New to coaching travel ball -tips? sign up for tourneys..money..etc

[new travel coach]

Hello,
First off I want to thank anyone who is willing to share some of their knowledge towards beginning a head coaching career. A little bit of background. I have been assisting a travel ball team for 2 years now. I am 21 with 13 years of softball experience total, 8 years of competitive travel ball experience, and 2 years of playing NCAA Division 3 softball on a very competitive team before I decided it was time for me to end my playing career. Recently, the two other coaches who are parents that I coach with are either stepping down for next season because their daughter has decided to quit or they are moving to a different team. So before they dissolve the team, they asked to see if I was interested in taking the team over next season. I love coaching and I love the game of softball, and I know a lot about the sport, but I do not know the logistics of being a head coach i.e. signing up for tournaments, how much to charge players, if I need certain certification, uniforms, etc. If any of you have any tips or how you deal with these items as a coach any knowledge would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

 

[jt7663]

What area of the State ??

 

[new travel coach]

southwest ohio

 

[Coach Presty]

Start with a budget. Either expense based or income. I recommend expense, so figure out what your expenses for the year will be (tournament entry fees, field rent, winter practice facility, insurance, balls, uniforms, helmets, bags, etc). Be as detailed as you can. Most info is pretty easy to find. Once you have a total, divide by 11 or 12 to get the tuition fee per player. You can go the other way, and start with tuition times 11 or 12, then go from there too. Your choice. You can charge less per athlete, then do fundraising, but you need support from the parents. Most small group fundraising ends up being a waste of time..... ex. A team car wash might raise $300 for the team, but Susie and Jenny can't make it, so that's not fair, and can cause friction, and the rest of the parent would have rather have paid $30 to opt out of sitting in the sun all day watching the team wash cars...

Everything else is fairly alacarte. Are you playing local, unsanctioned tournaments... get some insurance and get started..... Want to play bigger tournaments..... figure out which ones and see what their coaching requirements are. In my area (West PA/East OH) most larger tournaments are sanctioned by USA Softball, USSSA, or PGF. NSA runs some smaller ones as well. If you get stuck navigating the maze of requirements, each body has a local office. I have called the local rep from several different organizations, and they are always quick to respond and very helpful.

Engage the parents for help managing the logistics of it all..... hotels, food, water cooler, tents, tee shirts, pictures, uniform colors, uniform sizes, etc., etc....... a team is a team effort ( and you will go bonkers trying to do it all yourself and not loose focus on the actual coaching).

Others will have more to add I'm sure.

Good luck!

 

[9ball]

If you are part of a larger organization look to other age group coaches to see what they spent.

I started an 8u team this past season and we spent about 10g total. We played 8 tournaments and a league and we had 2 uniforms ball bags and sweatshirts plus an indoor facility for 2 hours every Saturday morning.