Team Jumping

[Blind Squirrel]

Over the years I've read a number of posts about how kids who jump teams get a bad reputation and some coaches/managers won't touch them. This might make you reluctant to leave a team to join one that looks like a better fit. You folks who are relatively new to FP should know that depending on the area you live in and how you handle things (with honesty)and perhaps other factors, there may be no problem going to a new team, even year after year. Personally, I have never heard about a single kid that had a problem finding a team because of a reputation as a team jumper. We live in South Orange County and my kid has played on many different teams. She has played with teams for 3 months and left. She left one team at the end of the summer, then left that new team to rejoin that old team the next January. She almost did it again this fall. The longest she has ever played for a team was 2 seasons. As I recall she was the only kid that was on the team when she started and was still on the team when she left, except for 2 kids who had family ties to the team. I have heard bad things said about her, which are often true, but I have never heard anyone say they wouldn't take her because of the number of teams she has played on. And no coach/manager has ever asked before offering her a spot. We run into her old coaches/managers relatively often. They couldn't be nicer to us and to her, though I'm sure there are cases where the niceness is an act. Your feelings of loyalty to the team/coach/manager and your views on loyality in general is obviously something to be considered. But I've seen far too many kids replaced during tryouts (which I have no problem with) or kids sitting on the bench game after game for me to worry about one way loyalty. Not every coach/manager operates that way. Those whose actions suggest more than concern for winning games deserve a like amount of loyality IMO. Used to be folks worked at the same company all their lives. Loyalty was a 2-way street. Not any more. I'm certainly not going to worry about loyalty to my employer when I know that the company is only concerned about what I can produce, how fast and with what level of quality.

I suspect that there will be many who completely disagree with my views on loyality in FP. Maybe my attitude is wrong. But in my experience and from the things I have seen/heard, if a coach wants a kid, a history of jumping teams won't stop him/her from offering the kid a spot.

John

[Blind Squirrel]

I agree that this is usually a tough call. Almost every time my kid left a team, it had to do with what was best for her development. I think it may be that our parents generation operated in a different world WRT to things like job security. They passed on to us the benefits and the moral (ethical?) value of being loyal and we saw them retire with a decent pension and benefits. But I think things have changed and I would love to have seen and experienced many more examples of 2-way loyalty in the workplace as well as in youth sports.

My kid played on a team for 2 years and left the team in September. During those 2 years the coaches worked with her on her game in many ways. The Manager spent a lot of time talking to college coaches about her. We loved the coaches, the manager, the way they treated our kid and we really enjoyed almost all of the parents. My kid wants to play D1 ball so, for the first time, we made her leave a team to go to another team. When we told the coach my wife and kid cried and cried. Loyalty wasn't the only concern. We remain extremely grateful for all of the time and effort the coach and manager put into our kid to try to help her reach a dream. But the reason for leaving was simple. To maximize her development and to minimize the difficulty of adjusting to better pitching in college, we felt she had to face the best pitching possible as much as possible over the next 2 years. Her new team consistently plays against some of the best teams around who typically have better pitchers than teams that will not see Nationals. Competitive kids very often will themselves to improve in order to compete with/against better players. I experienced it as a kid and I've seen her work very hard to raise her game.

We could be completely wrong in our decision. Maybe loyalty and gratitude should have outweighed development. We did what we thought was right.

John

[addiction]

Over the years I've read a number of posts about how kids who jump teams get a bad reputation and some coaches/managers won't touch them. This might make you reluctant to leave a team to join one that looks like a better fit. You folks who are relatively new to FP should know that depending on the area you live in and how you handle things (with honesty)and perhaps other factors, there may be no problem going to a new team, even year after year. Personally, I have never heard about a single kid that had a problem finding a team because of a reputation as a team jumper. We live in South Orange County and my kid has played on many different teams. She has played with teams for 3 months and left. She left one team at the end of the summer, then left that new team to rejoin that old team the next January. She almost did it again this fall. The longest she has ever played for a team was 2 seasons. As I recall she was the only kid that was on the team when she started and was still on the team when she left, except for 2 kids who had family ties to the team. I have heard bad things said about her, which are often true, but I have never heard anyone say they wouldn't take her because of the number of teams she has played on. And no coach/manager has ever asked before offering her a spot. We run into her old coaches/managers relatively often. They couldn't be nicer to us and to her, though I'm sure there are cases where the niceness is an act. Your feelings of loyalty to the team/coach/manager and your views on loyality in general is obviously something to be considered. But I've seen far too many kids replaced during tryouts (which I have no problem with) or kids sitting on the bench game after game for me to worry about one way loyalty. Not every coach/manager operates that way. Those whose actions suggest more than concern for winning games deserve a like amount of loyality IMO. Used to be folks worked at the same company all their lives. Loyalty was a 2-way street. Not any more. I'm certainly not going to worry about loyalty to my employer when I know that the company is only concerned about what I can produce, how fast and with what level of quality.

