) & a former FC player I thought I'd chime in since it generally seems FC parents & coaches tend to be quiet.First of all Lawdawd has it right who cares? lots of reasons FC parents will say jealousy, outsiders may just need a dog to kick. In 1st year 14's my DD joined a Org that was expanding & has since lost 3/4 of those teams but the 18G still pumps put college players & that coach wanted name recognition because as an independent he couldn't get quality friendlies, with it he had no problems. I think this is the biggest reason & if money isn't an issue why give a flying F%#$ what other teams do, don't you have enough of your own problems to work on?
CTCbat since you;re attempting to audit TR you forgot all the batting lessons, profits from apparel & lets not forget who 1) put up the money & partnered with good old Bob Surane over there @ RTA. because that is a money maker too. IMO that's just good old American capitalism & it's really none of our business, it is a reason to point a finger (forgetting 3 more point back at us as they (FC coaches) tell us how many kids they've sent on to play at the next level)
Anybody remember when Seattle Pilots in 1969 were a MLB expansion team? they got players from a some kind of supplemental draft & they sucked for years, but who remembers that now ? My point here is you gotta start somewhere.
Now my DD went to an expansion FC team 2 yrs ago (that just dissolved after a little over 1 season) but our intention was always to use that as a springboard into the Org. She jumped to another FC team for PGF, led them in RBI's , then that team merged with another team (great coach, puts tons of players into college but he takes a ton of heat ..again for $$$) so for her it worked fine. There is no "parents TB manual" to follow, therefore it's trial & error lots of times (thats why this board is so GREAT)
The final advantage for SoCal teams is TR does show up, holds clinics with his 18G team, the coaches must use his practice routines that have worked for him. Now out of state FC teams is another story in that aspect & I don't have that experience.
My final word is in this ever growing competitive market place to make it to the next level DD's & teams need every edge to get players to college & for many it's the jersey. Remember it's their choice & they're paying the $$ so who are we to judge?
