Softball Tips - Is the Long Term Commitment Dead?

To me, it seems like as your team moves up in age groups, the parents get worse. Just this summer, I had a handful of parents say that I needed to be tougher on our players, while the other half was saying that I needed to ease up on them. I just coached my way, knowing that I was bound to not make everybody happy. With this taking place, my players sometimes acted like "free agents" instead of team members.  

The thing that's really frustrating for me is that there has been an increase of travel teams entering our Marion County's recreation league. Being that the county league's host school is the biggest offender, their "board" does nothing except ignore complaints or threaten to "take their ball and go home" when pressed. In addition to that, the host school has now started "cherry picking" players from other county schools and putting them on their travel teams, ignoring the league rule that you must attend a school or reside in their district to play for their team.

buckeyebossman
Marion County, OH

My DD is a top pitcher in the area and had two teams let her go because she was a threat to the coach's DD!! Her new team has coaches who love the game and have cycled back to coach 16U again as their 23U team is all in college.  They have no alterior motives they want to build and grow another college bound team.  Too many parent/coaches are not willing to admit when their DD is not the best so the coach cuts the players who put in the extra time to get better.  What message does that send to the girls?  If daddy is not the coach you better start your own team.  Parents ruining youth sports again.

We have been together since our girls were 7. They are 13 now. We have several state titles and in 2011 alone, we have won 11 of the 15 tourneys we have played because we stay together and stay focused on our mission! What I have seen over the last couple of years is Dads leaving a team to start their own team so their DD gets to play where he wants her to play, and picks up more recreational players than competitive players which has saturated the game. It is hard to find "competitve teams" here locally because so many teams have split and reformed with others but are not as competitve as they were on their orginal team. While it's unfortunate, it is not slowing down. I have seen fast pitch in Florida increase by the hundreds in the last 3 years. Great for all the associations, but not so great for having to find the "competitive" tourneys to play.

You're right about it happening more and more. It's real important to emphasize that the vast majority of team jumpers are in their late 20's and up, otherwise known as parents. The only time I've ever pulled my DD off a team was because the Coach became verbally abusive (8 year olds). Every other switch we have made has been due to the team disbanding (parents again). My daughter has never asked to change teams probably because I left the decision where to play up to her even when she was 10u. My one rule has always been: you commit to play , you stay to play.

Let’s face it as kids we
all started to play sports was for fun and in the back of our heads we had the
grand vision of playing pro or college ball. Good or bad we mimic what we want
to be, some college players do not handle themselves in an honorable way and
break NCAA rules, some coaches bend the NCAA rules. Look at the pros lots of
trades every year, players leaving for a better deal and coache’s looking for
talent outside the team has become a way of life. Look at colleges the Big ten
right now Texas A&M changing conferences.  

All sports have lost that commitment
to team and team to players. If you want to keep players then those players
should not have to tryout they already have a position and this should be
communicated. You are my player and this is your team.   The team should show commitment to players
and player to team. I always look at it if a player was not playing up to my
expectations then it was a coaching problem and I need to learn how to communicate
with the player to get them to understand what I needed from them. Some coaches
look at it as a player problem and they will trade them in the spring. I’m not
saying from time to time this needs to happen. 
Sometimes you have a player who does not do well under your coaching style,
and sometime a player just doesn’t work well within the team. In this case the
player deserves to find a coach that they can be coached by and coach deserves having
a player that will excel under his or her direction. But trading players and
trading teams doesn’t always make the player, coach or team better. I have seen
lots of moves that if the player would have been coachable they would of
excelled I have also seen coaches that if they could of learned how to coach
that player He or She would have transcended from a good coach to a great oneCoaches and players should
be honest about expectation. If goals and expectations change are good communication
skills is the answer in softball and life. Be honest no hidden agendas. Both
coaches and players are guilty of making obligations that they cannot or will
not fulfill.

I think it's true that players seem to be changing teams more often.  I once listened to an Olympic softball player tell about 50+ girls plus parents that you need to search around to "find the right team" to play on.  I think it makes a lot of sense that you look for the team or organization which most closely matches your own philosophy/needs whether it is higher or lower levels of competition.    I have also seen that more and more teams want to win at any cost and are dropping otherwise loyal girls from their team.  

This is something that I have been struggling with for the past few years. I have noticed more "hopping" but also a great many more teams cropping up. The talent pool has become diluted, spreading more and more of the better players across more teams. In the end, really good players want to play with other really good players. It is just natural. Love him or hate him, that was a big factor in Labron James' move to Miami. I've also noticed a big change in parental behavior. I many cases, it doesn't seem like I am talking to a parent, but the player's agent.
Another thing that I have noticed, is that the team or organization's mission is lost. In many cases, there is no mission beyond "let's put a team together and win some games". When you seek out a place to play, be sure that the overall goal of that team is in line with your goals. If you want exposure, be sure that team has plans in place to provide that exposure. If you just want to play, don't go running to the team that has all the prospects and travels all over the country. LIkewise, check out the coaching staff and their credentials. Almost all of us started because we had a daughter playing, and for whatever reason, got into coaching. But, how seriously do they take it? Do they honor their responsibility by improving their craft? Are they certified? A member of the NFCA? Attend coaching clinics regularly? Organized at practices? Are you comfortable with them?

My 10yr old daughter is not playing travel ball for one simple reason.. She wants to play Rec ball with her close friends who's parents cannot afford travel ball.. I left that decision entirely up to her.. We'll never force her to do something she doesn't want..