? About Travel Ball Org having two 10u teams

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Apr 30, 2018
349
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DD was just accepted onto a travel ball team with a well established organization. That organization is starting up a second 10u team in the same area. They have said that the two teams will be equal rather than one team being an A/B team and the other team being a C team. Is this pretty common? How does it work if both teams are doing the same tournaments? Is there anything else I should be concerned about?

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marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
DD was just accepted onto a travel ball team with a well established organization. That organization is starting up a second 10u team in the same area. They have said that the two teams will be equal rather than one team being an A/B team and the other team being a C team. Is this pretty common? How does it work if both teams are doing the same tournaments? Is there anything else I should be concerned about?

In general this translates as "We have two dad coaches who have brought a set of core players from their ex-team into the organization and we know they wont work together because of egos' - so lets have two teams and claim they are 'equal'

It sometimes works fine especially if those teams were already pretty good and a few extra solid players solidify the lineups. Sometimes it doesn't. Depends on the coaches and the actual depth of the rosters. Maybe there is 24 girls in the org at the age group who can all play around the same level.


The other more situation is 'we have more pitchers than innings in X-U but we don't want them leaving because pitching is exceeding rare, so let's see if we can get two teams together so we can keep them'
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
I'm in GA and it's gotten to be really common here. It works the same as it does against any team in any tournament. I've noticed tourney directors tend to not put teams against other teams in the same org in pool if they don't have to, but in bracket if you get them you play them. What I've noticed around here is that the orgs trying to grow grow grow super fast end up taking teams that are lower level than their org might be touting to the public. If your DD is looking to play on a certain level I'd investigate the team and see if it's really the right fit. Look past the org and at the team itself.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
Sometimes it's geographical, too. There are girls who want to play all over the state and Atlanta traffic is awful. It wouldn't be unreasonable at all for an org to have a team in Gwinnett county and one in Douglas county, for example.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
I have seen this happen with several organizations, but there are typically different reasons for it.

1) Some orgs will have multiple teams at one age group separated by age. For example, one 14u team may be 2004 birth year while the other is 2005 birth year. That is to maintain some team stability from year to year when one group moves up to another age bracket.
2) Some orgs will separate based on geography. There is an org relatively close to me that has two teams at the same age group that are based approximately 50 miles apart. Players are placed based on where they live.
3) Some orgs will separate based on goals. I know of a local org that has two 16u teams. One is classified a 'gold' team and focuses on college showcase tournaments. The other is mostly local girls that love softball but are doing travel to prepare for high school ball. They don't have the same goal of playing in college.
4) Some orgs will separate based on ability. The top 12 or so players go on one team. The rest go on the other.
5) Some orgs will separate teams just because of numbers. A local org several years ago had one 14u team. At tryouts they had a much bigger turn out than they expected. Rather than turning a bunch of girls away, they decided to build a second team. Essentially the existing team stayed together and most of the newer girls formed the new team. I would not have called those two teams equal, but there wasn't a huge difference in regards to talent. The existing team was slightly better than the new team.

At 10u my focus would be twofold; Learn as much about softball as possible and HAVE FUN!!! So while it is important to find the right fit, you can always find a better option next year if that becomes necessary.

In regards to the tournament question. At 14u a team I coached often played in the same tournaments as the other 14u team in our org. When we played relatively local tourneys, the director typically tried to place us in different pools so that we didn't play each other on Saturday. What would happen Sunday is a different story. When we traveled outside our area, it didn't seem to matter. I remember playing them once at 8 am on Saturday. Our first game of the weekend. If either team was off for a particular weekend, the other team may draw from them for pickup players if one was needed. I have never personally been a huge fan of using pickup players, but it is always nice to have someone you can count on if there is a last minute issue because someone is sick, injured, or has a family emergency. Pick up players have saved us from pulling out of tournaments on a few occasions.
 
Apr 30, 2018
349
43
This org has paid coaches that don't have daughters on the team. Both teams are out of the same county and will be using the same private building and public softball field for practice. Sounds like it is more common than I thought. This is our first travel ball team so I'm trying to make sure this is the right fit, but options are also pretty limited unless we start driving an hour or more each way to the nearby big city. That would be tough on school nights with both my wife and I working.

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Apr 20, 2015
961
93
This org has paid coaches that don't have daughters on the team. Both teams are out of the same county and will be using the same private building and public softball field for practice. Sounds like it is more common than I thought. This is our first travel ball team so I'm trying to make sure this is the right fit, but options are also pretty limited unless we start driving an hour or more each way to the nearby big city. That would be tough on school nights with both my wife and I working.

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I think it depends on how big your area is and how much talent is there. If it's a small area you'll end up with 2 mediocre teams and disgruntled parents if there's plenty of talent to go around it will be fine

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marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
This org has paid coaches that don't have daughters on the team.

Did both or either of these teams exist last year? If so check find out which players were on what team and see if that goes back more than that season. Especially if the coaches are young, you are looking for parents who really run the team in the background.

This is our first travel ball team so I'm trying to make sure this is the right fit, but options are also pretty limited unless we start driving an hour or more each way to the nearby big city.

Great you are doing your research and asking the right questions. Always remember that travel is very much a season-by-season thing - so even if it is not the right fit THIS season, next season is never really all that far away.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
This org has paid coaches that don't have daughters on the team. Both teams are out of the same county and will be using the same private building and public softball field for practice. Sounds like it is more common than I thought. This is our first travel ball team so I'm trying to make sure this is the right fit, but options are also pretty limited unless we start driving an hour or more each way to the nearby big city. That would be tough on school nights with both my wife and I working.

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If the coaching/instruction is good, I would not travel an hour for 10u. 10u is all about experience and development. At 14u I would have no issue driving an hour to get on the right team.
 
Jun 23, 2018
222
63
Texas
My DD is 2nd year 10U and working thru our 2nd year of TB. It is stressful at times and most of all my DW and I have to keep reminding ourselves that it is about my DD and not us.

EX: At our last tournament of the Fall, my DW and I were ready to leave the team and hit every tryout we cold find to find that better fit for our DD. After the Tournament I sat down with my DD and asked her about the tournament and how things played out. Trying my best to not let my feeling out and she said to me,"Daddy I love this team. I love these coaches and I don't care if I have to spend some time on the bench. I am learning and this is the place I want to be." MY response? DONE!!!! This is your team and I support you 100%.

Moral is to put your daughter in the best situation you can find that SHE likes and is happy with. If she's not happy, she won't learn and grow and at this age, it's all about learning for the next level.
 

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