Travel Teams

Just wanted to get feedback from everybody what they feel is or should be the mission statement of travel teams.

 

one part of their mission statement should be: " No Trophy Hunting"
if your team will age out, then move up to the next level; don't play down just to aquire more trophies or because you know your team can't compete at the next level

that's what one 10u team did this past w/k end at Nevin Park...shame on you

 

My belief is that a player must be at least 14 to play on a 16u and at least 16 to play on an 18u team. There's just too many children playing on the older adult teams. Some feedback please!

 

Object of tournament ball

I totally agree...

If you are 14U eligible and you're not better than the best player in 14U, then you should stay on 14U. Build that strong 14U team instead of an adequate 16U team. Let the player get her playing time and excel at what she does instead of having her ride the bench or play a position she was not meant for because the parents thought she was better than everyone else in her own age level. What are you really accomplishing here? Most of the time that I have seen, when you move a girl up too early, you actually hold her back.

And on the other note (sorry, I'm on a roll)

I believe that tournament ball is the elite. That it's about putting together a team using the best players available. It's about players being in the position that they play the best, and that's needed on the team, not just what the players favorite position is. Can't have 5 shortstops.

It's also about dedication and loyalty. Can't form a good team if the first time you lose, you hop to another team. Remember, if you played and the team lost, you were a part of the loss as much as you would have been a part of the win.

It's also about teamwork. There is no I in TEAM. Sometimes being a team player means that you have to ride the bench for a few innings to let someone else play your position because that is what's best for the TEAM at that time.

It's about giving you're all. Showing up to practice and practicing hard. You have to prove yourself at practice to get that spot on the field at the game.

Seems to me that parent egos and attitudes "play" in the games more than the kids do anymore. Parents need to remain the spectators and not the participants. The minute you try to influence the coach to see things your way, undermine the coach to your daughter, or bad mouth the team behind the fence, you are stepping over the line onto the field into foul territory. Stay in the stands be there for your daughter. Cheer her on and support her team. Leave the coaching to the coaches. Believe it or not, you all don't know more than 99% of those coaches out there. If you don't like the way it is and it bothers you that much that you can't get over it, quietly take your daughter off the team. Don't try to maliciously cause a cancer with the rest of the parents. Not everyone has to think like you. And just remember what kind of example you are setting for your child, what are you really teaching them.

It is an honor to be on a tournament team. You are not doing the team a favor by playing on it. You should be gracious and thankful that somebody let you play. These girls have to compete against each other during tryouts to get on the team. They have to work hard at practice and give 110% on the field. They have to earn their positions. These teams are where the college recruiters look. This is serious ball here. Can't cater to people on a tournament team just because they have a temper tantrum. No babysitting the parents.

Remember...this ain't rec ball anymore.

 

Coach Andie while you are on a roll don't forget to address the issue about the coaches playing favorities. Alot of times sponsors kids or even coaches kids aren't the best in a position and the other players and parents know that. That also can cause a cancer on a team. It's hard to find coaches who want to dedicate their time to coaching your kid as well as theirs. Don't get me wrong on this, if the coaches kid or sponsors kid deserve the position by all means they should have first choice, but don't hurt the team by putting them in a position that they can't handle just to keep them happy. I think this is why alot of girls switch teams is because they don't get to play a position that they feel comfortable in and know that they aren't as long as the coaches DD wants it. Also some of the daddy's help out just to get their child playing time. This is true in baseball as well as softball and other sports. Don't we wish it could all be fair and just have fun. I've seen cases where coaches take their team to a showcase and only showcase a couple of kids, mainly coaches kids. That is not fair and certainly will cause problems . Maybe there need to be some guidelines set aside for coaches of travel teams to adhere to, or a governing board for complaints. Who knows?

 

teams need a staff made up of coaches without kids involved. we showcase all our players or they wouldnt be on the team.

thanks guys, great posts!! :xyzthumbs

 

What I tell my DD when she is not getting the playing time she thinks she should get is to practice harder and at all times because when she thinks she is practicing hard during practices may not be what the coach sees. The coach can not see everyone at all times. If she goofs around just once that may be the time the coach looks over at her. Also tell that life is not fair and there is always going to be getting something they do not deserve. Better face the fact now that life is not fair.

 

A few teams are run as true Show Case teams. They have a mix of FR.,So.,JR.,SR. and maybe a couple of College Freshmen . The ones to be showcased are the rising Seniors and these are given the most opportunities to be seen. A team that is doing this may not have their best team on the field all the time and may not win all their games but the ones that is their TIME are given the chance.This has to be understood from each player and PARENT so the problem about playing time does't come up. No matter how much a player gets to play ,if they don't do anything to catch a coach's attention they can play all the time and it doesn't matter. At the same time a Coach has to have a reputation of having quality players on their team and can play with anyone.There are certain tournaments that a team has to play in also,these are the ones the Coaches are at. Colleges have limited budgets and they have to get the most for their time. Coaches has to have the ear of College coaches that what he tells them is honest about about a player. This is why ,the best way is parents to be outside looking in at the field. Having been on both sides just my view on a few things

 

A summer team is also the best way to improve each players skills to prepare

them for the next level. Sometimes, the practice a player recieves is a big

help in making them a more complete softball player. A detailed organized

practice with individual work before and after is more important than the

games early on. Team structure will make a player look better than the

individual skills. Now a days they have round robin tournaments that allow you

to let everyone play. Single elimination should have the best players at that

time making a good showing for your organization. Coaches go to where the

good teams are playing first. Your organizations reputation speakes volumes

to college coaches. The practice however is extremely important in order to

produce in front of a crowd. There have been so many teams started

because a parents daughter wasn't getting enough playing time on the team

she was on. Now instead of having 8 or 9 college material players each team,

for the most part, a team has 3 or 4. For college coaches it makes it a whole

lot more difficult to find the right player for their college team. The coach is

either hired to coach the team or appointed to do it. Agree or disagree, let

them coach and the parents support. Be loyal to the organization no matter

what. If you don't have a good experience relocate to another team after

you complete your agreement. Character is huge in a college coaches eyes!!

GOOD LUCK! :xyzthumbs

 

well stated spart30!! :applause: