Team Jumping

[GSB]

All kinds of reasons for it.

1. Coach plays your DD to much. (Overuse concerns)
2. Coach plays your DD to little. (No playing time concerns)
3. Teams goals are not the same as yours. Not playing the level you want. ie..18U vs 18G, or USSA or Triple Crown vs ASA.
4. Coach is a nut job.
5. DD can't learn from the coach. (Coach is truly in over his head).
6. Coach is very emotional. (a screamer or challenges umpires to fight in the parking lot during games).
7. Drive is to far.
8. Your DD would like a shot at a different position and coach refuses to even look at her or even give her a tryout. Then advertises for the spot constantly. (The Rodney Dangerfield Syndrome or "no respect").
9. Daddy ball.
10. You don't like the gang member parents on the team.
11. Dues and fees are to high.
12. Bad team chemistry. (the eye roller syndrome)
13. Another team offered you a full ride. (No dues or fees some even pay travel).
14. Your DD is not as talented as the others on the team and feels she is holding the team back but wants to continue to play. Leaving for a lower level team. (The rec player in travel effect).
15. Your DD is the team stud and playing with the team is keeping her from improving her skills. (The travel player in rec ball effect).
16. Team dissolves and you are forced to find a different team.
17. Coach refuses to improve the team. Keeping the same poor (not improving) players season after season.
18. Coach writes a postcard to your DD calling her a sweetheart! LOL
19. Players are mean to each other.
20. DD is an Honor Student who requires much time to do homework and coach likes to practice every night for 6 hours.
21. Parent thinks DD should be SS and bat clean up when DD is the worst player on the team. (The rose color glasses syndrome).
22. DD is cut from her team.
23. The moms on the other team are better looking.
24. The mom who runs the other teams snack bar makes a mean tri-tip.
25. Coach for the new team owns a pole barn.
26. Coach is misdirecting team funds.
27. Coach bad mouths your DD on a national board.
28. Parent simply believes the grass in greener with the new team.
29. New team asks you to help coach. (ego effect).
30. Coach forces DD to play while injured.
31. Parents are nut jobs.

It really doesn't matter what the reason. For coaches it will always be a sore subject. Especially when it happens to them a lot. Parents will always be the "shot callers" and will do what they think best for their child. Coaches should understand this and try not to get all butt hurt over it when a player leaves for what ever reason. It seems to me that the ones who take it the worst are the ones who have constant problems with girls leaving them. They are the ones who should take a serious look in the mirror.

As far as why it doesn't happen in Little League as much as Fastpitch? Well, just watch the Little League World Series one time. Lets face it, the talent level is not even close to the same. Any Fastpitch rec ball team could beat the winner of the Little League World Series.

[31BVET]

Well said GSB. #17 was our reason for "jumping."

[Twocents]

I appreciate the responses thus far. "Greener Pastures" is more often than not where I was going with this thread. I'm aware of the many reasons good/bad to leave or join a team. I'm not necessarily directing this to the girls of legitimate talent (these girls will always be pursued) rather the middle of the road girls. These seem to be amongst the parent pool that is always looking over the fence for greener pastures. These parents seem to be more apt to "jump" when the daughter is contrite where she's at. These seem more readily to "jump" when approached by another team. Now they have legitimacy to do so. The... "well they really want my daughter to come play for them"... reason. When in actuallity the coach is looking for a "filler".
I'm a coach but I do not coach travel FP. When these girls get to high school they can't jump. They have to play and some how some way create chemistry to get the job done. If mommy/daddy chime too loud thier daughter will RTP or worse get booted. When they get to college it is even more of a long term committment to the team and much less about the individual.
I guess you guys are right in that it will never stop. I don't condemn those that jump often. I'm sure they believe their reason(s) are warranted. Such a great game our daughters are fortunate to play.

[Twocents]

GSB

That's funny about what you said about LL. I once brought out a girl to pitch to my boys team to teach them a lesson and bring 'em back down to reality. After she fanned the first two it got real quiet in the DO. All of a sudden it went from joking and heckling to down right fight or flight. Needless to say the boys did learn a valuable lesson that day!! It didn't hurt that I brought in a ringer lol.

[Coach11]

I agree with you IB. I just remember it being a priveledge to play and to play wherever the coach told me to play. That playing any position was for the good of the team as a whole not the individual.

Too bad folks don't realize that playing any (multiple) positions IS good for the individual. Any girls looking to play college ball better know how to play several.

Only so many D1 SS positions available.

[Coach11]

In general, isn't it ALWAYS "greener pastures" that one leaves for.

Any reason to leave is legitimate if you aren't happy where you are. When you choose to do so is when it can become an issue.

But when a player is on a new team each season, they oughtta start taking a closer look at themselves rather then the teams they have left.

[GSB]

In general, isn't it ALWAYS "greener pastures" that one leaves for.

Any reason to leave is legitimate if you aren't happy where you are. When you choose to do so is when it can become an issue.

But when a player is on a new team each season, they oughtta start taking a closer look at themselves rather then the teams they have left.

Coach11,

In general I agree with you. But sometimes, a player jumps teams every season for the right reasons. Some parents forget to do their homework and land on bad fit teams. But that is really rare.


Twocents,

So true. About 4 years ago in rec ball our team was having a team picnic at a local park. The park had a baseball field so you can guess what the picnic turned into. About 30 minutes into the "practice" the local boys (older) Little League All Star team arrived for their practice. (They had the field reserved). The boys watched the girls for a short time and began making fun of them. Acting like they couldn't throw and making funny sounds while laughing.

Our coach not wanting to give up the field, asked the boys coach if they wanted to scrimmage, and the game was on. The girls pitched Fastpitch (Softballs) to the boys and the boys pitched overhand (baseballs) to the girls. After 9 innings the score was 27 to 0 and the boys couldn't even get one hit. The sad part was our team was a 10U rec team and the boys were a 13 and 14 year old All Star team with some of them being in High School.

[CrushersDad]

We should make a distinction between leaving a team for a legit reason (ie abusive coach, etc...) and leaving a team for "greener" pastures.

OR - leaving a team mid season vs. between seasons. I do NOT consider it "team jumping" if a player changes teams between seasons.

[GSB]

We should make a distinction between leaving a team for a legit reason (ie abusive coach, etc...) and leaving a team for "greener" pastures.

OR - leaving a team mid season vs. between seasons. I do NOT consider it "team jumping" if a player changes teams between seasons.

Agreed,

Until the official February start of the new Spring season, I guess it is just team switching and not team jumping. LOL.

[SnocatzDad]

We should make a distinction between leaving a team for a legit reason (ie abusive coach, etc...) and leaving a team for "greener" pastures.

OR - leaving a team mid season vs. between seasons. I do NOT consider it "team jumping" if a player changes teams between seasons.

I would agree with the above, My daughter played with her community program for three years before leaving to play on a club travel team. In those three years she played on 6 teams for her community 3 summer, 3 fall. Teams were formed by age and ability to the best of their knowledge(they were as fair as they could be, it's never easy). Out of 6 teams she played on only 1 player played on 5 of those 6 teams and no player played on all 6. Leaving was a difficult choice for her. A lack of any continuity or season to season chemistry was a partial reason for our leaving after three years. What's funny is that club teams have the reputation as a revolving door here, but my daughters club team retained 9 of 11 players from last summer and only one of the two actually left the team, the other girl stayed down at 14U with another team in the organization when the rest of the team aged up.