trophy hunting or improving skills

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Wanted to see what everyone else thinks.Teams that are better but go to lesser tournaments to collect trophies or a team that goes to tougher tournaments and may lose but improve their skills. Age groups of 10-14u any thoughts ?

 

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Don't think good teams should trophie hunt although there are alot of good teams in our area that do that. Isn't it about making the girls better. To be the best you gotta beat the best.

 

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One of the problems is scheduling. How do you find the best competition? Do you wait on tournaments to fill up before sending in your entry form and check? I see it very difficult to have all of the equally matched teams going to the same tournaments every weekend. It just doesn't happen. Now, there are tournaments that are traditionally tuff with competition. Those should be a must for any quality team. Going to Stingrays is one way to play competition but they have to accept you into this tourney.

Playing up an age level seems to be the rage.

 

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So fastpitchnut3 are you willing to tell a tournament director that his or her tournament is not up to your expectations? Or the teams entered? Interesting. This is travel ball. Do you really think travel teams hunt for tournaments they can win? In age groups you listed, there are always sleeper teams. I'm just curious why this would be posted because in these age groups it doesn't take much for a team to be really competitve.

 

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I am not so sure that many teams actually "trophy Hunt". I think that most teams try to place themselves where they feel they can compete and also enter some that they know they will not be the best team there.

This year I'm sure that many teams will be looking to stay a little closer to home and that may mean that they have to challenge themselves by playing up an age group perhaps. I have seen teams do this for many years and it is a good way to push the players to the next level.

 

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classics14u
The reason I ask, is the last 2 years and already this year you see teams posting scores and records through fall,winter and going into spring,and it seems to me, that if you play in tournaments and win just about every game by a margin of 12+runs you should seek out better competition or play up.

 

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Be careful fastpitchnut2. This topic has come up before and some get very defensive and very nasty with their replies. I wonder why? It is legit to say their are "lessor" tournaments as long as one puts it in the perspective of the teams attending. Some tournaments draw the top teams, others don't. That's a fact but some take it as an insult when they shouldn't. I don't think anyone can say no team has ever "Trophy Hunted". To what degree it goes on is open but not to discussion here because too many can't handle calmly discussing some topics.

 

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This is weird. I just complimented the age groups posted 10U through 14U. Go figure. In 14U, it takes 4 or 5 vasity high school players to make a team very competitve. Who knows what teams have these players. They could be half the teams in a tournament. Again, I am curious about this post. If any team is entering a tournament, no matter what the expected level of play is (must be several levels of play. Hmmm this is travel ball right). Why would a team be labelled as trophy hunting. Is it because other teams players are not able to play as well?

 

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classics14u
The reason I ask, is the last 2 years and already this year you see teams posting scores and records through fall,winter and going into spring,and it seems to me, that if you play in tournaments and win just about every game by a margin of 12+runs you should seek out better competition or play up.[/QUOTE]

I just think it is wierd,sorry for getting you all worked up about it classics 14u,just wondering why some would do this.But it is only my opinion and I thought it was for the girls to improve.

 

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We are a 14U team so our focus right now is not the top college showcases, but rather the tournaments with good comptition that are fairly close to home. Getting better is our main concern and I think that most tournaments have good teams with a few fillers. I don't know who is signed up for the tournaments when I sign up and I don't think most coaches do, so I don't think it is about someone saying "which tournaments can I win", but which tournaments are within our budget, not too far, and either I have been there before and liked it or I heard good things about it. You can only hope that some of the other teams are competitive. Once you cross into that 16U age group, depending on your teams goals, then you as a coach need to be more concerned with getting your players college attention. The players should be at the peak of their game by 16U and ready to draw some college scouts, but before that, it is just about improving.

 

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It's easy to speculate.

Scenario: let's say Team A is has a predominant USSSA schedule only or sanction as a "B" team and whoop up on everyone, well one may say trophies are their goal. BUT, if they just set the schedule and don't care and register as what they think the team is going to be able to handle... then it is what it is and if someone cares enough to speculate they should just ask the coach. Sometimes you start out with a path (schedule based upon financial needs, distance to tourney's, and limited talent/experience) of many unknowns and end up with a decent team-it happens and speculators can get misled. Most coaches I've talked to will tell you what their plan is for the year. Most are really open to this. Helps keep the "assumptions" to a minimum.

