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Paid coaches or parent coaches

What's on your mind?

by TravelINDad99 » Fri Aug 09, 2013 12:24 pm

How many youth travel organizations out there hire coaches rather then handing teams to parents for their travel teams. I like the idea of it but haven't personally experienced it yet. Are there pro's v/s con's that some of you can think of?

I feel if my DD can get on a team that is coached by an individual with experience in getting girls to that next level and can teach these kids those tools required to do so, that is a great opportunity.

I also like the idea of having a coach with no daughter on the team. I am not saying Dad's can't be good coaches to. I was one, but I think my DD as well as many others I have seen over the years, would excel to another level with a non-parent coach with a proven background.

There are teams out there designed to just give the girls an opportunity to play ball year round and not exactly selling the idea of advancing to the next level, and I am not intending any disrespect to those teams.

I just spent a week of tryouts with my DD out in the Chicago burbs area(I'm from NW Indiana) and it was almost every organization had paid coaches rather then parents. Are there many teams put together like this? Have others experienced both and prefer one over the other?

Anyway just wanted to get some thoughts on hiring coaches v/s parent coaches.
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by hit4power » Sat Aug 10, 2013 7:39 am

you didnt say what level of TB, but down here the best teams over the long haul at 14U-18G have paid coaches. There are probably some exceptions here and there (thinking of some of the regular posters on here) but my experience has been (pun intended) you get what you pay for....
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by 93players » Sat Aug 10, 2013 1:02 pm

Well, there are exceptions like team North Florida, where a coach had daughters on his national caliber team, but for most part if your dd is seeking the attention of D1 programs, you must go to an established organization with paid coaches who work the program for a period of time. College coaches do not have the time to keep up with programs that come and go. Regardless of the win loss records and stats, no college coach can trust a parent running one team to be honest about their dd or their dd's friends. They cannot gauge the competition.

We had a parent run organization with 4 teams and they would go into the economically disadvantaged neighborhoods and run free weekly clinics for 8-12 year old players. They identified and brought on some great players capable of playing in the Big 12. One of their daughters was an A+ player capable of starting on any top team. She had trouble getting interest from bigger schools even when she went to the camps because she was put in groups that were not scouted. When she was a senior, already signed to a small program, this team played our team and Connie Clark was sitting next to me in the stands. When she saw this player make a terrific play, she said, who is this kid? Where has she been? Well, she had gone to the camps of most Big 12 schools and never received an email. Are there exceptions? Of course, but I strongly recommend getting on the best team that will give your dd playing time with paid coaches.
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by jonriv » Tue Aug 13, 2013 4:49 am

The last three years my DD played TB were with paid(non-parent) coaches. Much better experience since it avoided the actual/perceived "favoritism" that can come with daddyball. I also found the pro coaches were much better at keeping parents disciplined and interfering. One coach(my favorite) banned parents from coming any closer than 20 feet from the dugout or talking to our daughters during the game. He also had a set rotation of players to ensure equal playing time and stuck to it he said "All of these players are all-stars and top players from their HS teams and deserve to play" He was so constant that there were no complaints from players or parents (roster of 12 players)
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by TravelINDad99 » Tue Aug 13, 2013 6:53 am

This is my DD's final year(3rd-she played up her first) of 14U and although we have to pay roughly twice as much as we would if we stayed on a parent ran or local typical team we chose to cross the border and take our chances with an Organization that has a long tradition of fielding competitive teams and getting girls into college. This requires a larger time and financial commitment but with the hopes of being taught next level skills by individuals that have been there is worth it.

At the very first practice we were told to jump on the recruiting train now. Coach gave us a rough outline on how to go about contacting colleges and once established, sending them our schedule and ask them to come out. He pointed out many do's and do not's in the beginning stages of contacting coaches. I learned more in one sit down with the coach then I have over the past couple years. We will play a couple exposure tournaments as a 16U team(we are 14U 99's)

It was also obvious that there was a level playing field present at the first practice. No Dad's daughter and her friends cliques. I think this will breed a very competitive atmosphere and push these girls to new levels. I also think this will help in mutual respect for one another.

