New Travel Team Coach Needing Advice

[let it be fun]

The girls will most likely sort themselves out. I assume you want to keep coaching your DD so a lot will depend on how she develops. If she is one of the better players by age 12 she will probably not want to play with some other girls who are just there to have fun. Conversely, if your DD is middle of the pack to lower, don't be surprised if some of the better players want to move to a better team and play at a higher level. It is highly unlikely that you will have the same girls for even two seasons when you start that young. Too many things happen. With my DD1, I was an Asst Coach at 12U. They were playing at rec level and moved up to B the next year and struggled. The team had 3-4 A players, 3-4 B players and 3-4 C players. The team split at 14U with all of the girls I would classify as A level players eventually catching on with A teams and playing through 18U. The B level players were about 50/50 with sticking it out, and I don't think any of the C level players played after 14U. The players who quit playing softball got jobs, got very active in other sports or activities, or just found something else to do. With my younger DD, the same 10U team stayed together with the same coach up to 18U and there was probably a turnover of about 2-3 girls per season for various reasons.

 

[DaytonGuy]

I have a similar coaching philosophy as you do. I have never cut a player from my team simply because I found an upgraded player at that position. I have cut a player if they, or their parents, have caused issues/drama that I did not want to deal with in following seasons. What I have found with this philosophy, is that your team will eventually be filled with players who subscribe to this philosophy. Some will be quite talented and others will be less talented, but they will be there for the same reasons you are. To learn, play competitively, and to have fun. Some of those girls will attract the eye of college coaches by doing the work needed to garner that attention. Other girls will not. There will be girls that leave to play for "better" teams. I have found that often, those players come back after a season or two. The win at all cost attitude that some coaches and/or organizations have it simply too much for most people. I think everyone wants to win, and you can build a competitive team and you can win tournaments. You may never be able to beat some of the "elite" teams in your area or you may never win some of the big tournaments but you should be able to be "in" most games you play. At the end of the day, some girls want to play in college and I believe there is a college spot out there for almost any girl who truly wants to play. That is their end result and you WILL have girls that go on to play college ball. There will be girls who don't want to play college ball, but want to have fun and play competitively. They aren't going to spend the rest of their life county trophies and cheap medals. They will focus on the fun and lifelong friendships they have made though this game.

My team is not a power house team. We had 1st, 2nd, 3rd place finishes this season at 16U and a 5th place finish at an ASA B Nationals. We had 40 wins on the season. We were all proud of that, coaches, players, and parents. I have 7 returning girls for our first year of 18U. The other 5 either wanted to stay down and play 16U again, or in 1 or 2 instances I know they were looking for a "better" team. I am OK with all of that. Those 7 that are returning is a pretty consistent group. Most of them have been with me for 5 years. They know my philosophy and seem to feel it is what they are looking for. I've had opportunities to pick up more talented girls at tryouts, but I haven't because, perhaps like you, that is not who I am or what I'm about.

You will likely find that you have a loyal core group of girls that stick with you. You WILL have players leave. Don't take it personal. That's how this sport works. You WILL have other team "poach" some of your more talented girls. It's hard, but try not to talk that personal either. I have always felt that if one of my players wants to go elsewhere for any reason and at any time, they are free to go. It's about them and what they want. If that no longer includes me or my team then so be it.

Anyway, maybe not a lot of what you were looking for here, but I think you are on your way to having a lot of fun and will have an opportunity to impact the lives of several of they girls in a positive way. I strongly believe there is room in this sport for "nice guys" who place more emphasis on teaching the game and having fun than on taking home as many little plastic trophies as they can. Good luck to you!!

 

[InsidePitch]

Of all the talent that was on DDs 12U all star team, only 3 still play and I was very surprised at some who walked away. Good luck Coach.

 

[sluggers]

Generally: You should go to one of the already existing organizations and see if you can work with them to field a team. It will save you a lot of work and a lot of stubbed toes.

How do I make this team highly competitive without (more or less) cutting players who aren't the same level as other players?