I think (unfortunately) loyalty goes out the window in softball (both ways)

in this day and age, you have to look out for your own

[Coachmom]

I agree with the original post that coaches generally do not care how many other teams a player has been on or the reasons why they left. If the girl has what they are looking for most coaches believe they can figure a way to work with that player to make her fit their program.

On a side note; I think it is mostly the players parents that get the bad reputations. Either for being difficult, for wanting too much for their kid without regard for what is best for the team or for talking trash on the sidelines.

I would definitely think twice about picking up a player whose parents are a problem!!

[ActionPlusVideo]

Team jumping is not always the players' or parents' fault:

DD started at 13yo in the 12U age group. She played rec ball for 2 years already, but I couldn't see her starting travel ball in the 14U. Coach took her on knowing she was only able to play for him for 4 months.Great coach, great team, but in January she had to move up to 14U.
Her 1st 14U team was a disaster. She made the team at a time some decent players were on it. They left. The team could not recruit better players - they were mercied every game - no lie, every game. When the coach wanted her to dummy down to the other players' level, it was time to leave.
She went to another 14U team as a replacement player for a coach's DD during high school season, so we knew it was only a temporary situation. Another good team, great coaching (she played for this coach again at 18G,) but after high school season, coaches DD came back and the team moved up to 16U. Time to look for another team again.
Went to several tryouts, finally signed on with a well established organization. I thought we were set - another great coach, great group of girls and parents, the organization had 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U and 18G, I thought she would be with this organization until she went to college. No deal - after Western Nationals, the coach left, a replacement coach could not be found, and the 14U team dissolved. No opennings on the 16U, time to look again.
She made it on an another established team with a good coach and a good reputation, but somehow it never came together (at that time) so she played for another team - well known and very strong as 14U, moving up to 16U. She interviewed, tried out, and made the team. From the time she had to leave her first team, I had been trying to get her on this team, almost a year, but they had no opennings. Needless to say, I was excited about her being on another top team. Unfortunately, the head coach left before she even had her first practice with them, the replacement coach was a major a*****e, and she left after a couple of months - walked off in the middle of a tourney after she confronted the coach about the situation. The team fell apart 2 months later. Our first experience with the "ugly" side of travel ball.
We finally connected with the previous team, she started playing for them, and again, the head coach left and the team dissolved. Within that organization the 14U were moving up to the 16U, the coach worked hard at recruiting my DD, so she stayed with the team. Everything was going great, I thought we were set with an established organization again, but the team went downhill fast. Turned into a "daddy ball" situation, team fell apart, and we were out looking for another team again.
She finished the season with another 16U team. Great situation - she got a lot of pratice at other positions. We are still friends with the coach and his family. He actually tried to recruit her when she walked off the previously mentioned team (his team was at the tourney), but the coaches would not give him any info on my DD. Unfortunately, at tryouts for the next season, there was not enough talent to put together a compettive team, so she started looking for another team and moved up to the 18U.
At this time, we had only been in travel ball for about 2 years - she was only a fresman in high school.
I can go on and on, but I'm sure you get the picture. Team loyalty? Get serious.

[addiction]

Team jumping is not always the players' or parents' fault:

