Why be a Firecracker? Seriously

[Safebyahare]

I do not mean this to be a bag session on the Tony Rico or the Firecracker org.
As an outsider with no skin in the game, my question is more to the point of,,,
there are so many and it is so large that hasn't it lost it's appeal?
Two years ago while dd was still playing TB we would identify these teams as Firecrackers and Buttcrackers.
The few real class 'A 'Firecracker teams are way out numbered by the watered down version.
Do parents ride the coat tails and pretend that no one knows the difference.
Do colleges see this as spam when they receive so many Firecracker letters.
Do they know the difference? Does Tony put his name on anything that brings in money?
There is nothing wrong with it if that is what it is. I do suppose there is strength in numbers and it does create better odds of winning something or having one of fifty teams come near a title.
Educate me.

[Tyler Durden]

I do not mean this to be a bag session on the Tony Rico or the Firecracker org.
As an outsider with no skin in the game, my question is more to the point of,,,
there are so many and it is so large that hasn't it lost it's appeal?
Two years ago while dd was still playing TB we would identify these teams as Firecrackers and Buttcrackers.
The few real class 'A 'Firecracker teams are way out numbered by the watered down version.
Do parents ride the coat tails and pretend that no one knows the difference.
Do colleges see this as spam when they receive so many Firecracker letters.
Do they know the difference? Does Tony put his name on anything that brings in money?
There is nothing wrong with it if that is what it is. I do suppose there is strength in numbers and it does create better odds of winning something or having one of fifty teams come near a title.
Educate me.

Agreed. This was from this morning.

viewtopic.php?f=440&t=71110

[tbjd33]

I do not mean this to be a bag session on the Tony Rico or the Firecracker org.
As an outsider with no skin in the game, my question is more to the point of,,,
there are so many and it is so large that hasn't it lost it's appeal?
Two years ago while dd was still playing TB we would identify these teams as Firecrackers and Buttcrackers.
The few real class 'A 'Firecracker teams are way out numbered by the watered down version.
Do parents ride the coat tails and pretend that no one knows the difference.
Do colleges see this as spam when they receive so many Firecracker letters.
Do they know the difference? Does Tony put his name on anything that brings in money?
There is nothing wrong with it if that is what it is. I do suppose there is strength in numbers and it does create better odds of winning something or having one of fifty teams come near a title.
Educate me.

I keep reading people post and various articles (like the one in Full Count recently) about TR. It's all about the DD's and this and that. Then I see the product on the field. Not the TR Gold team cause they are legit. I'm referring to the "Brand Name" teams. They are terrible and usually poorly coached... Period!

I ask the question as Devil's advocate of TR's. How is this helping DD's? How is this helping softball?

It is simple and very easy to put a team together. It's simple to enter tournaments. It's simple to create a yearly plan for any team. My point is the hard part; Coaching, teaching, mentoring, leading, guiding and helping create opportunity for DD's is the hard part. In my view TR preys on teams and DD's which long for those softball virtues in coaches.

I can argue the "Brand" is creating a false sense of opportunity for DD's so a buck or two or thousands can be made. Call it what you want people but I see a sucker in those who buy into the "Brand". You can have you stinking $25...

Just isnt so honorable!

[AlwaysImprove]

When you get below the top 20 or so programs there are no noticeable brands. The top 20 or so teams have brand, then it quickly becomes everyone else.

Also there is a large chasm between the less those top branded teams that the wannabe teams. So if you are on one of the wannabe teams you have a few ways to cross that chasm. Get a team of 8-10 studs, and go deep at Nationals. 8 years ago, So Cal A's were less well known, and they had a killer team that did extremely well.

But most teams most of the time the way this works, is you get a couple of studs. During the year 2 players go from being pretty good to be great. The next year you are super close to adding 3 or 4 more studs only to find out that all three of your 4 studs are moving to big name teams. Not only that you only land 2 of your hot prospects. So you are back to 3 studs and building a team again.

After 5 or 6 years of that, you decide to change your name to try and hold that talent that can help you cross the gap.

