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aj94
182 Posts |
 Posted - 06/23/2015 : 13:07:41
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Why would any one pay a fee to attend a tryout for a team that you have to pay to play for? MAYBE with the exception of a HS age team that has field expenses related to the tryout, I don't get it.
Or MAYBE even a upper level team that wants to weed out the non serious ball players....but some of these teams charging this supposed tryout fee are lower level teams..... |
Edited by - aj94 on 06/23/2015 13:08:26 |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2015 : 14:52:35
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Many parks use the "tryout fees" to fund the higher aged teams or in some cases rent the fields they are using for tryouts.
It's been my experience the higher the level team, or the more recognizable the park names are, the more likely there is a fee associated with the tryout.
Lots of great teams that are still free to tryout for...to each their own. |
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LittleDawg
91 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2015 : 15:12:20
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This topic comes up every year and elicits a lot of good feedback
While I don't necessarily agree why they do it, I do understand it in some cases. The reality:
- It generates revenue for the organization. For the Big 2-3, it's a moneymaker and typically a small percentage actually make their teams. While most other programs will make some $, it also costs money to rent field space (unless you're affiliated with a rec park) so money goes back into program. With Serious Teams, this fee is deducted from annual costs if you make the team. If not, you get it back. If you make the team but decide to play elsewhere, the organization keeps it.
- It weeds out the competition. Makes it easier for those organizations to know those who show up are serious. (Not always the case - most times, it's the parents willing to pay to play. A lot of people take your approach and simply won't pay and it's a loss for those organizations that do charge because they will never get a chance to see the Talent.
- We don't pay for tryouts unless you get something out of it. If it's a camp with training or showcase with professional instructors or even fundraiser for a charity, I'm ok with it.
- Many parents want to say their kid plays "travel ball" so will pay and hope their kid makes the team. But most parents would balk at paying a few hundred bucks to attend multiple tryouts so you have to think hard about which ones you are willing to pay for. Additionally, Many parents attend tryouts simply to get their kid extra work while waiting for an actual tryout at the program they want or are already a part of. So for the organizations, it cuts out the BS
Good Luck
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rippit
667 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2015 : 19:37:27
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Not sure about weeding out anything except those without deep pockets. I'm personally sick of seeing daddy buy junior's way onto a team, buy junior a spot in the everyday lineup, buy junior anything he wants. I'm also sick of the rules being different for half the team because daddy has money while the other half gets threatened on a daily basis if they don't show up for "mandatory" stuff while Richie Rich does whatever he wants.
You KNOW what I'm saying so don't say that you don't. |
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BaseballMom6
233 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2015 : 21:00:37
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| How about one of the big organizations around here that charges a hefty amount to try out for any of their teams even if you do an individual workout. And if you end up playing for one of their teams you have to pay the tryout fee regardless of whether you attended any of their group tryouts. It is all just a money grab, you just have to decide if you want to be a part of it. Oh, and if you make the team expect to pay another registration fee for the privilege of playing there in addition to your team fees.(each season Fall and Spring) |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 06/23/2015 : 21:31:12
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| Wow Rippit, after reading your last few posts, you must have had a horrible year. I really hope you find a good team next year. It really doesn't have to be like what you've been through. |
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aj94
182 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2015 : 07:13:26
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quote:
Originally posted by CaCO3Girl
Many parks use the "tryout fees" to fund the higher aged teams or in some cases rent the fields they are using for tryouts.
It's been my experience the higher the level team, or the more recognizable the park names are, the more likely there is a fee associated with the tryout.
Lots of great teams that are still free to tryout for...to each their own.
Yes I agree with all you said..if it's a case of field fees I have no problem with it, but in most cases it's simply a for profit situation which I will not be partaking in because like you said many legit teams do it right and don't charge a "tryout fee" since you will pay to play with the team anyway. |
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aj94
182 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2015 : 07:21:29
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LittleDawg, that is 100% accurate...at I would say like 13 and older if it's a showcase/camp type workout for a reasonable amount ($50 or so) I have no problem with it...but a tryout fee for 8u? 9u? come one now...it's a money grab. And then how are you charging a tryout fee and the team is not good?
Rippit, you are right..I have seen this situation for many years now where the kids with deep pockets are gauranteed a spot on the team regardless of skill level..one organization was well known for that...using the rich kids money to fund the good players on the good team.
