default
Member
This makes perfect sense PERIOD>>>>
default
Member
I think it is awesome that you provide an opportunity for girls to play better competition. If you provide an opportunity for those young ladies to play, and they decide they want to move to a more "higher profile" team to be seen, then you've done them a wonderful service. If your whole team decides to go, and has the talent and the drive, then you have given them all something very special. Just providing the opportunity is the important thing.
If you are in our age group or older, we'd be happy to play you in a friendly if you consider us a "big name" organization, if that is what you are looking for.
If you are in our age group or older, we'd be happy to play you in a friendly if you consider us a "big name" organization, if that is what you are looking for.
default
Member
Way to support!
default
Member
Well I was hoping that this post would would have just gone away but it was brought back to life.... Rockstars..... You are a new member to OFC - I have never heard of you nor of your team - I'm sure that you have looked into my profile and you will have seen that I have been on this forum since October of 2007. I was not Calling you out nor was I complaining of your team... I was simply stating a FACT.... Why do we have so many 1st year teams still looking for players when there are still many.. many.. many... established organizations that are still looking for players to fulfill their rosters also ? And I am NOT bashing teams playing LOCAL tournaments nor am I or DO I feel as if I or my daughter are elitists... My DD started out in travel ball as a first year 10U player with the Ohio Classics.. Great team - great coach & great organization.. but we were unable to come up with the funds to allow her to play that year with that team so we pulled her out and she played that year with her local rec league friends. Her 2nd year 10U year we were contacted by a parent that was putting together a NEW TRAVEL TEAM made up of girls from two different neighboring school districts.. We jumped at the opportunity and we helped build that team to an organization today that now has 5 teams at 4 different age levels. This will be our first year not playing with that team since it's inception. 2nd year 14U. My DD was presented with an excellent opportunity to be placed on a team that will help her become a better player than she already is. We left our other team on good relations & terms.. It was just time to do something different for her. As of today she was told that she made her high school varsity team as a freshman.. She works very hard and is well deserving of that accomplishment. If it were not for a local dad starting a team 5 years ago who knows were we would have ended up... NOW with that being said.. 5 years forward from that time...... The number of NEW teams that have been added IS a good thing for the sport & for the girls that want to play the sport of softball... BUT with so many established teams & organizations that are still trying to find players.. why have 20 local travel teams with 2-3 great players and a supporting cast of team mates playing local tournaments when you could have 10 strong travel teams playing a strong tournament schedule ? I have been on the receiving end of a butt whipping on the field from one of those ELITE travel teams that you are all talking about and it's a shame when these NEW Travel teams happen to run across a team like that nothing positive is ever said about them. It's always.. They shouldn't be here.. they didn't need to run up the score.. they are arrogant... they are so cocky... The parents are always so negative.. it's hardly ever ( man that was a good team - I hope to be able to play like that some day ) It is a good thing that coaches are giving these young players opportunities to play at "different" level and I am sorry that I rocked anyone's boat.. That was not the intention of my post at all. If you really want to help these young players become better .. they need to be around better competition..... Take that as you will... JMHO
Keep up the good work that all of you do for your teams.. All the hard work will pay off for you and your girls some day.......
Brian
Keep up the good work that all of you do for your teams.. All the hard work will pay off for you and your girls some day.......
Brian
default
Member
Our dd has been fortunate to grow as a player every year thanks to travel ball. Her first year was as a 2nd year 12U and now she's a 2nd year 14U and in her 2nd year as a pitcher. Her improvement is due to the fact that she works hard to get better and she's competing with better players.
default
Member
I'm actually glad to see so much support for these new teams. We have one of these new teams. For us, we have a group of girls that have a lot of ability, work very hard, love the game, great personalities, great parents, and just happen to be from the same area. We are all new to this travel ball stuff and are learning. We have come to realize that these girls are at a point where if we don't start them into travel, they will become static and will not improve because they just don't see the competition regularly enough in OGSO. Don't get me wrong, there is some competition, but often not until you get to the state level and maybe just a few games during regular season.
Our solution to this is to break them into travel ball somewhat slowly....we are still playing in our rec OGSO level this year, but we are planning on going to 4-5 travel ball tournaments. We went to one last fall and did ok. We had our butts handed to us the first game, but the girls (and coaches) learned so much from it, improved, and came back and won the second game. Do we think that we are going to be competitive with these elite travel teams? Absolutely not....but we are expecting to learn and grow from it.
Sometimes it feels like there is an attitude that if your daughter isn't good enough that she just needs to work harder to get onto the already established teams. My question is...when and where is she going to work harder at? In our case, our girls have been undefeated in our rec league since coach pitch age and were state runners up last year (lost by 1 point in 9 innings against a team that had some travel players...we had none). Where would they see the competition to get better to make it onto some of these teams? Where will the coaches be able to learn techniques to teach the girls and how to defend them if they never see them in rec league? For example, we had the girls practice and practice defending the short game but they never saw it once in regular season. Come state championships, that team did it, but our girls fell apart for a while because they had never had to actually do it in a game. They came back...but it took until state games to see it.
