How would you plan out the season for a 14u B team?

[Lothar241]

I have become the head coach / manager for a town based B level 14U team. One of my tasks at the moment is to plan out a general schedule for the upcoming season so that the parents have a general idea as to what to expect as far as time commitments.

I am cognizant of the fact that half of this team will be 2nd year 14U and freshman in high school and also involved in other activities / sports. Here is what I know so far:

(1) The general consensus among the coaches in the organization is that we will be participating in a local league where the team plays 1 double header a week (for the 14U's it will probably be Sunday).

(2) We plan on giving the girls most of November and all of December off (I live in the NE, so cold weather becomes an issue).

(3) January-March indoor practices at least 2x a week.

(4) March / April / May - Practices 1x a week + 1 or 2 one-day friendly tournaments. (This allows the girls to participate in local rec ball and high school / middle school softball.)

(5) Memorial Day - July/August Approximately 6-8 tournaments and practice 1x - 2x a week.

How many practices should I have in the Fall knowing that players are plating field hockey / soccer? Also is this a reasonable plan?

I am kind of flying blind a little. Most of the coaches are parents that are trying to build this organization up, however, they don't have much (if any) TB experience.

 

[cmspock]

We are starting on a similar endeavor but with a 12u team. We realized over this year that there are 5-7 girls in the current rec league who would benefit from being on a stronger team and playing better competition.

We are in Chicago so our plan is pretty similar to yours except we will have more than 1 pratice per week in March, April, and May because we don't have HS to worry about yet.

Fall: 2 practices per week plus friendly Sat or Sun games plus 1 tournament

Nov/Dec off

Jan/Feb: 2 practices per week indoors

March/April: 3 practices per week

Our local organization also runs a 20game league season for travel teams, so we will play in that plus probably 5 tournaments.

 

[Rooster98]

2nd year 14u team play A. Forget the Sunday league you will be playing tournaments. Find out when your HS softball is because you won't be able to touch the girls while they are playing in a practice setting. One on one time yes, not a whole team together. Against most state HS sport association rules. If you play HS ball in the spring it is a short season. June through the first week in August if going to a nationals. Plan one double header a week in June, three tournaments then go full out in July tournament every weekend, no double headers practice.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

The first thing you need to do is figure out what the rules are in your state with regards to having girls from the same High School on a travel team. You don't want to burn anyone's High School eligibility.

In my state we are limited to 5 girls once school starts. Once the HS season starts they can't play travel at all. Once summer roles around the restrictions are off.

 

[Lothar241]

2nd year 14u team play A. Forget the Sunday league you will be playing tournaments. Find out when your HS softball is because you won't be able to touch the girls while they are playing in a practice setting. One on one time yes, not a whole team together. Against most state HS sport association rules. If you play HS ball in the spring it is a short season. June through the first week in August if going to a nationals. Plan one double header a week in June, three tournaments then go full out in July tournament every weekend, no double headers practice.

I have enough experience as a parent that I know not to play in any A level tournaments. The past 2 teams my daughter has played for entered tournaments (in particular Nationals) that they had no business in (only got a slot by hosting a sanctioned tournament). By the end of the season it tore the parents, coaches, and players apart. Most of these girls that will be playing come from All Star programs or have not played travel ball before.

The Sunday league will only be in the Fall. This gives us a better chance of participation from girls that also play field hockey and soccer. Field hockey is very big in this town.

 

[James Smith]

Our League has multiple skill divisions, in theory we would be playing Teams about the same ability as ours. It is also cheap so it is a good way to get some games in.

In Fall they do not keep standings so it is pretty low keyed, the players still want to win.

The farthest field is about 40 minutes away so the games are easy to get to. It is easy for a player just to come to 1 of the 2 games if they need to.