Surf City Delays

[tbjd33]

If you have the talent and put in your work pre-showcase they will come and do whatever they have to in order to see your team. We were at Artesia Park on Sat.

Picture is worth a 1000 words

I see Stanford and Ole Miss there......can't make out the others
But really, Artesia Park?? I'm sure all the outfielders got to meet each other
Is that field 4 with the funky backstop?

Definitely not Stanford and Ole Miss... Good guess!

[Ginzunz89]

Very disappointing field at East Whittier middle school. 1 scout for 1 hr on sunday. Agree with overbooking. Field maintenance was bad after each game. Several parents from out of state teams were not happy with traveling so far to play at this field . Maybe next time sc can put other teams here and teams that were put here this weekend can play in better fields next time. No vending/food/water for sale. I get it, we got dumped into this field even after we were approved a month ago...

[AlwaysImprove]

Not very well organized at all. We all got the apology email, but seriously. They are overbooking more than the airlines do their flights, securing some very sketchy facilities with hazardous playing fields (who wants their DD to break their ankle in a gopher hole in front of a recruiter?), and as a result, having to reach out to some of the worst umpires around in order to cover every field. Not at all what it once was.

Every year or 2 there are some folks that come here making these same complaints.

Honestly, there is not much anyone here can do. I do not think it has ever been what you think it once was. It has always been just about like it is.

The reality is that college teams are going go to where the established programs are playing. Because of this those established programs end up holding most of the power. They group together because that is hugely to their own benefit. Yes the system ends up tilted away from small market or newer teams.

In all, actually it could be way worse than it is. College coaches would be perfectly happy to show up and watch the number 1 FC team play BB, Corona Angels, So Cal A's and a few other top tier teams. The fact that these teams do not trust each other, so they like having other teams in the mix.

This aspect of the sport is not going to change anytime soon. Being mad about it is going to do absolutely zero for your players. If you are not going to take the time to figure out how to make the best of this situation, then your girls will, and should leave your team to go to a team/manager that is doing their best to work the system the best way they can.

It is a tiered system. Top, Middle, Bottom. It is not very often that a Bottom team will out of the blue get to play nothing but top teams. But they often seem to think they somehow 'deserve' that, and that keeps them from being successful to the best of their ability.

The really well ran middle teams get a lot more chances to play top teams than poorly run middle teams. They do this by going down the fields. Getting to know the folks that run the tournaments and make the selections. Getting to understand what those people are looking for when they decide what teams get what fields.

The folks that are running the tournaments could give 2 craps about your whine fest. If they did they would be a huge disservice to all the other teams.

What I have found they do care about it what your team has accomplished. Higher place finishes in more well run tournaments. A PGF finish, a high Independence Day tournament finish, a high fireworks tournament finish. Bigger local tournaments. They also care about kids on your team that have gotten recruited. The bigger the college the better. Those are real proof points that provide evidence that your team deserves a chance to play at the better fields.

As the picture posted above shows. There are going to be teams at the off parks that are able to draw coaches. They do this by working super hard. They get everyone on their team to do their work of sending out letters to prospective colleges.

The guys that run tournaments know a lot of the teams that attend these tournaments. They definitely ask around and want the better teams to get opportunities to play up in class.

[Ginzunz89]

Every so often, a field needs to be looked at before they assign games. Every so often, a discount would be good if a field is in bad shape.
If it's advertised that certain parks will be used, and we pay for to play in those parks, good. But if we end up playing in a garbage field, a little discount would be nice. In a perfect world right. So, has nothing to do with new or established team. Maybe it should be advertised as, if your new you will play in a field with no chalk, no watering down dirt, no food, no vending. ...then it will be up to each team to pay and play....

[AlwaysImprove]

Every so often, a field needs to be looked at before they assign games. Every so often, a discount would be good if a field is in bad shape.
If it's advertised that certain parks will be used, and we pay for to play in those parks, good. But if we end up playing in a garbage field, a little discount would be nice. In a perfect world right. So, has nothing to do with new or established team. Maybe it should be advertised as, if your new you will play in a field with no chalk, no watering down dirt, no food, no vending. ...then it will be up to each team to pay and play....

