YOU MAKE THE CALL...

[SoftballSoccerDad]

You are free to ask everyone questions, the coach, the parents that left, whomever. Whether they answer your questions is another thing. If the coach refuses to discuss things with the parents that pay the bills and transport the players, well you'll have to judge.

If a coach allows parental drama to become a focal point for the team, then the team is heading in the wrong direction. When a player leaves a team on their own or because of their parents, that's not even the coach's call. And if they do give a reason, how does the coach know if they're telling the whole truth? In the end, it just doesn't matter. Regardless of what you do, other people make their decisions for their own reasons. If parents then want to leave because the coach refused to discuss OTHER PLAYERS with them, then those aren't the type of parents a good coach would want anyway.

[Dugoutdirt]

It's often said that if one player leaves, it's probably the player. If multiple players are leaving at alarming rates, you may need to take a closer look at the coach/organization. Bottom line, at this age, you want your kid to get decent playing time and decent coaching and you want a good group of parents to sit on the sidelines with. There are a lot of teams out there that offer those things if you aren't happy where you are now.

[E Train Dad]

I have really enjoyed the responses here from the "pro's" of Club ball as we are in our 4th month out of Wreck and into travel now (Obviously 12U). Very sage advice as to the pitfall's NOT to fall into! We are fortunate to have a team that grew together in Wreck and just moved to Travel and have been friends since the SB Inception.....I will continue to enjoy the words of advice from those who have been down this road!

[Espy]

Man I miss 12u. I used to get calls that sounded just like coachadub. I would tell the wife "It seems we have fallen into some survivor episode with this new softball team."

It will all be fine. Teams will come and teams will go. The girls that are in the sport long time, their parents rarely get mixed up in these largely artificial dramatic episodes. They work on their game. When a coach is not working out, they work on their kid getting better about working with difficult people. It comes time to leave, they leave.

When you get to 18gold, all you have is the head coach, and you 100% want it that way. Having coaches actually listen to parents generally sucks as an approach to running a team.

Most teams are composed of 3 very opposing groups. Group A have studs for kids, top 3 or 4 on the team. Group B, 3 to 4 kids that have a lot to offer but need to work on things, are small for their age but have a lot of skill, they are in the middle. Group C are the bottom of the team.

Each of these three groups have very different goals, very different ideas on how the team should run. Usually the fight is between the different parental groups, and the coach is in the middle.

[AlwaysImprove]

I have really enjoyed the responses here from the "pro's" of Club ball as we are in our 4th month out of Wreck and into travel now (Obviously 12U). Very sage advice as to the pitfall's NOT to fall into! We are fortunate to have a team that grew together in Wreck and just moved to Travel and have been friends since the SB Inception.....I will continue to enjoy the words of advice from those who have been down this road!

The team of friends can work great at younger ages. Often by second year 14's they blow up horribly.

The reason is straight forward, you have a conflict of interests. Some of the girls will be growing, developing. They will start to show a level of skill, ability that could allow them to play in college. Some of the other girls will not.

What I have seen is that the less capable players put friendship on the line. Trying to hold some of the more capable players to the team longer than they should.

Again those that stay focused on what they are wanting from the sport, do much better than those that do not. If you want friendship that is one thing, if you want a chance to play at UofA that is another.

[coachadub]

I really appreciate all the comments, suggestions, and insight. Though I do not agree with everything written, the feedback helps to see the "big picture". I wish everyone nothing but the best for your DD's. As for us, she has put on those respective tryout cleats...