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momshell
103 Posts |
 Posted - 07/08/2011 : 19:44:47
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Well moms,
Here we we are at the end of a season and a month away(give or take) from the tryouts for the 2012 season. What is your player doing? Staying put or moving on? How many teams will your player try out for if you are moving on? What are you looking for in a team moving forward(even if you are staying)?
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fanofmy2015son
2 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2011 : 21:44:55
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| The team we joined this year dissolved at seasons end. We are looking to join a team that will provide overall development, speed and agility, and understanding that we also want to participate in the high school program. |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2011 : 18:53:44
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quote:
Originally posted by momshell
Well moms,
Here we we are at the end of a season and a month away(give or take) from the tryouts for the 2012 season. What is your player doing? Staying put or moving on? How many teams will your player try out for if you are moving on? What are you looking for in a team moving forward(even if you are staying)?
Aarrrrggghhh....just plotted that out today. Thought he would get 6 weeks off but has already been to 2 tryouts and turned them down. At least 6 more possibles right now with 4-5 more that will pop up. Looking for great coaching, a competitive team and parents who aren't psycho. |
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ochomom
5 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2011 : 21:45:49
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| I think you might find the coaching and competitive team, but the psycho parents may be harder to do. Good luck with your search. |
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touchemall
145 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2011 : 22:28:27
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| Wow. Why so many tryouts? I would be confused after 4 or 5 different sales pitches. |
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momshell
103 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2011 : 09:25:56
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| Rippit, why so many and why did you turn the 2 down? |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2011 : 15:57:30
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quote:
Originally posted by momshell
Rippit, why so many and why did you turn the 2 down?
Unlike you, we have to drive 30 minutes or more to get anywhere good, so we are making SURE we like what we see. Been burned in the past when he just wanted to make a team, but now, he can be a little more choosy.
Turned them down because they were both first year teams. The first only had one coach and about 50% of the players we saw trying out were sub par to what we are looking for. Kept overhearing parents asking when they would make a final decision(this after only an indoor workout) and it made me feel they were in a rush bc they were all first year travel players and that will just lead to whiny first timer parents. Afraid they would field a team just to field a team you know?? So he didn't want to go back for any more tryouts there. And there wouldn't be any challenge or improvement. But, we may give them a second look to see if they had any more interest, because there were 4-5 pretty decent players there and they called to see if he would still be interested - so who knows. Maybe they didn't just throw everybody on a roster.
The 2nd seemed to have a whole bunch of coaches. But, they had kids playing up to round out the 14U roster and the rest of the roster seemed like they should still be playing rec ball. They also wanted a financial commitment that included spring and that's not gonna happen right now.
Looking at 3 teams about 45 minutes away and 2 more that are 30 minutes away - those are the 2 toughest to make, but I told him if he didn't try, he'd never know. 2 are new teams, but are spinning off with core groups from somewhere else that we are familiar with and 3 are established programs.
Just to confuse things more, we were just contacted by 2 coaches bringing 4-5 guys with them to the park we just left. He wanted to know if we knew 3-4 kids recently "orphaned" from a team (YES!!!) and then he would hold a tryout for the others in the area that may also be looking.
Never hurts to have options... Looking at all the workouts as free training...
And yes it's a little confusing, but now that I've put it all on a calendar with dates/times of tryouts, driving distances and pro/cons of each, it's manageable. Kind of like choosing your first, 2nd and 3rd choices for college. Good practice!!
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2011 : 15:59:33
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Originally posted by touchemall
Wow. Why so many tryouts? I would be confused after 4 or 5 different sales pitches.