BaseballMom, I know the organization quite well... |
Edited by - aj94 on 06/24/2015 09:23:55 |
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aj94
182 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2015 : 07:29:10
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quote:
Originally posted by rippit
Not sure about weeding out anything except those without deep pockets. I'm personally sick of seeing daddy buy junior's way onto a team, buy junior a spot in the everyday lineup, buy junior anything he wants. I'm also sick of the rules being different for half the team because daddy has money while the other half gets threatened on a daily basis if they don't show up for "mandatory" stuff while Richie Rich does whatever he wants.
You KNOW what I'm saying so don't say that you don't.
You know it's a lot of politics involved with baseball be it rec or travel...not only the money ball situation like you are talking about...but also daddy ball, friend ball, and pretty mom ball.
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bball2008
100 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2015 : 07:52:19
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In a perfect world there would be no tryout or registration fees or tournament fees, etc. Unfortunately these parks and fields don't just magically appear along with employees and all of the materials to keep them up.
These organizations call these fees "tryout" or "clinic" fees because it wouldn't be attractive to call them "fees to help pay for the fields and maintenance" fees.
If an organization had garbage fields but offered no tryout fee would you take your son there? Probably not.
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2015 : 10:16:34
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quote:
Originally posted by BaseballMom6
How about one of the big organizations around here that charges a hefty amount to try out for any of their teams even if you do an individual workout. And if you end up playing for one of their teams you have to pay the tryout fee regardless of whether you attended any of their group tryouts. It is all just a money grab, you just have to decide if you want to be a part of it. Oh, and if you make the team expect to pay another registration fee for the privilege of playing there in addition to your team fees.(each season Fall and Spring)
Just to clarify for any of the new readers to this board I'll be the one to say it...BaseballMom6 is referring to East Cobb. I would guess that 90%+ of the kids that attend the "open tryout" are already committed to one of the ECB teams present. Then there is a fall fee and there is a Spring fee paid directly to the park, this is above and beyond your actual team fees.
However, people are willing to pay these fees because they either want THAT coach, or THAT location to practice, or THAT name on their kids Jersey's. The simple fact of the matter is that the East Cobb name is recognized all across North America, it has name recognition for their older teams this opens up doors, for the younger teams...well you are a fundraiser, plain and simple. People accept that or they don't, and it is a shame that some really talented kids can't grow within the system due to money constraints but it seems to be working for them so far, so I'm guessing they will keep doing it. |
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GeorgiaBoy
29 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2015 : 11:42:09
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I'm thinking of having my son tryout for the aforementioned program... We don't know anyone there & frankly don't have deep pockets so the politics aren't in our favor, my son is however a legit baseball player that will make any team he plays for better(daddy goggles)...
quote:
Originally posted by CaCO3Girl
quote:
Originally posted by BaseballMom6
How about one of the big organizations around here that charges a hefty amount to try out for any of their teams even if you do an individual workout. And if you end up playing for one of their teams you have to pay the tryout fee regardless of whether you attended any of their group tryouts. It is all just a money grab, you just have to decide if you want to be a part of it. Oh, and if you make the team expect to pay another registration fee for the privilege of playing there in addition to your team fees.(each season Fall and Spring)
Just to clarify for any of the new readers to this board I'll be the one to say it...BaseballMom6 is referring to East Cobb. I would guess that 90%+ of the kids that attend the "open tryout" are already committed to one of the ECB teams present. Then there is a fall fee and there is a Spring fee paid directly to the park, this is above and beyond your actual team fees.
However, people are willing to pay these fees because they either want THAT coach, or THAT location to practice, or THAT name on their kids Jersey's. The simple fact of the matter is that the East Cobb name is recognized all across North America, it has name recognition for their older teams this opens up doors, for the younger teams...well you are a fundraiser, plain and simple. People accept that or they don't, and it is a shame that some really talented kids can't grow within the system due to money constraints but it seems to be working for them so far, so I'm guessing they will keep doing it.
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teddy41
421 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2015 : 13:29:01
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Field space cost, coaches cost equipment cost etc. If its a dad coached team maybe not but a program has to pay coaches and buy equipment and as mentioned field rentals.
