Already? Travel Trout notices going out...

[marriard]

That is a sucky place to be. Knowing that your DD is good enough for an A team and to pay A-level $$, but to sit the bench. On the other hand, you know that, even though they'd play a ton at the B level, there would be little to no interest from colleges. Or at least that's the way it's portrayed here and on other boards I've seen. If it IS possible to get college exposure as a top player on a good B-level team, that would be an awesome thing for parents to know.

There is plenty of interest in lower level A teams and high-B teams that are showing up in showcases. You just have to be realistic about what level of player you are and what level of softball you want to play. Sure, you are not going to be recruited to a D1 CSWS team, but if you are a mid-lower D2 talent for example and you are proactive in your recruiting, you will get plenty of looks. And you are better off on these 'your level' teams than playing for the 'big' org, spending $$$$$ and still ending up at a mid-D2 college on a 20% scholarship (or worse - see below).

For example, there are two orgs down here who have had offers for every girl on their 16U and 18U-Gold team for at least the past 8 years ... all to colleges you have probably never heard of unless you live near them. As far as I am aware they have never been to an ASA Nationals or Colorado Sparklers or any of the 'big' showcases. However they will hit all the local showcases, play a couple of out of state mid-level showcases and do a great job of getting their girls in front of the colleges that really should be looking at their players. Most of these girls are on better money than more talented girls going to much higher level schools (in terms of softball).

On the same note, one of my neighbors must have spent most of $200k+ on his DD over the past few years being on the local big orgs teams (this is the team they always talk about Florida getting their local players from - but in reality it is 1, at most 2 each year), and in the end she ended up basically walking on (I believe she got what amounted to book money) at a mid-lower level D1 where she got 10 AB and appeared in 6 games this year. Now she is transferring to a local D2 that has always been interested in her since she was 14-15, where she will start and probably play every inning.

 

[marriard]

I figure if you're on the line between A and B, play high B to get the playing time to improve then move to A when ready. And if you're not skilled enough to be a starter on an A team by about 16 you're probably not playing in college anyway, right, so why not play where you get to actually play? Or am I wrong?

You are slightly wrong. You are not going to play for Alabama or Florida, but there are teams out there who would love to have an experienced, hard working travel player with average skills.

You get used to seeing the best on TV.. find a local college with a .250 or less winning percentage and go have a watch. I have seen college teams that I know our 14U team could take on and beat. Playing college softball isn't hard if that is your only goal. Playing good college softball - that is a much different story. Some team has to be the one being run ruled every week.

We have a local Juco who went 0-42 I believe this year and were 2-40 the year before and were competitively in maybe 10 of those games each season. On that team are two girls who couldn't crack the local HS lineup who got reasonable money to attend this JUCO. That may be a bit extreme, but it is out there. They are having some fun, living at home, playing a couple of extra years of softball and will transfer over to a four year school with an Assoc Degree. Not a bad deal for them.

Added:
Someone PM'd me and asked about the JUCO:
Turns out it was 0-46 and 5-35 over the past two years.
If you are REALLY interested: South Florida JUCO

 

[JAD]

It is somewhat easier for pitchers - they are in massive demand as the pool gets smaller. If we are not playing on a weekend - the moment the schedules come out and people see that, I get 10 texts or phone calls asking if my DD wants to play this weekend.

My advice would be to find a B-level team that offers circle time and plays up in A-level tournaments. The best way to improve is to pitch against better teams, not to be on the best team...

 

[junkball]

My advice would be to find a B-level team that offers circle time and plays up in A-level tournaments. The best way to improve is to pitch against better teams, not to be on the best team...

And when you show up at A tournaments with a B team, and perform well, the A coaches take note and when they have an opening or need a pickup you can get to the front of the line.

 

[junkball]

This whole "silly season" of people trying to find a new team for next year starts with parents. Parents that aren't happy where they are at, so they start to reach out to other parents and coaches. Coaches and parents tell others on their team that so-and-so called them and wants to play for them next year. Then those parents tell other parents who get wind of teams already forming for next year, and they start making calls. Then other coaches hear she's-going-here, she's-leaving-there, and so they realize that all the good players are becoming spoken for, so they start getting word out, and so on and so on. In the end, no one wants to be left without a chair when the music stops playing so everyone's keeping their eyes and ears wide open making sure they don't get left out.

