Choosing a new org

[Momo'sDad]

Rick, focus on making your DD "good". Unless your DD is good, no college is going to recruit her.

What makes your DD good? Good coaching and playing in a lot of games.

Go with the team that offers the best coaching and the best opportunity to play. (As an FYI, it is doubtful your DD is going to stick with the same organization for more than a couple of years anyway. )

Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Having the greatest instructional coach and fancy uniforms with a franchise fee while getting almost zero playing time at 12u is not really a win. I don't know the area you are in, but if there are a multitude of teams, shop around for the best fit. Some parents (and players) think a kid has to be in the big org's pipeline as soon as possible, that starting with a "name" org at 10u will guarantee them a position on the showcase teams in 16/18u and nothing could be further from the truth. It can be hard to think that taking a side route at 13 will benefit a player when she's 16, but reps in the field and in-game at-bats against competitive pitching are crucial.

 

[Vertigo]

Have your dd play where you feel she will develop the best and learn the most. Then, when she is ready to go to college showcases at around second year 14U, have her tryout for the big name organizations. Rarely have I seen the big name org’s younger teams act as feeders to the 18U Gold teams. The Gold team will pull in players from all over rather than stick with their own (unless, obviously the players are standouts). Just my 2 cents.

 

[FP26]

DD is a decent player, a #2 or #3 pitcher and a solid infielder. Bottom half of the order hitter. It's tough to gauge, but I'm feeling like she'll get more playing time with the big name org at this point (the other team has an established group in place).

As a starting point, I would suggest doing as much research as possible on the coaching staffs and their strategies. Specifically, do their pitchers play other positions when not pitching? If playing infield and hitting is important to her, I think this should be a consideration. As others have stated, quality coaching is an important factor, but so is playing time.

 

[Rick M]

Thanks for the responses everyone, all great points and even more to think about!

Just to clarify, I only mentioned the recruiting thing to demonstrate that it's a big and established organization. As I said in the original post, DD is a #2 pitcher and bottom half of the order hitter, so I'm not waiting for Patty Gasso to call. I just want her to have the best experience and be the best she can be.

For the record, we're leaning towards org #1 where she will get the most playing time and the best coaching. My only concern is that the losing might wear her down. The big org considers itself an 'A' level team, even if they don't have the talent on the beginner level. I'm pretty confident that the superior coaching will make a difference, even if it means a rough fall.

Thanks again everyone. Keep it coming, I'm sure there are lots of others who are facing a similar choice and don't take the leap to actually post here. DFP is the best!

 

[grcsftbll]

IME losing wears the parents down more than the kids. You don't want to lose ALL the time, but I can tell you for our 12U team this year our goal was a 500 record. We figured if we got about 50% wins, we were playing good competition where they would grow as players, without getting constantly killed. We had very few blowouts again some really good teams, and were just under 500 for spring (though from May-July, we were right at 500 so we got there over the season).

 

[_MIA_]

Hello all! Long-time reader, first-time poster.

It's that time of year, and DD is considering two organizations to play for in her second year of 12U. The first is a big name team that has traditionally focused on showcase teams on the 14-18U level. They have a good reputation and a very strong, professional coaching staff with years of college coaching experience. They're just now starting to build a 12U team to work into their pipeline. The fact that they're new to 12U (and expensive) means that they don't have the best quality players and have had some trouble fielding a full team this summer.

Team two is a more established group that has worked out a charter with a national organization. They have great facilities and a dedicated group of parents. They've been aggressive about hiring new coaches, but the caliber is definitely a step below org #1.

So here's my question to the softball minds of DFP: Do you choose to play on the weaker team (right now) that has great coaching and an established showcase/recruiting pipeline, or go with the stronger team that is basically a startup but has big plans?

DD is a decent player, a #2 or #3 pitcher and a solid infielder. Bottom half of the order hitter. It's tough to gauge, but I'm feeling like she'll get more playing time with the big name org at this point (the other team has an established group in place).

All opinions welcome. Thanks to the DFP community for all of the advice I've already gotten just from reading the boards!

I don't disagree with most of what has been said here..that said..

You said your DD is a pitcher, I am assuming she already has a pitching coach. I will also say a lot of instruction on IF play,
if you are to assume that the IF are playing like they are being coached, isn't very good in general, "better" org or not. Same with hitting instruction.
If you are resourceful and have the time you could probably do a better job teaching your kid proper IF play and hitting yourself by working with her on your
own.

Where does your DD want to play....?

 

[sluggers]

I just want her to have the best experience and be the best she can be.

That is good.

Your DD is 12YOA. If she really loves playing softball and you are willing to get a hitting coach, it is hard to tell where this will end up. Kids so much between 12YOA and 14YOA.

Rick Pauly has this great picture of Sarah Pauly (All-American, WPF MVP) at 12YOA. Sarah looks about as goofy as they come (sorry, Sarah). I don't think she could walk and chew gum at the same time. My DDs at 12YOA were panned by everyone. (DD#1 was a successful D1 pitcher and DD#3 won a D3 hoops national championship.)

You just never know. Get her a good personal hitting coach. (Don't rely on her getting the training she needs from the travel ball team.)

My only concern is that the losing might wear her down. The big org considers itself an 'A' level team, even if they don't have the talent on the beginner level. I'm pretty confident that the superior coaching will make a difference, even if it means a rough fall.

It won't bother her if you don't let it bother you. What parents forget is that *playing* softball is a lot of fun. The fun is getting on the field and playing the game.

Your DD is really not going to be bothered by losing as long. Teach her the correct way of how to handle losing. (If you think about, the most important lesson she'll ever learn in sports is how to cope with losing and what to do after she loses.)

 

[Eric F]

IME losing wears the parents down more than the kids.

Truth! Nothing is a quicker recipe for a parent freak-out and hissy-quit than a team performing poorly at a tournament and their kid not playing as much (or in the position) the parent thinks they should.

 

[Strike2]

IME losing wears the parents down more than the kids. You don't want to lose ALL the time, but I can tell you for our 12U team this year our goal was a 500 record. We figured if we got about 50% wins, we were playing good competition where they would grow as players, without getting constantly killed. We had very few blowouts again some really good teams, and were just under 500 for spring (though from May-July, we were right at 500 so we got there over the season).

It does wear on the kids, especially as they get older. Losing all the time tends to diminish the credibility and influence of the coaches as well for both the parents and kids. A team can easily take an occasional beat down by a higher level team when playing up as lesson on where it wants to eventually be, but getting beat by most everyone starts to suck very quickly. Too much time, money, and effort is required to be consistently losing. Good players quickly find another home, and not-so-good players find another hobby.

 

[grcsftbll]

It does wear on the kids, especially as they get older. Losing all the time tends to diminish the credibility and influence of the coaches as well for both the parents and kids. A team can easily take an occasional beat down by a higher level team when playing up as lesson on where it wants to eventually be, but getting beat by most everyone starts to suck very quickly. Too much time, money, and effort is required to be consistently losing. Good players quickly find another home, and not-so-good players find another hobby.

I'm sure it does as they approach adulthood themselves. There's a huge difference emotionally between a first year 12U and a second year 14U. Or even a first year 14U. They change so fast.

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