Still Looking for Players....

Elk Grove Hurricane said:

Yep, see this a lot, primarily with 14U-18U teams as the number of teams continues to grow and the available player pool predictably shrinks starting at 14U. For the younger age groups, I only see ads for a few teams that are still looking. For various reasons some just didn't attract a ton of players and I'm afraid they're probably out of luck now as almost everyone who wants to play travel is invested in a team (meaning they've paid a lot of money for a team that they won't get back if they leave.)

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EGH, you are right about the shrinking player pool in the older levels. It seems at around the 14U level there are players who decide they no longer wish to play ball. Even if mom and/or dad want them to. By the time they hit second year 14U there are players who do not want to put in the serious work needed to play at a higher level. The number of dedicated players decreases as the players get older. By the time the players age out of TB it's usually the really dedicated players moving on to college. As any parent with a teenage daughter will tell you. When they make up their mind they don't want to do something that is optional they wont. For many it can be a change in their social life, a job, boyfriend or interest in other non-sporting activities.

What happens is there are too many mom/dad coached teams who don't want to give up coaching with the smaller player pool to draw from. The stronger players end up on the better teams and the lower tier teams are scrounging looking for 1 or 2 players. Another factor that's been affecting things is the early recruiting craziness. More pressure to play top tournaments for exposure at 14U.

bmd said:

What a terrible remark. My dd is labeled Pitch/Utility. When she is not pitching you will see her play 3rd ss and 1st and she also bats. She isn't a pitch or sit type of player and doesn't want to be.

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Lighten up, Francis. Your daughter is primarily a pitcher, which is probably what your team was looking for when you came onboard.

I'm talking about people who advertise looking for a "utility." What that translates to, more often than not, is that they're set with who they have on the field.

gamommax3 said:

We have one that is more of a pitcher only, everyone else can play multiple positions. Out of the remaining 12, we have two kids that really only play outfield. Tons of utility players for us also. I think utility players are great for a team. But the way it is listed, I feel like these coaches are looking for a warm body. In that way, I agree with #10. I don't think he meant that utility players are just due payers, but that the coaches are advertising for utility players because they don't really need position players, just due payers.

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Thank you for understanding the gist of my sarcastic post.

I have nothing against utility players, in fact they are quite valuable if they truly bring utility.

Sounds exactly like the posts on my local softball forum! Actually saw a listing today where a team was looking for 4 more players...wtf? New teams are still being formed while others don’t have full rosters. Everyone thinks there is a better situation out there or if they coach a team, it will be drastically different. By now, the honeymoon is over and the rose colored sunglasses are off. Everyone’s limits and weaknesses have been displayed. Hard to win A level tournaments with only 2 pitchers.


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Cyder517 said:

Actually saw a listing today where a team was looking for 4 more players...wtf?

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DD has a heartbeat, please forward info to me.

(She is a utility player so might not be acceptable)

Cyder517 said:

Sounds exactly like the posts on my local softball forum! Actually saw a listing today where a team was looking for 4 more players...wtf? New teams are still being formed while others don’t have full rosters. Everyone thinks there is a better situation out there or if they coach a team, it will be drastically different. By now, the honeymoon is over and the rose colored sunglasses are off. Everyone’s limits and weaknesses have been displayed. Hard to win A level tournaments with only 2 pitchers.


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Yeah....and everyone wants to change teams at the last minute for better "opportunities." Just remember, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence because it's usually fertilized heavily with bullsh!t.

We are rolling into the season having only 10 girls right now and are looking for an 11th. We are one of the top 11u teams in the state but not the top name team. We find a lot of girls (parents) think it is better to play on a lower 12u team than a top 11u. We have had try private tryouts for 4 or 5 girls and none of them were good enough. We advertise for a utility player but we need an outfielder. My daughter is a pitcher, not the #1, but also loves playing outfield. We tried out a girl last week and she was a solid infielder and outfielder but not a great hitter but figured we could develop her. We offered but her family decided that we were too far for them to drive (an hour) and ended up putting her on a bigger name B team.

Most of the teams around my area are looking for pitchers. “Mound time not an issue”. To me that is a big red flag that most have no pitching. So if you have a good pitcher the coach will over use them or they don’t have enough depth to make it very far in a tournament. While Softball is a team sport without pitching you don’t have much of a team. On utility players I think it is split on the teams needing warm bodies or actually needing a true utility player. For example I have 11 on my 10u team with 3/4 pitchers and 2 catchers. One catcher broke her arm a few weeks ago and will not be cleared for a few more weeks. I would like to find a quality utility player with some experience in catching. I don’t want a true catcher only and by being versatile it will be easier to get her playing time. Last fall as a new team we were in the “need warm bodies” group but now I’m in the true need of a certain type player. We can make it as we are and don’t want just a warm body or check that will clear player. If I don’t find what I need for now I will probably just pick up a catcher for the first couple of tournaments. Then that spot will be kept for an impact player that can help my team be better in some aspect.

DD normally plays 2nd, we occasionally have 8 players she plays right center if it happens.

My DW taught her to swear. Fun to see.

I used to get a kick out of the post by coaches of "high A-level teams" looking for a pitcher, catcher, SS and CF...