I'm pretty familiar with all the teams and I'm doing the appropriate amount of digging on each. The minute I hear anything sounding like a sales pitch - I'm gone. Don't have that much time at 14U to fall for that junk again. |
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momshell
103 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2011 : 17:57:30
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| Rippit, I hear ya!! It's an important year and we are trying out for more teams than in the past. Looking for some other strong players at tryouts and a focused coach. |
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fanofmy2015son
2 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2011 : 20:55:58
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| How do you research and determine which teams will offer the best environment for your son? We want a coach who will prepare them for high school. Practice like you play, earn your position, and speed and agility. We are not in this for our social benefit. Although we have enjoyed being with the other parents and generally have fun with every team that is not the driving factor. It is difficult to balance baseball time and teenage time so that he stays engaged in baseball and enjoys being 14 with friends that are not into baseball. |
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zwndad
170 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2011 : 19:08:47
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It sounds to me like you've been pretty lucky about having good families. Trust me ... if there is parental drama, it can bring everybody down. I'm not saying it's the number one thing to look for, but don't discount the importance of a good group of families.
quote:
Originally posted by fanofmy2015son
How do you research and determine which teams will offer the best environment for your son? We want a coach who will prepare them for high school. Practice like you play, earn your position, and speed and agility. We are not in this for our social benefit. Although we have enjoyed being with the other parents and generally have fun with every team that is not the driving factor. It is difficult to balance baseball time and teenage time so that he stays engaged in baseball and enjoys being 14 with friends that are not into baseball.
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2011 : 18:04:02
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Quick check in: things going well, just busy. How about the rest of you?
EVERY coach says they are preparing the kids for high school...in reality, few actually do. Been to 2 awfully terribly handled tryouts and turned them down as a result and one was going to be coached by a 9th grade high school coach. Money grab.
The other 2 were exceptionally well run and have call backs - no taking the kids after one go see. Both went great.
If anything, it's fun to go for the experience if you have the time. Turns out it's a small world after all. |
Edited by - rippit on 07/16/2011 18:38:24 |
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momshell
103 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2011 : 16:19:17
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What we're finding is that a lot of coaches are trying to get their team set for the most part before tryouts. They're not taking any chances. I'm thinking that they only want to have to fill 1 or 2 slots from open tryouts.
I have read the posts about the bad tryouts. I hope we don't have to go through one of those. |
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Gus Ball Still Wins
77 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2011 : 22:02:36
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quote:
Originally posted by rippit
Quick check in: things going well, just busy. How about the rest of you?
EVERY coach says they are preparing the kids for high school...in reality, few actually do. Been to 2 awfully terribly handled tryouts and turned them down as a result and one was going to be coached by a 9th grade high school coach. Money grab.
The other 2 were exceptionally well run and have call backs - no taking the kids after one go see. Both went great.
If anything, it's fun to go for the experience if you have the time. Turns out it's a small world after all.
Sorry for the naive questions, but we are just starting out in the travel ball world. What do you mean by referencing a sales pitch? What should I look out for, and how do you spot reality from fantasy? Also, as far as the 9th grade coach, how is that a money grab? Was he a paid coach?
Thank you for the benefit of your experience. |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2011 : 07:25:34
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Gus: touchemall mentioned the sales pitches - I just said if I ever heard one I'd run. I think some businesses try to sell memberships or something. No personal experience there.
The money grab - there are several kinds in my opinion. Some are teams just trying to fill a roster because they want the money. But what are you getting for the money? I'm not saying the coach is grabbing money. If he's a paid coach then he's a paid coach. I think in the situation I mentioned he was just an innocent bystander.
Parents who "pay to play" can fall into a trap. Sure travel ball costs money. Be mindful that there are parents out there who demand field time because they paid "good money". What they are doing is trying to buy a spot on a team for their kid. I probably shouldn't mention this because somebody out there might have a stroke, but in the DISTANT past I've been aware of parents trying to bribe coaches for more playing time and higher batting order spots and the coaches accepted. All this in detriment to other players AND the team . But back to the original topic...
