Rank Em! Always Fun!

[LineDrive1434]

Now that the summer season is coming to an end and tryouts are right around the corner, I thought it would be fun and perhaps helpful to parents and players alike to see what the community thinks of the organizations in Ohio. Below is a post from 2005 on the same topic. My oh my how things change. I will attempt to list the perceived top organizations in 2021 and leave it up to the community to rank them. This should be based on the entire organization from coaches to recruiting to fees to tournaments to respect etc. Not hear to trash any team or group just rank em!

In no particular order:

Stingrays
Lasers
Outlaws
Hawks
USSSA Pride
Ice
Doom
Emeralds
Wolfpack, and Team Ohio? Small number of teams.
Others?

 

[LineDrive1434]

Here is the 2005 post.



With tryout season here, I thought I would give one person's list of Ohio's top 10 fastpitch travel organizations. This is one person's opinion and is not meant to disparage any organizations. It is being done for fun, discussion, and to let newcomers to travel fastpitch know where the top organizations are. I am concentrating on org. with teams at most levels so great teams like coke-ice are not included.

1- Lady Lasers - Dominant at all levels, difficult to argue against

2- Ohio Ice - Excellent at every level but no 10's

3- Central Ohio Stingrays - Solid at all levels

4- Heart of Ohio - Very large organization with many above average teams at all levels

5- Sapphires - 2 B state titles and 4th at Nationals this year

6- Wolfpack Solid at all levels; won 12u A state in '04

7- Valley Extreme - Excellent at 12 good at most other levels

8- Ashland - Up and coming; decent at most levels and played good competition

9- Ohio Classics - Competitive at most levels

10- Ohio Worth Waves - Another up and coming organization with solid lower age teams

10- Thunderbolts - Very good upper age teams

Others to watch:
Miami Valley Express - Dominant at 12u; ?adding more levels
Cincy Doom - Great at 12u and adding other age levels
Maddogs - Once dominant organization looks to return by adding many age levels
NC Spirit - a lot of talent on Cleveland's west side - only a matter of time
Cincy Tribe - competitive upper age levels
Ohio Pride - Back to back very good 10u's in '04, '05; Keep these girls in the organization and good things should happen

 

[Passion4theGame]

Now that the summer season is coming to an end and tryouts are right around the corner, I thought it would be fun and perhaps helpful to parents and players alike to see what the community thinks of the organizations in Ohio. Below is a post from 2005 on the same topic. My oh my how things change. I will attempt to list the perceived top organizations in 2021 and leave it up to the community to rank them. This should be based on the entire organization from coaches to recruiting to fees to tournaments to respect etc. Not hear to trash any team or group just rank em!

In no particular order:

Stingrays
Lasers
Outlaws
Hawks
USSSA Pride
Ice
Doom
Emeralds
Wolfpack, and Team Ohio? Small number of teams.
Others?

This is a solid list. Be careful as some are out there to make money. Hints the 27 teams in one age group. Nothing wrong with it but don't get lost in the mix.

I think it would be fair to have 1-2 in each age group but not 10 teams in each age group. That's just ridiculous. Shows that money grab is more important to some. If you don't think these big orgs are making money off each athlete signed to the org you are mistaken. There's an organization fee with just about all of them. Nothing wrong with it but when you have 400 athletes and a hefty org fee per athlete someone is making a solid income. I will say this... I believe MOST of the orgs on this list are still in it for the right reasons.

Profit is not a dirty word...... But Greed is ugly and Pigs eventually get slaughtered........

 

[AnotherSoftballDad]

Very interesting from 2005 to now.

 

[Rerun]

This is a solid list. Be careful as some are out there to make money. Hints the 27 teams in one age group. Nothing wrong with it but don't get lost in the mix.

I think it would be fair to have 1-2 in each age group but not 10 teams in each age group. That's just ridiculous. Shows that money grab is more important to some. If you don't think these big orgs are making money off each athlete signed to the org you are mistaken. There's an organization fee with just about all of them. Nothing wrong with it but when you have 400 athletes and a hefty org fee per athlete someone is making a solid income. I will say this... I believe MOST of the orgs on this list are still in it for the right reasons.

Profit is not a dirty word...... But Greed is ugly and Pigs eventually get slaughtered........

who has 27 teams in the same age group? I just search the web and look like all org are down teams compared to two years ago.

