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I got started in travel ball around 94. This was going on then and will never change. I laughed as I read Mark T post. If you are in it for the kids, you try to be your best and train those that want to learn. There are some out there that have a new team each year, if that is what they want, then it shouldn't bother any of us. Take the kids you have and be the best you can be. They should be enjoying softball for what it is, a time in life to make friends and have fun. Few if any are going to make a living playing softball. In 96 , in Findlay , I lost my best player , that I have probably ever coached , like Mark T posted. It bothered me at first, but you go on with life. The funny thing about it, was her parents forced her to move to the other team, then forced her to keep playing. When she went to OSU, she told her parents she was not going to play softball and they had burned her out. So parents do what is best for your kid, let them have fun.
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It's February not June or even May.
Are all the teams and organizations that are still looking for players "poachers".
Where do you think the players you are still looking for will come from.
Are all the teams and organizations that are still looking for players "poachers".
Where do you think the players you are still looking for will come from.
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Currently my '97 team still needs to add a player & I am actively bumping my post in the "need to fill a roster" section. Obviously, I know that most players contacting me at this stage in the game have already committed to a team. However they are contacting me not vice versa & I have never contacted a player who has already committed so I would not consider this poaching. I have tried out around a 100 girls since Sept & I am sure 95% or greater were already committed to a team. When they show up I don't ask if they are currently on a team or not but only ask at the end of the tryout if they are someone I am interested in.
The last two girls whom I have picked up this Fall/Winter were both already on well known travel organizations. I thought the parents of both players handled it well & up front w/ their respective teams from what they told me. Due to an ACL tear last week, I am in still need of one player who wants to be challenged & play a top schedule - if there is someone out there who wants this & yes, most likely not happy w/ their current situation, they will call if interested or another team who is offering the same thing or better.
The last two girls whom I have picked up this Fall/Winter were both already on well known travel organizations. I thought the parents of both players handled it well & up front w/ their respective teams from what they told me. Due to an ACL tear last week, I am in still need of one player who wants to be challenged & play a top schedule - if there is someone out there who wants this & yes, most likely not happy w/ their current situation, they will call if interested or another team who is offering the same thing or better.
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Wow , this topic has been a rollercoaster of emotions ! Lets start back at the original post ; As a parent of a good ballplayer I have many coaches come up to my DD and specifically compliment her on her performance after the game, and have commented to me that she heck of a player, thats where it stops! As a parent I recognize who that coach is, if I want to take the next step, it is up to me(the parent)to say can I have your name and # for next year not this year , Dont put my DD on the spot like that, let the compliment of her performance be the seed of your interest ,if you are a coach of a reputiple organization enough said! Parents need to show their DD that honor and commitment mean something and these are few of the fundamentals of life that are being taught in a sports setting. At the end of the year go to the tryouts of those other teams. joking in front of a coach to a player is not illegal it is unethical. if parents want to approach a coach of another team during a season so be it, also unethical! The only way I see a departure during a season, is if a coach parent or player step over the line and it cant be fixed, than everyone involved has that right to move on. There are many posts of teams looking for 1 or 2 players, I dont have a problem with that, I just wonder what teams they are coming from? Are they moving on because they did not earn the positon they tried out for? Unethical?
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If they call players already on teams and try to get them to leave.
And yes there are girls that have played in the past not on teams now, and just decided to play. We had a player call are 18u team yesterday that was not gonna play and just decided to..
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That's a rarity....? more players will move "from a team to a team" than from "not playing to a team".
I like how others are putting it. Give your players/families what they want.....and they will stay!!!!
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No problem if they leave organization first of own will and not poached
Know what would be fun if everyone would put what organization they are with when they post.
You may see a trend. But maybe not
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I would bet the one's that don't have a problem with it our from organizations that poach players. Just a hunch
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My daughter was aproached last year after we beat a team to go to a finals for a tourny. He said " My name is.......... I would love for your girl to come and tryout for us next year for catcher." Gave me a card and that was that...... I took that as a giant compliment, as did my daughter. Theres a huge difference betwenn poaching and " poking around".... Now that same year, there was a coach( Ive seen the team name posted on here ) that flat out tried to poach one of our pitchers. He walked up to her and her Dad between games and told him " You come to my team tomorrow and your daughter wil be our # 1. Dont worry about the team your on now, they'll get over it!" Now that to me is low. The dad told the guy basically to **** off and never contact him again!
