Playing on a top level team not local to you ??

[black17]

So I thought of one point that's important. DO NOT expect a team from another city to accommodate out of town players. Most will, but some won't. Some of the families we travel with to 'the big city' expect the team to make changes to the schedule based on them. It doesn't work way. If you join a team from far away, you need to understand the expectations. It's on the parents, not the team to find a way to make it work.

It can be tough!

 

[Agbracing]

My DD is going to be first year 12u this fall and into next spring. My question is for those that have joined top level national teams that are not local to you,

How did you realize it was time to tryout for one?
How do attending practices work if your several hrs away from this team?
How old was your DD when you made this commitment?

Lots of good information throughout this post. A few years ago when trying to make this decision myself I read a lot of information. So I will share our story and thoughts for the OP and others that will come along in the future wondering this same thing. This is a long post so for some it’s not worth the read but for those in this situation it could be worth it.

In 10u my DD played on a completely local team. The first year was a startup team that got her feet wet. Her second year we took some of the better players from our rec team and added some pieces to play locally. The tournaments we played were really just glorified rec ball but it was a much better situation then the rec league. For some reason I didn’t see the talent my DD had and didn’t think she was as good as those big time “A” class pitchers. So we were pretty happy and thought everything was going along fine. She got noticed at some of these small tournaments by a much better team and got asked to come play at a big regional tournament. We accepted the invitation and I saw a new level of work and determination in her that I had not seen before. She worked her tail off the next few weeks getting ready to face these better teams. We show up at the tournament and after a couple of games we realized that this was more the level of ball she should be playing and she was above average for the other pitchers there. So we made the tough decision that we would shut down her current team the end of the season and start looking to move her up for 12u. I reached out to several top teams within a couple of hours from us and got several private tryouts lined up. The first tryout was a very good regional type team that was about an hour from the house and had just won a big championship tournament. The entire team was coming back and looking to add one pitcher. She tried out and was offered a spot immediately. We felt good about the team and really liked the coaches and took the offer. It was the closest team of this caliber and felt that being able to practice regularly with this team would benefit her in the transition. We played that season and had a great year with them but felt she had outgrown that team and would be ready for the next level soon. As tryouts came around we started getting messages from national level PGF premier teams. So second yr 12u is when the transition was made for us. Practice was several hours away on the weekends we were not playing. It was a full day when we had practice from the drive and having a 4-6 hour practice. But it actually worked out better to only have one day tied up with team practice and all through the week you could plan lessons and training time easily. This team was not a good fit for us and had a mass exodus of coaches and players after one year. But the exposure she had got even more coaches after her and that lead to finding a great situation on top level team.

Practice actually works out pretty well if most of the team’s players all travel a distance to practice. Softball is an “individual” team sport. While there has to be chemistry and some basic “plays” or situations that need to be covered as a team the individual players have to put in the work their self at home. We have traveled to tournaments a day early for practice. And attend a few team practice over the year. Something we do is go to a local team’s practice when we can to get her some reps. Practice was probably one of the things I was most worried about but once seeing how it is done I actually prefer our schedule then having 2/3 team practice a week.

When to make the transition to higher level of play is going to be different for everyone. Many people told me by second year 14 you need to have a good idea on what level of college your DD has the desire, talent and potential to play. Then be on a team that plays in front of those college coaches. I thought 12u was a good time to start testing the water. Some girls get better by being challenged and some can fold under pressure. So it really depends on what a girl needs to develop. Reps against better players to be challenged or just more reps in their comfort zone to build their fundamentals.

When you feel the time is right then don’t hesitate to reach out to coaches. They are almost always looking for good players. Attend tryouts even if it’s not a team you may be actually interested in joining. Girls will get nervous and be uncomfortable in tryouts. So the more they attend the more relaxed they become the better they can perform. Even on these type teams if the coach has a daughter on the team I avoid a team my DD plays the same positions. Don’t just fall for anyone that claims an A schedule to play. Look at team’s history and performance. If they have not played the level of events you expect then it’s probably not a good option.