This (parents with the pay to play mentality) becomes problematic when half the team wants to win by putting the best 9 out there on any given day and the other half just wants to play and whoever put the team together didn't consider that fact when filling the roster. Find out what the goal of the team is by discussing it with the coaches - before the season starts - because they won't change things half way through. And see if the team has a code of conduct available for everyone to sign. And find out if it will really be enforced. Good luck. After all that this early in the AM I'm not even sure why we put ourselves through this! |
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Gus Ball Still Wins
77 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2011 : 09:05:42
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| Got it. Thank you. |
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cubs12
14 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2011 : 20:19:45
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quote:
Originally posted by rippit
Gus: touchemall mentioned the sales pitches - I just said if I ever heard one I'd run. I think some businesses try to sell memberships or something. No personal experience there.
The money grab - there are several kinds in my opinion. Some are teams just trying to fill a roster because they want the money. But what are you getting for the money? I'm not saying the coach is grabbing money. If he's a paid coach then he's a paid coach. I think in the situation I mentioned he was just an innocent bystander.
Parents who "pay to play" can fall into a trap. Sure travel ball costs money. Be mindful that there are parents out there who demand field time because they paid "good money". What they are doing is trying to buy a spot on a team for their kid. I probably shouldn't mention this because somebody out there might have a stroke, but in the DISTANT past I've been aware of parents trying to bribe coaches for more playing time and higher batting order spots and the coaches accepted. All this in detriment to other players AND the team. But back to the original topic...
This (parents with the pay to play mentality) becomes problematic when half the team wants to win by putting the best 9 out there on any given day and the other half just wants to play and whoever put the team together didn't consider that fact when filling the roster. Find out what the goal of the team is by discussing it with the coaches - before the season starts - because they won't change things half way through. And see if the team has a code of conduct available for everyone to sign. And find out if it will really be enforced. Good luck. After all that this early in the AM I'm not even sure why we put ourselves through this!
Good post! This is all very common and unfortunate. In the end, I think it only hurts the child because they are not playing based on talent but on the pockets of their parents. |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 07/20/2011 : 08:30:56
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quote:
Originally posted by momshell
What we're finding is that a lot of coaches are trying to get their team set for the most part before tryouts. They're not taking any chances. I'm thinking that they only want to have to fill 1 or 2 slots from open tryouts.
I have read the posts about the bad tryouts. I hope we don't have to go through one of those.
I think they do this because basically, tryouts blow. (Can I say that here??)
I think I'd rather put a team together based on who everybody knows, but I guess that really only works in the older age groups after they've all been around a while. Of course any super elite team will want only the best, but based on the age specific discussion boards here, there are only about 5 of those teams in the entire state of GA and the rest of us are just scenery.
We've been to 5 tryouts (14U A, AA, AAA and Major plus 15U AAA) and 3 were pointless. The other two moved quickly, were instructional, fostered competition and were fun to watch. Have 5 more we want to go to, but the call backs are starting to overlap some of the others. Since one of those teams we've been to is very well liked by my son, it may be time to just focus there and cross fingers.
Or, all y'all with 14U players can email me and we'll just form our own team. Who has a field and who wants to coach? |
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Bball11
10 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2011 : 08:14:50
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| Hi All, I'm new to this forum and getting very anxious as I read. My son is new to travel as well and looking for a 14U team. He has 10 years under his belt. I don't know how to find the "pre-tryouts" and am fearful that I'm starting too late. How do I get him in front of some teams before they are all full? Please help! |
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bbmom2
119 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2011 : 11:01:48
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quote:
Originally posted by Bball11
Hi All, I'm new to this forum and getting very anxious as I read. My son is new to travel as well and looking for a 14U team. He has 10 years under his belt. I don't know how to find the "pre-tryouts" and am fearful that I'm starting too late. How do I get him in front of some teams before they are all full? Please help!
BBall11 - don't sweat it - but easier said than done. Look further down in the age appropriate category - many teams post there. Or, if you know the teams you are interested in, email the coaches directly. Sometimes this takes a little undercover work via Google to find a team's site - especially if they are not part of an organization.
