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Feb 15, 2017
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Of course, it's still great, good amount of posts coming in, perhaps more current software, newsletter weekly work great. It's not even close to being all negative, all website at some point get kicked in the teeth for one reason or another.

Maybe being a stand alone app would help? Escape some of the web and tapatalk complications. Just ideas *
 
Dec 15, 2012
102
18
DD has played softball for the last 12 years, and throughout that time I have found this site extremely valuable to both give and receive advice. Full disclosure, I have received 100x more advice than I have provided. The forum has been a fantastic resource as my daughter has continued to grow. THANK YOU!!!
A couple of improvement thoughts:
1). Might be helpful to know the experience level of the poster. (A Level Coach 25 years, Rec league coach 2 years, Private hitting instructor 10 years, etc.. ). Experience and level matter when seeking advice
2). Would like to see more college SB discussions
 

Josh Greer

DFP Vendor
Jul 31, 2013
934
93
Central Missouri
Hey Folks, my name is Kevin.

We are a very small organization. So I wanted to make sure everyone knows I come into without a corporate style approach. I run the websites we have and that is it. It’s only me. So I am available by phone, whatever is needed.

I like sports, I was drafted by the Braves out of high school, pitcher, blew my arm out in college. Life moved on. So this side of sports interests me, it’s fun. Now I am a full-time caregiver to my wife and stay at home full time.

To nobody’s fault at all, the forum has declined in a big way in stats. So much has changed online, social media, etc. In talking with Marc, I had hoped perhaps some positive changes towards new software may help?

I hope whatever I can do will only help those that have made the site what it is. I am 100% open to feedback, anything. I think there are some positive changes that can help that happen. However, nothing needs to happen without chatting prior. I am free to talk as needed, please ask questions and thanks.
Kevin

For what it's worth, my group checks the forums every day throughout the day (it is usually me, Josh, but not always) as it helps us track the various overlapping seasons throughout the country. We noted a serious decline when the ads started getting militant; hijacks to "Amazon Gift Card" sites. Marc put a stop to the ads, and traffic slowly started to increase ever so slightly.
 

admin

Administrator
Admin
Dec 22, 2009
38
18
North Texas
The stats have declined steadily for some time. I don't see those increases really in the stats, nothing significant. However, if there were scamming ads and such popping up I bet the stats did suffer during that time. Not sure what type of ads he ran but that should not be an issue at all. Sometimes folks can sneak a bad ad in to Google but they catch it fast. I have never had an issue before. My focus is saying hello, learning as much as possible, and tyring my best to make this place rise. And I will be on the forum daily, literally.
 

JohnnyO

Began this habit in 1980
May 13, 2015
270
18
Midwest
This forum has been the best site online. I travel its depths multiple times a week, probably per day. I have met many great influencers in my life and my DD. This site has brought me from a player to father to travel ball coach to HS coach and now to college coach. It has brought me to being a clinic promoter helping to train hundreds of kids with the experts I have found on here. Trainers from across the country and players and coaches from within 10 hour drive. With out this thread I would not have met Rick and Sarah Pauly, Doug Romrell, Bill Hillhouse, Howard Kobata, Cat Osterman, Monica Abbott and the list could go on. I try and advertise this site often and will continue to do so. Let's all do our best and just let us know what we can do to help.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
Hey RichK,

Just a few years ago 7 million page views a year down to just 2 million or so. All the social media sites likely pull some from things, Google Panda updates. And perhaps the site may need a software change. I will look into everything for sure. But forums still have the best info and make it easier to find. It's not just this forum, seems like many out there are seeing massive changes.

It could be that the site is very difficult to use on mobile. I think there's an app some use, but I wouldn't know about that. Still, I could see people coming here less frequently if the mobile experience is bad.

That said, every single time a site has gone to a mobile-friendly site, the desktop experience ends up being terrible. As someone who uses this site 99% of the time on desktop, I hope that doesn't happen. There has to be a way to make it friendly on both platforms.
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
Just wanted to pop onto this thread and say greetings, Kevin. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the site. There is so much great information here, and such a great community. It would be wonderful to expand its reach to more coaches, parents, umpires, and players.

On a side note, thank you Marc for the kind words. We've had quite a run here together, and can be proud of what we've built.
 
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
tyring my best to make this place rise. And I will be on the forum daily, literally.

1. Update the forum software;
2. Reorganize the forums sections and revamp the forum rules;
3. Integrate a wiki (MediaWiki for example) into the forums (so much good information gets buried/lost in the forums);
4. Integrate with social media.
 
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