What's unfortunate is that unless your kid is a stud (and not in your mind ), if spots start filling up you may be left standing when the music stops. Sure, there are organizational tryouts for a lot of the big names, but like others have said, most of those teams are spoken for and they are just hoping a stud shows up.

 

[Me_and_my_big_mouth]

This whole "silly season" of people trying to find a new team for next year starts with parents. Parents that aren't happy where they are at, so they start to reach out to other parents and coaches. Coaches and parents tell others on their team that so-and-so called them and wants to play for them next year. Then those parents tell other parents who get wind of teams already forming for next year, and they start making calls. Then other coaches hear she's-going-here, she's-leaving-there, and so they realize that all the good players are becoming spoken for, so they start getting word out, and so on and so on. In the end, no one wants to be left without a chair when the music stops playing so everyone's keeping their eyes and ears wide open making sure they don't get left out.

What's unfortunate is that unless your kid is a stud (and not in your mind ), if spots start filling up you may be left standing when the music stops. Sure, there are organizational tryouts for a lot of the big names, but like others have said, most of those teams are spoken for and they are just hoping a stud shows up.

Perfectly said. And so very true. Went to a tournament this weekend, and the undercurrents of parents having private chats here and there was palpable. There were also coaches from other teams watching all the other games, which was pretty obvious. As a parent, you do start to think, "Oh crap. What happens now?", especially if your kid is at a transition age where the odds of her entire team moving up are pretty doggone slim.

 

[Twintrouble]

In MN club ball has not gotten to the crazy level yet of other states/areas. And can't start until 14u. One of the rules that the governing body has is no tryouts until after nat's. No contacting other players as well. One club got and I believe was band from playing in MN for 3 years. Which is not a huge deal because most of the better teams play at out state tournaments anyways.

 

[Me_and_my_big_mouth]

In the last 2 weeks the manager and I have been contacted over a dozen times by different people asking if we have room on our team. Received calls about 18U next year, if we will have a 10U, who is managing.... Early bird gets the worm and in this case early tryouts get the pitcher needed to push them over the top.

In my area the grass is always greener on the other side, so securing a roster in July allows money to be committed to tournaments in September.

Question on this situation, then: when do you make deals with existing players? There are rumblings on DD current team about where certain girls have already been offered spots (all 2019 grads who have to age up, and we have multiple 16 and 18 teams). DD is being actively pursued by other orgs, but no one from her existing org has offered anything specific. We've been told along the way, "She'll probably play for this Gold team" or, "This coach wants the '01s" but when I emailed about when tryouts would be, I was met with a, "Don't know, will let you know when we know" kind of response. Should we take a hint, here? DD wants to stay with the org, but feels like they don't really care if she stays or not. It's obvious they've already talked with their studs - and DD doesn't want to get left (as it was so eloquently stated earlier), "without a chair when the music stops."

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[Softball scholar]

Meanwhile at Macy's, they will have Black Friday on Wednesday, November 1st this year.

 

[Jquick823]

Question on this situation, then: when do you make deals with existing players? There are rumblings on DD current team about where certain girls have already been offered spots (all 2019 grads who have to age up, and we have multiple 16 and 18 teams). DD is being actively pursued by other orgs, but no one from her existing org has offered anything specific. We've been told along the way, "She'll probably play for this Gold team" or, "This coach wants the '01s" but when I emailed about when tryouts would be, I was met with a, "Don't know, will let you know when we know" kind of response. Should we take a hint, here? DD wants to stay with the org, but feels like they don't really care if she stays or not. It's obvious they've already talked with their studs - and DD doesn't want to get left (as it was so eloquently stated earlier), "without a chair when the music stops."

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Go to tryouts for any team she's interested in playing for. If she has offers from legitimate "GOLD" teams then I'm guessing her current org doesn't want to lose her. What is the current success of your org in respect to you and your players goals with softball? If your DD wants to play in college does the org have a good track record of placing players?

DD had an offer from a very good 18U team this year she's still 14U eligible but plays 16U. The coach bragged that they place girls into college. I looked at their website and he didn't lie, but it was all local technical community college level. I talked with a parent and asked about player profiles, eligibility center numbers and if the coach reaches out to colleges for the girls. I got a long ummmmmm what's that. I'm not saying that these are the be all end all in this process or even that important, but they are fairly basic.

I would look into your current org and see if your DD's goals line up with the track history of the org. Look up the other orgs around and see if they meet your needs better.