| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| whits23 |
Posted - 01/20/2009 : 15:26:30
I am moving to the north atlanta area in june..probably suwanee,duluth,loganville area somewhere. I have always coached travel ball where i have lived and had some good teams. How difficult will it be to come up with field space in this area to practice on..getting players is usually not a problem its the field space to work out on thats the hard part.thanks
any emails would be helpful whits23@aol.com
I also have a 13u major player as a son who will be looking for a team |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| bballman |
Posted - 01/23/2009 : 14:00:13
My understanding is that the HS coaches will let you use the field only if you are a feeder program. And then only if you pay them a fee to use it. At least at our HS, this is the case. HS coach stated that they were required to charge the fee for use as dictated by the county I believe. We are in Fulton County. |
| Hook Em Horns |
Posted - 01/23/2009 : 10:24:34
I believe the Kennesaw Mountain feeder program uses the KMHS facilites too. |
| rock44melnix |
Posted - 01/23/2009 : 09:27:41
WJR - We have and continue to do so, but I am telling you there is somebody there that has a thorn up there side that keeps us from doing it. Heck it took us 4 1/2 months just to get the county to approve us to fix the roofs on our dugouts. The only reason it was approved this quickly, was we applied it under a safety issue due to the holes in the roofs. We'll keep plugging away and maybe some day. |
| WJrWolverines |
Posted - 01/23/2009 : 09:13:01
Rock44: It's not the county - work thru the school board with the backing of your HS atletic dept. WHS got their indoor cages built w/ partial help from a grad a few yrs ago (recently signed new contract w/ Orioles) so they had to raise money too and they got it done. Mandatory insurance policy is required by any group approved to use facilities so liability issues are not the problem. |
| AllStar |
Posted - 01/23/2009 : 08:28:26
Probably afraid they'd get sued if someone got hurt.
They probably would for that matter. |
| rock44melnix |
Posted - 01/22/2009 : 18:26:39
This is just sad! Somewhat related to this topic; how many of your county high schools out there have allowed their high school booster clubs to build an indoor facility on campus; with batting cages etc., to use during the bad weather? If so, how recently have they been built? I have been around a few lately in Cobb County that are very recent but wondering if other counties have been as fortunate.
I ask because my oldest son plays for one of the Cherokee County HS teams and you can't as much make an improvement to an existing structure with an act of Congress. His HS has a beautiful field, but forget it when it comes to anything else and our booster club has tried and tried w/o any success to have the county allow us to put something up like that. The 2 batting cages they have could be condemned and we can't even address them according to the county. It's just a rotten joke of some slob sitting on their high horse letting everybody know they have a tad bit of authority. It just stinks as it's obviously the kids in the programs that get short changed. Is this just a Cherokee County problem though?
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| bambino_dad |
Posted - 01/22/2009 : 17:34:59
LOL.
And I thought Dekalb was the only county in metro Atl with this problem. My son and I have been kicked off every baseball field in the county from Rock Chapel to Brown's Mill to Glenwood Hills to Gresham to Exchange. There's just no place to play without a permit and permits are hard to come by unless you're a coach in the rec or softball leagues. Ballfield gates are padlocked. Sneaking on high school fields like Columbia, Redan, or Miller Grove have been our only options. Indoor facilities only offer so much. Ya gotta hit and throw outdoors sometimes. Yes, it is discrimination but what can ya do? |
| bmoser |
Posted - 01/22/2009 : 16:21:56
I am only speaking for Northern Gwinnett County in the comments below:
Using a High School field is not an option. They are kept padlocked, and policy prohibits outside use. The Head Coach has no say in this.
The Elementary school fields are not adequately maintained to be used for baseball, nor will they allow you to upgrade them. Even the T-Ballers who use these fields wont hit grounders on them.
I have never seen a YMCA around here, let along one w/ a field.
Aside from Hebron Christian Academy, and Greater Atlanta Christian, who I cannot see allowing non-members to use their facilities, there is only 1 Church field I know of Gwinnett (there's got to be more) and it was improperly done so each time it rains, the infield washes away.
All that said, if there's a will, there's a way. I moved here 6 years ago, and I'm still looking, and I aint giv'n up!
quote:
Originally posted by 3sondad
Why not use a high school's softball field for practice in the spring for the younger ages? (most have 200' fences) You just need to get a school's coach on board with the idea and have your ducks in a row before meeting him. (A portable mound is easy to make)... I know plenty of high school softball fields in Cobb being used for practices.