 

[Tide_will_Roll]

I know it sounds cliche, but they really have to be self-motivating. From there, it is the parent's job to be the support group (ie, get out the wallet ) There really is a huge commitment involved to reach that level (playing in the SEC), after they make the decision that is what they want to do. Not necessarily at the younger ages, but when DDs are at the prime recruiting age, it is normal to have a personal hitting coach, position coach, strength and conditioning coach, and some even use mental coaches. Not everyone uses all of these resources, but I personally have seen enough girls use them all to say that it is definitely not out of the norm. Now factor in the practice you do on your own, then yes there is definitely a lot of hours a week dedicated to softball. Then there are the resources that you put together on your own. Did you see the piece on the World Series show about Kat Sandercock's pitching barn? I remember seeing something similar about Jolene and Danielle Henderson (UCLA a few years ago) having their own field at their house. Stuff like this is not uncommon, especially for a pitcher. Heck, when I built my new garage, I made design changes to get a hitting/pitching lane inside it. I know a few people that put pole barns up for the sole purpose of having a "facility" of their own to use.

Also, don't ever make it about what "Dad wants". My DDs high school teammate is an incoming freshman at a Power 5 school. Her dad is very ego-driven, fanatical about making her play for a P5. Any P5, it didn't matter as long as he could say his DD was a P5 athlete. He made softball the most important thing in her life, to the point where she missed out on fun things that a HS girl should be enjoying. She was on a special diet, training regiments, and would have to go back on the HS softball field when the team was done with practice and hit BP with dad until dark, every night. She openly stated to my DD many times that "I hate softball, and I hate my Dad!" She only ever played travel for a "National team" that her dad coached. It's sad. I guess the point of this last paragraph was to say that; No matter how well your intentions are, make sure you keep yourself grounded and let your DD blaze her own path.

Sorry about the long-winded reply.

Her dad should have read up on Todd Marinovich and his father.

 

[CFenton]

Great insight and Info here. We are not ready for a National level team now, so no that is not what we are looking for. It is impossible for me to know if my daughter will play at that level right now or if she wants to for that matter.

What I do know is she is very talented and athletic and we as parents would love to experience her playing at the highest els of college ranks one day. But, dd is currently 10yo, so who knows what will happen. So with that, there has to be decisions made early on through say 14u to position these young ladies for that opportunity. As well as decisions .are by the parents to keep dd's drive and passion where it should be to reach that level.

I also think parents can groom that mentality so to speak and that is another topic that would be good( for younger dd parents anyway). I guess to some extent parents and dd's just make decisions/ opportunities as they come and see where they lead.

 

[LW23]

My DD is going to be first year 12u this fall and into next spring. My question is for those that have joined top level national teams that are not local to you,

How did you realize it was time to tryout for one?
How do attending practices work if your several hrs away from this team?
How old was your DD when you made this commitment?

DD is a Pitcher / Outfielder and at the time her PC was coaching a local D1 College Program. Her advice to us was to be part of a reputable / well respected travel team by 14U if playing in college was a goal for DD. We took the advice and are currently playing at 16U. My advice is that your DD should be learning all the correct fundamentals during 12's. When you get an opportunity go watch some of the top 14U teams / organizations play at a national level event and gauge where you are fundamentally and athletically to those athletes. Use 12U to close the gap if there is one. We play for what is considered a top 25 program. We play at all the major tourneys / power pools, and get plenty of exposure to colleges of every level. It is very expensive, so please take that into consideration as a family when making the commitment!

Our team is based more than 3 hours away. Being that DD is a pitcher we are not required to make every practice. Although we try to make as many as possible. We have several players that make slightly shorter commutes. You will be putting in a ton of work at home anyway if your playing at this level. Our swings are tracked on BLAST along with the associated metrics. Weekly logs are required also. Most players make weekend practices as scheduled.

We made the commitment second year 12U. In my opinion 14U was the hardest for us. Starting high school, playing other sports, and being part of other afterschool activities changed DD's perspective somewhat. I didn't interfere and she took part in whatever she wanted and did well. I wasn't sure where we would end up to be honest. But at the end of the year she told us " I was good at those other sports and had fun, but I'm a great at softball. I'm all in let's do this". And we have done exactly that. I will say this also if your good enough they will find you. We have played a team a few times that has one of the best pure hitters I have ever seen. They are not what would be considered a top organization, but she brings the colleges, and they all benefit from it.