Starting my first daddyball team!

[Momo'sDad]

During the midst of a very successful spring season, I started thinking about wanting to coach a team for this fall and have decided to go for it.

I've got 8 players confirmed, then another several pending, all of whom are aware that the remaining 4 slots are first-come, first-served.

I've done a really good job of splitting playing time at all the positions this spring, but I have let all the prospects know that our #1 pitcher and #1 catcher will most likely get 50% of the innings at those positions. The #2 pitcher will get about 25% and anyone else who wants to try it can compete for what's left.

Registration fee for the rec association is $700/team and includes insurance, so $60/player. I'm going to have the girls get their own pants ($10, but some have black already), but wanted to find out what some of the best sources are for real jerseys. We just use regular t-shirt type tanks for spring rec league play, but I'd like to get something nicer for the fall team. Also, I was thinking about ordering equipment bags for the team if we can get a good price on those.

Visors will be $8, socks will be $4, then we've got jerseys ? and maybe bags ?

If I set the team fee at $110, that'll cover the uniforms and some percentage of the bags if we go for that.

What other critical items do I need to factor in? I think all the field time costs are included in the association fee, but I'm confirming that with our local rec league now.

 

[sluggers]

What other critical items do I need to factor in?

Xanax for the little lady?

 

[BB875]

I believe someone else gave a great run down on start up costs. Consider tourney fees, gym fees for the winter(if that fits), equipment costs, ACE certification, etc. $110 for the year? That seems pretty cheap.

 

[Sparky Guy]

If I set the team fee at $110, that'll cover the uniforms and some percentage of the bags if we go for that.

MMD,

I uploaded a spreadsheet that outlines a lot of the common expenses with regards to running a team. It allows you to plug in numbers to try and workout a budget for the team. Find it and download it. It's FREE!!

Before you do anything you need to define this team. Is it a travel team? Is it part-time travel? Are you a rec all-star team? What exactly are you planning to do with the team? How many games do you think they should play during the fall spring and summer? Will you be working indoors all winter long? At what level are your pitchers realistically at? Are you going to have tryouts? You mentioned first come, first served. What are you going to do if better kids show up than the core 8 you have commitments from right now?

Before you do anything define your team, put a plan together with direction you're taking the team and stick to it. If you plan on winging it as it comes you'll be in BIG trouble. You're a ship with no course set. Nothing but frustration will come of it for you and the families you have involved with the team.

Your estimate seems way low. From the little info you've given here I would say you would be in the $300-350 range to do things mostly correctly for the girls. If you do it half-a$$ed that's the result you'll get.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Xanax for the little lady?

LOL!

She's actually decided to step down and not be Team Mom for the fall season, primarily because all the games are on Sundays and she works at her church. Another coach (who had our daughter for 2 seasons) has asked to coach with me, and I've agreed, but haven't told her about all my terms and conditions yet. I hope HER DD is on board, because she did not seem that excited when her mother and I were talking about it. They'd just had a bad game, though, so maybe that was the reason.

The doubleheader format in fall allows us to give girls opportunities at different positions in the 1st game, but I will only play each girl at only her best position(s) in the 2nd game. It was not my goal to try to assemble an all-star team, just my DD and her catcher, plus a bunch of girls who just enjoy playing and want to get better, but we will be playing to win the 2nd game each Sunday.

 

[Momo'sDad]

I believe someone else gave a great run down on start up costs. Consider tourney fees, gym fees for the winter(if that fits), equipment costs, ACE certification, etc. $110 for the year? That seems pretty cheap.

Thanks. This will just be fall, and all the game fees, fields, umpires, etc. are covered in the registration. I'm assuming that the tourney at the end of the season is also included. I know the preseason seeding tourney is. I have to pay $25 for on-site ACE cert, you're right. They haven't opened up the summer class schedule yet, but I will do that as it has to be complete when we turn in our rosters mid-August.

 

[joemcq51]

During the midst of a very successful spring season, I started thinking about wanting to coach a team for this fall and have decided to go for it.

I've got 8 players confirmed, then another several pending, all of whom are aware that the remaining 4 slots are first-come, first-served.

I've done a really good job of splitting playing time at all the positions this spring, but I have let all the prospects know that our #1 pitcher and #1 catcher will most likely get 50% of the innings at those positions. The #2 pitcher will get about 25% and anyone else who wants to try it can compete for what's left.

