TB as a farm system for HS Ball?

[BRsoftballDad]

Just wondering if you all had experienced anything like this. A few local high schools have created TB teams and have put the word out in the community that if their DD wants to play for their local high school team that they HAVE TO play for the created TB team. They are using TB as a farm system for the local high schools. Have you all every heard of something like this?

I mean, I get it....you want to coach these girls before HS and see what they are capable of. However, many of these teams are not very good, typically low B and C class teams. My DD's 12u team has a few girls that could be affected by this but the general feeling seems to be that they would rather be on a more competitive team and face better competition than be on a lower team. Also, if they don't make the HS team then they are fine simply playing travel.

I would think as a HS coach that you would want to put the best 9 players on the field regardless of what TB team they play for. If that means that the better players played for a different TB team then so be it. I think it's a bit crazy that HS coaches would threaten to not take an A class player on their team because they did not play for their farm system team. Just my thoughts. What do you think? Luckily my DD is not affected.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

It's not the "A" level players that would have an issue. It's the marginal player that may get a preference since they played with the preferred TB team.

You most likely will see a bump in playing time for players that play with preferred TB team as coaches tend to have a preference for what they know.

Overall I don't think it's a big deal. I would play my daughter for whatever travel team she wanted and wouldn't worry about high school.

You hope that High School is a meritocracy but it just isn't most of the time (for a lot of different reasons).

 

[Northball]

Smells like there could be a few dollars involved? Kind of like a HS basketball coach who only plays kids that pay to attend summer camps put on by said coach.

 

[Chris8]

this is about real estate. It is all about LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.

Some states /locations don't allow HS coaches to coach a travel ball team and/or have very very tight out of season contact restrictions. Our HS coach wants as many girls playing TB...it only helps the program. She comes to watch the girls at local tournaments.

Some locations have an abundance of athletes and players. Some locations are recruiting the hallways to get enough players to field a team.

and some locations have coaches that are just ignorant or foolish.

In our area they tried the same concept for baseball. The boys played legion ball but those teams could take College freshman that were still 18. The area coaches wanted their HS players getting more time so they formed a league/organization. It lasted about 6-7 years. The better players were leaving for either a legion team or a high level travel club regardless.

 

[Coach Foster]

As a 20+ year HS coach, that type of thing pisses me off. My kids play for multiple teams in the Summer and Fall. They play for teams where it is the best fit for them, not what is best for my ego. I get around to see them as much as I can, and have great relationships with most of their coaches...at least the ones that are close enough to know.

What that coach will end up with is a barely surviving HS program. I've seen it too many times. I've seen a HS of 900-1000 students with a rich softball history (state championships included) have a complete 9-12 roster of 11 players. Guess how many of those played for that coaches travel team...

 

[The Man In Blue]

Some states /locations don't allow HS coaches to coach a travel ball team and/or have very very tight out of season contact restrictions. Our HS coach wants as many girls playing TB...it only helps the program. She comes to watch the girls at local tournaments.

Some locations have an abundance of athletes and players. Some locations are recruiting the hallways to get enough players to field a team.

and some locations have coaches that are just ignorant or foolish.

And then there is my area which checks ALL those boxes.

 

[sluggers]

Just wondering if you all had experienced anything like this. A few local high schools have created TB teams and have put the word out in the community that if their DD wants to play for their local high school team that they HAVE TO play for the created TB team. They are using TB as a farm system for the local high schools. Have you all every heard of something like this?

This is very common in baseball, and has been around for decades. Illinois even has a summer HS baseball championship.

The summer HS softball teams were around until about 2000. Back in the day, there weren't many travel ball teams around back then, so the HS coach would form a team and play some tournaments.

As travel ball teams proliferated, most HS coaches dropped their programs.

 

[Sparky Guy]

The situation you're describing seems to happen in the small town rural areas where playing options can be limited. Play your DD on the team that's the best possible fit for her skills and drive. There is nothing you can do with an ego-driven HS coach who wants to control the kids before they get them in HS. If the coach has ANY desire to win they will play the best players. Unfortunately, that's not always true in HS.

In my area if Illinois they started running a spring team "league" for the HS players who are not playing HS ball for whatever reasons. They've had enough girls to make up 6-8 teams the last few years to play among themselves and do some tournaments in states who play HS ball in the fall.

 

[FP26]

There are several of these teams in my area. But I only know of one that has a coach that insists his high school players play for his travel team. Most do it to offer their players more experience without the need to travel as far as the typical travel team. DD often played as a pickup player for one of these teams.

 

[Lance Steckler]

and they wonder why states had to make rules about no-contact periods, Maximum players from same high school on same travel team rules (4 in Ohio), etc.