You would lie to the parents of the lesser players and tell them you will "develop" them, while at the same time look for players to replace the weaker players. When you find a better player, you boot the lesser kid.

My friend, a "highly competitive" team is "highly competitive" because they have 12 strong players...not because they have 7 strong players and 5 weak players. In order to be highly competitive, you have to win the "big tournaments". Winning a "big tournament" requires winning 7 to 9 games over two days, which requires that every member of your team contribute.

If you have a "bad player" on your team, I guarantee that she will only come to bat with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 7th with your team down by one run.

DaytonGuy sounds like a great guy to play for...I would have loved my kids to play for him. His team is good, but isn't "highly competitive"...which is OK. He seems like he knows what he wants to accomplish and how he intends to do it.

Can you go play in showcase tournaments with a mediocre team in order to showcase your good players?

Sure...but, look, you have an 8U team. The kids won't be recruited until they are 14U, so I think you should chill. First, get your team up and running. Then, in 2020, start thinking about showcase tournaments. 90% of the kids on your 8U team will not be playing softball at 14U...so, don't worry about it.

I want to run a good team but also care about how I treat young players and parents. Is this possible?

Of course. But, the coach needs to be able to (1) identify talent, (2) teach softball, and (3) be honest.

The hardest part of having a "good team" has to do with honesty. At some point (not at 8U), you will have to tell a player and her parents that the kid "isn't good enough". You should not keep weak players on the team to fill out the roster.

 

[rocktheball]

DaytonGuy, thank you so much! Your post pretty much sums up how I want to approach this team. From my past experience in baseball I know players come and go. I'm just trying to make sure I approach this team in the correct way. Have lofty goals but not being a cut throat type of coach. Also, not setting expectations so high with parents that the expectations aren't realistic.

 

[Sparky Guy]

You had better pay close attention to parent expectations, as well!

When it comes to dealing with parents. Read this. It is just as significant now as when Aesop wrote it.

The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey


A MAN and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: “You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?” 1

So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: “See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides.” 2

So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn’t gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: “Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.” 3

Well, the Man didn’t know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor Donkey of yours—you and your hulking son?” 4

The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the Donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the Donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned. 5

“That will teach you,” said an old man who had followed them:

“PLEASE ALL, AND YOU WILL PLEASE NONE.”

 

[rocktheball]

When it comes to dealing with parents. Read this. It is just as significant now as when Aesop wrote it.

The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey


A MAN and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: “You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?” 1

So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: “See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides.” 2

So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn’t gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: “Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.” 3

Well, the Man didn’t know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor Donkey of yours—you and your hulking son?” 4

The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the Donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the Donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned. 5

“That will teach you,” said an old man who had followed them:

“PLEASE ALL, AND YOU WILL PLEASE NONE.”

Great advice, will remember that.

 

[Gambler Bob]

We just finished our first season of 8u part time travel ball. The organization has been around for awhile but this was the first time they had ever done a 8u travel ball team. The team is located in the south suburbs of Chicago, and we are associated with the rec league of town we live in.

We tried to get this team off the ground in the fall but that did not work out. We could not find a 8u travel ball division in our area to play games so we never had a tryout at that time. In the winter we found out that a league was starting a 8u travel ball division with 12 teams that signed up for the league. We ended up having a indoor tryout in January, only 9 girls showed up so we did not have anyone that was cut (very similiar to your situation). Word got out that there was a new 8u tb team in the area and we were able to get 13 girls signed up for travel by the end of February.

We started practicing indoors 1x per week for 2 hours at the end of January and practiced indoors up until April. To be honest the team was pretty poor in the beginning. By the end of year we placed 3rd out of 16 teams that played in the State Championship tournament. Played about 15 friendly's and 3 tournaments during the season, so about 30 travel ball games. In addition all the girls played 12 games in the rec league.