Honestly, I could give two turds about the umps, the fields, chalk. If you are getting to play on fields where coaches are showing up, that is all that matters. Stay focused.

If they take all the top tier teams and move them to East Whittier, then everyone would want to be at East Whittier.

What you should care about as a coach is maximizing your opportunities to play in front of coaches. To do that you need to maximize your teams opportunities to play teams that are up market from your team. To play teams that have more coaches than your team does.

It is important to realize that when that team up the food chain from yours has to come down and play your team, they are not accomplishing their goals.

Think a bit about what Under the Radar's post shows. It shows that his team can draw coaches to Artesia. This will do more than anything else to help swing better opportunities to his team in the future. Other coaches see their hard work and they want to be on the field with his team.

I know it is a stacked process and for new teams that do not have much reputation it all seems unfair/impossible. For instance go down to Artesia and find Under the Radar's team, maybe pm him here. Of course, when those coaches are there watching his kids, a team manager is not going to have any time for you. At some point his team comes off the field, he has the manager talk, and sends his kids on their way. At that point go up to him, introduce yourself, ask him if he can take a few minutes to work with you. Ask him questions.

It is pretty typical for Surf City, or other bigger organizers. If you are a middle team, you often get one higher end team to play, 4 teams at your level, and one up and coming team to play. You want to be that up and coming team. By taking some time and getting to know as many of the teams that are up market from your team. Introduce yourself. Show you are willing to put in the hard work to be a successful manager. They will help you because they were you a few years ago.

If all you care about is good fields, chalk and umps, then surf city is just the wrong choice for you. There are plenty of tournament guys that have those things covered. They will not have any coaches, but great fields and umps and chalk. If you are interested in maximizing playing in front of college coaches, then surf city has something to offer. I am just trying to point out how to maximize your efforts if you choose surf city.

[Ginzunz89]

Sorry bud, too long of a read, point is, fields were horrible,,,get it. Get over teams issue, I'll say it again, fields were horrible, no chalk no nothing for price. Has nothing to do with your topics. By the way, staying focus is our goal, no need to repeat it. Thx, I hope we can move on.

[fastpitchdad05]

Sorry bud, too long of a read, point is, fields were horrible,,,get it. Get over teams issue, I'll say it again, fields were horrible, no chalk no nothing for price. Has nothing to do with your topics. By the way, staying focus is our goal, no need to repeat it. Thx, I hope we can move on.

A few paragraphs from someone whose daughter went thru the process and was a top recruit and current pitcher at a major D1 known almost as much for its academics as its athletics and is willing to take the time to try and help you thru the process is too long of a post?

Ok...

[eclipse09]

Sorry bud, too long of a read, point is, fields were horrible,,,get it. Get over teams issue, I'll say it again, fields were horrible, no chalk no nothing for price. Has nothing to do with your topics. By the way, staying focus is our goal, no need to repeat it. Thx, I hope we can move on.

Ginzunz89 Spicoli: What AI was saying was, Hey! You know, we left this Rec softball place 'cause it was bogus; so if we don't get some cool fields ourselves - pronto - we'll just be bogus too! Get it?

Mr AI Hand: Very close, G89. I think I've made my point with you

Ginzunz89: Do you help a guy like me in Hey bucket every year? You know, a guy who you make an example of?

Mr AI Hand: You'll find out next year.

[Tyler Durden]

Sorry bud, too long of a read, point is, fields were horrible,,,get it. Get over teams issue, I'll say it again, fields were horrible, no chalk no nothing for price. Has nothing to do with your topics. By the way, staying focus is our goal, no need to repeat it. Thx, I hope we can move on.

A few paragraphs from someone whose daughter went thru the process and was a top recruit and current pitcher at a major D1 known almost as much for its academics as its athletics and is willing to take the time to try and help you thru the process is too long of a post?

Ok...

05 you miss the point. There was no chalk

Post of the Month*

[Fastpitch4Life]

We weren't even in the showcase and it sounds like there were more scouts at our fields than at some of the tournament fields, including Baylor, Arkansas, Georgia Tech and Liberty. Our price...$55 per game.