 

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I will add that I really don't know how much trophy hunting goes on. I just find it strange that it can't be discussed calmly, at least it hasn't in the past. Maybe this thread will different. Here's hoping. Plus, the trophy hunting concerns have mainly been leveled against the experienced teams that play as a "B" team, looking for easy prey I guess.

 

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I personally want to challenge the girls so we will play up to make sure they are challenged. Last year as 12's we played 5 14u tourney's. This year as 13's we will play in 2 16u tourneys. It is about the girls getting better, we already have enough trophies.

 

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wylee I like your style!!

 

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Not too sure if anyone enters tournaments that do not challenge there tms on purpose.I'd be lying if I said there aren't.Speaking from prior experience sometimes we go where we can just to get in playing time.Depending on who you play for whether it be a decent organization or just some parents who got a tm together so there DD's could have a place to play.Been at it from every perspective.Some Tms just do not have the funding to play in strictly A/B Ball tournaments so they play in local tournaments just to get in reps.Are they stronger then the tms they are playing ?Sometimes, but I think you're looking at it the wrong way.Doesn't playing against better tms make you better.I am sure if they could afford to they'd be somewhere else.
Not every organization is a tax write off for a corporation.Some of these tms pay dues ,fundraise, pan handle ,sell candles,hold Rook Tournaments,Poker Tournaments,sell candy,etc.Sometimes the situation dictates the outcome.Like Lester said ,"keep the assumption to a minimum."
Prior to my DD making it to where she is.She had to take a path,that long path of hrs on the field,that turned into days,days into months and months into years and hopefully years into a lifetime, will get her to where she is going.She'd of never of taken that chance if it weren't for the struggling B tm that smoked her all star tm, at a local USSSA tournament.It's been a fun road for the both of us actually for the family.Turn it into something positive,and positive things will happen.Make it into a negative ,and,I don't really know,I didn't let her take that path.

 

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Could we make a list of say the top 10 tournaments in 12u, 14u & 16u in the Mich, Ohio & Surrounding area.

I for one would like to get to the better tourneys but again when you are sending checks out in Jan you take your chances on who else may show up.

 

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If you have been coaching for a few years you will gain a knowledge of which tournaments are the softer ones and which draw the better competition. I have seen teams in tournaments and had the same thought as fastpitchnut. It may not be as much of trophy shopping as it may be more of a recruiting tool. Having the appearance of success with lots of trophies can equate success in some peoples minds. As a coach I guess it would depend on how you define success.

 

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To be one of the best you have to play all of the best.......it is hard in Jan to know who is playing what tournies......but the perennial tournaments always seem to draw the teams which are year after year listed as top ten in the OFC polls. Not that the polls aren't just a popularity contest but if they are listed then they usually will be a tough team to play week in and week out. I think if you poll the members most teams if not all would rather lose a 2-1 game than win a 15-0 game.....any coach worth anything knows that to get better you have to play those who will present a formidable opponent.

 

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12U is the worst for Trophy hunters. From what I have seen so far from schedule I can find on line. The LAsers Gold and Doom 96 are not hunters but want to win ASA/USA Nationals. My hats off to both of these teams for chasing compititon not trophys. Not saying there are not a couple more out there but post your schedule at lets see who is playing "A" schedule.

 

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classics14u
The reason I ask, is the last 2 years and already this year you see teams posting scores and records through fall,winter and going into spring,and it seems to me, that if you play in tournaments and win just about every game by a margin of 12+runs you should seek out better competition or play up.

I agree. But.....at the younger age groups, there is the "winning is everything" mentallity. So the parents are not going to want to see their DD lose. It also has to do with what are the team goals.

Also, one of the factors that families use to select teams/organizations is the tournaments that they are going to get into. The selection of the upcoming season's tournaments is usually done in the late summer or early fall. There is no way that ANY team could know what other team is getting into a particular tournament. If a tournament doesn't post it's tournament until January, then how can it expect to draw teams? I'm sorry, but a lack of foresight and planning does not constitute a reason for me to pull my team out of a tournament that I have already committed to (not just our team money, but also our word) just to attend a tournament that suddenly wants to attract teams.

If your team goal is playing in the ASA/USA Nationals, what are you doing playing in a Pony tournament? Save your sanction fees and "play up" at tournaments.

I totally understand that some teams want to play the best, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way.