Team rules allow for discipline with no parents allowed to approach their DD's during games or practices. Girls have to approach the coach about questions before parents getting involved which teaches them accountability. As silly as it may seem, no parents are allowed to carry DD's equipment bag and girls are responsible to carry team equipment. As an Organization all money is handled thru a treasurer which takes that burden off of the coach. There is a GM of the organization to handle issues. Coaches are not allowed to contact girls using any form of electronic media. Girls will be required to maintain a positive image when wearing uniforms (no rolled waistbands, shirts tucked in, shoes or slides must be worn when not wearing cleats, metal cleats are mandatory. Zero tolerance for unsportsmanship to any player, coach, umpire or fan.
Many more great things which just provides the foundation for these girls to represent themselves with class.

Now it's time to start getting the contacts for colleges and prepare sending out emails. Does anyone know of a good site to find college contacts?
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by DonnieS » Tue Aug 13, 2013 7:21 am

TravelINDad99 wrote:This is my DD's final year(3rd-she played up her first) of 14U and although we have to pay roughly twice as much as we would if we stayed on a parent ran or local typical team we chose to cross the border and take our chances with an Organization that has a long tradition of fielding competitive teams and getting girls into college. This requires a larger time and financial commitment but with the hopes of being taught next level skills by individuals that have been there is worth it.

At the very first practice we were told to jump on the recruiting train now. Coach gave us a rough outline on how to go about contacting colleges and once established, sending them our schedule and ask them to come out. He pointed out many do's and do not's in the beginning stages of contacting coaches. I learned more in one sit down with the coach then I have over the past couple years. We will play a couple exposure tournaments as a 16U team(we are 14U 99's)

It was also obvious that there was a level playing field present at the first practice. No Dad's daughter and her friends cliques. I think this will breed a very competitive atmosphere and push these girls to new levels. I also think this will help in mutual respect for one another.

Team rules allow for discipline with no parents allowed to approach their DD's during games or practices. Girls have to approach the coach about questions before parents getting involved which teaches them accountability. As silly as it may seem, no parents are allowed to carry DD's equipment bag and girls are responsible to carry team equipment. As an Organization all money is handled thru a treasurer which takes that burden off of the coach. There is a GM of the organization to handle issues. Coaches are not allowed to contact girls using any form of electronic media. Girls will be required to maintain a positive image when wearing uniforms (no rolled waistbands, shirts tucked in, shoes or slides must be worn when not wearing cleats, metal cleats are mandatory. Zero tolerance for unsportsmanship to any player, coach, umpire or fan.
Many more great things which just provides the foundation for these girls to represent themselves with class.

Now it's time to start getting the contacts for colleges and prepare sending out emails. Does anyone know of a good site to find college contacts?


The best that I know of and that we used is the book by Cathy Aradi, sold by NFCA.Org, the Getting Recruited book, they sell them at NFCA events as well. It has some good info in the front, but the reason I bought one each year for about 7 years is that it also lists all softball schools from juco, naia, D3, D2, D1, with email address, snail address, phone numbers, coaches names, etc.
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by TravelINDad99 » Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:37 am

Thank you Sir!
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by DonnieS » Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:46 am

TravelINDad99 wrote:Thank you Sir!


The exact title is "Preparing to Play Softball at the Collegiate Level" by Catharine Aradi and my suggestion is that you read the whole book, make sure your kid reads Index item A-1.
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by TravelINDad99 » Tue Aug 13, 2013 8:55 am

You gave me enough information to find exactly that...thanks again...here is the link if anyone else would like it.

https://nfca.org/index.php/store/books/recruitingmisc-books/preparing-to-play-softball-at-the-collegiate-level-2013-edition-detail
A leader is not someone who will do good and look down at others; a leader is someone who will do good and help others who can't.
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by Sftbll4ever » Tue Aug 13, 2013 9:54 am

You can have good and bad parent coaches, but the worst are the parent coaches that get paid.
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