What were some of the good/bad tryouts you attended

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The best run tryouts my daughter went to over her playing days are as follows. Valley Extreme, Wolf Pack, and Diamond Dogs. The ones I thought were not run well we never went back to. Some were big names some were not. The sad fact is you cant win without talent and you can only coach a kid so far. After that desire and athleticism take over. Sometimes a kid has one or the other but not both. Successful teams are not judged by one or two seasons and sometimes not by win loss records. A coach who can juggle talent attitude and parents and come out at the end of a season with everyone having learned something and not wanting to kill each other has done their job.

Well said Chicoflip! You cant win without talent and you cant win with talent alone. Tryouts for me are usually alot of fun, its nice to see new girls and check out whats out there. But when they are over its a sigh of relief because they sure do wear me down. Not only do you have to look for talented players you must evaluate a few other things also in a short period of time. such as: attitude, if they make a mistake how do they react? Do they gel with others? Parent evaluation is another thing we must look at: how are the parents interacting with others and how do they interact with there own daughter during the tryout? There are so many variables above and beyond the talent that you have to consider so that you can have a quality team with minimal distractions during the season. If you can accomplish that and have a good season competing with the great teams out there then you can tell yourself: That was a successful season!~In the long run thats what we are all looking for. Isnt it?
 
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Championship Fastpitch 14U was well run. Had two coaches from a team in a non-competing age bracket run tryout so CF coach could evaluate. Also had 2 college girls as neutral evaluators. Moved quickly but gave each girl a good & fair look through all the skills.

Doesn't surprise me. Mike Robinson is a good coach and a better person. Wish him all the best. He shared with me he had a great turnout with a lot of talent. Good for him and for the team.

Mike Wilson
Lasers Black
 
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We went to the Ohio Hawks tryouts today in Franklin, and were quite impressed with how organized and well-run they were. Plus, having multiple coaches from multiple age groups helping is a nice way to get more "eyes" on the players that are trying out.

Thanks Larry - When I got the call from Derek to come over and 'catch' the 14/15u pitchers I was like - are you kidding me? But, when I jumped behind the plate and we ran them through their paces I got to see 'exactly' what each girl had, how much ball movement and the pace... 2 hours later Derek called me (he wanted me to have time to think about what I saw) and asked what I thought about each girl - we spend 30 mins talking about them and he finally made up his mind which ones to go with.

We were very unsure about going from 5 to 12 teams but I'll tell you right now there is a lot of good softball talent out here in SWO ... we are seriously thinking of adding 1 more older team .. our 18u turnout yesterday was awesome at Princeton - those girls can get after it...
 
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Stingrays 14U (take II) was well run and gave the girls a fair shot at being looked at except it was luck of the draw with the live pitching who your dd had to hit, some where definitely tougher that others. Overall good tryout.
 
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My daughter tried out for 14U Ohio Wolfpack yesterday. This was our first tryout experience ever and I must say that aside from the heat, (and who can control that?) the tryout in my opinion was awesome. The coaches explained everything to the players and if one messed something up or didn't understand what to do, they gave them encouragement and helpful hints. They really did a great job of running the stations and there were plenty of coaches taking notes. There were aprox. 30 girls there and you did get a sense that the coaches knew some of them, but there wasn't any noticable favoritism toward anyone there.
The coaches did not talk with the parents, but they did pass out a handbook that listed the expectations of both players AND parents. My daughter had a great time and so did my wife and I. Seems like a classy organization.
 
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I attended two tryouts today, here is some feedback:
-Buckeye Heat: It was running a half hour late, but they quickly notified everyone that their earlier tryout went longer than expected and they were running a half hour late. That was very helpful! It was impeccably planned! Everyone there (especially Jean May) was very nice and helful!
-Central Ohio Lady Vipers- Another great tryout! I loved the fact that they ran it like they would run a practice! They knew what they were doing, and they had lots of people to help!
I can't say anything bad about either tryout!
 
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We went to 7 tryouts this year. Our dd is moving up to 14U after just one year in travel ball, and we wanted to let her see what next year is going to be like. The tryouts that seemed disorganized were a result, as we found out later, of much larger than expected tryout numbers. But the teams adapted pretty well. That was the case for the MC Madness session on the 14th. In fact, I think we liked the Madness session best of all because they put the girls in a game situation scrimmage, getting everyone a chance to hit, field, pitch and run the bases several times. Our dd, who wants to make it as a pitcher, and who was the smallest 14U there (won't be 13 until late fall) got a chance to pitch an inning instead of just throwing some pitches to a catcher. Great job Madness. You sold my wife.
 
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We only had one negative tryout experience during our tryout season -- let's just say the club is one of the newer organizations in Cuyahoga County.
 
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Attended Lancaster Thunder try-outs over the weekend. Not a lot of girls there for the older divisions (16U & 18U) and it made me wonder why? What do they know that I don't?
I noticed that the coaches didn't pay any attention to the girls while they were warming up - they were talking to each other and not even looking in the players' direction.
Other than that - tryout was so so - timed base running, basic fly ball fielding, basic infield fielding with a throw to first, and hitting off the pitching machine. Pitchers and catchers got very little work - one player (pitcher) was put in cold to pitch to one batter and that (I guess) was her tryout. The other pitcher got to pitch to a couple batters and that was it. (I guess the electric went off at the field so the pitching machine couldn't be used - otherwise I'm not sure they would have pitched/caught at all)
While the coaches seemed nice enough - I didn't leave there with the warm and fuzzies - there was no contact with parents at all, players were not told when they would hear anything, no information on planned tournaments, etc.
Overall - definitely could have been better.
 
