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marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
What does one receive for their monthly franchise fees?

1) Opportunities to move up to better fields, opponents and opportunities to build up our team we MAY have gotten - but probably not
2) More opened emails and responses to coaches,
3) More casual looks. Coaches WILL stop and watch us play even if they don't know the team specifically. They will walk right by others who don't
4) More entries and invites. Yes, you have to prove it, but we clearly got into a few tourneys that we might not have. We got invites to others we were not getting as a 'no name' team.
5) We now retain players that for years were previously leaving our org for 'name' teams.
6) As DD's team retained players, they were able to become one of those named teams - therefore when they DO need a player, it is easier to find a skilled player to join
7) We get looks at players moving into the area - they recognize the name and will come have a look.
8) Equipment discounts.. eh... I can get these prices and better here but for some it is an advantage however the next one was kind of unexpected...
9) Spiritwear availability - this sounds stupid and is such a minor thing - but our spectator group can always access a wide range of spiritwear at a reasonable price. No organizing, no bulk orders
10 ) Guest play - we have had girls who wanted to get recruited in areas we didn't play as a team - we arranged for them to play with other teams within the org in the areas they needed. 3 or 4 times we were able to get a local catcher to come out and catch for one of our pitchers as a camp.

There are other things we got as well. There have been some coaching opportunities and clinics that have been good. And some other things. Our coachng group works hard to make sure we get value for our fees.

In the end it is branding, marketing and opportunities - which as a team you have to work to maximise and then your players and team have to take advantage of by doing the work and performing on the field. It isn't a fix for you not being able to play or not putting in the work - you will get exposed quickly.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
What I see around here in Oklahoma is two scenarios. You have teams which started as either private teams or regional org teams which become very good and then either get "recruited" by the big org or ask to join where the big org name will help them get into the bigger tournaments. These teams typically join the national org teams at 12U and older. Then you have other teams which start very early (8U maybe 10U) under the national org name which typically are not any better than any of the regional org or private teams. Around here Impact Gold is the best example of this scenario at the moment.
 
Last edited:
Oct 5, 2012
52
8
Florida
this is a good topic, and have been following awhile.

I've done some research on the national vs state brands (Florida). There was a lot of coaches that came into or bought into the national brand a few years ago. My daughter has been playing since 8u, she started out as a state brand team, then middle school a national brand and now starting high school ball, back to state brand.

There are a couple of state brand orgs in our state that run there own college showcases with tons of college coaches that show up. I recently saw 30 coaches at 1 game to watch 2 state brand teams play each other at the D9. If you look at some other northern states, like Ohio. they have some great state brand teams that run their own showcases as well.

A lot of the state orgs are nationally ranked and go out to California/Colorado and dominate some of those national brands. These state orgs get the same invites to the majors. I think the state orgs offer a better opportunity compared to the national brand teams. Recently I have been noticing a shift of the national brand teams in our state switch back to the state brands.
 

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