How many TB teams has/did your DD play for?

[Quigs10]

Just curious...and I know it varies greatly by where we each live and the options to each of us.

I'm in So Cal (OC area) ...My first DD who is now a Junior in HS and just hung up her cleats this year was a catcher and played on just 1 TB team that started w local Rec girls in 10u and then progressed until 14u with adds and drops of different girls but w only 1 coach. The team is still going strong in 16u and placed top 3 in a couple major PGF tournys in 12u and again in 16u. Older DD just burned out with the time commitment, travel and dedication it takes at that high level.

Younger '08 DD (lefty catcher and 1B) just turned 12 a couple months ago and is currently starting C on a 14u Select team for our local league. The top league talent is slowly leaving to TB and she/we are at that tipping point of doing the same. She's still at the "I want to play w friends" stage bcuz I think she remembers all the times we had to get up at 4am and drive to older DD games or all the times she had to tag along to hot humid 3-4 game days. So I think she's a bit wary of starting. But I think she's realizing that joining a true TB w girls that are better than her and are committed might be right around the corner if she wants to keep improving.

We've seen many girls jump from team to team over the years and just never understood how they do it. Costs, uncertainty, parents, coaches...etc. Always seemed strange to join a team we knew nobody on.

 

[Traps71]

My DD joined a second year 10U team with a small org (not so much an org as a handful of independent teams playing under the same name) when she started with travel. We stayed with the same team and the same coaches for four years (through first year 14U). We were a pretty strong local team throughout and were really strong our second 12U year. Think it is fair to say that we were one of the best 12U teams in VA. Really for the first time, we had some turnover after that second 12U year. Girls were all friends. Played in same Little League. So there was a lot of connective tissue and all the parents got along for the most part, no truly nutty parents. After 12U, three of our best players (P1, SS/3B, 1B/OF) moved to a supposedly higher-level team with a larger org. This was a team we'd beaten, but I think the bigger, "more serious" organization was the draw. I guess the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We also lost our starting C, whose family moved to North Carolina. The head coach was anticipating a couple of those losses, but not all four. This left him scrambling to pick up a couple of players because we were down to 9.

Through open tryouts, we picked up a couple of try-hard girls with good families, but they were just not on the same level as the girls we lost. We went from being a top "A" team to a "B" or "B+" team. We were still very competitive locally, but the team went backwards. Increasingly, the girls seemed to want different things out of the game (which is totally fine) and my DD and a few others wanted something more competitive where all the girls shared similar goals. Frankly, my DD had also had her fill of the head coach. We moved to a larger organization this past offseason for second year 14U. It's been an adjustment, but we found the kind of team we were looking for. My hope is that we will be able to stick with this team through 16U and 18U. But you never know. To your point, there is risk leaving what you know (and no situation is perfect). On the other hand, there also can be opportunity and growth leaving what you are comfortable with.

If my DD sticks with the game, I will say that it is hard for me to imagine us moving more than one more time during her 16U and 18U years if we felt we had to or otherwise needed to.

 

[CMMom1740]

I know that this post will make us look like team jumpers and OK, so be it. Here's DD's journey:

1. Left rec and joined first TB team in sixth grade, so second year 12U. Team was a solid B team, but DD wanted to aim a little higher the following year. The team wound up disbanding because too many girls left for a variety of reasons.
2. First year 14U: joined a higher-level team and loved it. Two pitchers left over Christmas Break and Coach could not find replacements. Team folded in January, so DD just picked up all spring and summer.
3. Second year 14U: joined another team. It was OK. She had to leave because she was aging out of 14U and HC's DD was not, so he stayed down.
4. First year 16U: joined a team we were super excited about. Things went well until the trip to CO for the Sparkler. Then a variety of things happened that boiled down to the HC kind of losing it in the dugout a few times, picking up too many players and sitting rostered players too much, etc... Long story, but it was not going to be sustainable for us for another year.
5. Second year 16U: found a team that we were sure DD would stick with until graduation. Everything was great until she dislocated her thumb (glove hand; she's a Catcher) during the first tournament back from COVID lockdown in June. While she was out, HC added another rostered catcher, so now the team had 3 girls who were primarily catchers and one backup. DD got bumped down to the bottom of the list and was sitting the majority of the time. We had to leave; didn't want to leave, but the writing was on the wall.
6. First year of 18U: found a team out of state and DD is the primary catcher. She shares the position with one other girl (not two or three). Great situation thus far and we have no intentions of changing again.