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Oh.....don't be that way. Life is too short for some org to beat around the bush and maybe get their stuff together. Way too many coaches learning at the expense of their players. I've seen a lot in my few years of travel ball. I've had a few coaches approach my DD, it is a compliment. But alas, we are happy and politely tell them "no thanks".
Your org is providing what the players want (I.e. having a team at the Pennsbury invitational). Keep up the good work and I'm sure you won't be effected by these "unethical" people. :lmao:
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Thanks I'm done with this one. Good luck this summer.
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Ive mentioned this to parents when on the coaching side of the fence or crazied parent side of the fence. Most coaches are like car salesmen (not a slam against real ones) they see ya coming and then pounce on you and promise this ride and dealership is better than the other one and/or current one you have. Its their job to sell,sell,sell and make you feel real good about your self, we all get that! What some are saying on here is not toward the end of the season for tryouts, it is during the fall and winter months where these coaches are seeking out players at their games and making calls to their house.
Oh yeah this happens and has happen for years and years. Like mentioned above because you dont have that 'stud' player at a position, work with the player you have! Teams looking for players now on the OFC is not poaching.
Calling and stealing players that you know that are on a team already and downing that team/coach and talking them to coming to your 'greener side' is just wrong.
Of course those coaches and heads of organizations dont care. If and when they cut your throat they feel like a personal victory,but if it happens to them, then hold the phone.............that is not right in their minds,LOL!
These type of coaches feel every win their team wins is a reflection of them and take all the credit. If they lost the game, its on the girls.
Still too many coaches out for that special spolight on themselves!!!!!
To sum it up, will stealing players from other teams keep happening............yep! Is it still wrong...........yep! Will it ever change.............nope! Sadly it is part of the system we call travel softball.
Oh yeah this happens and has happen for years and years. Like mentioned above because you dont have that 'stud' player at a position, work with the player you have! Teams looking for players now on the OFC is not poaching.
Calling and stealing players that you know that are on a team already and downing that team/coach and talking them to coming to your 'greener side' is just wrong.
Of course those coaches and heads of organizations dont care. If and when they cut your throat they feel like a personal victory,but if it happens to them, then hold the phone.............that is not right in their minds,LOL!
These type of coaches feel every win their team wins is a reflection of them and take all the credit. If they lost the game, its on the girls.
Still too many coaches out for that special spolight on themselves!!!!!
To sum it up, will stealing players from other teams keep happening............yep! Is it still wrong...........yep! Will it ever change.............nope! Sadly it is part of the system we call travel softball.
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Sounds like you have had yours eyes opened Hillbilly!You know that alot of these players come from small town usa and they leap out of a community where they were the the talented one, and they were the star , I get it! They move up to the next level(TB) These families are new to this level of play and they find out who the organizations are, that are successful. So when they get approached by these (greener organizations) and their DD's are recognized as talented athletes and could play for them, that becomes very flattering and they move on. I will say this; "Be careful parents of the teams recruiting the talented ones, because if thats the case of when is it your DD's turn to be pushed aside for the up and coming talented one"? At the 14u and higher age groups I can see this as an advantage for college exposure, but at the younger age groups, I wouldnt make team recognition a priority ..I would make sure that my DD is developing as softball/athlete , being challenged at practice and at games, having fun and playing with players who are there for the same reasons! Winning does not guarentee anything for your DD. My DD hates to lose, but it happens. Make sure you are with the right people that help them learn to overcome their shortfalls....Oh, and as a parent it would be a bonus to have a good relationship with the other parents , Wow! Could I be asking for the perfect TB setting????? I could be reaching, LOL!
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Well, talking about the perfect TB setting, dd was on Hillbilly's TB team last summer, and aside from the ungodly amount of injuries we suffered, and the struggling that caused on the field, it was a great time because the parents were great and the coaches held everything together. And a great deal of credit for that goes to Lake Erie Hillbilly. Thanks again Barry.
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Could not agree more.
