Just to be clear this is regarding senior ladies teams and not teenagers. Once you read the behaviour I'm sure it will be easy to get confused 
I'm ready to bang my head against a wall.
I started a club with a friend three years ago. The reason we started and the reason we continue today is because we want to bring juniors to our sport. We tried to get a ladies team the first year but it didn't work out so I played for a different club. We just scrapped together a U12 side (mixed) We've also tried to get a junior team (U16) but for the past three years have not been able to get enough girls. Last year though we did get a senior ladies team, which played in the bottom grade. It was half ladies who'd never played before, about a quarter who had played before but not competitively and four ladies who had played previously but had a couple of years off. They did really well their first year and made the finals. I didn't play as it was about six grades below what I played and I wasn't going that low.
The four ladies who had played previously have let us know that they'd really like to have a higher grade team to play in. While it's lower than I like I'll be playing in this team (I posted about my issues with my club earlier this year. I'll also be playing the top league in a different comp so will get higher level games in) and we've got three other players who can play in this level. So we have eight players. Our local competition won't accept the nomination with only eight as they feel that our promises we will get enough players by the time season starts is not a guarantee. (I understand this view) We also have seven girls sign up for our junior team. Two were still young enough to be able to play in the U12 team so they will have another year in that age group. (by next year we will have enough girls old enough from our U12 that we have a junior side) Three of the girls are 12 years old and two are 14 years old with only one of them playing before. As a club and in consultation with their parents, we made the decision that the 14 year old who has played before can play in the higher team, while the younger girls and the 14 year old who hasn't played will go with the lower team.
As we still need an extra player it was stated to all the lower team (who have 14 players) that we require one lady to put her hand up and play in the higher team so we can have this team. We also advise that when required volunteers will be needed to play up if the higher team is short. Ulitmatly one of the younger girls, who is very, very good asks if she can go and play higher. Her mother and sister agree with this and advise that while they're not comfortable playing up permanently one of them will play with her each week and will make a decision halfway through the year if they will stay permanently with the higher side. The coach of the lower side agrees to this, but advises both women that she is more than confident in their ability to play in the higher grade. (we find out later that they didn't want to leave a friend who they had sign up last year in the lower team by herself. No issues on our part)
Two days later, one of the women who was in last years side and has signed on but yet to come to training posts a long rambling message on the Facebook page that she is very upset 'the inaugural team' (as pointed out earlier this team started the second year. If we're using that title it goes to our first U12 team) has been split up and feels that the new players should go and form their own team and they remain their own team. I point out that the four who went up have done so on their own violation (not pointing out that if they hadn't had a higher team they would not have played at all) and that one player who was asked to go up so we could have a team full stop. The coach of the ladies team points out that no player is playing somewhere they don't want to and that the focus of the club is juniors and for the juniors to have somewhere to go when they're too old for juniors we require a higher team and that our ultimate goal is to have A grade within two years. We then have a committee member come in and go 'I agree with the original post....' This is when it gets snarky. Two of the players who have gone up (who had previously private messaged me to express frustration at the post) come in and point out that they want to play the higher grade. The committee member comes back in and states that they don't want to lose mother and sister of younger player out of the team. I point out that both players are on the list of the lower side. Then one of the newer players (who was brought in by committee member who has been doing the complaining) states that if she's not wanted she can pull out now. I just leave a post about how disappointed I am that a club we've envisioned as being welcoming is trying to get so clickey so quickly. (I do message the girl who posted that and assured her she is very much wanted. She's more angry at her friend but has agreed to keep playing because she really enjoyed the training and stated that everyone else was wonderful)
If that isn't enough the same committee member and the person who posted the original message have been stating for the last month that they don't want to wear softball pants as it makes them look 'stupid' We didn't have them last year as the team was very much a last minute thing, but this year we are having everyone try on and pick what they want. (they've been given the choice of shorts, or pants) They're stating that they will wear what they wore last year. This particular point is my hill to die on. We are a softball club and we will wear a softball uniform. Don't want to play in it, don't play with us.