 

[Rerun]

Now that the summer season is coming to an end and tryouts are right around the corner, I thought it would be fun and perhaps helpful to parents and players alike to see what the community thinks of the organizations in Ohio. Below is a post from 2005 on the same topic. My oh my how things change. I will attempt to list the perceived top organizations in 2021 and leave it up to the community to rank them. This should be based on the entire organization from coaches to recruiting to fees to tournaments to respect etc. Not hear to trash any team or group just rank em!

In no particular order:

Stingrays
Lasers
Outlaws
Hawks
USSSA Pride
Ice
Doom
Emeralds
Wolfpack, and Team Ohio? Small number of teams.
Others?

I’m not sure if the outlaws should be that high. I’ve heard nothing but complaints about a few tournaments they ran. But only due to that would I drop them down the list at least 3 spots.

 

[Passion4theGame]

I’m not sure if the outlaws should be that high. I’ve heard nothing but complaints about a few tournaments they ran. But only due to that would I drop them down the list at least 3 spots.

I was being sarcastic. Down 3 spots? I disagree. There’s teams popping up in those orgs every season. Nothing wrong w it but it can get ur head spinning trying to figure out which is which at a tournament.

 

[D1Fastpitch]

I’m not sure what tournaments the outlaws run that you’re hearing complaints about. I always try to do what is best for all of the teams. Weather unfortunately is always out of anyone’s control.

 

[D1Fastpitch]

I’m not sure if the outlaws should be that high. I’ve heard nothing but complaints about a few tournaments they ran. But only due to that would I drop them down the list at least 3 spots.

I’m not sure what tournaments the outlaws run that you’re hearing complaints about. I always try to do what is best for all of the teams. Weather unfortunately is always out of anyone’s control. Also confused as to why a tournament complaint has anything to do with an organization ranking on how teams perform.

 

[OHsoftball]

Outlaws was a joke for the 18U division. Crappy fields, crappy orange construction fencing for outfield fence, one.. I repeat ONE porta-pot at one location. Temporary fencing is fine but this was just comical. Again, goes back to my complaint on another thread… too many teams! What happened to these tourneys being true invitationals? Now anyone with a checkbook is invited!

 

[D1Fastpitch]

Outlaws was a joke for the 18U division. Crappy fields, crappy orange construction fencing for outfield fence, one.. I repeat ONE porta-pot at one location. Temporary fencing is fine but this was just comical. Again, goes back to my complaint on another thread… too many teams! What happened to these tourneys being true invitationals? Now anyone with a checkbook is invited!

Well there was a storm that came through lol. So no.. temporary fencing might not last but everyone is there when possible to fix what needed fix. The portapotty was the park. They were suppose to have plenty and had an issue with it last minute. Next year is WAY less teams. Only the top just to keep everyone happy and allow college coaches to watch the best!

 

[Passion4theGame]

@D1Fastpitch I think this was a conversation in another thread. Topic here is about top organizations and how they rank.


To your defense on the fields and temp fences. With the weather that weekend there’s only so much you can do. I think for the most part TDs have done a great job getting games in and etc. There’s never enough port-a Potties. I would rather pee behind a tree most tournaments. Obviously that can’t happen but it’s cleaner than some of these Johns.

I do feel your Showcases should only be open to the top 30-40 teams. Based on organization, resume, strength of schedule, and performance. Kind of like how Stingrays does it. They have set the bar for entry of showcase event.

All in All Being a TD is NOT and easy job or everyone would be doing it. I applaud you for what you guys have built and the money you make. I think it’s great. I would be doing the same if I could. I think any of us would. For the most part every D1 event I have participated in has been a solid event and tons of coaches there. I will say I would like to see more of them in Columbus at Berliner instead of North Ridgeville though.

 

[steve77621]

I don’t want to hijack this thread, but passion4thegame said it best. Profit is not a dirty word but greed is ugly and pigs do eventually get slaughtered. I don’t mind paying more for a tournament (Berliner is a awesome venue) but some of the venues and conditions that we have played in this year are a embarrassment. To take over 100 teams at a event when you don’t have proper fields or enough umpires is such bulls$$$. My team is only 10u and we have played on baseball fields 4 times this year. Twice was because they took so many teams that they had to secure more fields than the original park and we had to play on a field with 300 ft fences with major league type back stops. On 2 different occasions I have seen umpires tripping and falling over the mound while trying to get into position to make a call. TAKE AS MANY TEAMS AS YOU CAN PROPERLY ACCOMMODATE!!!!!