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We only had one negative tryout experience during our tryout season -- let's just say the club is one of the newer organizations in Cuyahoga County.

We've been to several tryouts the last two weeks and I am hearing a lot of negative feedback about one new team everywhere we go.
 
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I will say that MC Madness and Wolf Pack are among the best tryouts we've been to.
 
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Earlier tonight, I went to the Lady Barracudas tryout. It was very well run. It was quite different from the other tryouts I attended, because it was more laid back. I really liked that! I also like the fact that the coach knew what players he wanted at the end, and didn't have to take weeks to let them know.
 
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I have noticed a couple of comments about (what I am figuring out by reading) the explosive try-outs. If I am wrong please just tell me.

Yes there was a big turn-out the first day. My DD looked at all the girls and told me that she needed to step up her game. She got a chance to go to all the stations and "show her game" and when it was over they were told that if they made the team they would get a call. Guess what-they kept their word. She received a call in two days. Then when she took a couple of days to think about it, she called the coach back and said yes. She was then told to expect an email by Monday night and she got one tonight explaining everything. No false promises and they did what they said they were going to do. They won me over by just doing that. If this is how the whole year is going to go then our family is very excited about being a part of this organization.

And just to let some of you know My DD does not go to that High School-no where near. If that was the team you were talking about.

Just remind your kids to do the same thing that my DD did and step up your game. My DD is possibly the smallest person in her age bracket so she has to really shine. There are many try-outs that have a huge turn out. If you don't feel that your DD got the exposure at try-outs, contact the coaches and ask for a private. We did that last year and it worked out great.
 
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I have to agree with Fastpitch Parents when it comes to the MC Madness try-outs. This was the best run try-out that we went to this year. The coaches paid attention to warm-ups with the girls and I actually saw some coaching going on. I think that the coaches actually wanted to see if the girls that they select are coachable or if they are going to nod their head and ignor what was being said. It was the only try-out that we went to where the girls faced live pitching and they did it like a game situation. The girls were put into positions and a runner was put on first. The coaches gave signs and the catchers actually tried to throw girls out if they were stealing.
My DD was offered a position on the 12u team but she decided to stay with the org she was with last year. She told me that if she ever decided to leave the org she was with that this is where she would go.
It is a first class org and I see nothing but good things happening with this org in the years to come.
 
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I have noticed a couple of comments about (what I am figuring out by reading) the explosive try-outs. If I am wrong please just tell me.

Yes there was a big turn-out the first day. My DD looked at all the girls and told me that she needed to step up her game. She got a chance to go to all the stations and "show her game" and when it was over they were told that if they made the team they would get a call. Guess what-they kept their word. She received a call in two days. Then when she took a couple of days to think about it, she called the coach back and said yes. She was then told to expect an email by Monday night and she got one tonight explaining everything. No false promises and they did what they said they were going to do. They won me over by just doing that. If this is how the whole year is going to go then our family is very excited about being a part of this organization.

And just to let some of you know My DD does not go to that High School-no where near. If that was the team you were talking about.

Just remind your kids to do the same thing that my DD did and step up your game. My DD is possibly the smallest person in her age bracket so she has to really shine. There are many try-outs that have a huge turn out. If you don't feel that your DD got the exposure at try-outs, contact the coaches and ask for a private. We did that last year and it worked out great.



We had the same experience and we do not live in that area either! In fact, we were impressed with the tryout experience there.
 
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We had the same experience and we do not live in that area either! In fact, we were impressed with the tryout experience there.

Same with us....we were impressed with the Explosive Fastpitch tryouts. The day that my dd tried out, there was a big turn out for that age group ...but nonetheless, the Organization gave each girl the opportunity to showcase their abilities. JMHO as a parent...

And yes, DD was one of the girls that got a call last week for a spot, (and no I am not from Strongsville...my dd is a Keystone girl). At that time, dd had other tryout obligations and could not commit... Coach said she would call again to check in and she did! Not sure if dd will end up playing there, (as she is committed to trying out for the team she has played with for the past 2 years) but regardless, I like what I see so far from the Organization.

On a side note, I was also impressed with the North Coast Spirit tryouts....I thought that they were very well organized and the Organization gave the girls plenty of opportunity to showcase thier abilities....again, JMHO as a parent.
 
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I was very impressed with the Ohio Lady Orioles tryout, especially since they are a new organization. They were up at Ohio Sports Park and were ran very well! Each age division took a feild and ran their own tryout how they wanted to. They were very laid back and not like the stressful tryouts you normally go through. Maybe it was just because they were the second round and only needed a few but it was nice to not have to be all stressed about it. And the coaches were very nice. They had one coach pitching and each time this one girl hit, it hit her :eek:! But instead of being mad she simply said that she would be mad if they were BAD hits but she couldnt be mad at good hits. They said they would call on Monday and they did :yahoo:. Then today they emailed me with all of the team info and it seems like they have a really good program :D. And no dad ball. Its all college coaches :). I still have a few more tryouts to go to but this team really set the bar high
 

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