June 03 looking for team/building Who is the best? Opinions?

[HerTimeToShine]

I have been around "travel" baseball for a while.... Raised both my boys through it. In that time we were very fortunate to find a great "home" for them. A building dedicated to teaching baseball and better life skills! I know the pros and cons! Softball is completely new to us!

I would love a little knowledge before we step in to something not worth my time and money.

Who is good, who is bad and why?

[funpolice]

You may want to start with an age group and a location. Why does it seem like somebody is going to come on here and say how great he is and his teams never need tryouts, even though they are always posting for them. Maybe even mention for the 1,000,000th time how his 14u team beat an 18u team.

[HerTimeToShine]

June 03 would make my daughter a 10u youngster.... and NorCal puts us in Northern California.

Anywhere in that range would work.

[FORCE10UDAD]

Trial & error. look for good parents(drama free) , avoid daddy ball(yes it happens) and look for a coach that brings out the best in your daughter! In my opinion there are alot of great teams out there.

[Watermanhouse]

We're a 10U family too... Nor Cal is pretty vague for area, in the softball world it stretches from Fresno to as far north as the Oregon/CA boarder, containing the Sacramento, Modesto/Stockton and bayarea. There are many many great 10U teams in that area. And lets be honest, 10U teams are hot and cold and imo, any good/great team can be beat any given day. Yes, some teams are consistently better than others but wins at this age really don't mean anything. Player development and fun should be every parents primary concern. Wins will come with that. The girls are 10 and have a lot about softball to learn.

Here is what I looked for in a team/coach.

1. Coach must know as much or more about softball then I do and be able to show this by player improvement and solid coaching. I've coached my daughter, I pay for private lessons and clinics. I know a lot about softball, I played myself. I want her coach to put in as much effort in being the best coach possible, as my daughter puts in to be the best player possible. It should go without saying, but just like not everyone can teach. Not everyone can coach. It is a gift.

2. Coach must be fair and positions must be earned. This may look different in others eyes, but I want to see every girl on the team get quality playing time each tourney. How can you learn to play if you don't get game time? I know many teams that have only played their younger players 1 game every every Sat and do not play them at all on Sunday. Not acceptable. period.

3. Team must practice reasonably close to home. Yes, she is 10, I want her to have fun and I have to take her to lessons and practice. We'd like to have a life outside of the car, so we limit our max drive time for this age group. For 10U our max drive to practice is 30 mins one-way. Our max drive time may increase as my daughter ages and we are looking for different things in a team.

4. Can she grow with this team and organization? I would not want to put her on a 10U team that was moving up to 12U in the fall if my daughter was born in 2003, unless they had a plan for who would coach 10U next.

5. Atmosphere of the team. My kid wants to be friends with her team-mates. At 10U the team should be about learning and player development. Parents should be friendly and the team should feel like extended family. You will be spending a lot of time with these people.

6. How far do you want to travel and how competitive do you want your team to be. You can be on a great local team that does local tourneys only that will improve your daughters skills. Typically bigger organizations travel more but families/girls are a lot more competitive, sometimes less friendly and some families feel burn-out earlier

With that said, I would check out the next local or semi local tournament you can attend and watch the coaches coach. It helps me see what is actually happening in game time. There is a coach in my area who has 20+ years experience coaching but didn't win a game all Fall season, and very, very few in Summer. Lossing all the time does damage to a team and players self esteem. If you talked to him, he is very pleasant nice and sounds like he knows what he is doing. Basic fundamentals are seriously lacking on his team and it shows at game time. Teams do not have to always win to be fundamentally sound, but you should see improvement. Talk to parents while you're out there, ask them about teams and coaches. Word of mouth would have saved my daughter from a horrible season.

FYI: Try-outs for most Spring/Summer teams often occur in December. Most Fall teams occur in late July or Early August.

Tournaments in Sac area:
asatournaments.com
http://dfsoftball.com/

Tournaments in Modesto/Stockton area:
http://www.rainbowfields.com/
http://www.grapettes.com/pages/12_tour.html
http://www.rrgoldsoftball.com/Tournamen ... aments.htm

Tournaments Turlock and South:
http://www.westsidebullets.net/
http://www.fresnoforce.com/

Coastal area:
http://www.salinasstorm.org/

I'm sure there are more tourney sites, but these should be sufficient to help you find a quality local team. If not, I'm sure others would be willing to help.

[FORCE10UDAD]

very well put Watermanhouse! except for us we travel 2 hours each way to be on our team, but very worth while to meet the expectations & results we were looking for.

[ICMTM]

I think the role of a coach is over stated at times. If the coach can't manage the game (the way you do) s/he's horrible. If the kids aren't winning s/he's horrible. If the coach has bad parents s/he's horrible. If the coach blew up this one time in band camp s/he's horrible.

I can't stress fit enough! If you get with kids that are of your kid's ability and there is a plan for what the team is doing (is the importance on winning, development, etc) that matches up with where you are then it's a go! We can name every elite team for you but if it's not a good fit what's the purpose?

[exD1dad]

I have no doubt many will disagree but since you already had 2 kids I ask you this. Did you learn nothing ? Can't you just do it yourself ? I did things different than most keeping her out of travel until she was 12 (but my DD didn't even start playing until she was 10) but why not let her play in Rec leagues for another year or so & have fun while she learns the game from her dear old dad?

i don't know your child, yr work, or your location etc...so that would contribute to playing seasons etc..just my 2 cents

[handsinsidetheball]

Maybe this can help you a bit...

I would play rec ball for one more year... In that year introduce her to a professional, well respected hitting/pitching coach. I think this is more important a start than playing first year 10U travel...During that first year, I would attend practices and games of teams you might be interested in. Observe and note. Talk to coaches, parents and watch other players. At this point you can make an honest assessment of your DD ability/projected ability, as well as get to know coaches and programs.

Speak to your hitting/pitching instructor and see who they recommend.

You can also ask coaches to allow you DD to be a guest player for a tourny/friendly or two...then ask DD her take on the team. Did she like the girls, coaches, etc. THEY WILL TELL YOU!

No rush my friend, take this opportunity to learn not only about your DD, but also the programs around you.

[catchers_rock]

Stockton/Sac area- grapetts and RR gold usually have good teams/coaches.