During practice you need to stress the fundamentals as much as possible. Separate the girls into small groups of 3-4 players and work on ground balls and getting their feet turned and into a throwing position, another group can do tee work and a side toss into a bow net, keep the drills simple. Half the girls on our team could not catch, throw, or even knew how to hold a bat correctly at the first practices. After the fundamentals just getting the girls to be softball ready on every pitch was the most difficult part of coaching at this young of a level. We also used agility ladders a lot during practice just to train the girls how to move there feet fast, good footwork is major part of baseball/softball. Basically just keep the girls moving and not standing around, when you give them time to stand around they start goofing off, one starts goofing off next thing you know half the team is goofing off.

Keep in mind that these girls are only 7-9 years old over the course of the year. Our policy at the 8u level was if you showed up to a game you are going to play. Everyone batted and know one sat more than 2 innings on defense. Even if the girls missed practice they are still going to play come game time, it is not the girls choice to miss practice at 7-9 years old, that is the parents decision. We used the same policy in tournaments also, the last thing we as coaches want at this level is to crush a girls confidence by sitting them on the bench for a game. I really feel that the everyone plays policy kept team drama down from a coaches stand point. If your wondering if the "Everyone Plays Policy" hurt us, the answer would be definitely in terms of winning, but the positives out weighed the negatives in our opinion at least at this young of an age.

The biggest issue with our part time 8u tb team was being involved with the local rec league. It was very difficult to get a field to practice on since they are all being used for rec league games. When we could get a field to practice on half the girls would have rec games on the same night so getting a a team practice in was nearly impossible for us. After the rec league ended we were able to practice as a team again, that is when these girls really started to get better fast.

At this age group the game is all about pitching, pitching, and pitching (<<<< not sure that ever changes though lol)! The girls that want to pitch have to practice more than the 1x per week when you have practice. Pitchers have to practice a minimum of 2x per week and preferably 3x to find consistency during the season. Of course they need to take breaks at some point also, I am not saying they need to practice 12 months per year. We were lucky enough to have two girls that were getting private pitching lessons, that really helped by the end of the season. I would highly recommend having your pitchers get private lessons, even if it is from a girl in highschool or a older travel ball player that pitches! Sounds like you are already with a big tb organization, maybe you can have a girls come to practice and help out for a small fee/community service hours.

The last 2 tournaments of the year you were able to steal bases, that was fun to see. We had a catcher throw 3 girls out at third base and threw 1 girls out at 2nd base during the tournament. 3rd base coach started giving signs to the batters, we had bunt, fake bunt, steal, and take a pitch signs. One of the funniest things I saw the entire season was after the inning was over the girls batting came up to the 3rd base coach and asked how she was supposed to fake bunt and steal a base at the same time lol.

Most importantly keep things FUN and POSITIVE for the girls, I can almost guarantee you that the coaches take the game more seriously than the players at this age. If you feel the need to criticize something make sure you say something positive before and after your criticism. Keep things positive!!

 

[rocktheball]

We just finished our first season of 8u part time travel ball. The organization has been around for awhile but this was the first time they had ever done a 8u travel ball team. The team is located in the south suburbs of Chicago, and we are associated with the rec league of town we live in.

We tried to get this team off the ground in the fall but that did not work out. We could not find a 8u travel ball division in our area to play games so we never had a tryout at that time. In the winter we found out that a league was starting a 8u travel ball division with 12 teams that signed up for the league. We ended up having a indoor tryout in January, only 9 girls showed up so we did not have anyone that was cut (very similiar to your situation). Word got out that there was a new 8u tb team in the area and we were able to get 13 girls signed up for travel by the end of February.

We started practicing indoors 1x per week for 2 hours at the end of January and practiced indoors up until April. To be honest the team was pretty poor in the beginning. By the end of year we placed 3rd out of 16 teams that played in the State Championship tournament. Played about 15 friendly's and 3 tournaments during the season, so about 30 travel ball games. In addition all the girls played 12 games in the rec league.

During practice you need to stress the fundamentals as much as possible. Separate the girls into small groups of 3-4 players and work on ground balls and getting their feet turned and into a throwing position, another group can do tee work and a side toss into a bow net, keep the drills simple. Half the girls on our team could not catch, throw, or even knew how to hold a bat correctly at the first practices. After the fundamentals just getting the girls to be softball ready on every pitch was the most difficult part of coaching at this young of a level. We also used agility ladders a lot during practice just to train the girls how to move there feet fast, good footwork is major part of baseball/softball. Basically just keep the girls moving and not standing around, when you give them time to stand around they start goofing off, one starts goofing off next thing you know half the team is goofing off.