[jjsqueeze]

I have wondered the same thing. It would be great if someone from within the org would give us the scoop on what drew them to be a Firecracker or what the benefit is. Of all the teams out there, they are kind of the one org I shy away from and never consider them during tryout season. Not because they don't have some good teams, just that I could never keep track of them to know which are good and which are not so good. With so many smaller orgs that consistently produce good teams it is just easier to know that the team will be well coached with decent talent when you are trying to schedule your time wisely during the musical chair game in August and Jan.

Good or bad, I have kind of come to the opinion that teams that join the Firecrackers are looking for an easy name recognition boost and want to buy it instead of earn it. The problem is that it has already been done so many times that there is no boost left so when a team joins them, they are going to alienate as many people as they attract so the effect is nil.


It may seem kind of narrow minded, but with all the teams out there you have to develop some opinions about orgs to make sure you make a good decision and a commitment you can keep when you tryout or sign up to join.

[CTCBAT]

I think you're looking at this the wrong way:

If someone offered to pay you for something as silly as a logo would you sell it? Really the answer is a simple yes. People keep lining up to buy in. I think you should ask people why the name is considered of value to them versus why is the name for sell.

$25 month x 400 players (estimate...30 teams 13 players per) x 12 months = $120,000 a year. At this point there has to be more than 30 FC teams but this answers the question of why the name is being sold. I'd sell my name for a six figure payday.

[Pale Rider]

Question is...playing Devils advocate somewhat...don't know Mr Rico...
But what part of him making money legally is an issue?
How many of us have on a brand name shirt?, shoes?....underwear?
Does a UA tag mean it covers you better?...not always...

Personally I don't need someone protecting me (or my kid) from ourselves...do we?...Do you?
Does this contract say 'Coached daily by ________________________________(insert name)?

There are many organization expanding...regardless of name on a Jersey, performance itself will show thru...
I'm pretty certain a coach can tell who can and cant play ball...Does someone HAVE to have a big name shirt on to get a look? Sometimes...but so does playing in larger tourneys...outside of ones comfort zone..They still have to perform and I don't think just a name on a shirt will get them anything...
Its a performance based game...cant fake that...
I can buy a Dodge Dart with 150 hp...or a 700+ HP Challenger...
But both have the same Dodge logo...

Sorta like the polls and rankings of teams and players...Who *really* believes that?...

[LADAWG44]

What I don't understand is why people care? With how much information is available online about teams and coaches, I think it's dumb not to know what level team and coaching parents are committing their DDs to. College coaches know which teams and coaches are legit. If your family and DD is a fit for a team and it's coaches then what difference does it make what uniform she wears?

Is she going to have a better opportunity to get recruited because she's wearing a Firecracker uniform vs OC Pitch N Hit? Uniforms don't make a difference in recruiting anymore. College coaches show up to tournaments or showcases with a plan in place and which kids they are interested in watching.

This sport is a business, every top tier organization has some sponsorship with a large sporting goods type company or organization (Easton, Mizuno, Louisville Slugger, PGF, TCS, EM etc), I think it's naive to think that those top tier organization leaders are not making a good living off of this sport in some way or another. Look at PGF and their board members. How much are they making annually though Surf City, camps, qualifiers and nationals? it's easier for Tony to be a target because he's making his in a much more visible manor.

[jonriv]

Obviously the brand has some worth or no one would be buying. A former tb coach of my DD used to want to go independent, but he thought the organizations name(which was no where as big as the Firecrackers) got more responses from college coaches. Maybe these guys are on to something. Not sure why everyone gets so upset when some figures out how to make money on the sport we love. Damn if I could figure out a way to make a lot of money and stay involved in softball I would be there in a heartbeat!

[Tyler Durden]

My only complaint is when one of the hundred satellite Firecracker team coaches tries to claim that he has direct ties to Tony, and thereby insinuates that the kids on his texas firecrackers roster will directly benefit from a connection to Tony that others don't have. This misleads the new parents I think, and I don't like it. If a coach is claiming direct ties, then I'm curious to know the details of Tony's involvement with that team. I've got no problem with the free marketplace, and Tony getting rich off of the Firecracker name. It's his to do with what he wants, and none of my business. But when a coach comes onto HB and throws out this type of 'affiliation' claim, he is going to get HB scrutiny.