So, quite the track record, but some of these were not by choice. Go ahead and throw stones; I'm ready for it.

 

[chinamigarden]

2 travel orgs. 2 others.
7u played LL machine pitch
8 years old joined the local travel org playing 10u stayed with them until she was 15.
joined a new org in the area half of the girls and one of the coaches were from the previous org played 16u through 18u with them.
played Club ball in college.

 

[Quigs10]

I know that this post will make us look like team jumpers and OK, so be it. Here's DD's journey:

1. Left rec and joined first TB team in sixth grade, so second year 12U. Team was a solid B team, but DD wanted to aim a little higher the following year. The team wound up disbanding because too many girls left for a variety of reasons.
2. First year 14U: joined a higher-level team and loved it. Two pitchers left over Christmas Break and Coach could not find replacements. Team folded in January, so DD just picked up all spring and summer.
3. Second year 14U: joined another team. It was OK. She had to leave because she was aging out of 14U and HC's DD was not, so he stayed down.
4. First year 16U: joined a team we were super excited about. Things went well until the trip to CO for the Sparkler. Then a variety of things happened that boiled down to the HC kind of losing it in the dugout a few times, picking up too many players and sitting rostered players too much, etc... Long story, but it was not going to be sustainable for us for another year.
5. Second year 16U: found a team that we were sure DD would stick with until graduation. Everything was great until she dislocated her thumb (glove hand; she's a Catcher) during the first tournament back from COVID lockdown in June. While she was out, HC added another rostered catcher, so now the team had 3 girls who were primarily catchers and one backup. DD got bumped down to the bottom of the list and was sitting the majority of the time. We had to leave; didn't want to leave, but the writing was on the wall.
6. First year of 18U: found a team out of state and DD is the primary catcher. She shares the position with one other girl (not two or three). Great situation thus far and we have no intentions of changing again.

So, quite the track record, but some of these were not by choice. Go ahead and throw stones; I'm ready for it.

No stones coming. Im actually interested in how you chose the new teams each time (you as Dad...sorry...as the Mom, seeing a bad fit on previous team or did your DD sort of initiate it and say she'd like to play elsewhere?). How did she handle the switches to the new teams as the "new girl"?

Thx!

 

[CMMom1740]

Well, I'm the Mom, but it was a family decision. With the first year 16U team, we discussed it as a family while we were still in CO with the team and still had three tournaments left with them. She absolutely knew she had to leave. HC had started really criticizing and blaming her for things that were absolutely not her fault and had just treated her badly in general. There was an AC who had been admonished by umpires in multiple tournaments for screaming and just generally going nuts and the parents had demanded he be removed from the coaching staff. He was, but then wormed his way back onto the field gradually. DD was miserable and we all agreed she could not stay another year.

With last year's team, it just became obvious over the course of two consecutive weekends that she'd been replaced. I think that she had like 3 or 4 plate appearances over about 8 games and caught like three innings. I think he was waiting for her to quit, but probably would have cut her for the fall, so we just pre-empted it. It was not acrimonious, but she was very sad to leave because she loved the team. He just soured on her after her injury and wouldn't talk to her about why. She was hurt, but she knew it was not feasible to stick around because clearly she would not play.

DD has been around the softball community long enough that she generally knows girls by reputation if not personally on each of these high-level teams. She has always found at least one "bestie" on each team, most of whom she didn't know before joining. You don't need to worry about the social part; it will sort itself out. At this level for DD, it's not about friends; it's about the right fit.
But the friend part naturally follows.