Don't get me wrong, I can understand why some of these teams feel that travel ball is getting watered down and I'm sure they don't feel like they are getting the competition that their teams needs when they play one like us. However, sometimes it is the only way that some of these girls can work hard to become a great player....they have no other places to do it than if they start into travel ball. And in our case, we just happen to all be from the same area...why split up a team of girls that know each other, work well together, and all of the parents are on board with doing this?
Our solution to this is to break them into travel ball somewhat slowly....we are still playing in our rec OGSO level this year, but we are planning on going to 4-5 travel ball tournaments. We went to one last fall and did ok. We had our butts handed to us the first game, but the girls (and coaches) learned so much from it, improved, and came back and won the second game. Do we think that we are going to be competitive with these elite travel teams? Absolutely not....but we are expecting to learn and grow from it.
Sometimes it feels like there is an attitude that if your daughter isn't good enough that she just needs to work harder to get onto the already established teams. My question is...when and where is she going to work harder at? In our case, our girls have been undefeated in our rec league since coach pitch age and were state runners up last year (lost by 1 point in 9 innings against a team that had some travel players...we had none). Where would they see the competition to get better to make it onto some of these teams? Where will the coaches be able to learn techniques to teach the girls and how to defend them if they never see them in rec league? For example, we had the girls practice and practice defending the short game but they never saw it once in regular season. Come state championships, that team did it, but our girls fell apart for a while because they had never had to actually do it in a game. They came back...but it took until state games to see it.
Don't get me wrong, I can understand why some of these teams feel that travel ball is getting watered down and I'm sure they don't feel like they are getting the competition that their teams needs when they play one like us. However, sometimes it is the only way that some of these girls can work hard to become a great player....they have no other places to do it than if they start into travel ball. And in our case, we just happen to all be from the same area...why split up a team of girls that know each other, work well together, and all of the parents are on board with doing this?
default
Member
There's plenty of room for everyone, there have to be different levels of play. How do you think the elite players are made, they weren't born elite players!! Everyone has to start somewhere.
default
Member
Very true, Julie. That's been our experience. DD had to go solo because her OGSO team as a whole wasn't committed to getter better. She misses her friends, but loves the girls on her travel team because they share the same love of the game.
default
Member
Brian (laser 00),
It sounds like things have worked out wonderfully for your dd and your dd did it with alot of hard work. That's great. I don't believe you are elitist at all because you started in the same place. Congrats to your daughter making varsity as a freshman - impressive.
It sounds like things have worked out wonderfully for your dd and your dd did it with alot of hard work. That's great. I don't believe you are elitist at all because you started in the same place. Congrats to your daughter making varsity as a freshman - impressive.
default
Member
Very Well Said RS!! There are some here that think the "mediocre" players should stay home and not "dilute" the sport. I think it's great to get as many young ladies involved as possible.
default
Member
Great discusion.....yes there are many jumping into the ring and they will see where their level is real soon. The fact is the Sport is growing and the same as in WW2 when times got tough people looked to a sport and that was when Baseball was the thing everyone talked about. More females are now active and the media has been a great source to promote Fastpitch softball. The result, a need for teams to handle the increase in player interest. If there is any players sitting on a couch this year it will be a darn shame. The opportunity is there for all who want it and it keeps them from running the streets.
A & B divisions in travel or Gold and Silver... make room for more C and Bronze if needed
GROWING PAINS will have carry over in skill levels. I do not think we are at the peak of this in no means. Its just starting, in the next 5 years think how many kids will be playing if we promote it correctly here in Ohio. Think how many more there would be if we were still in the Olympics.
Keep them Playing ball!
A & B divisions in travel or Gold and Silver... make room for more C and Bronze if needed
GROWING PAINS will have carry over in skill levels. I do not think we are at the peak of this in no means. Its just starting, in the next 5 years think how many kids will be playing if we promote it correctly here in Ohio. Think how many more there would be if we were still in the Olympics.
Keep them Playing ball!
default
Member
We are one of the first year teams you mentioned that are looking for one more player. Our roster was complete until one player's parent talked us into a winter tourney. At that winter tourney one of the established (wink wink) elite teams ended up with the girl that signed with us back in September. Now we search for one missing piece. I guess you learn to be cautious of certain tactics. The good news is we are stronger as girls have stepped up and we have had leads in our last 5 scrimmages. I know some look at more local teams as watering down the talent. Our team takes great pride in being competitive with some teams that dont have two girls from the same school!!! This has been a special experience and will be a great year with this group of families.
default
Member
All orgs were new at one time.
