Explosive softball

[CARDS]

Played in a tournament down in TN back in 2008. The park was set up for girls fastpitch from t-ball fields they used for coach pitch and t ball (4 year olds to 8year olds) to 200 fenced fields 9U and above.
These 8U teams were impressive and most of the 10s looked could play 12U.

 

[eddienite]

Heed the warning or don't. Just know what your in for. Caveat emptor...don't believe me, come see our tourny "games" in strongsville this weekend.

I just by pure dumb luck was at the game on Sunday during bracket play. While the girls were small, I thought they did OK. I will have to say that was the smallest girl I have ever seen pitch in 10u.

But that is not why I decide to create a login and do my first post on this site after 3 years of reading the forums. I am posting because I think danno has some truth to the story. I saw coaches kids in the dugout with the players (all under the age of 4). It reminded me of my rec days where it's crazy in a dug out with little brothers and sisters.

The coach as positive as she was, yelled at the umpire and was so upset about a play that she told him that the same thing happened in the women's college World Series 3 times. ( blocking/interference call). The game was out of reach but the parents and coaches treated it like it costed them the game. Found it a little odd that 10u was on the same level as college girls.

Bashing the organization based on one team is not right. I saw plenty of explosive teams this past weekend and all had quality players on them. Learn from it and move on. Pick a different team next time. I had son go through travel baseball and I made my share of mistakes with teams. As others have stated, you have to research and watch other teams. Talk to parents on those teams. Then make your choice. So many things change between 10u and 12u but you should be able to find a team that fits your daughter.

 

[manitoudan]

I feel like a dinosaur , 1000 bucks for ANY travel ball club at ANY age in Ohio .. my how times have changed. My kid is turning 22 , played for Rays and Doom and dont think ever payed 1/2 that . Played in ASA.USA nationals a few times , Chicago , So Car , Alabama , we got around , but 1000 bucks at 10u ? that should include personal instruction for sure .

 

[24GahannaLadyLions7]

I feel like a dinosaur , 1000 bucks for ANY travel ball club at ANY age in Ohio .. my how times have changed. My kid is turning 22 , played for Rays and Doom and dont think ever payed 1/2 that . Played in ASA.USA nationals a few times , Chicago , So Car , Alabama , we got around , but 1000 bucks at 10u ? that should include personal instruction for sure .

Manitou, it is pretty crazy --- I have a 12U and 2 10U girls playing this year

*My 12U Bandit girl paid $1000 in fees this year and that will go up drastically next year to over $2k -- Her 10U and 9U Stingray year we paid $750 and $650 respectively, but the stipend from the Showcase help tremendously

*My second daughter on Lasers Teal was $1448.92 this year --- They are transparent on the books also and it is legit, but we have played tons of ball

*Smallest 7U elgible pitches for our 10U Local team -- Fees were $750 I think....

Well I guess it could be worse, they could play soccer...

 

[RedStormDad]

Wow 2 post and you have all the answers. LOL, JK. couldn't resist.

you dirty son of a b&^%!.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA ......Hey its true though. Travel ball is just that, if you travel 4 hrs, or 25 minutes away its all travel ball. Some better than others, theres local teams that kick ass and some that don't. Do the homework and find the right fit before you commit!

 

[Fairman]

Out of 14 seasons with 2 daughters I had 3 seasons that I wished I had back. We did our research, hung with the families and checked out the coaches and verified the organizations and still had three disasterous summers.

All had to do with the organization changing the coaches or focus after November. On all three I regret that we did not jump ship and try to find another team at that point in the year. (Now both of my dd's were pitchers so they would have had more choices in the middle of winter workouts.)

One team combined with another and had 18 players on the roster, the second brought in a daddy-ball coach of two players magnified by player drama that we were trying to avoid and the third rostered 5 college-bound pitchers but no shortstops, no-batters, no speed and then only pitched two of them, very long innings and very short games. All three were leading organizations with good reputations and good coaches in September, by November/January that all changed.

None of these organizations fulfilled their promise and we shouldn't have stuck around, we did much to our regret.

My advice is to move on, at this point finish the year but there is a team out there for your dd, you've got to dig to find it.

Good Luck

 

[DW@SBC]

This post does not sound like "positive history" to me...was the org owner willing to discuss these issues at the tournament? I would really like to know how this turns out for the OP because my daughter wants to try-out for 12u travel this year. We went to the tourney to check out Explosive as well as a few other teams. I am completely new to the world of travel ball and have been relying heavily on this site to do my "due diligence."

The upset parent, just read his/her post. This parent will have trouble every year with their team no matter how good or bad.

 

[Farmdad]

The upset parent, just read his/her post. This parent will have trouble every year with their team no matter how good or bad.

