What should Teams look for when choosing a Tournament

[Davemy]

I think its more of the TDs just do not want to mess with actual divisions of play.
Fastpitch Softball has more teams than I can remember so it is not from a lack of A and B level teams. I will say over the years there are a lot of B level programs that "the coach sanctioned A" for recruiting or just to say we are an A team...That also muddles up field of teams available. Its no fun for players or families to go get beat up on every week and...it does not make teams better on either side...

This is why I think it's important for a Coach to look at last years Tournament and see what Teams played in the tournament and see how they did. Because of how many fields we use and the amount of Teams we take we are not big fans of Gold and Silver Brackets. Last year the 19th seed won 16U Aunt Rosie's, If we would of had a silver bracket they would of never won it! I know this is rear but you never know.

 

[daboss]

Just an observation: It truly depends on the level you want to play when planning a season. Most higher level teams are going to put quality of competition over quantity. Most entry level teams want more games for their fee. All want good service. Expectations are higher when you spend more money. For more prestigious tourneys, hotel accommodations can move quickly up the list of priorities.

For TD's out there wanting to raise their tourney to a more popular status or start new, consider all the suggestions shared in the thread. First, you should be considering your gimmick that will attract the teams. Consider the sanction you want governing the tourney. Talk to them first and be sure you understand the policy for obtaining umpiring for the event dates and the payment policy for said umpires. Be sure to look at the tournament calendar already in place for a weekend that doesn't have a competitive tournament scheduled in your area that will draw the teams that play at the level you are targeting. Don't think you can offer a new tourney to put an existing tourney out of business without going thru the growing pains for 2-3 years. It takes a few tourneys to prove yourself worthy so you may lose money the first year. Be sure you have access to enough diamonds/locations to host a tourney without conflict ie league play, lighting, or curfews. Be sure you have enough help!!!!! Concessions can bring you in as much income as the tourney itself. Establish a daily schedule at each diamond so help is always available for diamond preparation and starting times allow for team travel if multiple locations are used. Insert a "dead time slot" to allow the starting times to get back on schedule in the event of running over throughout the day. People like schedules they can rely on. Always plan a tourney with a plan B because in today's market rescheduling is impossible.

Even tourneys that say they are not in it for the money are in it for the money.

 

[umpirejj]

Time limits....
I’ve been involved in games that pitchers completely struggle & the game is lucky to see 3 innings.
As a TD, I have personally changed all of our tourneys to either 90 min finish inning or to no time limit at all.

That is my personal looking when choosing tourneys for my team.
Our parents pay to much to go see their daughter get to the plate no more than one time in a ball game due to struggling pitching and time running out.

JMO.

 

[daboss]

Time limits....
I’ve been involved in games that pitchers completely struggle & the game is lucky to see 3 innings.
As a TD, I have personally changed all of our tourneys to either 90 min finish inning or to no time limit at all.

That is my personal looking when choosing tourneys for my team.
Our parents pay to much to go see their daughter get to the plate no more than one time in a ball game due to struggling pitching and time running out.

JMO.

While I respect your stand on the matter I don't believe "no time limit at all" to be an answer. Even umpires will complain when they are required to do games running 2+ hours. Walk fests won't make the parents any happier. At a young age there are going to be growing pains. Getting 8u and even 10u girls to stay focused for 90 minutes can be a chore. Perhaps other rules should be considered to pace innings in a progressive manner. It's human nature to have expectations that things will happen in a timely manner. Example; If you hire somebody to clean your kitchen window for $10 and they take a month to do it, you would be angry. You're not doing that window cleaner any favors. Even the $10 fee seems like a mistake if you have to walk around his ladder for a month. Next time, make them tell you how long this job will take before you agree to unstructured terms.

TD's need to be thinking like business people when running a tournament and to do that you need a predictable and reliable schedule. If you own a store and have customers leaving while you dawdle with a child trying to make up their mind if they want a blue or pink toy, your chances those people will come back are slim at best. You have to realize you're not thinking like a business person needing to provide a service. You are a consumer trying to exist in a business world. That attitude will not put bread on the table. Also; it's rude of the child to believe they should be allowed to dawdle and put others in such a position.

I mentioned it before, even tournaments that are not in it for the money are in it for the money. Local Rec leagues that are funded in some manner realize the need to provide their facilities to a host of people. Volunteers will lose interest if the expectations are to honor an unstructured schedule. Me; I'm doing my part by trying to teach kids how to throw strikes. That'll fix all the problems we're discussing now.

And with that, I'm out of time!

 

[SMc4SMc]

Mix of Crappy fields and decent concessions in Illinois, Colorado, and California with excellent competition.

Mix of great and crappy fields with decent concessions and mix of competition levels in Ohio and Tennessee.

Excellent fields and decent concessions in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, and Virginia with great to near excellent competition.

The only places, so far, I've seen excellence on multiple levels consistently has been at events hosted on a college campus.

But if the competition and our desired colleges are there then thats priority.