Your TEAM SCHEDULE vs the competition levels.

[4Martini]

Was considering the same/ similar topic posting the question...

>> What win-loss record is an example of a good game schedule?

Being that a goal might be to have a winning season, but winning everything doesn't necessarily mean it's the best schedule.
So posted the topic as I did.

Obviously creating a playing schedule win/loss record could be buffered/ affected by the % of playing against weaker/ stronger competition.
So I went with asking % to see what people are doing and see where the conversation would go from there.

For my daughter who is developing, I ideally want her on a team with a 33%-75% win record. Losing more than 2 of 3 is just depressing. Winning more than 75% makes me think they are not being challenged enough. If close to 75% I would want a bunch of the games to be very close. Close to 50% would make me think they were having to fight and learn most times they played. That’s for club- for high school a winning team is way more fun- I’d be okay with undefeated State Champions

 

[uncdrew]

How would you rate the competition you are facing? 50/50?
Overpowering to equivalent competition?

Not sure I understand? We've had more blowouts that I prefer. Actually, I don't like any blowouts.

In our wins, perhaps 30% of them are good, close games.

 

[daywalkerdad]

A winning % of 40-60% is ideal.
I would do it this way + means runs in your favor
5+ run differential 0%
2-5+ run differential 30%
1-2+/- run differential 40
2-5- run differential 25%
5- run differential 5%.

In reality this can be tough. You never know how pool will be structured. Not to mention you schedule early.

 

[Vertigo]

So during the Florida spring break trip DD’s college team always seems to play up and they usually do pretty well. Played a few top 50 teams down there last year. However, in conference is where they struggle. I blame the cold weather.

 

[lostcreek1]

We play the best competition we can find in our area in our age group, this fall we won about 90% of those games . We do play up quite a bit 9u team playing 10u open tournaments won about 40% of those games , and was competitive in probably 75% of the ones we lost. Which is about what we expected

 

[RADcatcher]

We play the best competition we can find in our area in our age group, this fall we won about 90% of those games . We do play up quite a bit 9u team playing 10u open tournaments won about 40% of those games , and was competitive in probably 75% of the ones we lost. Which is about what we expected

go go go 9u achievers!

How much practice does the team put in?

 

[lostcreek1]

go go go 9u achievers!

How much practice does the team put in?

Even the girls on TV had to start somewhere. They usually practice three days a week, and pretty much everyone does one private lesson a week.

 

[uncdrew]

We play the best competition we can find in our area in our age group, this fall we won about 90% of those games . We do play up quite a bit 9u team playing 10u open tournaments won about 40% of those games , and was competitive in probably 75% of the ones we lost. Which is about what we expected

At that age it's tough. There can be a world of difference in skill and strength between the ages of 9 and 10. And if they started playing ball at age 7, the 10 year old has been playing 33% longer than the 9 year old (or similar math).

So you can dominate 8U or 9U but go up one year and get stomped.

It certainly smooths out at 14 and 16U. A lot of parents say "let's play up in 16U to play tougher teams", but there are plenty of bad 16U teams. Playing up, as we all here know, does not automatically mean playing better teams.

 

[FP26]

Was considering the same/ similar topic posting the question...

>> What win-loss record is an example of a good game schedule?

Being that a goal might be to have a winning season, but winning everything doesn't necessarily mean it's the best schedule.
So posted the topic as I did.

Obviously creating a playing schedule win/loss record could be buffered/ affected by the % of playing against weaker/ stronger competition.
So I went with asking % to see what people are doing and see where the conversation would go from there.

Our goal was a 60-65% win percentage. As a 12u team we took our lumps, winning approximately 30% of our games. Some of the losses were ugly. Most of the wins were close. As our team aged, we became more competitive and attempted to adjust our schedule accordingly. This was always a delicate balance as improving the competition often required more travel, while many of the families appreciated local tournaments to keep costs down and so that grandparents could easily come to some of the games. We maintained some local tournaments to satisfy that group, but typically won closer to 80% of those games. For the further away tournaments we either focused on tournaments that we knew would attract some stronger teams or open tournaments that gave us the potential of facing some stronger teams.

NOTE: We were classified a B team. We actually considered moving to A but some of our parents were worried about that. Rather than rocking the boat we decided to remain B but increase the number of A teams we played against.

 

[uncdrew]

Even the girls on TV had to start somewhere. They usually practice three days a week, and pretty much everyone does one private lesson a week.

... and that will go down.

My experience (curious about others) is that we practice less now in 14U than we used to. I generally think it's fine. Girls are working on their own, bodies tend to get hurt more easily, school is harder, team is no longer "local".