 

[Dandan111]

Dd guest played different teams. She's 14u now. On her 3rd real team. Only one team left a bad tast so far. The problem team was a first year team. I seen enough after a fall season we left. Shes been with a good
school program playing B level. They win more than loose. Dd moves between 3 of this organizations teams. Very different talent levels. Its fun honestly, but we do have some weak spots. Lots of new snap chat friends /followers or whatever.
I don't see her burning out in this organization. She could dial back to
only 7 or 8 tournaments/year if she wanted.

 

[Quigs10]

Well, I'm the Mom, but it was a family decision. With the first year 16U team, we discussed it as a family while we were still in CO with the team and still had three tournaments left with them. She absolutely knew she had to leave. HC had started really criticizing and blaming her for things that were absolutely not her fault and had just treated her badly in general. There was an AC who had been admonished by umpires in multiple tournaments for screaming and just generally going nuts and the parents had demanded he be removed from the coaching staff. He was, but then wormed his way back onto the field gradually. DD was miserable and we all agreed she could not stay another year.

With last year's team, it just became obvious over the course of two consecutive weekends that she'd been replaced. I think that she had like 3 or 4 plate appearances over about 8 games and caught like three innings. I think he was waiting for her to quit, but probably would have cut her for the fall, so we just pre-empted it. It was not acrimonious, but she was very sad to leave because she loved the team. He just soured on her after her injury and wouldn't talk to her about why. She was hurt, but she knew it was not feasible to stick around because clearly she would not play.

DD has been around the softball community long enough that she generally knows girls by reputation if not personally on each of these high-level teams. She has always found at least one "bestie" on each team, most of whom she didn't know before joining. You don't need to worry about the social part; it will sort itself out. At this level for DD, it's not about friends; it's about the right fit.
But the friend part naturally follows.

Lol...my apologies Mom. I will edit my post respectfully.

 

[Vertigo]

10u - 12U dd played on the LL in-house travel team.

Played on a true travel team for the fall season of her 12U year - Coach was a friend who asked her to just try it for the fall. She stuck with LL until she aged out that year.

1st year 14U I formed my own team. I handed the reigns over to my assistant after the first year as dd needed new coaching voices (coaching staff were her LL coaches).

2nd year 14U - played for a strong B-level team. Great team, great season, but dd was starting to realize she wanted to play in college and wanted to play at a higher level.

1st year 16U - moved to a local 18U A level team. Another great team and season. Lost 8 seniors to graduation so team dissolved.

2nd year 16U - found her current team and is now in her 3rd year with them. 18U Gold - helped her achieve her goal of getting recruited to play in college. Great group of girls and coaches. Never looked back or considered other teams after making the move to this team.

 

[4 girl's dad]

Dd has been on a few teams for various reasons but mostly positive moves.

played LL through 12u. new teams each year for that plus the combined All Star team each year. (We did sit out 10u LL one year due to being on a more competitive travel team and didn’t really have time.)

Our journey started in 8u as I formed a team with a local org that ended up scamming most of the players for uniform money. I gave Up the HC to another guy and helped him with the 10u team and we got beat on pretty good so we looked for something better and left. Stayed with that team and org for 1 year as we got beat on pretty good again just by different teams lol. Joined a “better” team in the org that def won more games but the coaching was old school and there were many “favored” players. We stayed 1 year. (There were some other shenanigans going on too that we weren’t aware of until later)

We ended up going back to the team that we played with in 10u because we weren’t ready to drive 1.5 hours to practice yet. This 14u team ended up joining a large org and were told we’d get some player assistance but never did. We also saw why we left in the first place due to poor coaching decisions. In the fall of last year we joined a new team and new org for us and So far it’s been really good. 1.5 hour drive. Non parent HC’s on last team 14u and this team (now 16u). DD is hurt this year but will be back for spring and is looking forward to playing for this coach and with these girls who all have the same goals.

So to recap, 7 teams in 8 years including 4 diff orgs and 5 different HC’s. All but one year was an improvement in teams. Can’t wait to see her play on this new team. She’s bonded pretty good already with the girls and is so ready to get after it.