A player walks up and says....

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

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

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Just to add to discussions...

How about if the player is high profile?

We know colleges follow their recruits,
Does this add prestige?
Does it add college eye's that may notice your dd?
 
Last edited:
Oct 14, 2016
77
33
Well, what do you tell your team about adding a new player? As for my DD's 18U team, who battled this fall, who won together, lost together, laughed together, cried together, who bonded as a team, would all not be too happy with adding another player, no matter how good she is (unless she's a lights out #1 pitcher, that is). They wouldn't buy the ol' "this is going to challenge you more" stuff. Everyone would lose playing time, no matter what you say. As a parent, it would look like to me that you were lining your pocket adding another player when it is not necessary. I wouldn't be happy, neither would my DD. I know DD's coach had a few offers to add players during this fall season (we have a good team), he always said no, our team is set, regardless if the player is better than what we have. I respect him for that. that's a coach who is not about wins or losses, but about dedication and loyalty. I respect him for that.

Well, what do you tell your team about adding a new player?
Hey Team, this is "new players name" make her feel welcome.

As a parent, it would look like to me that you were lining your pocket adding another player when it is not necessary.
I make approximately $0.24 an hour for the time, money, and effort I put into my teams. The paycheck I should get goes to team dinners. All moneys collected for dues go back to the athletes. The more we have, the more they get. The team does pay for my coaching clothes and my hotel room. Not my gas, nor my food (unless I am paying for the girls meal also). Again, this is communicated every season, so a minimum of 4 times a year.

that's a coach who is not about wins or losses, but about dedication and loyalty. I respect him for that.
I take offense to this statement. You are implying that the size of my team or the addition or subtraction of players makes me less loyal. Or, I pick up players for wins. Neither is the case. Don't ever assume I am like others in your life or experience. Do not ever think that my dedication to my team or its players has anything to do with a single player, now or in the future.
 
Aug 25, 2019
1,066
113
Well, what do you tell your team about adding a new player?
Hey Team, this is "new players name" make her feel welcome.

As a parent, it would look like to me that you were lining your pocket adding another player when it is not necessary.
I make approximately $0.24 an hour for the time, money, and effort I put into my teams. The paycheck I should get goes to team dinners. All moneys collected for dues go back to the athletes. The more we have, the more they get. The team does pay for my coaching clothes and my hotel room. Not my gas, nor my food (unless I am paying for the girls meal also). Again, this is communicated every season, so a minimum of 4 times a year.

that's a coach who is not about wins or losses, but about dedication and loyalty. I respect him for that.
I take offense to this statement. You are implying that the size of my team or the addition or subtraction of players makes me less loyal. Or, I pick up players for wins. Neither is the case. Don't ever assume I am like others in your life or experience. Do not ever think that my dedication to my team or its players has anything to do with a single player, now or in the future.

Well, what do you tell your team about adding a new player?
Hey Team, this is "new players name" make her feel welcome.

First off, unless your team is different than my DD's team, or most any team, not everyone is going to be happy with a new player, and depending on the size of your team roster, most wouldn't be.

As a parent, it would look like to me that you were lining your pocket adding another player when it is not necessary.
I make approximately $0.24 an hour for the time, money, and effort I put into my teams. The paycheck I should get goes to team dinners. All moneys collected for dues go back to the athletes. The more we have, the more they get. The team does pay for my coaching clothes and my hotel room. Not my gas, nor my food (unless I am paying for the girls meal also). Again, this is communicated every season, so a minimum of 4 times a year.

Well If you do not have a DD on the team, then I do give you credit you for coaching this team for free.


that's a coach who is not about wins or losses, but about dedication and loyalty. I respect him for that.
I take offense to this statement. You are implying that the size of my team or the addition or subtraction of players makes me less loyal. Or, I pick up players for wins. Neither is the case. Don't ever assume I am like others in your life or experience. Do not ever think that my dedication to my team or its players has anything to do with a single player, now or in the future.

