When to jump ship...

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I have noticed that there are still a lot of teams looking for players to fill out their rosters for the 2011 season (especially younger teams) and my questions are:

How long should a player stay on a team that still needs 2-3 players before looking for a different team?
The risk is there that if the team doesn't find enough players then you could be stuck without a team.

Another question: How long should a team wait before folding if they can't find enough players?

I thought these might be interesting topics to dicsuss...

 

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I think it depends on the team and organization.

 

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I think a lot of players start to shake loose in the spring after basketball season. Still a lot of good players who forget about softball after summer and focus on other sports.

Looking for two or three I wouldn't panic. That should mean the team already has 8-9 committed. Worst case they pick up one or two to get through a few games.

Last year we were looking for only one through the winter. By March we had a couple of good candidates and wanted to keep both but couldn't. So we took our best fit of the two and referred the other girl to another coach I respect. As we got deeper into spring, we found ourselves turning a few more players away and recommeding them to other teams.

Then we had two girls break their arms in the same span of time and were still able to pick up a quality player in mid-May.

My advice would be to keep spreading the word and things will work out.

 

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I tend to agree with the Hornet....We are in the same spot we were last year....We have 9 strong and are looking for one...maybe 2 more to complete the puzzle. I'm sure most teams are a lot like us....Have looked at quite a few girls since tryouts, just have not found the right fit yet.

I think the problem is, however, that some parents/girls hang on for a little to long hoping their team will fill up with good quality players....When they figure out that it is not going to happen, or that the coach just added bodies to field a team they decide it's time to jump ship. Then both the kids and the parents have to play catch up in order to feel like they "fit" with the new team that has been working all fall and winter together.

I would say if you have 8 or 9 you are in pretty good shape....Once basketball starts to wind down the girls will start coming around. If you are sitting anything less than that it may be in your best interest to talk to your coach and see where the team is headed. They will be hard pressed to hold a grudge if you want to get with a team and "settle in" through the winter/indoor schedule.

I always tell our girls we expect them to continue to work through the winter...Although we do not make our practices or hitting work mandatory during the so-called "offseason", they all typically show up to stay sharp....all the while growing as a team.

 

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The younger the team the more likely players will become available, this is true all the way through 16u, I have found that HS ball and JR High or rec ball in the spring gets players going with the idea that they want to keep playing. My experience also tells me that, after freshman year in HS the writing on the wall becomes very evident for the 50% of the players that played on the Freshman teams at the larger schools that they will not be making the JV squad in ******, Volleyball, or Basketball. At that point the really competitive players will look for another sport, and many times over the years my teams have benefited from this, this is why I would ALWAYS work with multi sport athletes until at least their Sophomore year in HS, by then it was pretty clear whether that other psort whatever it was would pan out for them.

 

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I tend to agree with the Hornet....We are in the same spot we were last year....We have 9 strong and are looking for one...maybe 2 more to complete the puzzle. I'm sure most teams are a lot like us....Have looked at quite a few girls since tryouts, just have not found the right fit yet.

I think the problem is, however, that some parents/girls hang on for a little to long hoping their team will fill up with good quality players....When they figure out that it is not going to happen, or that the coach just added bodies to field a team they decide it's time to jump ship. Then both the kids and the parents have to play catch up in order to feel like they "fit" with the new team that has been working all fall and winter together.

I would say if you have 8 or 9 you are in pretty good shape....Once basketball starts to wind down the girls will start coming around. If you are sitting anything less than that it may be in your best interest to talk to your coach and see where the team is headed. They will be hard pressed to hold a grudge if you want to get with a team and "settle in" through the winter/indoor schedule.

I always tell our girls we expect them to continue to work through the winter...Although we do not make our practices or hitting work mandatory during the so-called "offseason", they all typically show up to stay sharp....all the while growing as a team.

Agree completely. I was turning players to other teams all through May last year, but you need to have at least 8-9 committed players by now.

 

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So, how do you know if the team is truly needing players to complete a playing roster (ie 9 girls), or if they are just looking for the stud player that isn't already on a team? Very few of the looking for posts state how many they currently have on the roster.

 

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You don't, which is why we always invite the interested family to our practice/friendly etc to observe. We also ask that the DD of the interested family join the girls for the day. Two things come out of it:

1- The family and prospective player get a chance to observe the team and coaches - Make their own judgements about where the team is competitively, and ask questions after that they may have about ANYTHING.

2- Gives us as coaches the chance to see the young ladies interact with the current roster, gives our family members the chance to interact with the prospective family, and lastly lets us see the skill level of the player.

After a day with a team, you can usually tell where they stand - Really no other way.

 

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You don't, which is why we always invite the interested family to our practice/friendly etc to observe. We also ask that the DD of the interested family join the girls for the day. Two things come out of it:

1- The family and prospective player get a chance to observe the team and coaches - Make their own judgements about where the team is competitively, and ask questions after that they may have about ANYTHING.

2- Gives us as coaches the chance to see the young ladies interact with the current roster, gives our family members the chance to interact with the prospective family, and lastly lets us see the skill level of the player.

After a day with a team, you can usually tell where they stand - Really no other way.

This sounds like a really great way to handle it, and I think it would give all parties involved a chance to see if it is a relationship worth pursuing.

 

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Yeah, I would not sign my dd up sight unseen on a team. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. But wouldn't it be nice if the all said what they needed exactly? I know almost all teams are looking for a 10u pitcher that can throw 55 mph, but what are you really looking for, besides the mythical unicorn.

 

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Here is what I consider a good post looking for girls.

http://www.game-ex.com/vb3/showthread.php?t=32327

Very consise. It gives you a great amount of details and tells you where the team is going in the upcoming year.

 

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That is a good post for sure, but it's not always that black and white. Sometimes a girl (or her parents) feels that she is a....lets say shortstop... She has played there on her team (travel or town) in the past and that is all she really knows. Then, she goes to one of the many tryouts in the summer and realizes that while she can "play" that position, she may not REALLY be a shortstop at all...... If a family can see that their DD will be a part of a strong team, with good kids, families and coaching, they may get excited about her playing and learning another position. However, if that team she tried out for posted that they were only looking for a 2nd baseman and CF, she may never have visited in the first place.