How Many Teams/Organizations?

[jonriv]

There seems to be a lot of talk of players moving teams(good or bad?) I was kind of wondering what has been the experience of those here on Hey Bucket?

My DD graduated college in 2015, but I'm sure that her experience in the world of TB is not that much different than others out there. Even though we are from the Northeast!

From 10u thru 12u she played Rec and the the town all-star"travel" At the time we thought that was "travel ball" The inter-town league that they were in also had some local travel teams.. DD got her first taste of a true travel tournament that the team went to and had moderate success.

At 14u she joined a very successful local travel team. This was a team that started as an All-star team from Fairfield, CT Little League. It had since drawn talent from Westport, Norwalk, and Seymour CT. This was a very talented team that had some great success. Played in local PONY, ASA and TCS tournaments. It was a great learning experience for my daughter, she learned that she could not only play at this level, but she could also thrive. Team went to the PONY Nationals in Cary,NC. She did very well there as well. We got a call that August from the coach that they did not want her back?!?!? We were very surprised since she was in the top three in EVERY offensive category- We later found out that a top financial backer of the team(whose DD played) resented my daughter coming on the team and taking playing time. Threatened to leave($$$$$$$) if changes were not made. One of the ironies of this team was that despite its success on the field, it was not a great development team. Coaches focused more on success on the field than developing players. Thru the years they had a habit of bringing in talent and casting away their own. The real irony is that the only players that went on to play in college were those that left the organization.

So for the first time I needed to find teams and my DD attended several tryouts. It was amazing to me how bad most organizations are at running tryouts. We finally found her a team (based in White Plains, NY) that seemed to fit the model. Great winter workouts, guy who ran organization was awesome!! After the first scrimmages the head of the organization named ny DD cCaptain- she was thrilled! Then........trouble hit! The coach of the 14u team left with 5 players to form his own team. A new coach was named, but there was a huge gap in the roster. I worked with some of the other Fathers to fill the gaps, but it was with players that were making the move from Rec to Travel-not all were ready for the move. The Team was awful. For the first two tournaments the team did not win a game. The ball always found the weakest player on the field, several of the girls were intimidated by the "big stage" Pitching wa mediocre at best. but.......the girls were having a blast, they were working hard in practice, they were improving. For me, I watched my sweet, little girl become a dominate leader! The other Fathers called her Der Kommandant. Telling stories taht their daughter's feared being late for practice or not hustling etc- the parents viewed as a good thing! She led by example, worked hard, hustled and HIT!! In the third tournament (ASA NY) the team once again had its losing ways, losing al three seeding games(including one to a short-handed 8 player team. The following day the team had to face the number one seed(and topped ranked team in NY. Well the girls pulled it off- they one!! Even though they lost the next game, things started to change. As the season went on, the girls improved and by the fall even won a tournament.

I think many parents/players would have left this team early on. Many players would have been discouraged. That season was one of the best teaching experiences my daughter ever had. Its easy to be on a winning team. Its easy to lead a team that's winning. Working under adversity and trying maximize talent is a real life lesson. It helped her with the following season of her HS team and let her know what she could handle. In a side note, this "losing" team had more girls go on to play in college than the "winning" team from Fairfield. Something I point out to my daughter even now. Trophies and success on the field do not always result in long-term success.

At the end of the season the head of the organization informed us that they did not have a 16u or 18u team going forward. He was very apologetic and even gave us some contacts. Here we were again- tryouts!!! She went to 6 different try-outs. Got a call from her first travel coach(Fairfield) that told us of a local HS coach who was forming a team in lower fairfield county for a prominent CT organization. I contacted him and arranged a "tryout" The tryout was a five minute meeting in which he said- your in. He had seen her play in HS. This team was great- a virtual all-star team of local HS players from neighboring towns. Coach was a great teacher, developer of talent and forced her to learn other positions. Team had great success in local and national tournaments. Helped to get her recruited for college. DD played in organization for the next three years.

So she played for three organizations(plus rec) Some great teams, some not so great- all the experiences made her who she is. Everyone's paths are different. Adversity is not always a bad thing. Winning is great, but sometimes more is learned in losing. Hard work is always good.

For her first all-star team, my daughter was picked 13th on a roster of 13. She was one of 2 players from that 10u team to play in College

She was Captain of her HS team for 2 years and Captain of her college team her senior year. That one year as Caotain of that "lousy" team gave her the skills she needed for both!

