So...are you still happy with your TB Team?

[maddball44]

We are extremely happy with our team.
My dd is playing the spring schedule with a different team because most of her's is playing h.s. ball. Worked out perfect (rarely does). The only 14 yr old on their team is the ss and she's playing with her hs so my dd is taking her place till she comes back in May sometime. Then mine will return to hers for summer ball. So glad she's not sitting on her can while the rest of her age group practices or plays 5 days a week.

 

[Jquick823]

Happy with: The coaches, girls, practices, price, uniforms, schedule, facilities, team colors etc...

Unhappy with: Parents-We are 1 week from the first tournament and all of the sudden parent's are concerned with the schedule and the What-Ifs. UGGGH!

So yes I am happy.

 

[Crystal Brown]

Players plural, could mean different players each game not more than 1 player per game. You are attributing all bench time to 1 player and the post does not say that. Like I said earlier, not enough info in original post.
It is great that you don't have to use pickup players occasionally. That may also be the reason why your views are what they are. If you had to use them a bit more often (let's say you only rostered 10 girls for a season) you would probably use them more often and would change your perspective after the pick up player pool dried up for u. If the girl is a good ballplayer and you play her a limited amount of time, don't count on seeing her back next time you need 1. I run a short roster, 10 girls, I do this to ensure maximum playing time throughout the season for all my girls and occasionally I will need to use a pickup player. Larger rosters won't see the need for pickup players as often. I guarantee more playing time per season with just 10 and an occasional pick up vs a team that rosters 12 and sits 3 every game. It's just math. Just a different perspective but I think our difference is largely based on how we interpreted the post. 1 specific player sitting the whole tournament so pickup could play vs several girls sitting (rotational) throughout the course of the tournament.

The team has 12 players on the roster. With it being a new team and the few tournaments played, 1-2 players have not made it. The three players sitting on the bench are the same players sitting for every single game in every tournament. Last tournament, my daughter pitched two innings in a pool game and played second base for two innings in a bracket game. Next day, she didn't play at all. The team had a guest pitcher for Saturday. On Sunday, they had two guest pitchers. Another kid didn't play at all in an entire tournament.
As far as the team, that is the only thing I don't like about it. My daughter said, "it hurt her feelings that her coach would prefer to use a pitcher that he never seen before over her."

 

[Little Angels Softball]

The team has 12 players on the roster. With it being a new team and the few tournaments played, 1-2 players have not made it. The three players sitting on the bench are the same players sitting for every single game in every tournament. Last tournament, my daughter pitched two innings in a pool game and played second base for two innings in a bracket game. Next day, she didn't play at all. The team had a guest pitcher for Saturday. On Sunday, they had two guest pitchers. Another kid didn't play at all in an entire tournament.
As far as the team, that is the only thing I don't like about it. My daughter said, "it hurt her feelings that her coach would prefer to use a pitcher that he never seen before over her."

It should hurt her feelings. She shouldn't have to worry about that when she comes to the ballpark. Playing with 10 or 11 girls is absolutely fine ... you don't need to add pick-ups for a local weekend tourney if you have 10 or more.

I know I'm not her coach, but please accept my apology on behalf of other coaches who wouldn't do that to her.

 

[Strike2]

The team has 12 players on the roster. With it being a new team and the few tournaments played, 1-2 players have not made it. The three players sitting on the bench are the same players sitting for every single game in every tournament. Last tournament, my daughter pitched two innings in a pool game and played second base for two innings in a bracket game. Next day, she didn't play at all. The team had a guest pitcher for Saturday. On Sunday, they had two guest pitchers. Another kid didn't play at all in an entire tournament. As far as the team, that is the only thing I don't like about it. My daughter said, "it hurt her feelings that her coach would prefer to use a pitcher that he never seen before over her."

