Number of teams?

[BrianMonk]

As far as 14’s – it will go something in this neighborhood
Bloomington/Normal area around 10 teams which is far more teams per capita than the QC area.
Champaign/Urbana will have around 3 teams which is not many but that area has very limited softball desire
Mattoon area will have 3 to 4 teams which is a ton of players/capita
Danville area will have perhaps 2 teams – not enough income in the area to support more
Springfield area will likely have 6-7 teams
Decatur will have 1 or 2 – not enough income in the area to support more

But I’ve never understood why the number of teams mattered to so many? You simply pick the tournaments that match your teams desired level of competition. Every good team has to travel unless you’re in So. Cal, Houston, Dallas, etc….

If you want good competition in the QC area, follow the Firebird teams around. They should have at least 3 solid to very good teams in that age bracket. Midwest Sluggers usually puts a solid team together. Sterling Steam will still be able to beat a lot of teams at 14u. Eastern Iowa Barracudas will be very good and they play in the QC area often. QC area also hosts an ASA National qualifier, sign up for that tournament. If needed, sign up for a few 16u U-trip tournaments in the QC area, there will be some good teams in that age bracket.

If there are a few more teams at the lower levels – great for them. They will have a marginal effects on the top teams. Typically those teams avoid A tournaments like the plague so they aren’t completely clueless as they seem.

 

[Atlantabell]

I second this. Unfortunately Atlantabell, many parents will hesitate bringing their daughter's to your team. You are looking at where the players should be when they get to college. The LHC's are feeding them BS that doesn't go beyond the upcoming season. Often, the voice of experience is not what they want to hear. Many of them want to hear how great their DD will be the next season and how great this coach will make their daughter. They don't want to hear the realities of what it takes to play in college, much less get scholarship money to play.



Did I mention I HATE TRYOUT SEASON!!!! Had to vent a little...

Me too! And, what usually will happen is that these same people will be looking for a team in November or at the end of next summer when they learn the truth. And, you are right, they don't want to know the truth. They don't want to know it will be hard. They want to hear that their kid is great and has everything she needs to be a top D1 player, whether or not it is true. They want you to tell them that the coach will do all the hard work and the kid and parent will just be able to reap the benefits.

 

[Atlantabell]

As far as 14’s – it will go something in this neighborhood
Bloomington/Normal area around 10 teams which is far more teams per capita than the QC area.
Champaign/Urbana will have around 3 teams which is not many but that area has very limited softball desire
Mattoon area will have 3 to 4 teams which is a ton of players/capita
Danville area will have perhaps 2 teams – not enough income in the area to support more
Springfield area will likely have 6-7 teams
Decatur will have 1 or 2 – not enough income in the area to support more

But I’ve never understood why the number of teams mattered to so many? You simply pick the tournaments that match your teams desired level of competition. Every good team has to travel unless you’re in So. Cal, Houston, Dallas, etc….

If you want good competition in the QC area, follow the Firebird teams around. They should have at least 3 solid to very good teams in that age bracket. Midwest Sluggers usually puts a solid team together. Sterling Steam will still be able to beat a lot of teams at 14u. Eastern Iowa Barracudas will be very good and they play in the QC area often. QC area also hosts an ASA National qualifier, sign up for that tournament. If needed, sign up for a few 16u U-trip tournaments in the QC area, there will be some good teams in that age bracket.

If there are a few more teams at the lower levels – great for them. They will have a marginal effects on the top teams. Typically those teams avoid A tournaments like the plague so they aren’t completely clueless as they seem.

The problem is not that there are too many lower level teams.The problem is that the lower level teams promise what they can't deliver and try to tell the kids that, for recruiting purposes, playing on a C or B team is the same as playing on an A team. Therefore, a kid who might play A to get better visibility will buy the idea that she can play C or B locally and get the same visibility as an A team.

The people who bother me more are those who call themselves A teams and then basically play a B schedule so they can pad their win loss record.

 

[02Crush]

I second this. Unfortunately Atlantabell, many parents will hesitate bringing their daughter's to your team. You are looking at where the players should be when they get to college. The LHC's are feeding them BS that doesn't go beyond the upcoming season. Often, the voice of experience is not what they want to hear. Many of them want to hear how great their DD will be the next season and how great this coach will make their daughter. They don't want to hear the realities of what it takes to play in college, much less get scholarship money to play.

Did I mention I HATE TRYOUT SEASON!!!! Had to vent a little...

Me too. I have had more parents commit to come tryout and then no show after finding another tryout to go to. Everyone thinks a coach or organization is gonna send their kid to college at age 9/10. No one realizes it will be the hard work or the player and family to make this happen; assuming it is to be at all. When did this stop being a youth sport where we teach, not merely manage and claim to be the "BEST A Level" team on the block.
I have recently found myself trying to say positive things about players I wish to recruit in order to sway them....I will not be doing it much more. It makes me sick. A good player today could turn out to be a bad apple tomorrow. You just do not know who will prove to be solid until you start pounding the practices and playing time.

