Perils of TB

Perils of TB - such a great title.

No matter how anyone tries to follow a true moral compass as a coach, eventually he/she will be accused of being one of those "shady TB coaches", especially when the team experiences success and has to do it by batting 9 instead of batting lineup...

Lower level TB can be the same as rec and HS.

At the higher level I have found travel ball to be very good. Lots of pressure to win, best players play. What more can you ask for?

Having been a travel ball coach and now just enjoying being a parent of a player, I’ve seen both sides. Just as there are crazy, deceitful, manipulative coaches - the same goes for parents. I must say as a coach I’ve seen and dealt with some very “interesting” individuals who would do and say anything to get on a team, have their kid play a certain position, or bat in a specific spot of the lineup. I have a special folder saved on my computer for all those emails. They give me a good laugh some days. ��

That all being said - there are a few marquee orgs around here that if your dd isn’t playing on their 18U Gold team by the time they are a freshman or sophomore all your dd is to them for the most part is someone who keeps paying a lot to support said gold team. They unfortunately never tell the parents that but it is what it is.

Chaz McNulty said:

If you are a coach who has never cut a kid to make room for someone who is better, then I have no problem with this statement. If you have cut kids, then that statement is hypocritical. Most organizations are committed to their players as long as they are good enough.

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I'm not a coach at all but it's my husband's first year head coaching. As long as his players are invested in the team and putting in the work, he's invested in them. He's never cut anyone at all, yet.

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ArmyStrong said:

Perils of TB - such a great title.

No matter how anyone tries to follow a true moral compass as a coach, eventually he/she will be accused of being one of those "shady TB coaches", especially when the team experiences success and has to do it by batting 9 instead of batting lineup...

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I can only speak as a parent, I would be absolutely ok with the policy of batting the top 9, if I was told that upfront and stats were open for all to see. When you have 3+ coaches kids on the team and they are always in that top 9? Coincidence- maybe, maybe not. Be honest and transparent, that is all I ask. Give everyone a fair- not equal shot. And put some extra work into those girls not in the top 9.


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Ive been reading and enjoying DFP for a few years, this is my first post! My DD liked softball (I loved it) and I coached Rec/tournament for 6 years till the parents and politics took the joy out of it for her, and my girl wanted no part of it anymore. So we never even got to Travel, sounds like the parental politics even worse there!

My heart was broken when she quit, and I felt like my social life was over too! But DH insisted that if it wasn't fun anymore then her decision was a good one, so that was that. Its not about me!

Some of her friends did move on to TB and I do hear crazy stories about how unfair and corrupt it can be--not all teams I am sure but certainly have heard of some. Its a good thing we never went on to TB because if I paid and then she got minimal playing time that would make me nuts! DD never looked back, it was the right decision for her.

Cyder517 said:

I can only speak as a parent, I would be absolutely ok with the policy of batting the top 9, if I was told that upfront and stats were open for all to see. When you have 3+ coaches kids on the team and they are always in that top 9? Coincidence- maybe, maybe not. Be honest and transparent, that is all I ask. Give everyone a fair- not equal shot. And put some extra work into those girls not in the top 9.


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There's so much more that goes into making a lineup than stats. I've been on teams with open stats and teams without and I can tell you happier parents are on teams without. If your kid isn't getting the time there is a small chance you're getting screwed by the coach but the bigger one is rose colored glasses by the parents as to their child's ability. I see it all the time objectively when I watch teams and listen to parents in the stands bickering among themselves.

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Cyder517 said:

I can only speak as a parent, I would be absolutely ok with the policy of batting the top 9, if I was told that upfront and stats were open for all to see. When you have 3+ coaches kids on the team and they are always in that top 9? Coincidence- maybe, maybe not. Be honest and transparent, that is all I ask. Give everyone a fair- not equal shot. And put some extra work into those girls not in the top 9.


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Often the coach's kids are in the top 9 because they're among the better players on the team. By default they mostly have parents who are invested in the game and their development, and work with them outside of practice. So when you've got the coaches' kids who come to every practice and work 2-3 times a week with mom or dad at home, compared to the kid whose mom drops her off for practice and that's the only time she touches a ball all week...well, that ain't daddy ball. It's one of the toughest things about trying to fairly run a team where you have a child on the team. Someone's always going to think the coaches' kids get an advantage. I will say that on our team, it seems to be almost the opposite. I know my kid has to work harder to get equal treatment because her dad knows what she's capable of and won't accept less. Really though it applies to all the girls once he gets to know them. He can be tough on all the girls he coached last year who stayed with us because he knows what they can do when they give their full focus.

grcsftbll said:

So many coaches just tell parents what they want to hear, and the parents just won't see through it. The grass is always greener. It's more obvious than ever what a mess it all is with DH head coaching this year. We lost 7 girls between the last tournament in fall and the second in spring, with very little drama. Just deciding things would be better somewhere else (except one, who decided travel ball was just too much in general and she wanted to try other sports). There's very little commitment, or a push for kids to earn anything. We're lucky now to have almost a full team of parents who get it. At least, they seem to. We'll see who's around come fall; you never can tell.

I figure by this time (12U), parents should have figured this thing out. We all do dumb stuff in 10U but come on.

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I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but I see the lack of commitment applying to both the teams and players around here. You see 12U and 10U teams with 14-15 on a roster as coaches just can't say no to the next big player who works out. Inevitably that kid pushes one of the loyal kids who have been on the team since December down the depth chart. Then, you see the ads asking for "team X looking for solid middle infielder to join already strong team," or "PGF qualified team need one more starting pitcher," or "due to injury Team needs 2 more utility players" . . . In almost every instance these teams are just looking for someone better than the ones they have been taking money from since the beginning of the year, and I find this as distasteful as the parents who are always looking for a better opportunity in the middle of a season.

It definitely does work both ways.

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