Made this mistake with my older DS in another sport once. Don't want to make the same mistake again. He was athletically ready for much more challenge but social/mature not there.
New to travel, not sure it's any better than Rec league. Is the grass always greener?
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Made this mistake with my older DS in another sport once. Don't want to make the same mistake again. He was athletically ready for much more challenge but social/mature not there.
We started travel as a 2nd year 10UB. It was basically a rec all star team and the year was a complete disaster. We were sold a bill of goods and we looked silly the whole season. Moved on to a different org the next season with great facilities, but they were just starting up their softball program. Brand new team, great coach, great girls, but it was a mixed 12UB, so half the team ended up moving up after the season. Coach didn't want my DD moving up with her friends (she looked great at tryouts), so held her down to 12U again. She got mad, tried out for a well known A organization in our area, and is incredibly happy with her new team. We had no intention of changing teams, but my DD felt so slighted, she didn't want to play for the one coach anymore. I'm hoping we finally found the right fit, it sure seems like it.
I've seen this more times than I can count. A rec all-star team has a great run, the girls all love each other, the coaches are excited by (what they think is) a really good team, and the idea of keeping the team together forever sounds like a great idea, so they decide to become a travel ball team. The teams that decide to become part of an established TB org tend to do do better and have a higher chance of survival. The ones that think they can do it on their own as a single independent team tend to struggle badly, and more often than not do not survive very long. Occasionally, these teams are actually pretty good, and are able to complete reasonably well at the TB level. Much more frequently, they aren't as good as they think, and are shell-shocked by how much higher the level of competition is. Getting badly beaten on a regular basis beats down team morale and squashes out the rosy glow from their all-star success. Parents get grumpy and want their kid to be on a team that can compete, so they pull the plug. Often, it's more than one family heading out the door. Now, a few players short, they struggle to recruit new players to a team that doesn't offer very much upside, with coaches are still trying to figure out how the world of TB works.
I would rather my daughter play for a good person/good coach and enjoy the girls more than play for a team where she was afraid of the coach and didn't like the girls, even if that was making her a better player. Especially at the younger ages.
We had someone quit our team in the fall. We're fine that they did -- loved the girl but not so much the parents. They thought she deserved to play all the prime spots but her time with us in practices clearly showed she wasn't. I still think if you commit for the year you should play the full year unless the problem is really big and insurmountable.
We had someone quit our team in the fall. We're fine that they did -- loved the girl but not so much the parents. They thought she deserved to play all the prime spots but her time with us in practices clearly showed she wasn't. I still think if you commit for the year you should play the full year unless the problem is really big and insurmountable.
We took a fun, great, happy travel team and converted them to Travel. Fortunately our head coach knew the ropes and joined an established organization with support and name recognition, and also had open tryouts. While many people from travel tried out, only about 50% made the team. I think/hope we got it right. We're having fun and are competitive (one first, one second, one third and one last) in our C-level tournaments.
It sounds like your team has a decent shot to survive.
In the tournament we were in last weekend (a smaller TCS event), there was a team in our pool that was a fresh-from-all-stars team, trying to do it on their own. They struggled badly, losing all 4 games by a lot, with 3 of them ending by run-rule. They were clearly the weakest team in the tournament, and had a lot of players who didn't have the skills to compete at this level. In complete contrast, there was another team who was fresh-from-all-stars a year ago, have experienced coaches, and joined a larger org. Their players are good, they performed well for the last year, and have continued to be able to recruit good players. They won the tournament, solidly beating a team that was destroying everyone (including us) on their path to the championship.
IMO, the big factor is being realistic about the skill level required to be competent at the TB level (in So Cal everything TB is "A"), and whether the team can really compete.
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^^^ Love this ^^^ but at the same time it's sad there is the "afraid of coach". We have 3 new players on our 1st year 14's that came from the "afraid of coach" teams who had screamers and yellers because "girls have to get used to it" attitudes. I couldn't be happier to have them on our team!! They came in a little tentative this fall but as they realized our culture was different and we were encouraging them to fail fantastically they started to thrive. All off the sudden tentative/fearful players who had good skills became play makers and very reliable/solid players. Not a fan of their previous coaches, and a bummer that they were starting to dislike softball, but sure am glad these 3 joined our team and back to having fun and loving the game.
Thanks. I do worry some about survival. We are almost all 9 year olds, playing in 10U. We are excited about how good we could be next year, after more time together. I sure hope there is a next year with this group.
We're bringing in some professional help. I'm just a dad that played ball in high school and loves the sport (and being with kids). So I try to keep it light and crack a few jokes and not teach them things that are wrong. We do have a pitching coach the 4 pitchers share and about half the team takes hitting lessons.
And I was the jerk that reminded all the adults that even though we won the tournament, it was just C-level. I can't even imagine how good the A stuff is.
Thanks. I do worry some about survival. We are almost all 9 year olds, playing in 10U. We are excited about how good we could be next year, after more time together. I sure hope there is a next year with this group.
We're bringing in some professional help. I'm just a dad that played ball in high school and loves the sport (and being with kids). So I try to keep it light and crack a few jokes and not teach them things that are wrong. We do have a pitching coach the 4 pitchers share and about half the team takes hitting lessons.
And I was the jerk that reminded all the adults that even though we won the tournament, it was just C-level. I can't even imagine how good the A stuff is.
I was an AC on every one of my DD's teams from 8U through 12U. I grew up playing ice hockey, and raced bicycles as a young adult. I had to learn about softball, and have done so with a ravenous appetite to educate myself to be able to be of help to my DD and her teammates. At 14U, she moved to a new team, and I am no longer a team coach (scorebook and video duties - LOL). Keep educating yourself and learning from people who have been down the road before you, and you'll do fine. This site is awesome for that purpose.
Sometimes teams need that "jerk" who keeps reality in sight.
- Jun 8, 2016
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It is still 10U. Even the best 10U teams will do some things which make you scratch your head and/or stomp your feet
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