A nominal fee does help eliminate the ones who are just going tryout to tryout as nothing is worse than looking at 40 kids and only 10 would join if asked. I would however request the money be fair amount and not a huge profit maker. No more than $25 max is my range as a parent |
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baseballdandy
51 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2015 : 15:40:13
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quote:
Originally posted
You know it's a lot of politics involved with baseball be it rec or travel...not only the money ball situation like you are talking about...but also daddy ball, friend ball, and pretty mom ball.
At just 9U going to 10U, I have already seen plenty of daddy ball and money ball. However, I have never been privy to pretty mom ball. Perhaps there's a reason for my exclusion?? Ha!
Also, I agree with teddy41, $25 is fair to weed out the serious players but I do like free better. Last year was our first time trying out so I was trying to figure out this travel world and was willing to pay for one or two of the camps/clinic tryouts just for my own education. It was clear directly upon arrival that it was a fundraiser and probably not any positions really available but it was still a learning experience and worth the expense for me. The fee can sometimes be an obvious heads up to the teams availability. The harder thing to weed through is when there are 4(+) coaches and 2 "sideline" coaches all with kids on the team. That's six political spots your kid has to possibly fight through to earn his spot. To me, that is not always transparent or easy for parents to decipher through. Sounds maybe similar to some of rippits frustration, which I hate for anyone. |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2015 : 15:57:20
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LOL, I have seen "pretty mom ball"...our 7u team had a kid with a real knock out of a barbie doll mom type and the head coach was basically drooling.....you want your kid to play second, oh that's fine...sure...great.....no problem...smiling and nodding the whole time! Kid wasn't really the best choice for that spot, maybe the 7th choice, 8th? It didn't go well and we actually had one kid's dad march on the field during a tourney to remove his child from the field because he was really tired of watching it...his kid was pretty good there and yet mysteriously replaced that inning after the pretty mom casually mentioned it to the head coach, lol!
Anyway, it's been my experience that IF your kid actually has talent and IF you are playing on higher level teams with paid coaches there is FAR less money ball/daddy ball/friend ball...and my favorite, pretty mom ball! I won't say it doesn't exist but we have been pretty fortunate not to see much of it past 10u. |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2015 : 16:17:22
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| Maybe the "hot moms" can advertise on the "Baseball Moms" section here. Might help get their kids on the better teams. :) |
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whits23
596 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2015 : 16:43:56
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| hot mon and PIAD pain in ass dad both are on the list of coaches to circle |
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aj94
182 Posts |
Posted - 06/25/2015 : 10:58:47
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quote:
Originally posted by CaCO3Girl
LOL, I have seen "pretty mom ball"...our 7u team had a kid with a real knock out of a barbie doll mom type and the head coach was basically drooling.....you want your kid to play second, oh that's fine...sure...great.....no problem...smiling and nodding the whole time! Kid wasn't really the best choice for that spot, maybe the 7th choice, 8th? It didn't go well and we actually had one kid's dad march on the field during a tourney to remove his child from the field because he was really tired of watching it...his kid was pretty good there and yet mysteriously replaced that inning after the pretty mom casually mentioned it to the head coach, lol!
Yes this is pretty mom ball...I have seen it several times throughout the years and it is very prevalent in rec ball... |
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momstheword
12 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2015 : 20:21:39
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| It is a fund raiser, plain and simple. And as they boys get older, the team options become smaller. |
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gwin9
122 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2015 : 00:43:28
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| Wait till you get to HIgh School and see the money grab there... |
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teddy41
421 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2015 : 21:10:01
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Like i said before i get the small charge if you have to pay coaches, or rent fields but why does this have to turn into a big profit for the academies. Maybe kids will quit chasing all the teams and just research and find one they like. Most of these places either have their team set or will not tell you they only need a couple players. It will make parents more realistic about where their kid can or can not play.
Team options seem to be getting larger not smaller. Places just buy more uniforms and outfit as many kids as they can.
Do you really want to spend a couple hundred bucks chasing teams you may not get on? |
Edited by - teddy41 on 07/04/2015 23:26:47 |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2015 : 08:57:07
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quote:
Originally posted by teddy41
Like i said before i get the small charge if you have to pay coaches, or rent fields but why does this have to turn into a big profit for the academies. Maybe kids will quit chasing all the teams and just research and find one they like. Most of these places either have their team set or will not tell you they only need a couple players. It will make parents more realistic about where their kid can or can not play.
Team options seem to be getting larger not smaller. Places just buy more uniforms and outfit as many kids as they can.
Do you really want to spend a couple hundred bucks chasing teams you may not get on?
