If the parents trust you their kids will stay with you. Despite the notion that all parents are dopes and have no idea what they're talking about, many do understand the game and and the process. It's easy for a coach to say "parents are idiots and move their kids all the time". Some do for bad reasons but don't underestimate smart parents.
Be honest, work to gain parents respect and treat the kids fairly. Tell the truth.. and magic happens.
If the players don't get better you won't have much of a team so I think it's mostly player.How important is individuals in a team? Would you rather coach a team of All-stars or develop a team of youngsters into a winning team? I personally like the challenge to take a team and develop the players to create a winning team.
How important is individuals in a team? Would you rather coach a team of All-stars or develop a team of youngsters into a winning team? I personally like the challenge to take a team and develop the players to create a winning team.
I'll cheat and choose option C. A group of all-stars who I develop into even better players with a true team-first attitude and family environment. But seriously, the idea that you'll develop an unskilled group into a cohesive, winning team is mostly a myth. I understand where you're coming from and it's very rewarding to build girls from projects into starters. But, if you can take a small core and create a culture that is team-first and no drama allowed regardless of talent level, I'd rather have the all-stars all day. They won't all be angels, and often the most competitive players will have a bit of an edge to their attitude, but learning to manage that and teaching the girls to learn how to play on a team without everyone being best friends is just part of the journey.How important is individuals in a team? Would you rather coach a team of All-stars or develop a team of youngsters into a winning team? I personally like the challenge to take a team and develop the players to create a winning team.
How important is individuals in a team? Would you rather coach a team of All-stars or develop a team of youngsters into a winning team? I personally like the challenge to take a team and develop the players to create a winning team.
Option C, throwing a curveball Good choice. A few years ago I decided to take on a young girls U12 team, year one we had a record of only 2 wins in the season, year 2 we improved to only 2 losses in the season, year 3 and 4 we had no losses in regular season, ending 3rd and 2 in playoffs. In year 2 we had 5 of the team chosen for the regional team, by year 3 we had 6, during the regional tournament we won the championship scoring 113 runs for and only 6 against. Interesting thing happened over the period from U12 - U16, the team dynamic changed when players became more skilled, their attitude (read ego) changed to a point where there were division in the team, although we were winning it wasn't fun anymore. Parents got involved and instead of cheering on the team they started to take out their own players seen as competition to their own kids. I personally like to take an underdog team and build them into a winning team, I like to see how they develop into great players but after investing so much time and effort bonding with them it hurts when they leave for a new team. You still follow their progress when they move on, and the interesting part is some still come and greet you at tournaments when they see you, while some just ignore you. The challenge when building a team is to have a balance, some players blossom when they get attention but if they feel they need to get ALL the attention, you need to manage it otherwise they might feel they're not valued. Does it hurt when they leave, yes, will I give up the opportunity to do it again, no. Coaching a team instead of individuals is the most rewarding experience for a coach. Agree with you that building a core and adding to it while keeping the team's value in place is a good strategy.