My only complaints are such(probably repeating a theme):
1- poor coaching
2- team formed to give DD a team, when DD would be MUCH better off with an establiched org
3- harder to put together true A teams. And just because you are better than most does not mena you are an A team. There is a difference.
But I know no way you can have growth without the above issues. I am sure it is the same in California, Arizona, Florida. And being local has no bearing on being competitive. Just like saying traveling all over the Midwest means you are a better team.
My only complaints are such(probably repeating a theme):
1- poor coaching
2- team formed to give DD a team, when DD would be MUCH better off with an establiched org
3- harder to put together true A teams. And just because you are better than most does not mena you are an A team. There is a difference.
But I know no way you can have growth without the above issues. I am sure it is the same in California, Arizona, Florida. And being local has no bearing on being competitive. Just like saying traveling all over the Midwest means you are a better team.
default
Member
I think some underestimate the girls actually liking who they are playing with. There are two girls I know of that could play on any "A" team but would never get as much out of it as they do with their "local" friends. There is an excitement in knowing these girls could stick together for the same high school. There are some that seem to think more local teams mock the travel world.
default
Member
I think it is great to have more teams and orgs. But I also think it's time to add a division to the status of teams based solely on performance over a couple of years time, and not because a team says they are.
Such as:
"B" Division - all new teams, and community based teams
Win 3 tournaments in a year or win 5 tournaments over 2 years to move up-to the next division
"A" Division - Established orgs (only for the next 5 years, after which teams must advance to "A" from the "B" division) or teams that have moved up from "B" division
Place first or second in 10+ tournaments over a 2 consecutive years plus a top 4 finish at States to move up to the next division.
"ELITE" Division - Must move up from the "A" Division. Orgs added to ELITE Division now could be well known orgs that are the power houses now, ie. Lasers, Doom, Static, Hawks, Stingrays etc...
I think this would be a great way to separate teams and the talent, Not all girls would want to make the move up to ELITE division but i think it would stop teams from calling themselves "A" just because they can. I also think it would help to stop teams from jumping ship year after year, at least the ship jumpers would stay within a division or up-to a higher division.
JMHO
Such as:
"B" Division - all new teams, and community based teams
Win 3 tournaments in a year or win 5 tournaments over 2 years to move up-to the next division
"A" Division - Established orgs (only for the next 5 years, after which teams must advance to "A" from the "B" division) or teams that have moved up from "B" division
Place first or second in 10+ tournaments over a 2 consecutive years plus a top 4 finish at States to move up to the next division.
"ELITE" Division - Must move up from the "A" Division. Orgs added to ELITE Division now could be well known orgs that are the power houses now, ie. Lasers, Doom, Static, Hawks, Stingrays etc...
I think this would be a great way to separate teams and the talent, Not all girls would want to make the move up to ELITE division but i think it would stop teams from calling themselves "A" just because they can. I also think it would help to stop teams from jumping ship year after year, at least the ship jumpers would stay within a division or up-to a higher division.
JMHO
default
Member
i AM GOING TO START A NEW TOPIC ON THIS
default
Member
I don't understand why having as many teams as possible is a bad thing, is there a reputation to uphold? If so good for you, if not good for you. Every team needs to have tourneys, leagues that are appropriate for their abilities to play in. Once there becomes "too many" tourneys the number of teams that sign up will be the indicator.
Some orgs like to have teams that only play top level ball. That's great, hopefully my daughter qualifies for a team like that some day. Until then I am very grateful she has a team that she belongs on and has an opportunity to play beyond rec. Additionally I'm also grateful for the rec organization she played in as it was well ran and gave her a start.
Some orgs like to have teams that only play top level ball. That's great, hopefully my daughter qualifies for a team like that some day. Until then I am very grateful she has a team that she belongs on and has an opportunity to play beyond rec. Additionally I'm also grateful for the rec organization she played in as it was well ran and gave her a start.
default
Member
............"ELITE" Division - Must move up from the "A" Division. Orgs added to ELITE Division now could be well known orgs that are the power houses now said:
default
Member
My 2 cents!!
form and start as many 10u teams as you can......I think you can start talking watered down, when you see this many new 14u,16u and 18u teams until then i would support any new younger teams let's all work together to promote this great game! The more serious girl's will move on if their not learning. JMO
form and start as many 10u teams as you can......I think you can start talking watered down, when you see this many new 14u,16u and 18u teams until then i would support any new younger teams let's all work together to promote this great game! The more serious girl's will move on if their not learning. JMO
default
Member
I think alot of people think 10U is too early to start the rigor of travel ball on young girls. That being said, we have 4 - 10U girls on our 12U team.
Similar threads
