Finding Coaches

[banditssoftball]

My DD has played rec for 2 years and there are 5-6 girls on the team that have gotten to the point that rec is no longer competitive and they want to move up. We have contacted select teams and clubs in the area, and no team is looking for more than 2 maybe 3 girls to round out their rosters when tryouts begin at the end of July. The girls want to stay together and we want to start a new select level team. The other dad and I who have coached the rec team have gone to a couple select tourneys, and we are smart enough to know that while the girls may be ready to move up to select level play, it is much more technical and nuanced than the two of us are ready for. We are both willing to put in the commitment to be AC, and I am committed to tackling the administration side of things such as scheduling practice fields, cage rentals, scheduling scrimages and getting all the NSA and USSSA registrations done, etc., but we need a HC to really lead and make the on field decisions.

Can anybody offer some suggestions on what is the best way to find a qualified HC?

We are about 35 miles west of St. Louis if that helps.

Thanks!

 

[David Carter]

If you are just starting now I would not worry too much about thinking you can't handle it...this will be a learning year for the team and for you anyway coming straight out of rec. If you would do all the admin and the other coach can make the line up I would think you could be OK.

The first thing to understand is you recognized you both have a lot to learn, that is great...go out there and educate yourself about the game, I coached a son through 13U baseball and daughter through 12U and played a lot of ball growing up and in the military I though I knew a lot, and coaching my last one would be easy, until I actually started studying and found out how much I did not know.

I would advertize you are a start up B level team that is looking for players who are dedicated and want playing time and form a team, go to maybe 4 or 5 local tournaments this summer then sign up for a fall league, be sure to consider age group if you are moving up I would play up in the fall, if you are staying down I would think about asking girls that are moving up to find an older team so you can try and find girls that will stay through next season.

Then come Feb next year try a solidify the roster and start winning some ball games.....and yes that implies you are not going to win much this year

 

[CoogansBluff]

A lot of entry-level travel teams start w/ 5-6 girls. You advertise. You hold tryouts. You might find another set of 3-4 girls in a similar situation and combine. You practice w/ what you've got. You might use pickup players if you want to try a tournament. Anything to get the balloon off the ground.

As long as you have the time and communicate clearly your goals w/ your parents and seek out their help, it can be done.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

You didn't mention an age so not sure if this will help - but - check with your local college coach for recently graduated players that the coach believes would be interested in "giving back". DD's team has two recent graduates from UCSD (2011 Division II National Champs, 2012 National Runner-Up) coaching and the transformation from the old guy on the bucket (me) to two 23 year olds who have played at the highest level has been very eye-opening, to say the least.

Note - NOT every college player is coaching material. That's why I would recommend asking the college coach which of his/her recent graduates he/she believes would make a good coach.

Good luck.

 

[banditssoftball]

Thank you all for the responses. 4 of the girls are 2000 birth year and the others are 2001 so they would be 14U for next spring. I really like the idea of contacting the college coach. We have quite a few DII and DIII schools close by that a lot of local girls have attended.

We have pretty well resigned ourselves to the fact that we will take quite a few lumps when we first start playing, but the girls are working hard and the two pitchers are already working with private instructors, so I think we can get up to speed by the heart of next spring season.