Some Boys and Girls clubs also have fields that are not used much and would love a donation to keep the field up. We practiced at one last year and fixed it up pretty good by the end of the season. Some churches have fields and would love an "investment" in upkeep, which a travel team should be able to handle (either financially or volunteer work). Being new to the area might be tougher. But if there is a will, there is a way you can make it happen. The good thing about travel ball is you don't need a "home" park to play games, just have to find a place to practice.
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| 3sondad |
Posted - 01/22/2009 : 13:39:24
Why not use a high school's softball field for practice in the spring for the younger ages? (most have 200' fences) You just need to get a school's coach on board with the idea and have your ducks in a row before meeting him. (A portable mound is easy to make)... I know plenty of high school softball fields in Cobb being used for practices.
Some Boys and Girls clubs also have fields that are not used much and would love a donation to keep the field up. We practiced at one last year and fixed it up pretty good by the end of the season. Some churches have fields and would love an "investment" in upkeep, which a travel team should be able to handle (either financially or volunteer work). Being new to the area might be tougher. But if there is a will, there is a way you can make it happen. The good thing about travel ball is you don't need a "home" park to play games, just have to find a place to practice.
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| bball-fan |
Posted - 01/22/2009 : 11:55:43
You would think the local businesses would be all for that and would've helped support him. |
| ATURNER |
Posted - 01/22/2009 : 11:05:03
No use looking in Forsyth either. Parks are owned by the county and the fields are run by each Park's Booster Club/Athletic Association. Unless you're already a coach at one of these parks or are starting out as a 9YO coach (and lucky to get approved) there's not much chance of getting a team.
There is a gentleman in Dawson County who owns 40+ acres & has the funds and plans to build a "Travel Only" Park. Problem is last summer the land owers in the area got together and complained to the commisioners about how bad it would be and got his project shot down. Maybe he will turn it into a trailor park. 
Not sure about anyone else, but my opinion is there is descrimination against travel baseball. It's bad enough we have to fight for field time, but then when someone has the means to build a park and it's shot down......not good! |
| whits23 |
Posted - 01/21/2009 : 19:36:25
sounds like north carolina..i am lucky as i have a church field and a private field..if it wasnt for making a living i would stay put and just play ball..
If any teams need a volunteer coach lmk, i have a 13u son that is very good, my 10u player not so but i love to teach the game so i usually have teams of my own. |
| BBallManGA |
Posted - 01/21/2009 : 16:34:47
Unfortunately, the Loganville area is becoming more like the other parts of Gwinnett that bmoser speaks of. Last year, we were able to get access on Rec fields usually two times per week without any problem and at no charge. Evidently, there have been some recent changes to policy in the area and my understanding is that access to Rec fields for travel teams will either be more limited or eliminated all together. Private fields do exist and can be an option, but you have to know who to ask. |
| bmoser |
Posted - 01/21/2009 : 14:21:57
I live in Suwanee, and its impossible. Suwanee is a great place to live, but very tough on travel baseball. I gave up and moved my son to a neighboring County (Forsyth) to play ball. In Suwanee, every public field is County owned and controlled, and the County has a policy that Rec ball has 1st call on the fields. Some fields have 20+ Rec teams sharing them. I'm not talking parks, i'm talking fields. Then the County adopted travel league (GGBL) gets the left over times that Rec doesnt take...which aint much. GGBL plays most games 8 pm M-Sat. The County policy on Sundays is "first come" but there's always some Board members' kids teams who says he's made arrangedments for the fields on any given Sunday. ZERO room for independant travel teams in Northern Gwinnett County. I cannot speak for Loganville, but it has to be better than Northern Gwinnett. A few wealthy coaches have fields on their land in and around Suwanee, but land is $100k/acre and the fields I know of are too small for kids over 10. Look further South, or go to Northern Forsyth.
quote:
Originally posted by whits23
I am moving to the north atlanta area in june..probably suwanee,duluth,loganville area somewhere. I have always coached travel ball where i have lived and had some good teams. How difficult will it be to come up with field space in this area to practice on..getting players is usually not a problem its the field space to work out on thats the hard part.thanks
any emails would be helpful whits23@aol.com
I also have a 13u major player as a son who will be looking for a team
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