DD started at 13yo in the 12U age group. She played rec ball for 2 years already, but I couldn't see her starting travel ball in the 14U. Coach took her on knowing she was only able to play for him for 4 months.Great coach, great team, but in January she had to move up to 14U.
Her 1st 14U team was a disaster. She made the team at a time some decent players were on it. They left. The team could not recruit better players - they were mercied every game - no lie, every game. When the coach wanted her to dummy down to the other players' level, it was time to leave.
She went to another 14U team as a replacement player for a coach's DD during high school season, so we knew it was only a temporary situation. Another good team, great coaching (she played for this coach again at 18G,) but after high school season, coaches DD came back and the team moved up to 16U. Time to look for another team again.
Went to several tryouts, finally signed on with a well established organization. I thought we were set - another great coach, great group of girls and parents, the organization had 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U and 18G, I thought she would be with this organization until she went to college. No deal - after Western Nationals, the coach left, a replacement coach could not be found, and the 14U team dissolved. No opennings on the 16U, time to look again.
She made it on an another established team with a good coach and a good reputation, but somehow it never came together (at that time) so she played for another team - well known and very strong as 14U, moving up to 16U. She interviewed, tried out, and made the team. From the time she had to leave her first team, I had been trying to get her on this team, almost a year, but they had no opennings. Needless to say, I was excited about her being on another top team. Unfortunately, the head coach left before she even had her first practice with them, the replacement coach was a major a*****e, and she left after a couple of months - walked off in the middle of a tourney after she confronted the coach about the situation. The team fell apart 2 months later. Our first experience with the "ugly" side of travel ball.
We finally connected with the previous team, she started playing for them, and again, the head coach left and the team dissolved. Within that organization the 14U were moving up to the 16U, the coach worked hard at recruiting my DD, so she stayed with the team. Everything was going great, I thought we were set with an established organization again, but the team went downhill fast. Turned into a "daddy ball" situation, team fell apart, and we were out looking for another team again.
She finished the season with another 16U team. Great situation - she got a lot of pratice at other positions. We are still friends with the coach and his family. He actually tried to recruit her when she walked off the previously mentioned team (his team was at the tourney), but the coaches would not give him any info on my DD. Unfortunately, at tryouts for the next season, there was not enough talent to put together a compettive team, so she started looking for another team and moved up to the 18U.
At this time, we had only been in travel ball for about 2 years - she was only a fresman in high school.
I can go on and on, but I'm sure you get the picture. Team loyalty? Get serious.

WOW what a mess

[Cannonball]

In our area (midwest) I can think of two young ladies instantly who have a reputation for "team jumping" and both have found it hard to link up now with teams. However, this had nothing to do with the player. Both are great kids. Rather, it has to do with the times these young ladies were removed from their teams and the actions, comments etc. by the parents after those players left.

We moved our DD for the first time last year after she played for two teams the duration of a year. One team didn't want to move up and the other did. My DD needs to play up, in my opinion, because once they have played HS ball, (in our area only JV and Varsity) it doesn't make sense to go play 14U. We sat down with the coach of the team we left, have offered to purchase a uniform and pay team fees and will still play for that team when they are short. He agreed that we were doing the best thing for our child and the team knows it isn't personal, had nothing to do with playing time or so many other issues that tear teams apart.

Again, this is in our area. I know that the West Coast is much different.

[starbound]

Loyalty and travel softball should not even be in the same sentence. Someone start a post of the most amazing stories of un-loyal travel ball parents..You see how I said parents and not players, because that is where the lack of loyalty comes from, the parents. Before I have some yahoo barking at me, yes I do believe you have to do what is best for your DD, but their is a way to do it but I want to here about the ways you don't do it.

[addiction]

Loyalty and travel softball should not even be in the same sentence. Someone start a post of the most amazing stories of un-loyal travel ball parents..You see how I said parents and not players, because that is where the lack of loyalty comes from, the parents. Before I have some yahoo barking at me, yes I do believe you have to do what is best for your DD, but their is a way to do it but I want to here about the ways you don't do it.

there is two sides to that coin, one being what you stated, the other being un-loyal teams/coaches, they hook you up front with empty promises then dont follow through, the PLAYER ends up with the crappy end of the stick in most situations, and all they want to do is play ball

[Cannonball]

Loyalty and travel softball should not even be in the same sentence. Someone start a post of the most amazing stories of un-loyal travel ball parents..You see how I said parents and not players, because that is where the lack of loyalty comes from, the parents. Before I have some yahoo barking at me, yes I do believe you have to do what is best for your DD, but their is a way to do it but I want to here about the ways you don't do it.

there is two sides to that coin, one being what you stated, the other being un-loyal teams/coaches, they hook you up front with empty promises then dont follow through, the PLAYER ends up with the crappy end of the stick in most situations, and all they want to do is play ball

DD played in a tournament and was excited to play against one team since it was comprised of some of her friends and one of the parents was an old childhood friend of mine. Long story short, my old friend stood up and began making a scene as he was embarrased that the team had brought in some players for the game. Girls that were team members were left on the bench. This guy has always spoken his mind and his DD was the starting catcher. He was standing up for all of the other players. Naturally, he predicted that the team would fold before very long and sure enough...