This thread is great, especially this time of year. The "Crazy Season" otherwise known as tryout time.
I'll give you my experience, as I feel like I've learned so much in the two years my daughter has played TB. (it feels like it's been 10 years). The first year and half is a guide on what not to do.
July of 2018, my DD was wanting to better herself in the game and rec just wasn't cutting it any longer. So I planned out for her to tryout for 3 local-ish teams at the 10U level. The first tryout she attended they offered her a spot immediately. The coach told me we had 24 hours to secure her spot. As parents, we kind of freaked out, and accepted. We should have still went to the other tryouts, but didn't. Once practice started, we realized there were only 8 girls that actually made the team. As that season moved on, he added a couple of other girls. We weren't very good from the start, and the coach kept spouting development over and over again. They never got any better but he coached an older group that was pretty decent, so that clouded our vision a bit. By the 2nd half of the season, he was asking me to help coach in practices and then towards the end at games as well. He had personal issues with a few parents, but we were on the 'inside' and seemed shielded from it. So when it came to tryout the next season (July 2019), we as a family were all in. Basically an entirely new team at the 12U level, but I was helping more and more. Then the day came where I had a serious disagreement with his "coaching style". Well, we were no longer on the inside and being excluded more and more. It came to a head in November and we left. I actually made a thread here that I had questions on, but I don't know how to look it up.
Anyhow, we found another team a bit further away from where we live, mainly because I wanted to stay away from the politics in our home town. There are about 5 organizations within 15-20 minutes of my front door. So we picked up with this team in December. and this is the atmosphere we had been looking for all along. The girls welcomed my daughter with open arms and while she doesn't play as much as she did on previous teams, she knows she has to work harder for playing time. In addition, even though she needs to tryout for them for next season, there is a real good chance that she'll be playing 14U next season as an underager. She has improved so much under the coaching staff (especially the female coach who played in college). Such a better fit overall!
My point in this super long message.......don't hesitate to look for the right fit. It took us a little longer to find that fit than most, but we are super happy with the group of girls and coaches. Be honest with the coaches, and also be honest with your DD ability level. i.e., don't tryout for an A team if your daughter is C caliber and expect a lot of playing time in the beginning. She may make the team, but she'll be in full on development mode.
Good luck!!
I'll give you my experience, as I feel like I've learned so much in the two years my daughter has played TB. (it feels like it's been 10 years). The first year and half is a guide on what not to do.
July of 2018, my DD was wanting to better herself in the game and rec just wasn't cutting it any longer. So I planned out for her to tryout for 3 local-ish teams at the 10U level. The first tryout she attended they offered her a spot immediately. The coach told me we had 24 hours to secure her spot. As parents, we kind of freaked out, and accepted. We should have still went to the other tryouts, but didn't. Once practice started, we realized there were only 8 girls that actually made the team. As that season moved on, he added a couple of other girls. We weren't very good from the start, and the coach kept spouting development over and over again. They never got any better but he coached an older group that was pretty decent, so that clouded our vision a bit. By the 2nd half of the season, he was asking me to help coach in practices and then towards the end at games as well. He had personal issues with a few parents, but we were on the 'inside' and seemed shielded from it. So when it came to tryout the next season (July 2019), we as a family were all in. Basically an entirely new team at the 12U level, but I was helping more and more. Then the day came where I had a serious disagreement with his "coaching style". Well, we were no longer on the inside and being excluded more and more. It came to a head in November and we left. I actually made a thread here that I had questions on, but I don't know how to look it up.
Anyhow, we found another team a bit further away from where we live, mainly because I wanted to stay away from the politics in our home town. There are about 5 organizations within 15-20 minutes of my front door. So we picked up with this team in December. and this is the atmosphere we had been looking for all along. The girls welcomed my daughter with open arms and while she doesn't play as much as she did on previous teams, she knows she has to work harder for playing time. In addition, even though she needs to tryout for them for next season, there is a real good chance that she'll be playing 14U next season as an underager. She has improved so much under the coaching staff (especially the female coach who played in college). Such a better fit overall!
My point in this super long message.......don't hesitate to look for the right fit. It took us a little longer to find that fit than most, but we are super happy with the group of girls and coaches. Be honest with the coaches, and also be honest with your DD ability level. i.e., don't tryout for an A team if your daughter is C caliber and expect a lot of playing time in the beginning. She may make the team, but she'll be in full on development mode.
Good luck!!