Unless there's been an injury to one of the primary pitchers or the catcher, it is BS for a coach to bring in "guest" players on a team that can field 10 or more regular players. There is only one circumstance where I'd put up with my kid sitting an entire tournament: she's a brand new player on a very well coached team playing at a higher level than she's used to, she's not quite ready yet, and the everybody understands the situation ahead of time. Under most circumstances, if your kid isn't playing at least half the total innings in a tournament, either the manager/coach is an idiot, or the kid isn't good enough to play at that particular level. Either way, I'm looking for a new team.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

The team has 12 players on the roster. With it being a new team and the few tournaments played, 1-2 players have not made it. The three players sitting on the bench are the same players sitting for every single game in every tournament. Last tournament, my daughter pitched two innings in a pool game and played second base for two innings in a bracket game. Next day, she didn't play at all. The team had a guest pitcher for Saturday. On Sunday, they had two guest pitchers. Another kid didn't play at all in an entire tournament.
As far as the team, that is the only thing I don't like about it. My daughter said, "it hurt her feelings that her coach would prefer to use a pitcher that he never seen before over her."

I can't judge without more information, but I have seen this scenario played out many times.

What happens is the coach loses a few girls the following year (usually the ones that didn't get to play even though they were on his team) and the pick-up girls remain with their old teams (why wouldn't they?), leaving him to go out and find what's left. He then tries to get pick-up players to supplement his "lack of talent" but finds they are harder to come by, as a few of the ones he used to use thought it was kind of BS that they were taking PT away from girls on another team (there are good people out there).

Then the year after that, his team either folds or he has to merge with another that is also in trouble in order to have a full team.

 

[chrispots]

Happy with: The coaches, girls, practices, price, uniforms, schedule, facilities, team colors etc...

Unhappy with: Parents-We are 1 week from the first tournament and all of the sudden parent's are concerned with the schedule and the What-Ifs. UGGGH!

So yes I am happy.

JQ,

I didn't even get into the whole parent situation...

Lots of rose colored glassed parents...and then we have the parents calling out everyone else's errors (but turning a blind eye to their DD's errors)...Like a 15 year old girl doesn't know she made an error dropping a simple pop fly only to have someone else's dad berate them from the sidelines...

...as for picking up quest players for tournaments...he needs to do this but no one will play for him...

He's down a pitcher and catcher for the last tourney of the year...I'm ready to offer him my 11U DD and my #1 catcher from my team but so I really want to subject them to this whole level of incompetence?

CP

 

[BT3100]

I love our TB team. We tried out for 6 teams and were lucky to have a pure 12 team invite our 11 y/o to play with them.
It's nice to see her play with some more mature girls. One thing I don't like is that we live a bit far from the others on the team. This makes it hard to take part in some of the family bonding that goes on. That plus many of the families have known each other for a while. Aside from that we love our team.

 

[nicelag]

Bottom line is this, most kids are not going to be looked at recruiting wise until about 14U. With that being said if you are in the 10U-12U range you should be shopping coaches not organizations. That way when you get to the 14-16U level and want to be recruited you are ready to make the jump to the big organization. Now, if you find a great coach in a good organization that's a bonus. When the recruiting age rolls around you do need to be with an organization with a good name behind it. If that's what you are looking for that is. If you could care less about recruiting stay with the great coach as long as she is having fun.

 

[KCM]

I am not going to defend your TB coach but as a 16U TB coach and JV coach it can become a time issue. I have offered 4 practices since last December with the most at one practice was 6 out of 12. I offer our catcher to come to my DD pitching lessons. I offer free paid batting clinics for them once a month at local facility. I also have a wife and another daughter that deserves time from me. So I do slack in the 16U department from December to beginning of May mainly because most of my team is representing their schools playing/practicing 5 to 6 days a week already. I am not going to burn them out by calling a 16U practice on their day off. I do encourage all of my 16U team to seek private batting lesson, pitching lessons, catching lessons, work out, run or something physical on their own for at least an hour a week.

Other than that I am happy with our TB team and look forward to some long practices through out May to hit the tournament/show cases in June. We have a great AC staff that knows the game. We have some good parents that always step up to help and the players have to be some of the least drama free kids I have been around in a long time.