Registration fee for the rec association is $700/team and includes insurance, so $60/player. I'm going to have the girls get their own pants ($10, but some have black already), but wanted to find out what some of the best sources are for real jerseys. We just use regular t-shirt type tanks for spring rec league play, but I'd like to get something nicer for the fall team. Also, I was thinking about ordering equipment bags for the team if we can get a good price on those.

Visors will be $8, socks will be $4, then we've got jerseys ? and maybe bags ?

If I set the team fee at $110, that'll cover the uniforms and some percentage of the bags if we go for that.

What other critical items do I need to factor in? I think all the field time costs are included in the association fee, but I'm confirming that with our local rec league now.

First thing is that I would make sure the fall league you are entering has teams that are similar to your own. If you are getting smacked every weekend, you are not going to be happy. Secondly, I would look at the fee you are charging. Sometimes the fee assists in keeping girls on your team for the entire fall. If I only have $100 invested, my priorities may be different than if I have $250 invested. Charge a little more and spend it on the uniforms. It will serve a better purpose than trying to get by a cheap as possible. Also, don't lock yourself into playing girls all over the field. I would pick one primary and one secondary position for each girl. As a parent, I wouldn't want my DD on a team that lets the girls play wherever they are in the mood to play. The goal for the fall would be to get ready for the spring/summer season. Why play a kid at shortstop who will never see that position in the spring? Either way, good luck. You are in for a eye opening experience.

 

[Momo'sDad]

MMD,

I uploaded a spreadsheet that outlines a lot of the common expenses with regards to running a team. It allows you to plug in numbers to try and workout a budget for the team. Find it and download it. It's FREE!!

Before you do anything you need to define this team. Is it a travel team? Is it part-time travel? Are you a rec all-star team? What exactly are you planning to do with the team? How many games do you think they should play during the fall spring and summer? Will you be working indoors all winter long? At what level are your pitchers realistically at? Are you going to have tryouts? You mentioned first come, first served. What are you going to do if better kids show up than the core 8 you have commitments from right now?

Before you do anything define your team, put a plan together with direction you're taking the team and stick to it. If you plan on winging it as it comes you'll be in BIG trouble. You're a ship with no course set. Nothing but frustration will come of it for you and the families you have involved with the team.

Your estimate seems way low. From the little info you've given here I would say you would be in the $300-350 range to do things mostly correctly for the girls. If you do it half-a$$ed that's the result you'll get.

Thanks for those tips.

It's a fall rec league that's generally far more competitive than spring, because you get the serious players. But because there are fewer teams, it's all interleague. Our town will probably have 2 teams, and then we'll be placed in a huge pool with lots of other teams from around the region. Even though we'll have a couple of all-stars, this is just a regular rec team looking to keep the older girls skills sharp, while exposing the girls coming up from 8u to the 10u game.

Following a preseason seeding tournament which has a 2 or 3 game guarantee, we'll be placed in 1 of 3 divisions based on skill, and then we'll have a 12-game regular season, followed by a tournament. So, we're looking at maybe 18-20 games.

Our #1 pitcher (DD) started pitching a little over a year ago and in 8u fall ball did not give up any hits, but was wild at times. She's only 8, but decided to skip 8u to play 10u this season and only the all-star team really hit her at all. She had 1 bad outing all season. It would've just been unfair to have her pitching in 8u this spring. So, she's ready to start as a legit rec league #1, though is far from all-star level in the circle.

Our prospective #2 will be 10, but needs innings, and she has the ability to be a #1 10u next spring. The kid throws really hard. We have 2 other older players who need innings as well, and then 1 of the prospects coming up would like to pitch some, too. So, those 4 pitchers will be sharing approximately 50% of the innings and that was made clear from the start.

No tryouts. In addition to our pitcher - who is asking her catcher (who turns 11) to stay down with her - we've got a decent core of players, some of whom have played together before. The real tryout is for the other coach! She's had me in the stands before, but never seen me in action on the field in game situations. lol 4 of the girls will be graduating 8u, and then another is 1 of my 10u players who's brand-new to the game, so I want her to get a lot more practice and game time before she has to go to 12u in the spring. She's not a great player, but let me tell you, she's been a major success story for us this spring and I'm proud of her for making the decision to get more game experience in the fall.

If better players do become available after our team is formed, I would *consider* expanding the roster to 13, but I'd rather not do that and 13 would be my absolute limit.