 

[tjsmize3]

Be careful as some are out there to make money. Hints the 27 teams in one age group.
Nothing wrong with it but don't get lost in the mix.
I think it would be fair to have 1-2 in each age group but not 10 teams in each age group. That's just ridiculous. Shows that money grab is more important to some.
If you don't think these big orgs are making money off each athlete signed to the org you are mistaken. There's an organization fee with just about all of them.
Nothing wrong with it
but when you have 400 athletes and a hefty org fee per athlete someone is making a solid income. I will say this... I believe MOST of the orgs on this list are still in it for the right reasons.
Profit is not a dirty word...... But Greed is ugly and Pigs eventually get slaughtered........

I cannot follow you. At first you appear to NOT like an org if they make money... well, I guess it's ok if they make money, but only apparently no more than what YOU say is OK. Anything more than that and then the org is as you say... "Pigs." Even though in the first post you keep throwing in "Nothing wrong with it," you seem to be mostly saying there is????

Then, you write this which confuses me even more:

"I applaud you for what you guys have built and the money you make. I think it’s great. I would be doing the same if I could. I think any of us would."

Wow! Really???!

I just have one question for you. If you take all the "pig" organizations like Batbusters (out of CA), Firecrackers (out of CA), Bandits, Outlaws, Hawks and take a look at what each player gets back on average for their team fee... I'm talking in terms of national recognition, quality of events accepted into and scholarship money from quality schools... what do you suppose the ROI is for each of these orgs as compared to yours? Just curious??? I mean wouldn't you rather spend $1,000 on something and get $10,000 back, then spend $500 on something and get much less in return for your dollar?

There are many, many people who owe Warren, Emma and others in the Outlaws org a debt of gratitude for what they accomplished through that org's platform. I'm glad to pay ANYONE $1,000 if they can get me $10,000 in return. Why do I care what kind of income they can put together if they did a good job for me???

You don't lump all orgs together and then criticize some of them because their mission statement is different than yours. You do what you do, they do what they do... and from the look of things, orgs like the ones I mentioned are still FULL of happy customers based on demand and results.

 

[Fastpitch1414]

Can somebody please just rank the organizations? In your opinion of course. This thread was meant to help parents like myself and players get some feedback, not to hear bickering and chest thumping.

 

[CARDS]

Now that the summer season is coming to an end and tryouts are right around the corner, I thought it would be fun and perhaps helpful to parents and players alike to see what the community thinks of the organizations in Ohio. Below is a post from 2005 on the same topic. My oh my how things change. I will attempt to list the perceived top organizations in 2021 and leave it up to the community to rank them. This should be based on the entire organization from coaches to recruiting to fees to tournaments to respect etc. Not hear to trash any team or group just rank em!

In no particular order:

Stingrays-Lasers-Outlaws-Hawks-USSSA Pride-Ice-Doom-Emeralds-Wolfpack, and Team Ohio?
Small number of teams.
Others?

I know its not fair since a lot of Ohio dose not know about the REDS RBI programs but honestly walk into the practice facility- lobby of any other Fastpitch organization posted above and look at their wall of accomplishments and facilities. Then swing on down to Seymore Ave and see what the REDS programs have done. From 8U to 18U...

The REDS RBI/UYA is young with only a short 7+ years of existence but they have had a lot of young men and women move on to play the sport they love at all levels of play.
All coaches are certified coaches (some with National accreditation) in coaching from HS to College/Pro.
Players fees range from $0 to similar fees of the other top organizations in Ohio posted above. (Depends on the team season goals)
Players get College, Pro and US Olympic players in for instruction on top of top notch "accredited" coaching on the teams....
The Reds do a good job of having MLB trainers deliver instruction on health and fitness as well as attending college signings.
The REDS hold coaches clinics for recreational, travel ball and HS coaches outside of the REDS organization. (Some of the organizations listed above have actually utilized this training).
The REDS also partner with local HS putting on a great tournament for local HS Softball and Baseball teams...
The REDS RBI/UYA provides softball school for players and parents to help guide them on their quest for post secondary play.
While you are there...Check out the sweet indoor and outdoor practice facilities.
Kavin and Les...Feel free to add I know I missed some things....

 

[CARDS]

Can somebody please just rank the organizations? In your opinion of course. This thread was meant to help parents like myself and players get some feedback, not to hear bickering and chest thumping.

I agree, however you need to narrow down what rank an organization excels in since there are Great 14+ and some not so great 8-13U organizations.
Here are some EX:
# of Teams from 8u-18+ (remember quantity does not = quality)...
Coaching accreditation of coaches...This is a huge factor to get into several top tournaments and development of players...
Team player Fees. While depending on sponsorship this is an area of revenue for some organizations.
Tournament Quality Invitationals etc. Where and who did you play. win or lose...
Training or development of players softball IQ training/classroom instruction for players and parents
Trophies!!!!! / Tournaments won or placed...A lot love this measurement...
Players going on to post secondary play...Naturally we have the DI to JC crowd...