Keep in mind that these girls are only 7-9 years old over the course of the year. Our policy at the 8u level was if you showed up to a game you are going to play. Everyone batted and know one sat more than 2 innings on defense. Even if the girls missed practice they are still going to play come game time, it is not the girls choice to miss practice at 7-9 years old, that is the parents decision. We used the same policy in tournaments also, the last thing we as coaches want at this level is to crush a girls confidence by sitting them on the bench for a game. I really feel that the everyone plays policy kept team drama down from a coaches stand point. If your wondering if the "Everyone Plays Policy" hurt us, the answer would be definitely in terms of winning, but the positives out weighed the negatives in our opinion at least at this young of an age.

The biggest issue with our part time 8u tb team was being involved with the local rec league. It was very difficult to get a field to practice on since they are all being used for rec league games. When we could get a field to practice on half the girls would have rec games on the same night so getting a a team practice in was nearly impossible for us. After the rec league ended we were able to practice as a team again, that is when these girls really started to get better fast.

At this age group the game is all about pitching, pitching, and pitching (<<<< not sure that ever changes though lol)! The girls that want to pitch have to practice more than the 1x per week when you have practice. Pitchers have to practice a minimum of 2x per week and preferably 3x to find consistency during the season. Of course they need to take breaks at some point also, I am not saying they need to practice 12 months per year. We were lucky enough to have two girls that were getting private pitching lessons, that really helped by the end of the season. I would highly recommend having your pitchers get private lessons, even if it is from a girl in highschool or a older travel ball player that pitches! Sounds like you are already with a big tb organization, maybe you can have a girls come to practice and help out for a small fee/community service hours.

The last 2 tournaments of the year you were able to steal bases, that was fun to see. We had a catcher throw 3 girls out at third base and threw 1 girls out at 2nd base during the tournament. 3rd base coach started giving signs to the batters, we had bunt, fake bunt, steal, and take a pitch signs. One of the funniest things I saw the entire season was after the inning was over the girls batting came up to the 3rd base coach and asked how she was supposed to fake bunt and steal a base at the same time lol.

Most importantly keep things FUN and POSITIVE for the girls, I can almost guarantee you that the coaches take the game more seriously than the players at this age. If you feel the need to criticize something make sure you say something positive before and after your criticism. Keep things positive!!

All great points Gambler Bob, thanks for sharing your story with me. Going to try to hit on all the points you brought up.

1. I have been coaching since my daughter started 6U coach pitch at 3 years old so luckily I have about 5 years of experience with young players.

2. My two brothers are helping as coaches for the team and fundamentals are all we are going to work on till we fill they have them down. Yes, some will get the fundamentals quicker, or already have them. We will deal with that when we come to it.

3. I am not in a big organization but my brother and I are good friends with a big travel organization's founder and he is going to help get our team get off the ground with a field whenever we need it and other help as we need. He had coaching opening at 10U but my daughter isn't ready to move up yet or we would have gladly accepted the offer.

4. We also know a good hitting coach and two pitching coaches so we are going to start utilizing them now instead of waiting till next summer. We will have to move up to 10U next fall. (Where I live 8U hit off a pitching machine and then you start with live pitching at 10U.) we want our girls who will pitch ready when the time comes.

5. We are playing league this fall and a couple tournaments then league in the spring with more tournament play in spring and through out summer. Don't plan to be full travel till probably second year of 10U.

Thank you for all suggestions. I hope I have a good plan for getting the team where I want them playing wise. The player/parent relationship is where I don't have much experience. Team I have helped coach before only played league and a few tournaments. They never had the goals I have with this team now.

 

[coach james]

Teach fundamentals - focus more on developing players than winning. Keep it fun. Also, keep it fun.

Never stop learning. Ever.

+1 x infinity!!!!!!!