From our experiences - some things I've learned and learned the hard way. As much as you want to teach your child about commitment and honoring obligations, we've discovered this is an "industry" that doesn't really support that as you get older. We stayed with a team this year that we should have left long before the end of the season, son wasn't developing or learning or being challenged but felt we should stick it out and not be a "team jumper." Coming back to bite us in the butt. (I figure if Rippit can say blow I can say butt! ;-) There are postings ALL YEAR long for players so don't get nervous or feel you have to make a decision NOW that you have to live with. Any team that says they won't give you a refund or wants ALL the money up front, don't do it. I heard of players that were stuck last year - after a hefty up front fee to play - team was a wreck and no one could leave without threats and wasting quite a bit of money.
If it feels wrong it is wrong. Pay attention to those "mommy warnings" we have built in and make sure it's good for all of you- player and parents. This group becomes your second family and you need to be comfortable. (probably another whole new thread here.)
Good luck!! |
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bbmom2
119 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 07:46:07
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Into the next week and another tryout week gone by. Good tryouts and not so good tryouts. Offers but trying to hold off and make sure we take the right one. Coaches do it - can't players?
One thing about this year I enjoy is seeing families we haven't seen in a while -other than opposite bleachers during tournaments - this is a small world we participate in and when you've been around a while - you get to know a lot of people.
Hope everyone is having a good tryout season and your player finds the team for him!
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2011 : 12:32:22
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quote:
Originally posted by bbmom2
Into the next week and another tryout week gone by. Good tryouts and not so good tryouts. Offers but trying to hold off and make sure we take the right one. Coaches do it - can't players?
One thing about this year I enjoy is seeing families we haven't seen in a while -other than opposite bleachers during tournaments - this is a small world we participate in and when you've been around a while - you get to know a lot of people.
Hope everyone is having a good tryout season and your player finds the team for him!
It's funny you mentioned seeing families you haven't seen in a while. While that can be a good thing, it can also be a bad thing - LOL.
Truth be told, we've not gone back to a couple because of who we saw there. Too bad you can't get a list of who all has committed BEFORE you make your final decision.
Also, is it just me, or does anybody else feel like it's WAY too early to stress over the final roster for games that won't be played until March? A lot of these daddies are all talk and no action. They are playing a game with their son as a pawn trying to feed their own giant egos.
Unless you're up there with the Astros (and even then you run the risk of getting knocked off down the road), nothing is final until the fat lady sings where rosters are concerned. There are well run/well coached teams out there who haven't made any noise yet about tryouts for their spring teams. Everybody coming back??? Well, that's what they think. Wait till all the dominos fall and spots open up. |
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bbmom2
119 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2011 : 14:54:02
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Big tryout weekend coming up... everyone ready?!?
Possibly 4 for us this weekend - 1 really meaningful. May blow off Sundays for a break as they are not teams on our radar at all - son just wants the workout. Depends...
Rippit- been kinda laughing for a couple of days at the "not seeing" people remark. Yup - in reality probably more that you don't want to see than do want to see! Pulled up on Tuesday night and there one sat... ugh... after our threads on this forum - trying very hard not to be someone's "ugh."
Enjoy the weekend all and good luck! |
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bbmom2
119 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2011 : 16:19:18
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| Yeah- our tryout season is over. Accepted offer yesterday and all is well. Now... let's just hope all the homework and investigation and referrals and references paid off! Looking forward to starting practicing and meeting the other families. |
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2011 : 19:24:43
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quote:
Originally posted by bbmom2
Yeah- our tryout season is over. Accepted offer yesterday and all is well. Now... let's just hope all the homework and investigation and referrals and references paid off! Looking forward to starting practicing and meeting the other families.
Yesssssssssss!!! Rippit's son doing the happy dance as well!!! Feel like George Jefferson...'NOW WE MOVIN' ON UP!!! TO THE TOP!!!!"
Proud of that kid! He did what he had to do for the last 24 months, trusted his mom, and it's paying off NOW!!! |
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barsred98
116 Posts |
Posted - 08/11/2011 : 22:43:04
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| I'm dancing with ya Rippit! Sometimes you just know your kid is where he is supposed to be and we are SO excited to be there! Can't wait! |
Edited by - barsred98 on 08/12/2011 08:05:30 |
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Navigating Tryouts