[PairOfAces]

Nice write up JR, enjoyed reading it, and getting a little insight into travel ball in other parts of the country. When my DDs were starting to think about travel ball DW and I wanted to find stable teams that they could play for long term and not be the "team hoppers" that we heard so much about. Unfortunately, it didn't work out quite that way. Older DD has since given up softball, which was fine because she never had the real drive for it, even though she did pretty well and could have gone pretty far IMO.

The younger is still at it, and still doing very well, albeit with several different teams. She was the youngest player on her first travel team which still was the best team she has been on -TCS WS runner up. When the team moved up in age level, she did not because we knew she would not get much playing time, as her role in tournaments that year was courtesy runner and playing in the easier games, of which there were quite a few due to the team's success. She had trouble finding a team she felt comfortable on, even though all three teams her own age level that she tried out for offered her a spot, and she even sat our a few months and played basketball.

Once she came back she has steadily improved because even if the team ended up not working out for one reason or another, she has had mostly excellent coaching. This past year, we are finally on a very competitive, well coached, stable team and will be for another year, which is when my DW and I retire and relocate to my home state of Tennessee. She will be starting her JR year of HS then and can't wait to move - she has always loved TN and her visits to see her grandparents over the years. So then it will be searching for a new team again, and I am very curious how she will stack up against the competition in a different state/part of the country. Her age group has some powerhouse teams in the area that we hope to work out for, and I plan on catching a couple of them play in PGF in a couple of weeks if the scheduling allows - they are in Premier while DD is in Platinum. It's been a wild ride and while at times frustrating, I've love every minute and can't wait to see what the future holds.

[Sue Trubovitz, Turbo]

Enjoy your softball adventure!

[Schmick]

In just under 4 years of travel, my 13 year old has been on 7 teams.
I understand that is a lot but there are certain circumstances that lead to it. One of them is her birthday is December 31 and that will make her have to leave the team she is on now in order to play next spring as she will only be in 8th grade while the rest of the team will play for their HS's from Feb to May.

[jonriv]

I think a lot is always relative and individual situations vary. Most of us came into the Fastpitch world relativity naive and learning as we go. Some are lucky and find the right team/organization right away. Many linger in the wrong team too long. I have also seen dilution all parents that move their DDs to a different team every year- mostly on their own egos and not based on the needs and abilities of the player.

Not sure there is a general “right” answer, it really depends.

IMO the right team is one that gives your daughter to play at the highest level of their ability. You also want a team that develops your daughter’s ability in an environment she can thrive. If college is part of the plan, you need an organization that allows exposure to the type of schools that interest the player. Also IMO, riding on the bench does not serve the player well. If the chance to play is not there, time to find a new team. Also, a toxic or abusive environment is also a no go! You are the parent and should be your child’s greatest advocate. you are also an adult and need to be the voice of reason. You need make sure you have a realistic understanding of your daughter’s strengths and weaknesses.

This can be an awesome journey and believe me it goes by way too fast! My daughter graduated in 2015 and I miss it very much.

[eclipse09]

I think a lot is always relative and individual situations vary. Most of us came into the Fastpitch world relativity naive and learning as we go. Some are lucky and find the right team/organization right away. Many linger in the wrong team too long. I have also seen dilution all parents that move their DDs to a different team every year- mostly on their own egos and not based on the needs and abilities of the player.

Not sure there is a general “right” answer, it really depends.

IMO the right team is one that gives your daughter to play at the highest level of their ability. You also want a team that develops your daughter’s ability in an environment she can thrive. If college is part of the plan, you need an organization that allows exposure to the type of schools that interest the player. Also IMO, riding on the bench does not serve the player well. If the chance to play is not there, time to find a new team. Also, a toxic or abusive environment is also a no go! You are the parent and should be your child’s greatest advocate. you are also an adult and need to be the voice of reason. You need make sure you have a realistic understanding of your daughter’s strengths and weaknesses.

This can be an awesome journey and believe me it goes by way too fast! My daughter graduated in 2015 and I miss it very much.

I totally agree. Need to find the right fit that gets your kid a chance to grow. My oldest kid only played for two orgs, but she had to go through three teams within that org to find her fit. Now my youngest is out there looking for a team and we are trying to find her best fit. Great input JR!