feeder teams

[dadonachair]

Right now your DD is 10. You guys as a family have YEARS of softball ahead of you. Many cold windy days/nights at the field, hot scorching no air blowing weekends.

Research any team she will want to play for. Ask questions of the coaches. How many girls on the team, playing time, practice schedual, how many tournaments and where? Cost? What do the fees go to. If you pay X amount for a year are you going to have to pay $20 a week to use the indoor? Ask if she can practice with the team a few times and see if she is a good fit with the girls. My DD played the fall for a team to leave in the spring cause all the other girls on the team were good friends giong to the same school and she was an outsider. While at those practices talk to the other parents and see what they think. These parents are going to be at the games also so if there is someone you don't like it will be a long year on the sideline.

 

[riseball]

^^^^ Post of the day!!!

 

[JAD]

She had an opportunity to play for a feeder travel team for a d1 school over the weekend.

What exactly is a feeder team for a D1 school? Most D1 schools recruit players from a wide geographical area. Some TB coaches/organizations have a history of placing players on certain teams, but I am not sure I would call them "feeder teams". Some colleges also "place" girls on a TB team after they verbal to insure they are getting the instruction and playing time against high caliber competition.

How good is your DD? 2 hours each way is a long way to drive, especially at 10U. My suggestion would be to stick with a local team if you can find one that will challenge your DD to improve, and look for a "feeder team" at 14U.

 

[marriard]

This will be a really cynical view. Sorry. See this WAY too often and they were yapping about one of these types of TB programs during a college game this afternoon on TV.

Here is how I see it happening with the 'feeder teams' at 10U/12U as these players get older

They will have the 'best' (read most physically mature) players on the team at these ages and will win a lot and you will TRAVEL every where, every weekend. However the moment they have access to a better player, they will replace a current player in a heart beat and over the next few years a steady stream of the best current talent will come through as they cherry pick players off other teams as parents look for the 'scholarship' prize. This will be justified as 'having the organizations reputation to maintain'.

Of the players on the current 10U team, maybe 2 or 3 will survive through to 18U (and they are normally the younger sisters of an older player who joined the org in 16U). Maybe they go to the 'feeder' team college - maybe not. Normally not.
About 2 others will continue to play, but will likely end up on a different TB team and end up in college elsewhere or just play high school.

The rest probably wont be seen in softball having either given up due to parent pressure, not liking softball, everyone else catching up physically, other interests, change to volleyball/lacrosse/other sport, overuse injury and so on. You will continue to hear their names at softball games in the following way "Whatever happened to X, she was SOOO talented".

Meanwhile - you as the parents - could have saved all that travel and all that money during the 10U/12U/1st year 14U years and put it into a college fund, local lessons and coaching for hitting/pitching/playing and so forth or saving for when you are looking for the right college (for education and maybe softball). If your DD REALLY loves softball she will work her butt off, play a LOT for her current teams, mature physically and then when college looks like a real option (and her realistic level of play becomes obvious around 2nd year 14U), if she then needs to join the 'feeder program' at 16U/18U they will welcome her with open arms (as they kick off some current player who is not cutting it in their view).

And then in the end you will still probably end up with a 10-20% scholarship offer unless your DD is a dominant pitcher, unbelievably fast or an unbelievable power hitter.

Quick note: my DD gets the occasional offer from these feeder programs locally to come over and be what amounts to a third pitcher/7th+ batter/backup 2nd base/RF role. One team has been particularly aggressive recently since they have an injured pitcher (came back too early from shoulder surgery at parents insistence) and an injured power hitter/catcher (who has now had a second knee surgery and may never play sport again). Thanks but no thanks.

 

[gasfreak]

That's why I asked on here,thanks.

 

[kenb63]

Also remember this team may now be a "feeder" because the current D1 Coach finds it convenient. But if current D1 coach goes bye-bye, so does the feed.

 

[Sparky Guy]

marriard hit it perfectly. The Holy Grail of a "Full Ride" is practically non-existent. Only very few super-elite players will get them. One of the other things people fail to realize is that some softball programs are not fully funded. Those coaches may have fewer scholarships to offer than what is allowed by the NCAA. The competition is very rough for scholarship money. That's why many parents are very tight-lipped about how much money their DD got.

 

[Sparky Guy]

Right now your DD is 10. You guys as a family have YEARS of softball ahead of you. Many cold windy days/nights at the field, hot scorching no air blowing weekends.

There are not as many as you think. They fly by and the old cliche of wondering where it all went so fast so soon hits you when you watch your DD play the last game in her college career. The tears, sadness and wondering what do I do with my time now all set in. Treat every day you're at the field with your DD as a special gem you'll NEVER get back and enjoy it. You'll look back at old pictures and start remembering things like they happened yesterday.

The house and yard will still be there when it's all done and over with. There were many a day when I cut some really long grass in my yard.

Some FYI... Your DD will take it better than you.

 

[gatorcoach]

"feeder program" does not mean a lot at 10U.

As far as the travel, we have nothing but some the worst rec ball you have ever seen around us and it is an hour drive to anything decent. Therefore, we my dd played for a large, locally well known org at 8-11. It was 1hr each way, but we only practiced 1 day per week for 3hrs. All tournaments were 1hr or so away. She got great training and played great competition. We now drive 3hrs 1 way for a very good college placement org and love every minute of it. It is not for everyone, but we love it. 1 day per week for 4hr practice on non-tournament weekends.

All that being said, if she getting good coaching and playing good competition stay put until 14U. Then consider a step up. JMO