marriard · Dec 5, 2017

Easton33 said:
At one point in tournament ball, it was considered a bad thing to be a team hopper. Guess some people got over that quickly. I have had the same 6 girls for 5 seasons, 2 girls for 3 seasons, and 1 girl is a floater. We play A ball and gold and beat the nationally known orgs more than we lose to them...... Sure you will get some turn around at the bottom but no more than a girl or two occasionally. If you are losing that many kids yearly, maybe you should start looking forward instead of focusing on one season or screening your players and parents better. Maybe you guys are doing something wrong, maybe not but I know I certainly am not. Several of the teams around here do it the same way we do and their turnover is minimal as well.

So reading this, you are turning over about 2-3 players per season which matches up with what I wrote. No idea what age group you are in, but the older it gets, the more reasons players leave teams as the 'why' they are playing changes rapidly so even if you do everything right, you still lose some girls.

According to FLOSoftball my DD's team beat two top 20 teams and lost to another by 1 in the last two weeks (not that means anything really but it is something). So I guess we are doing OK.

gamommax3 · Dec 6, 2017

Easton33 said:
At one point in tournament ball, it was considered a bad thing to be a team hopper. Guess some people got over that quickly. I have had the same 6 girls for 5 seasons, 2 girls for 3 seasons, and 1 girl is a floater. We play A ball and gold and beat the nationally known orgs more than we lose to them...... Sure you will get some turn around at the bottom but no more than a girl or two occasionally. If you are losing that many kids yearly, maybe you should start looking forward instead of focusing on one season or screening your players and parents better. Maybe you guys are doing something wrong, maybe not but I know I certainly am not. Several of the teams around here do it the same way we do and their turnover is minimal as well.

It sounds like the TB culture where you are is different than where we are. Marriard is in the same type of TB culture as us, apparently. The coaches aren't doing anything wrong, as you stated. It is a mindset of parents and players that are constantly on the move to find the best opportunities and fit for their family. When they find a like minded team, many will stay put until something changes. But there are so many team options around us and people are constantly looking for the next best thing. We play A ball, were the last Georgia team standing at ASA nationals last year, had a great season with a great group of kids, and we still had one of our core kids leave us last week for "greener pastures".
shirt happens, no matter if you are a "Select" or "Elite" team, or the "B" team in an organization. Just coach to the best of your abilities and make sure the girls are challenged but not getting mercy ruled every weekend. Parents around here pick teams based on coaching and players, so I would not want to go to tryouts where we were "assigned" a team based on skill. I want to choose my coach and environment. Each family has different needs and the best fit is finding a coach that lines up closely with your needs/wants.

FP26 · Dec 6, 2017

gamommax3 said:
It sounds like the TB culture where you are is different than where we are. Marriard is in the same type of TB culture as us, apparently. The coaches aren't doing anything wrong, as you stated. It is a mindset of parents and players that are constantly on the move to find the best opportunities and fit for their family. When they find a like minded team, many will stay put until something changes. But there are so many team options around us and people are constantly looking for the next best thing. We play A ball, were the last Georgia team standing at ASA nationals last year, had a great season with a great group of kids, and we still had one of our core kids leave us last week for "greener pastures".
shirt happens, no matter if you are a "Select" or "Elite" team, or the "B" team in an organization. Just coach to the best of your abilities and make sure the girls are challenged but not getting mercy ruled every weekend. Parents around here pick teams based on coaching and players, so I would not want to go to tryouts where we were "assigned" a team based on skill. I want to choose my coach and environment. Each family has different needs and the best fit is finding a coach that lines up closely with your needs/wants.

TB culture definitely does vary from region to region. DD joined her current team as a 2nd year 16u player looking for a more competitive schedule. She did not attend a try out for this team. She was asked to play as a pickup during a fall tournament and was offered a spot after the tournament was over. She is starting her third season with this team. I am starting my second season as head coach. So far we have not had a single tryout. The nucleus has returned each season, with only the need to add a couple of players. And those players have been players that either myself or the assistant coach has had history with and were invited to join. Tryouts have not be necessary for us.

Spindaddy · Dec 6, 2017

FP26 said:
Do you know for sure why your organization chose to do this? Are the players truly split based on ability? Or is one predominantly a showcase team?

I don't know for sure if the 16U teams in DD"s organization are split by ability or college aspirations, but I would guess ability. The reason I started this thread was because it was challenging for my DD's first year 12U team to choose tournaments because the skill level of the girls on the team is quite varied. I understand why the organization splits its 10-14U teams by birthdate but wanted to hear other points of view.

In general, organization wide, there does not seem to be a lot of turnover on the teams year to year. Usually a couple or three girls at most. The core 6 members of my daughter's team are entering their fourth year together.

JAD · Dec 7, 2017

Lower level teams seem to do better with kids of the same age so they can move up together. Higher level teams usually have players who are willing to "play up" so it is easier to get everyone to stick together.

Field teams by age or select?

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