As a parent...if I paid 1K and my daughter's 10u roster was filled out with 6 year old's and we played in only 1 tourney, I would be upset as well. This sounds like my daughter's rec ball experience and we only paid $75 for that. I agree that the OP needs to move on now...but if what they say is true, then I'm glad to read about it here. Again, as a newbie, this was a situation I wasn't aware of...do we need to ask, "coach, what's your plan for finding subs if needed?"

 

[josie]

.....and why isn't the 6 year old's parent questioning everything? There was no way any of my 6 year olds were ever ready for 10u...just sayin'.

 

[DW@SBC]

As a parent...if I paid 1K and my daughter's 10u roster was filled out with 6 year old's and we played in only 1 tourney, I would be upset as well. This sounds like my daughter's rec ball experience and we only paid $75 for that. I agree that the OP needs to move on now...but if what they say is true, then I'm glad to read about it here. Again, as a newbie, this was a situation I wasn't aware of...do we need to ask, "coach, what's your plan for finding subs if needed?"

Lots of missing information to that story.

I'm betting this parent will be back next year with another one sided sob story.

 

[wow]

another one sided sob story.

A one sided story on OFC? Nooooooooo!

 

[Danno]

I'm sure many parents are satisfied with explosive. I'm just relaying my situation. If this is a sob sorry, so be it...it's the gospel truth. The whole situation unfolded slowly, and by the time it became apparent, it was too late. The orgs owner was surely at the tourney, I didn't see her, but I also didn't think it was an appropriate time or place for a confrontation. She already said she was unwilling to deal with it in any way. So if you want to take a chance with them, and you have any problems, expect to be blown off...she already has your money...that's what matters to her.

 

[Danno]

missing info on the story? I don't think any relevant info is missing, but if you ask, I will answer any qs.

 

[24GahannaLadyLions7]

Danno determined to be the 1st person ever to get to "Senior Member" status on 1st thread!!! 31 posts...whew

 

[FastBat]

This org held a very well run, one-day camp for many young softball players today. Kudos to them, it was appreciated!

 

[lewam3]

I'm sure many parents are satisfied with explosive. I'm just relaying my situation. If this is a sob sorry, so be it...it's the gospel truth. The whole situation unfolded slowly, and by the time it became apparent, it was too late. The orgs owner was surely at the tourney, I didn't see her, but I also didn't think it was an appropriate time or place for a confrontation. She already said she was unwilling to deal with it in any way. So if yYou willou want to take a chance with them, and you have any problems, expect to be blown off...she already has your money...that's what matters to her.

Danno, Danno, Danno...
Someday you will have to realize that is was your lack of judgement and lack of action that led to this situation. You ended up on the bad end of a B or C level 10u team. In the future, do your homework and don't let this happen again. No point on beating a dead horse here on this forum. Those parents of DD's at all levels have dealt with bad situations at some level and at some time. Rarely have they gone on a public forum like a town crier explaining how you have been blown off by the leader of this organization. It will not effect the Explosive organization...Why? because Jeannette has been around for years and runs a respectable organization, tournament and clinics. She raises thousands of dollars every winter for cancer families. A disgruntled parent on a C level 10u team will not bring her down. Good kids will continue to try out and make her teams. Just move on and hope that this thread doesn't follow you or your DD around, but the more you keep this thread alive, the greater chance it will. J-M H-O

 

[CARDS]

The main thing any reader or parent should take away from this thread is Softball goes by quick...The Organization if they have been around should know better than accepting 6 year olds for 10u teams.

Putting any young lady on a 10U travel team at 5,6,7,8 is a good way to get your kid hurt and hurts their development. Go to any 10U event and watch the teams, on most teams there are a handful of 9 and 10U ladies that struggle with the ball size and playing equipment. I see on the team looing several 8U teams looking for players. IMO, Parents do not risk hurting your kid or giving the burn out at 12 trying to get them playing above their maturity level. If you do want to look at an 8U team ask good questions about the coach and team...
What is their experience with working with this age group. Do a quick review of 8U playing rules. Use this to ask relevant questions to see if the coach knows the rules. If they cannot answer playing rule questions they most likely do not understand the other areas needed when building the foundations of players this young.
Ask the coach about tournaments, If they say they plan on a couple 10U events walk away...Kids this young should also not play more than 2 games a day.
IMO, Save your money, At 5,6,7 sign them up for a coach pitch league that uses the proper size 10" safety ball and let them have fun.

 

[wow]

OMG 8U is the new 10U. Wait till the recruiting starts in 12U then what? Bags of cash will show up, college coaches fighting over kids, and endorsement deals will be a fly'n.

 

[Danno]

Thank you for the advice from most posters. To some, who say do your homework...I say this...I tried but had little info about the whole process. I have much more now. It's laughable that a few of you want parents to do their homework but don't like it when info is being given out. I'm sure I was complaining, who wouldn't, however the main reason I posted was to give INFO out. Judge an org by how it responds to problems.