My DD is currently the #1 pitcher on her first year 14U B team. We play locally and some regionally. As this team transitioned from a 12U A team this past spring, we lost several strong players to a more prominent, "higher level" travel organization in the area. Some of the departures were expected, others less so. Things mostly worked out, but the manager had to scramble to hold last minute tryouts and pick up a couple girls. We have 11 girls for the fall season, but things were looking dicey for a second.
Anyway, my DD and I plan to keep our commitment with our team through the spring 2020 season. That said, it might be our last season with this travel org (4th year with the same manager and assistant coaches). We have had a great experience overall, so there are no sour grapes or anything like that. My daughter, however, may be outgrowing the team and what it can offer and I am skeptical that we will be able to hold things together to form a second year 14U club in fall 2020. I am also slightly concerned with whether the team will hold together through the winter. We are one or two departures away from not having a competitive team. Again, I don't have any clear signals that this will happen--but it is at least a possibility.
As a contingency plan, I am thinking about whether I should have my DD guest play as a pitcher with some other teams in the area. As I mentioned, we have been with the same org for several years, and only know some of these other teams from a distance at local tournaments. If we got to the point of leaving sooner or later, I think it would be useful to know more about some of these orgs and coaches (and parents) before we jump.
That's a long preamble, but my question is: What do I need to tell the manager of my current team (if anything), if we go the guest playing route? Obviously, I would not let the guest playing conflict with our team's tournament schedule. I guess another question is whether this sounds like a sound plan given the above? Thanks for any insight.
Anyway, my DD and I plan to keep our commitment with our team through the spring 2020 season. That said, it might be our last season with this travel org (4th year with the same manager and assistant coaches). We have had a great experience overall, so there are no sour grapes or anything like that. My daughter, however, may be outgrowing the team and what it can offer and I am skeptical that we will be able to hold things together to form a second year 14U club in fall 2020. I am also slightly concerned with whether the team will hold together through the winter. We are one or two departures away from not having a competitive team. Again, I don't have any clear signals that this will happen--but it is at least a possibility.
As a contingency plan, I am thinking about whether I should have my DD guest play as a pitcher with some other teams in the area. As I mentioned, we have been with the same org for several years, and only know some of these other teams from a distance at local tournaments. If we got to the point of leaving sooner or later, I think it would be useful to know more about some of these orgs and coaches (and parents) before we jump.
That's a long preamble, but my question is: What do I need to tell the manager of my current team (if anything), if we go the guest playing route? Obviously, I would not let the guest playing conflict with our team's tournament schedule. I guess another question is whether this sounds like a sound plan given the above? Thanks for any insight.