VERY valid point teddy41. What people don't seem to get is that nearly every team will have a "pre-tryout workout" and this basically means this is your chance to find out if you actually can make the team you want to make and to talk to the coaches you want to talk to. The LARGE tryout doesn't give you the chance to actually talk one-on-one with the coaches and likely more than 95% of the kids who show up already have a coach....it really is a fundraiser for the clueless that don't understand they should have already been on a team, and a fee for those wanting to play on an academy team.
Now, if you show up to the BIG tryout without a team is it possible you will get a spot offered to you, yes, of course. However, at that point you likely will get a random coach that you may or may not like and there went your $100+ on chasing a jersey name.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to play for a BIG academy, but go about it smartly. Do your research, look up their Triple Crown/USSSA/PG stats from the previous age group and know WHO you want coaching your kid. Don't just stuble into it. |
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aj94
182 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2015 : 11:06:08
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[/quote]
VERY valid point teddy41. What people don't seem to get is that nearly every team will have a "pre-tryout workout" and this basically means this is your chance to find out if you actually can make the team you want to make and to talk to the coaches you want to talk to. The LARGE tryout doesn't give you the chance to actually talk one-on-one with the coaches and likely more than 95% of the kids who show up already have a coach....it really is a fundraiser for the clueless that don't understand they should have already been on a team, and a fee for those wanting to play on an academy team.
Now, if you show up to the BIG tryout without a team is it possible you will get a spot offered to you, yes, of course. However, at that point you likely will get a random coach that you may or may not like and there went your $100+ on chasing a jersey name.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to play for a BIG academy, but go about it smartly. Do your research, look up their Triple Crown/USSSA/PG stats from the previous age group and know WHO you want coaching your kid. Don't just stuble into it.
[/quote]
Well said and good advice...now again a nominal fee for a tryout that will actually be a good work out I have no problem with, but $50-$100+ tryouts? Come on now.
And if your team won less that 50% of your games last year then make sure the tryout should be free by default. I think I seen a team on here that played SINGLE A in USSSA charging for a tryout...smh |
Edited by - aj94 on 07/06/2015 11:09:02 |
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Lovethelongball
1 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2015 : 11:44:19
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| Some of the better organizations have paid professional coaches run their tryouts clinic style. The tryout fee goes to pay these coaches and yes, also helps to weed out non serious players. |
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TWilliams09
5 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2015 : 16:35:17
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We just moved up from Central Florida. The idea of paying for a tryout is completely foreign to us. In Central Florida, travel ball coaches scouted rec ball all stars and invited them to tryout to a team. Your average rec ball player would never be able to play travel ball like they do up here. We had fewer travel teams with better quality players and more rec programs for average players. Up here, it appears it's all about the money. If you can pay, you can play! This is not in the best interest of youth baseball. This is all about turning a profit. Talented ballplayers, that have financial hardships are limited in their opportunities.
And don't tell me the Florida system isn't as good as it is here. Florida just placed 18 players in the first year MLB player draft compared to Georgia's 11 of the top 100 picks. This tryout fee is nothing short of a scam and I for one would like to seek a legal remedy to outlaw it. I'm not opposed to a nominal fee to cover field costs but most of these field costs should already be covered by the so-called "academies" commitment to the field. These "tryouts" are nothing but a fund raiser for the team that is already set or looking for only 1 or 2 players.
My other gripe is why can't Georgia afford infield grass and real pitcher's mounds? These fields SUCK! It's hotter in Florida, for crying out loud, and they have infield grass on 90% of their playing fields. |
Edited by - TWilliams09 on 07/12/2015 18:06:07 |
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Zachsdad
60 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2015 : 21:19:21
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quote:
Originally posted by TWilliams09
...And don't tell me the Florida system isn't as good as it is here. Florida just placed 18 players in the first year MLB player draft compared to Georgia's 11 of the top 100 picks....My other gripe is why can't Georgia afford infield grass and real pitcher's mounds? These fields SUCK! It's hotter in Florida, for crying out loud, and they have infield grass on 90% of their playing fields.
Florida also has almost exactly twice the population of GA, so there's that.
I totally agree on the fields. I hate the all dirt infields. That is a lazy superintendent that can't grow grass in GA especially S Ga where we play. |
Edited by - Zachsdad on 07/12/2015 21:41:03 |
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Tryout fee?
