Any of you coaches ever thrown in the towel on your team?

[CoachCalvin]

I am at a crossroad with my 14u travel team. We are not very good and we knew this from the start. The expectations were set, etc. I had a parent team meeting three weeks ago and we agreed to continue playing through the fall and splitting the teams up next year (16u and 14u). The parents seemed ok with everything. Since this meeting, players have missed practices.

We had a tourney this past weekend and it did not go well. Now, again I state that I knew we would take our lumps. The problem now is attitude and effort. I have 5 girls that are getting better and enjoying the game. As the coach, my frustration level is at all time high and now I feel that I am wasting my time.

I want to pull the plug entirely. I have thought and prayed about this and I still feel the same way. Any advice? I really don't see anyone changing my mind...

 

[James Smith]

I would have a hard time quitting with 5 players still wanting to play. Any chance of you finding them a new home for the Fall? The other players can fend for themselves.

 

[mad hornet]

Fall season is tough with conflicts. You have cheerleading, volleyball, golf, I even have one playing football. Then with the older kids you have Homecoming. I bumped the roster size up this year to help deal with it. Players tend to shake out after fall season, I would be more concerned about missing practices if it were Spring. On one hand we coaches always complain that parents do their kids a disservice not teaching them about commitment and have to set an example. On the other if you were going to scrap it now would be a good time as at least in our area there are still plenty of teams seeking players. Now if those kids don't have other travel options in your area I think you should gut it out and then tell everyone with plenty of notice that you won't be continuing the next year.

 

[cmustangsfp]

Maybe the expectations were off. You say that you were not very good, why is that? Is it talent level or attitude level. I have seen lower talent level teams beat higher talent level teams when the attitude of the "better" team turned sour. The only team I have ever "thrown in the towel" on was an All-Star Rec "Travel" team. The parents thought their kids were so much better than they were, yet refused to bring them to practice and complained if we tried to practice more than 2 times a week. They also complained about the rules, etc, etc. The parents turned what could have been a good team into a very toxic affair so I decided to end it after the State tourney.

 

[JAD]

I had a parent team meeting three weeks ago and we agreed to continue playing through the fall and splitting the teams up next year (16u and 14u). The parents seemed ok with everything. Since this meeting, players have missed practices.

Why would you form a team in the Fall that you KNEW would split into 14U and 16U in the Spring? You should form a Fall team that you intend to keep next Spring, and play the fall at the same level you will be in the Spring. Do not play 14U in the Fall, then play 16U in the Spring.

 

[FP26]

As long as there are a few players that want to learn and improve, it would be difficult for me to give up on them. However, I have met some parents that have made me think about quitting. It is a small percentage of course, but sometimes the parents are harder to deal with than the players.

 

[Slappers]

I agree fp26. I started my team and knew going in that I would be doing something from the ground up. I have a young 16u team but with the exception of 1 player, we will get to play 16u in the 2014-15 season as well....if I can keep them together. Hopefully we will get out there and make something of ourselves and the recruiting will take care of itself. I may be holding onto a pipe dream though. Who knows but if I had 5 girls wanting to play, I'd be there for them.

 

[Easton33]

IMO, JAD has it right. Half of the girls know it is not their team, they will be moving up or down. 5 girls? I would set the bar at 1. If you can help 1 girl be a better player and keep them on track then your job is done. A lot of coaches go through what you are going through. Teach the girls about character, don't quit on them. If anything, enforce your rules and either don't play the no shows, or look for replacements. If you can't play because of girls breaking your rules then it is a win win for you. You have sent a strong message to the player and you don't have to play that weekend. Pier pressure may snap them back in line. If not, you can't play with 8. Once kids see you enforce the rules then others will stop breaking them. At least you can teach them consequences and reprecussions and not let them see an adult quit on them..

 

[PGSAKen]

If the current situation risks losing the 5 girls you want to keep then cut your losses and find those 5 girls games with friendly coaches with the intent ot rebuild.

If not tough it out.

Ive done both. In the end you want to take those 5 girls and rebuild.

 

[FP26]

PGSAKen offers some good advice as well. Our team will do "friendlies" just about any time. After all, it is all about giving the players the opportunity to improve. After tryouts, we also had several solid players that we were not able to fit on our roster. I contacted other coaches I know and arranged private tryouts for them on those teams. Some stuck, some didn't.... Maybe you can find a coach willing to pass some names on to you. We also have an organization near us that sponsors a spring league and a fall league for travel teams and junior high teams (u14 age). It is competitive softball without the over the top competitiveness that occurs at some tournaments. Something like that is a great opportunity for a new team. Of course all areas are different.