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| SOFTBALL LINKS |
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Finding A Fastpitch Softball Team
by Dave
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
The summer is certainly not over yet but out there on the horizon is autumn. Summer softball is winding down as the few teams left playing will determine championships in Little League, ASA, etc. Girls are beginning to get anxious for the start up of fall ball. They're playing catch a little more frequently. They're asking to go to the batting cages. They're anxious. In short, they're driving you crazy.
Maybe you are looking to step up to the next level or maybe you just want to move out of rec ball and into a "travel" team. Whatever it is you seek, finding appropriate local teams is a difficult task. There is no single source for locating teams. The only way to go about it is to use every resource you can find. You need to be diligent, untiring, and persistent.
The local newspaper probably has some listings for tryouts or signups. This is a good first step. Also many newspapers have online forums for discussing a myriad of subjects including youth sports. Check every newspaper you generally think of as relating to your area to see if they have web sites with forums and, if they do, see if there is one for youth softball. These sorts of forums are great resources for all sorts of softball discussions. Often team managers and others post dates and times for tryouts. Get into the habit of checking these daily if you can.
Probably your best source of team information is the grapevine. If your team competes in tournaments, take note of opposing teams. Even if your team isn't competing, go watch games in local tournaments and talk to people. Make a habit of jotting down team names and where they are located. You may want this information at a later date when your darling daughter is ready to look for a more competitive team. Freely converse with the parents of the teams against which you play, if they'll talk to you! Word of mouth is the best way of finding teams which might be a good fit for your kid.
Your local batting cages or softball training center probably has a bulletin board where local teams post tryouts. You have to check back every week or so to see what new listings there might be but this can be a good source of information. While you are at the cages, you may want to take a look around to see if any girls there are wearing team shirts. If they are, don't be too timid to approach a parent watching their kid hit. They may know of a tryout or be willing to discuss not only that team but others they have played for. Softball is a communal sport. Ask participants questions and freely share any information you have. What goes around comes around.
Another place to find teams is the internet but this can be rather disappointing. Many teams do have web sites but these are sometimes difficult to find and often the sites are not kept up to date. Site addresses and domain names often go dead or the site becomes neglected. Sometimes you can find a team that perfectly fits your daughter and when you contact the coach's e-mail address, you don't even get a response. When you do get a return e-mail, you are often frustrated to learn that the 12U team you are seeking has graduated and is now a 14U team. Such is softball life on the information superhighway.
One of the best places to surf while looking for local teams is eteamz.com. Eteamz is probably the largest host of softball team sites on the web. Another newer site is League Line Up. League lineup seems to have just recently opened its doors to softball and, therefore, has far fewer teams than eteamz. There are other sites besides these. Some teams are very sophisticated and internet savy with their own domain names and fully functional sites. Most, however, are barely functional sites with some pictures of the team but very little in terms of parental information.
We are in the process of putting together a Team Directory but this is just beginning. As we receive more visitors and these folks submit their team sites, this will grow. If you take a look through our listings but cannot find your team, please fell free to Submit a Team following our guidelines.
I wish you the best of luck locating teams suitable for your darling daughter. It is a difficult search, especially for the newly initiated. Be creative and friendly and before long everyone will be coming to you for advice.
 
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