 

[Atlantabell]

Me too. I have had more parents commit to come tryout and then no show after finding another tryout to go to. Everyone thinks a coach or organization is gonna send their kid to college at age 9/10. No one realizes it will be the hard work or the player and family to make this happen; assuming it is to be at all. When did this stop being a youth sport where we teach, not merely manage and claim to be the "BEST A Level" team on the block.
I have recently found myself trying to say positive things about players I wish to recruit in order to sway them....I will not be doing it much more. It makes me sick. A good player today could turn out to be a bad apple tomorrow. You just do not know who will prove to be solid until you start pounding the practices and playing time.

And when did it become less about developing good players and good people vs. going for the easy, fast way out?

 

[BrianMonk]

The problem is that the lower level teams promise what they can't deliver and try to tell the kids that, for recruiting purposes, playing on a C or B team is the same as playing on an A team.

Well then these parents never watched the Brady Bunch. A lesson they could have (or should have) learned in the 1970's

Wheeler-Dealer show is linked below with the good stuff starting around the 17:00 minute mark.

Watch The Brady Bunch - The Wheeler-Dealer Online - TV.com

 

[02Crush]

And when did it become less about developing good players and good people vs. going for the easy, fast way out?

I am only trying to recruit players because players left me. I took on a team last year to develop them into the game over time but then found out 4-5 of them wanted to tryout everywhere. Many were not taken by anyone. Finally they landed on a new team starting up with player a year younger then them. I was loyal until they were not. It seems paranoid parents and wishes to be on a better team led me to start losing players. The remaining kids (equal split OF/IF position players) are still with us and happy. We played well for year one. 600 winning percentage, ranking top 3 in 7 events, placing 2nd twice. I now feel we need to move up and challenge the players so we can teach them more and grow together. The problem is that no one wants to do the together part. They want to win now and it has to be about them when you do. It is fast getting away from being a team sport. I was even told by a pitchers mom....I do not care if the team loses the game, All I care about is that my daughter pitches.

 

[glf0845]

I am only trying to recruit players because players left me. I took on a team last year to develop them into the game over time but then found out 4-5 of them wanted to tryout everywhere. Many were not taken by anyone. Finally they landed on a new team starting up with player a year younger then them. I was loyal until they were not. It seems paranoid parents and wishes to be on a better team led me to start losing players. The remaining kids (equal split OF/IF position players) are still with us and happy. We played well for year one. 600 winning percentage, ranking top 3 in 7 events, placing 2nd twice. I now feel we need to move up and challenge the players so we can teach them more and grow together. The problem is that no one wants to do the together part. They want to win now and it has to be about them when you do. It is fast getting away from being a team sport. I was even told by a pitchers mom....I do not care if the team loses the game, All I care about is that my daughter pitches.

My daughter plays for an organization in NorCal, a very good one, but we go down to SoCal to play every weekend. Both fall and summer seasons and have competitive games losing some and winning some. You have to if you want to get better. We could stay up in NoCal and win every game but why? I see the teams who stay up north and they think they are facing quality opponents and winning. It's funny. Then the parents wonder why their DD's aren't getting the colleges watching their team. It sounds like you are doing a great thing. Just keep at it because it will take a few seasons. Good luck!

 

[Atlantabell]

My daughter plays for an organization in NorCal, a very good one, but we go down to SoCal to play every weekend. Both fall and summer seasons and have competitive games losing some and winning some. You have to if you want to get better. We could stay up in NoCal and win every game but why? I see the teams who stay up north and they think they are facing quality opponents and winning. It's funny. Then the parents wonder why their DD's aren't getting the colleges watching their team. It sounds like you are doing a great thing. Just keep at it because it will take a few seasons. Good luck!

As a friend of mine ( and a knowledgeable softball parent who has kids playing in college) told me, " Stay focused on your ultimate goal. Don't let these people take you off course. " It's hard but we need people with long term goals in this sport.

 

[Michael N]

And when did it become less about developing good players and good people vs. going for the easy, fast way out?

In our area I have noticed 2 distinct kinds of teams , those who are great at "Recruiting" a team and those who are great at "Building" players . At 12U its pretty easy to recruit a team full of more mature players who are physically more advanced and go out and destroy everything in your path without having to really teach the girls much . On the other hand there are several organizations that take girls with some athletic ability and a desire to play and teach them over the course of several seasons how to be great players . The disparity in physical size and dexterity of girls from 11-15 tends to go away by the time they are 16 and thats when the organizations who have been building players for 3-4 years tend to really shine , at least in our area .