I realize that most coaches who take fall teams typically treat them as win-or-die situations. But the only thing I'm changing from the spring is making sure DD gets the innings she needs in the circle, 1) because she needs the experience and 2) to keep the peace at home.

Some games - the 1st of each doubleheader - will be to give players exposure at a variety of positions. Obviously, if we're up against a hard-hitting team, I'll move certain players out of the infield, but I'm a big believer in giving kids the opportunity to play in positions where they may not always succeed. It was my philosophy all spring, and it's worked out brilliantly.

The 2nd game of each doubleheader will be winning time. Mojo will start, the batting lineup will be intended to optimize scoring, and the defensive positioning will be intended to give our team the best opportunities to win. The only guarantee made for those games will be that no player will sit 2 consecutive innings.

I'm a pretty direct communicator and I believe forewarned is fair warned. The parents know I'll be teaching their kids HOW to be competitive, but that every game will not be live or die for us. I cannot promise that we'll win any games at all, but I do know our pitcher and starting infield are good enough to keep games close.

Our season-long goals will be for everyone's game knowledge and skills to improve and for ALL of the players to come back to the rec league in spring. If I can get that done, I'll consider the experiment a success.

 

[Momo'sDad]

First thing is that I would make sure the fall league you are entering has teams that are similar to your own. If you are getting smacked every weekend, you are not going to be happy. Secondly, I would look at the fee you are charging. Sometimes the fee assists in keeping girls on your team for the entire fall. If I only have $100 invested, my priorities may be different than if I have $250 invested. Charge a little more and spend it on the uniforms. It will serve a better purpose than trying to get by a cheap as possible. Also, don't lock yourself into playing girls all over the field. I would pick one primary and one secondary position for each girl. As a parent, I wouldn't want my DD on a team that lets the girls play wherever they are in the mood to play. The goal for the fall would be to get ready for the spring/summer season. Why play a kid at shortstop who will never see that position in the spring? Either way, good luck. You are in for a eye opening experience.

There will be a good mixture of teams and we'll be in the starter division.

I know what you're saying about the degree of investment, but I didn't want to go too high, because we're looking at playing maybe only 20 games total. I do want us to have nice uniforms, but while they can always use bags again, they might only be able to get 1 season of use out of the jerseys.

I've found out this season that I really do have the ability to teach the game, even though I'm not that knowledgeable in teaching actual softball skills.

That's the beauty of the doubleheaders. Mom and dad can go off and have a drink or 2 during game 1 and then come back to watch us really play a winning brand of softball in game 2. This is still 10u we're talking about, so there's a lot of value in giving the girls a chance to succeed or fail outside their comfort zones.

I've got the best 8-year-old in our league (she's on the candidate list for 10u all-stars). Until someone moves in from another town, she's going to be the best in her year group, so whether by draft or by carryover, I know I'll always be able to field a solid 10u team in spring. She puts in the work, so she's going to continue to be a good player, but part of my job is to help improve the quality of play in the whole league. The more good players we've got, the more that's going to do for the league AND for my DD. So, it's in our best interests for me to give girls a variety of playing experiences, while also working on teaching a winning brand of softball. I don't agree that the 2 need to be mutually exclusive and our success this spring is certainly evidence of that.

My daughter's mom wants Mojo's team to win every game and she hasn't approved of my coaching style this spring, but let me tell me, of my 13 players, I'm willing to guarantee that at least 11 of them will be playing next spring. Of the 2 possible drops, 1 has had fun, but just doesn't have any sort of love for softball. GREAT athletic gifts, but doesn't any sort of fire in her tummy. The other plays because her dad wants her to. She doesn't seem to be getting any enjoyment whatsoever out of this, the same as she was a year ago. I've really tried hard, but it's just not her thing.

If every team can get 80% of it's players back, things can only get better for the league as a whole, even if it means we don't always win our games.

 

[fastpitch]

Hi Momo's dad - Your team sounds like its going to be a fun one. Good luck.

I'm sure your team isn't like this, but in our area, the term "daddyball" has a negative connotation. While most younger teams have dad or mom head coaches, "daddyball" refers to a team focused solely on the coaches daughter(s) as the star. There are a lot of other things going on but basically it is "daddyball" when those coaches kids usually get the "premier positions" solely because they are the coaches kid. Not because they are the best fit for that position. If people around here heard someone had a "daddyball" team they probably wouldn't want their kid on it.