I also agree with the post that if at the younger age groups (where the kids are developing), you have a position player (pitcher, catcher etc) that is a #3 on Team A and here it is February and it looks as if she will probably stay the #3 because of her current abilities, I don't see anything wrong with that kid moving to Team B where she could be a #1 and get more innings and the chance to develope. Not sure if its really a loss for Team A having this kid on the bench if she really wants to work on a certain position....may turn out she won't ever be good enough to truley play that position at the A level, but I don't think the stigma of hopping teams should prevent the kid from giving it a shot...you only have so many years to play JMHO
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Absoulety right rocketboo! Mainly with the younger ages if a coach from possibly a bigger organization shows you the love at times it is hard to pass up. Still wrong but yeah it happens and it is hard not to feel good about it. How many times though is the parents ego stroked at the younger ages and they make the choice and have their little one leave her team and friends. When these devils are poaching one eye is on the player the other on the parent making sure both are bobbing their heads.
Again Ive been on both sides of this and Ive heard and talked with several people thru the years that talk about this very thing. Im know angel myself sad to say. Done this once myself while in the younger ages. It was wrong but stubborn dad wasnt thrilled that little superstar wasnt getting the chance to shine. I was WRONG! That is why I can understand how the parents tend to feel this way and certain coaches know that and use that to their advantage! Welcome to the human element part of this.
Belive me parents get ticked off alot, mainly at the younger ages. They all pay the same amount of dues and EXPECT little Suzzie to play all the time. What many are talking about is what certain coaches are doing.
Down side of this that dont get discussed alot it the player leaves during the fall or winter for those idle promises from the other coach and guess what happens......they find out hey this guy (or gal) mislead us and our girl could of been playing with team A but is hardly seeing the field with team B. They wanted little Suzzie for a backup role.
Some cases if it is just a cluster (you know what) with the organization not stable or team well parents have to make that choice, but not from other coaches calling and telling you to leave. Twice I was told from the family themselves the organization,knowingly knew the girl was on a team, called them at their house and told them to join their team and leave the current one.
Again it is the nature of the beast of this travel world. Not all coaches do this and not all parents either.
Thanks for the kind words Phil. Yeah those injuries did kill us and we ended up with 4 season ending injures, with one young lady playing with a fracture wrist the whole summer, but the girls did their best thru that. It was a true pleasure to coach them and to have the parents I had. Most of the parents saw and understood what we were going thru and that made the job easier for Mike and I. Yeah a couple bumps there but for travel ball I was under par with parent situations,lol.
Again Ive been on both sides of this and Ive heard and talked with several people thru the years that talk about this very thing. Im know angel myself sad to say. Done this once myself while in the younger ages. It was wrong but stubborn dad wasnt thrilled that little superstar wasnt getting the chance to shine. I was WRONG! That is why I can understand how the parents tend to feel this way and certain coaches know that and use that to their advantage! Welcome to the human element part of this.
Belive me parents get ticked off alot, mainly at the younger ages. They all pay the same amount of dues and EXPECT little Suzzie to play all the time. What many are talking about is what certain coaches are doing.
Down side of this that dont get discussed alot it the player leaves during the fall or winter for those idle promises from the other coach and guess what happens......they find out hey this guy (or gal) mislead us and our girl could of been playing with team A but is hardly seeing the field with team B. They wanted little Suzzie for a backup role.
Some cases if it is just a cluster (you know what) with the organization not stable or team well parents have to make that choice, but not from other coaches calling and telling you to leave. Twice I was told from the family themselves the organization,knowingly knew the girl was on a team, called them at their house and told them to join their team and leave the current one.
Again it is the nature of the beast of this travel world. Not all coaches do this and not all parents either.
Thanks for the kind words Phil. Yeah those injuries did kill us and we ended up with 4 season ending injures, with one young lady playing with a fracture wrist the whole summer, but the girls did their best thru that. It was a true pleasure to coach them and to have the parents I had. Most of the parents saw and understood what we were going thru and that made the job easier for Mike and I. Yeah a couple bumps there but for travel ball I was under par with parent situations,lol.
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I doubt the marginal players, like a #3 pitcher, are the ones being enticed to leave their teams.
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Just curious as to what everyone's thoughts are when a player initiates the conversation because she is not happy because a coach defines a role and he or she does not live up to their end of the bargain. Or perhaps it just does not work out. I would like to know what other coaches/teams do in these situations. Is that player turned away and told wait until next year to make a move and expected to remain in a bad situation or is okay to have discussions with them? As for someone being a #3 pitcher, one guy's #3 is another guy's #1. If a coach over promised and then under delivered about a player's role on their team then that coach in my opinion should be prepared for that player and her parents to look elsewhere. If it is a case of a player falling behind or not working hard that is a different story. JMO!
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