Thoughts, advice? (sorry for the length)
I'm ready to bang my head against a wall.I started a club with a friend three years ago. The reason we started and the reason we continue today is because we want to bring juniors to our sport. We tried to get a ladies team the first year but it didn't work out so I played for a different club. We just scrapped together a U12 side (mixed) We've also tried to get a junior team (U16) but for the past three years have not been able to get enough girls. Last year though we did get a senior ladies team, which played in the bottom grade. It was half ladies who'd never played before, about a quarter who had played before but not competitively and four ladies who had played previously but had a couple of years off. They did really well their first year and made the finals. I didn't play as it was about six grades below what I played and I wasn't going that low.
The four ladies who had played previously have let us know that they'd really like to have a higher grade team to play in. While it's lower than I like I'll be playing in this team (I posted about my issues with my club earlier this year. I'll also be playing the top league in a different comp so will get higher level games in) and we've got three other players who can play in this level. So we have eight players. Our local competition won't accept the nomination with only eight as they feel that our promises we will get enough players by the time season starts is not a guarantee. (I understand this view) We also have seven girls sign up for our junior team. Two were still young enough to be able to play in the U12 team so they will have another year in that age group. (by next year we will have enough girls old enough from our U12 that we have a junior side) Three of the girls are 12 years old and two are 14 years old with only one of them playing before. As a club and in consultation with their parents, we made the decision that the 14 year old who has played before can play in the higher team, while the younger girls and the 14 year old who hasn't played will go with the lower team.
As we still need an extra player it was stated to all the lower team (who have 14 players) that we require one lady to put her hand up and play in the higher team so we can have this team. We also advise that when required volunteers will be needed to play up if the higher team is short. Ulitmatly one of the younger girls, who is very, very good asks if she can go and play higher. Her mother and sister agree with this and advise that while they're not comfortable playing up permanently one of them will play with her each week and will make a decision halfway through the year if they will stay permanently with the higher side. The coach of the lower side agrees to this, but advises both women that she is more than confident in their ability to play in the higher grade. (we find out later that they didn't want to leave a friend who they had sign up last year in the lower team by herself. No issues on our part)
Two days later, one of the women who was in last years side and has signed on but yet to come to training posts a long rambling message on the Facebook page that she is very upset 'the inaugural team' (as pointed out earlier this team started the second year. If we're using that title it goes to our first U12 team) has been split up and feels that the new players should go and form their own team and they remain their own team. I point out that the four who went up have done so on their own violation (not pointing out that if they hadn't had a higher team they would not have played at all) and that one player who was asked to go up so we could have a team full stop. The coach of the ladies team points out that no player is playing somewhere they don't want to and that the focus of the club is juniors and for the juniors to have somewhere to go when they're too old for juniors we require a higher team and that our ultimate goal is to have A grade within two years. We then have a committee member come in and go 'I agree with the original post....' This is when it gets snarky. Two of the players who have gone up (who had previously private messaged me to express frustration at the post) come in and point out that they want to play the higher grade. The committee member comes back in and states that they don't want to lose mother and sister of younger player out of the team. I point out that both players are on the list of the lower side. Then one of the newer players (who was brought in by committee member who has been doing the complaining) states that if she's not wanted she can pull out now. I just leave a post about how disappointed I am that a club we've envisioned as being welcoming is trying to get so clickey so quickly. (I do message the girl who posted that and assured her she is very much wanted. She's more angry at her friend but has agreed to keep playing because she really enjoyed the training and stated that everyone else was wonderful)
If that isn't enough the same committee member and the person who posted the original message have been stating for the last month that they don't want to wear softball pants as it makes them look 'stupid' We didn't have them last year as the team was very much a last minute thing, but this year we are having everyone try on and pick what they want. (they've been given the choice of shorts, or pants) They're stating that they will wear what they wore last year. This particular point is my hill to die on. We are a softball club and we will wear a softball uniform. Don't want to play in it, don't play with us.
Thoughts, advice? (sorry for the length)
