Expectations of a team with paid coaches?

[marriard]

I agree, so I volunteered to start bringing my bucket, tee, net and plate to games. Coach has them pair up and throw for warm ups and then she will go out and hit some pop fly's and grounders. Once I started bringing my gear I call them over in pairs to hit a few. I'm very carefull to not coach them on their swing though. I just offer encouragement. She usually tries to get the third base dugout so she can do everything from the third base side. She played in college so she knows the game, but is new(ish) to coaching I was an AC in 8u rec ball and we had 3 AC's and it was still a lot of work. Don't get me wrong, I like the organization, coach and the girls, I'm just trying to figure out what should be expected. Sounds like I need to talk with the coach/organization head and make some resoectful decisions.

The #1 question needs to be "Where are my fees going?". We don't have softballs or bownets is concerning. This is probably the #1 lesson you will learn as well - doing more research on the travel team and org you are joining.

I am not a big fan of recently graduated players being head coaches without a lot of coaching experience or without the assistance of someone who has a great deal of coaching experience. It normally doesn't go well - they often get bulldozed by parents who view them as 'kids' or make some bad mistakes just from inexperience.

 

[Rick M]

DD's 12U team has two paid coaches, part of a larger organization. The coach and assistant bring everything to games and practices, but the girls are expected to carry everything from their respective cars and set up stations: get the bownets up, line up the tees, distribute balls to each station, etc. When the game or practice is over, the girls pack everything up and bring it back to the coach's cars.

As far as I know, the org provides all of the equipment, but the HC has many years of experience so I imagine some of what she brings is from her personal stash. To answer the OP, it is reasonable to expect that a large organization with paid coaches would provide balls, nets, tees, and any other training equipment the coach needs.

 

[sjw62000]

She played in college so she knows the game,

I don't want to be that guy, but I will say it because it needs to be said; as both a player and coach, I have met plenty of people that played at the highest levels that simply aren't able to translate their ability playing to ability to coach. Being a great player simply means you know how to play the game, not necessarily coach the game.

Having said that, it sounds like you are part of a large organization and though I have no idea how much your fees are, IMHO you absolutely should expect more in the way of coaches, equipment, and development.

 

[FP26]

I guess it varies by region, but I rarely see "paid" coaches outside of "A" teams. Most "B"/"C" teams are strictly volunteers.

I have never been paid in any way as a coach. In my 7 years as a travel ball coach, we typically have a meeting prior to the season that includes the coaches and other decision making individuals (treasurer, etc.). We discuss as a group what items/supplies we think we will need for the season, and determine if we can draw some of the funds out of the team's budget. In most cases the team budget handled our winter facility, field fees, score books, and enough balls to get us through the season. If we wanted anything beyond that, we typically had to buy it ourselves. I ended up purchasing a bow net and a tanner tee on my own, but I use both constantly even outside of coaching the team. In fact, both are currently set up in my basement right now.

Looking back on things, I would even hate to estimate how much time I dedicated to the teams I coached; practice, games, planning and preparation, etc. In addition, myself and every coach I have ever worked with typically spent substantially more money than the average parent as well. If you want to do something right, sometimes it requires putting a little more into it. I never viewed it as a problem. I enjoyed coaching and felt that it was a small investment. But I do think some parents (not all), take for granted the amount of commitment it takes to be a travel ball coach.

 

[CoachYodaD]

I would expect from a team of paid coaches that my daughter is getting quality instruction, she is learning the game the right way, her softball skills are improving, and her athleticism is getting better. To me, that is what I am paying for.

I don't think the amount of gear is important compared to the above. I have no issues paying a coach to teach my daughter how to play the game. I am not paying the coach to be a babysitter.

A lot of training can be done with three balls and a bat. Granted, this is not ideal, but it can be made to work. I am willing to bet that if you asked your team, almost all the girls have a ball in their equipment bag.

 

[Hawk_]

Who cares what they bring....how do they coach? I can coach a whole practice with one ball. If that coach is good, why does what he/she bring have any factor in the matter?

 

[lancer360]

Who cares what they bring....how do they coach? I can coach a whole practice with one ball. If that coach is good, why does what he/she bring have any factor in the matter?

You can run a practice with one ball, the question is should you?

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[sjw62000]

Who cares what they bring....how do they coach? I can coach a whole practice with one ball. If that coach is good, why does what he/she bring have any factor in the matter?

I think the equipment is being used as a point of emphasis to wonder about preparedness. Additionally, a large organization should have more than one coach per team. One coach can do everything, but nothing will be done well and ultimately if we are "winging" it, who is actually suffering?

 

[Hawk_]

You can run a practice with one ball, the question is should you?

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When you are focused on the equipment the coach is using instead of how he is actually coaching.....that's an issue.
Should you? Depends on what you want to focus on.

 

[Hawk_]

I think the equipment is being used as a point of emphasis to wonder about preparedness. Additionally, a large organization should have more than one coach per team. One coach can do everything, but nothing will be done well and ultimately if we are "winging" it, who is actually suffering?

Not arguing with coaches on the field, more eyes helps. But if we are worried that a guy doesn't have a bow net or sand balls or 8 buckets of balls....instead of "is this guy developing my DD" then we are focused on the wrong things.