No need to take offense, I never mentioned you, I just said that's what my DD's coach does.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
First off, unless your team is different than my DD's team, or most any team, not everyone is going to be happy with a new player, and depending on the size of your team roster, most wouldn't be.
That seems like a team attitude problem the coach needs to address IF it causes any team issues....no? I wouldn't expect any competitor to be happy with reduced playing time however what I would expect a competitor to do is to say to him/herself that I am going to show coach he/she didn't need to do this and will work my rear off to make sure I get my playing time back.
 
May 2, 2018
200
63
Central Virginia
I think it has everything to do with what type of team this is and how you ran things prior to this point.

If you preached competition, hard work and "earning" playing time and positions only to bring in a new player who takes that earned playing time and position, that may upset some players.

At some point that may become less of a "team" and more of a collection of talent that is continually added/removed.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
I think it has everything to do with what type of team this is and how you ran things prior to this point.

If you preached competition, hard work and "earning" playing time and positions only to bring in a new player who takes that earned playing time and position, that may upset some players.

At some point that may become less of a "team" and more of a collection of talent that is continually added/removed.
Ooohhh theres some perspective!
 
Feb 20, 2020
377
63
I think a lot of this "if she's good enough, add her" overlooks the financial commitment parents make for their teams. If a parent signs up with a team with 12 members, they do have an expectation of playing time that is different than signing up for a team with 15 members. adding a new player reduces playing opportunities. -- playing time in softball is a finite resource. So while their frustration and disapproval may go against a "winning" mentality, bringing in additional players that reduce a DD's playing time could be considered a violation of the contract they agreed to. For example, if your DD is a pitcher and your club has three pitchers, bringing in a fourth reduces your daughter's circle time. If you chose the team BECAUSE they needed pitchers, that would be disappointing.

And none of this stuff is cheap. You're paying for a lot of things with a travel team, but part of what you are paying for is playing opportunity. Reducing that has consequences for everyone involved, and should be done with consideration.
 
Feb 3, 2016
502
43
I think it has everything to do with what type of team this is and how you ran things prior to this point.

If you preached competition, hard work and "earning" playing time and positions only to bring in a new player who takes that earned playing time and position, that may upset some players.

At some point that may become less of a "team" and more of a collection of talent that is continually added/removed.
Agree that it's dependent on several factors. I see the need to balance a team by being competitive for all players. Playing big girl softball!

If that means bringing in a player that raises the bar for all I can't see that being bad. Teams always upgrading and not developing are problematic and are nationwide.

Team's with a collection of athletes with limited coaching are the most disappointing. Nothing worse than being on a team that should be top 20 nationally and barely cracking 100. I guess they still need to add more talent to overcome the lack of coaching.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
If the coach is in So Cal the answer is "great glad to have you aboard". I mean what's the difference between 22 or 23 players. LOL
 
Oct 14, 2016
77
33
Just a question...
Why does travel/select ball have to diverge so far from High School or College? The average team size is 16 for Varsity High School, and 20-22 for colleges. As some point athletes need to learn how to sit, and still be a productive team mate.

Girl A is a sophomore at X University. Girl B is a transfer from a JUCO. Girl B is now starting over Girl A.
Girl A is a sophomore at X University. Girl B is a freshman and has won a starting spot.

Does Girl A transfer to Y University because she has to sit more now?
Or, does the parents of Girl A start Z University so she can get more playtime?

Practice is where athletes improve. Games are the test of how well the practice is. Games provide a myriad of situations that show the holes in the practice. You don't get better in games, you improve in the practices.

Recently, I have read a few articles about college coaches and their frustrations with the travel/select model. They believe the model is flawed in that, the athletes play way more games then they practice. In High School, we average three hours of practice to every one hour of game. In college, it is closer to six hours of practice per one hour of game. In travel/select it is about a half hour of practice per one hour of game.

There are countless articles about making practice harder than the game, and how you practice affects how you play, and so forth. Yet, on here, I read countless posts about play time and daddy ball and such.

I think the real question is this:
Do I want my daughter to play at the next level or do I want to watch my daughter play now. Some people get to do both, but that is less than 1% of the travel/select population.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,477
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top