Organization extras like: Practice facilities, specific pitching, catching, fielding and hitting instruction.
Marketing of players, including video clips and helping with profiles etc. Basically helping the player and parent get in front of the RIGHT college coach...

 

[tjsmize3]

Can somebody please just rank the organizations? In your opinion of course. This thread was meant to help parents like myself and players get some feedback, not to hear bickering and chest thumping.

There is no "chest thumping." What are you asking for???
You want to rank orgs that play mostly local vs orgs that play a national level schedule?
Perhaps if you listed what your priorities were, people could help rank according to what it is your trying to accomplish in the travel softball world.
Some orgs are better at catering to certain priorities over others. In Ohio, we are fortunate enough to have strong orgs at ALL different levels

 

[Passion4theGame]

I cannot follow you. At first you appear to NOT like an org if they make money... well, I guess it's ok if they make money, but only apparently no more than what YOU say is OK. Anything more than that and then the org is as you say... "Pigs." Even though in the first post you keep throwing in "Nothing wrong with it," you seem to be mostly saying there is????

Then, you write this which confuses me even more:

"I applaud you for what you guys have built and the money you make. I think it’s great. I would be doing the same if I could. I think any of us would."

Wow! Really???!

I just have one question for you. If you take all the "pig" organizations like Batbusters (out of CA), Firecrackers (out of CA), Bandits, Outlaws, Hawks and take a look at what each player gets back on average for their team fee... I'm talking in terms of national recognition, quality of events accepted into and scholarship money from quality schools... what do you suppose the ROI is for each of these orgs as compared to yours? Just curious??? I mean wouldn't you rather spend $1,000 on something and get $10,000 back, then spend $500 on something and get much less in return for your dollar?

There are many, many people who owe Warren, Emma and others in the Outlaws org a debt of gratitude for what they accomplished through that org's platform. I'm glad to pay ANYONE $1,000 if they can get me $10,000 in return. Why do I care what kind of income they can put together if they did a good job for me???

You don't lump all orgs together and then criticize some of them because their mission statement is different than yours. You do what you do, they do what they do... and from the look of things, orgs like the ones I mentioned are still FULL of happy customers based on demand and results.

@tjsmize3 ,
let me explain my reply. Thread went off to something else for a minute. My apologizes for your misunderstanding..

"I applaud you for what you guys have built and the money you make. I think it’s great. I would be doing the same if I could. I think any of us would." -I am referring to the tournaments and how they run them and make money. Being a good TD is not for everyone. I think they have built a great company and hold outstanding tournaments.

I think you are a little confused and putting words in my mouth. I never once spoke of any organizations name. I'm not saying anything bad, good, or otherwise. All that's being said is simply don't get caught up in the mix. Every org. out there charges some sort of organizational fee which is understandable if they are helping with recruiting, admin, website, fee to pay the accountant, and other stuff. But what i am saying some orgs out there collect the org fee as their living. Not saying anyone here is doing that I am saying its out there. There's a reason Orgs add teams in markets they have never been in. Its not to help the athletes. There's plenty of solid orgs here to do that right? So why else do you have orgs coming in slapping their name on a team when the org is west coast or from down south?

Never once in my post did I single out anyone. All I said was beware. Profit is not a dirty word. Greed will get ya. Pigs get fat and Hogs get slaughtered.


I am part of a solid Organization that's been around for over 18yrs. They have not made it this long by accident. Great Org leader and solid coaches. Add in great Athletes and Families and you make it 18 plus years.
We have past coaches that are now college coaches. We have several hundred athletes that have been blessed to play at the next level while securing their degree. We may be small and nothing to you but every Athlete gets attention top to bottom in our Organization probably just like in yours.


Hopefully clearing that up makes sense to you. Sorry for confusing you on that.

 

[Rerun]

I’m not sure what tournaments the outlaws run that you’re hearing complaints about. I always try to do what is best for all of the teams. Weather unfortunately is always out of anyone’s control. Also confused as to why a tournament complaint has anything to do with an organization ranking on how teams perform.

maybe I miss understood the question. I guess the org thread starter was talking about tournaments you played not tournaments you ran.

So in that case I would leave the Outlaws at number 1, 2 or three