Coach adding to the schedule without discussing it with parents

[UB40]

Travel season for DD 16U team is June and July and changes addition to the schedule routinely happen. From where we play to when is fair game to change during that time. But this is all laid out when you join the team.

When we signed up I expected that any June or July weekend was fair game for a tournament. I also expected for weekday evening practices, to leave the house at 6 to arrive by 6:30.

I didn't expect weekday evening games, warm-ups being at 4:30, having to leave the house at 3:30pm, especially announced three weeks before they begin.

 

[UB40]

We never made any changes to the schedule without conferring with the parents/players first. Sometimes changes were necessary for various reasons,

An unforeseeable change is not the problem, things happen and schedules have to be flexible, of course. This is not an unforeseeable change, this is adding on without seeking input first.

 

[Elk Grove Hurricane]

Yes, it happens, but no, not all teams do that. One team that we played for was actually pretty good about telling us when we were playing and more importantly which weeks we were not. They avoided playing too early in the spring and too late in the fall, thus rain was not typically a problem and they could keep the schedule throughout the season. I really appreciated the fact you could plan your life around the schedule.
Another team was just awful. The schedule we received in January was ignored before the second tournament (in February). There was no communication, the planned end of the year tournament that required advanced reservations for hotels was ignored and never mentioned, we received 5-6 days notice almost every week when they would schedule a tournament and had to assume there was a Saturday practice every weekend when we weren't in a tournament, Saturday practices would be cancelled on Thursday and sometimes Friday. That was tough on every family, especially the ones where one parent or another sibling wasn't as into being a softball family as the rest.

 

[UB40]

Another team was just awful. The schedule we received in January was ignored before the second tournament (in February). There was no communication, the planned end of the year tournament that required advanced reservations for hotels was ignored and never mentioned, we received 5-6 days notice almost every week when they would schedule a tournament and had to assume there was a Saturday practice every weekend when we weren't in a tournament, Saturday practices would be cancelled on Thursday and sometimes Friday. That was tough on every family, especially the ones where one parent or another sibling wasn't as into being a softball family as the rest.

Awful is the word, maybe even too kind a word.

 

[efastball]

Welcome to post-season/travel sports. It only gets worse from here. It's a massive commitment. Your life as you knew it will be overturned.

 

[wheresmycar]

I didn't expect weekday evening games, warm-ups being at 4:30, having to leave the house at 3:30pm, especially announced three weeks before they begin.

Yeah, anything that requires that kind of logistics should be run by parents first, before committing the team.

 

[Orange Socks]

I would only be okay with scheduling league play, which sounds odd to me if it falls on one of the days they already practiced. Two years ago DD's team scheduled a tourney on an off weekend that we planned big multifamily trip and told the coach that it was an off weekend on the schedule. He understood. They one got one game in since it got rained out anyway. We learned our lesson, but for the past 8 years June and July have been vacation off limits...unless we are playing in Boulder!

 

[CMMom1740]

Is it common for travel teams to add more games at last minute, without consulting the parents, especially for weekday evenings. If this is common, then I would like to know.

Yes. Happens all the time. Our team will routinely do things like change practice from Wed. to Thurs. last minute because of field availability. And forget trying to plan a vacation during the summer. It's almost as though we are expected to keep every weekend open "just in case" they decide to stick something in last minute.

 

[efastball]

Luckily my kids are all out of the house now. We never got to go anywhere for Thanksgiving or Christmas because of basketball, and Spring Break and Summer because of Fastpitch and Baseball. Plus swimming, cheerleading, etc. etc. took up the other days. And don't forget about off-season conditioning for each sport.. oh, and camps.

You rookies have no idea what's coming.

 

[Hi-Tech]

DD plays for a local travel team. Tournament schedule was set in late March. Today coach announces, to the girls first (before mentioning it to the parents) that there will be league play this summer as well. The league play will be doubleheaders on Thursdays, games beginning at 5:30pm, and at least an hour's drive away.

Is it common for travel teams to add more games at last minute, without consulting the parents, especially for weekday evenings. If this is common, then I would like to know.

Not common to add games like that. Our team plays weekday league games as well as weekend tournaments, but that was communicated well in advance.

It's good and bad. The kids get more game experience, but I personally would prefer more practice time where they can get quality reps.