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Hurricane22
100 Posts |
 Posted - 06/07/2018 : 12:39:58
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This is not a jab at anyone playing there, etc, but what is going on at EC? I have played there for years and there is more travel teams and tournaments that ever.
So why does the park look like its falling apart? Batting cages falling in, L-screens chained inside the collapsed cage, scoreboards not operating for our tourney this week, mildew growing on everything, grill closed during dinner time during tourney.
Things don't add up. It used to be fun and a pleasure to play there...not this season. |
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Caseyatbat
12 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2018 : 14:01:23
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| I almost never comment, but was wondering that myself. Don’t forget lights didn’t work last weekend, either. That’s a big “oops.” |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2018 : 09:00:55
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| Humm, I actually thought things had been much better this year. We had score boards and the grill was open the last two times we played there. They also hired a bunch of kids to collect the trash. I thought things were looking MUCH better this year. |
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BBallMom8
1 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2018 : 10:21:46
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| EC is need of a refresh and has been for years. Scoreboards have been lacking for 5+ years on some fields. Bathrooms are horrible. Concessions seemed to be better in recent years. Overall the park is showing it's age and the lack of money being reinvested in its up keep. |
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agent21
97 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2018 : 11:36:36
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| Competition from, and the success of East Cobb's competitors (e.g., 643, GA Jackets, Team Georgia, etc.), seem to be contributing to the demise of East Cobb year by year. East Cobb can't seem to survive merely on the continued success of their Astros brand/teams with all the competition in the mix. |
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RoamingCF
77 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2018 : 18:05:45
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quote:
Originally posted by agent21
Competition from, and the success of East Cobb's competitors (e.g., 643, GA Jackets, Team Georgia, etc.), seem to be contributing to the demise of East Cobb year by year. East Cobb can't seem to survive merely on the continued success of their Astros brand/teams with all the competition in the mix.
This discussion is less about players/depth/competition, more about presentation & operations. There is enough money in travel baseball (and looking at the website, plenty of ECB teams) to support a well run, nice facility. Our team’s experience this year:
Easy fixes: improve the appearance (clean the grounds, nicer garbage/recycle cans, pressure wash bleachers, have presentable batting cages (swept occasionally), dugouts in reasonable shape); it would significantly enhance the experience of players/patrons.
Reasonable operational improvement: expect the young men that care for the fields between games to do a nice job & take some pride in the job they are doing.
More significant capital investment: improve bathrooms,water on fields, scoreboard repair, may require electrical revamp
Several items above are more about effort than any cost constraint, and would make a big difference. It’s like the culture on a team: how you walk off the bus, how you warm up, how you win, etc.. Attention to detail, focus, and pride...all traits I would expect from top ECB teams. When people walk into a well maintained facility, everyone feels obligated to keep it nice/clean - it builds on itself. |
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Crazyforbball
391 Posts |
Posted - 06/10/2018 : 22:38:11
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| It seems like they have a big nut to crack to maintain that facility compared with other top notch organizations. 643 has a much more manageable facility size wise and other top organizations like Team Elite and Nelson who attract top talent utilize high school fields, no doubt at a great price in exchange for helping out coaching at those schools. Yes ECB has alot of teams but compared to years past, not as much so as in the past as so many newer organizations have popped up. And when each team handles their finances individually like ECB, it is a huge difference than where other organizations handle the finances for ALL the teams, where you pay the organization and no money goes through the hands of the coaches. Not to say coaches mismanage money at ECB, but it tells me all the player revenue comes from the annual tryout fees and the registration alone. Other groups collect the same from everyone on every team in an age group and go from there. The upkeep at ECB has to be outrageous. |
Edited by - Crazyforbball on 06/10/2018 23:04:45 |
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KentMurphy
96 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2018 : 08:36:33
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I agree that ECB needs a 'face lift', and it's mainly cleaning or minor cosmetic improvements that would go a long way aesthetically. The screens cleaned/replaced on dugouts/fences, new paint here or there... The bathrooms have been better this spring than in the past (not great, but you can tell more attention to detail/clean) and it seems trash it taken more often than in years past.
To address Crazyforbball, I've always liked the model ECB uses, in terms of each team is responsible for their own budget... There are rumors (that are almost like 'old wives tales') that it's SO expensive to play at/for ECB, but that hasn't been the case for us anyway. At 9U, when others were charging $1500-$1800, it was $1200 for our team (that included EVERYTHING-- 17 tourneys, a season ending tourney, a team-paid end of the season party, etc). That's because a dad, was budget-conscious and spent wisely, saving all money. Versus others where you pay a blanket amount to an organization and never sure you get your monies worth. Case in point, last year, heard of a team charging $3K per player. From 9U up to 14U. Sometimes multiple teams per age group. Yet team A played in 3x's as many tourneys, as team B, practiced more (with 'paid instruction')and the cost was the same... With 'corporate control' of your money, it's hard to see if you're "getting what you paid for". I've heard it a lot over the past couple of years with other orgs (namely a couple in Milton) that do not produce budgets or expense reports to show where your money is being spent... That's bad business.
Most ECB teams have a "Business Manager" that's responsible for the budget. Typically a dad, or assistant coach-- not the paid guys. So there can be accountability. Budgets have to be turned in and reviewed by ECB at the beginning and end of the season for each team, so ECB can hold the business manager accountable as well. Of the 5 ECB teams we've been on, I've never had a problem getting an up to date budget/expense report to see where the money is going. |
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Crazyforbball
391 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2018 : 11:41:35
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| Kent Murphy, I agree with you completely....and I think it's a great model for players that ECB allows for the independently managed, dad-coached teams as yes, they tend to be far more economical and transparent, esp for the little guys, and a good number of the bigger boys too. Let me rephrase what I was trying to say...my point was that this model would appear to produce less overall revenue for ECB and with a facility of the size and scope of theirs, this may account for some of the face lift issues/grill employees/bathrooms etc mentioned above. No slam on ECB at all...just saying I can only imagine what it would cost to keep that facility going 365 days a year and have everything working perfectly at all times. And on top of it, where they used to be the only show in town, now there is more competition out there for players, and from other parks for fields. |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2018 : 12:54:06
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It costs 3 times as much to play at 643, and it's not like they have any allegiance to the players. I've seen kids cut after being there for 3 years! ECB is a different animal because of the many many many teams. At least with 643 you know you aren't getting that. Then again, I'm starting to see changes in that in the older groups, and mixing of kids from one team to the other based on the tourney....which is what team elite also does.
They all have their glitches. |
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Hurricane22
100 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2018 : 14:44:43
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I not talking about any of the teams, this is strictly an Operations deal. Save the team back and forth for another thread.
Things still looked like today crap yesterday when we played at EC. Another cage down (upper parking lot) with L-screen leaned on a trash can with busted legs. The other cage screen was chained to the pole and couldn't even be pulled out far enough for full protection. Trash everywhere as usual. |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2018 : 14:50:26
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| My son hasn't played travel ball for over 6 years now. From when he was 12 until he stopped playing travel at 17 in 2012, the complaints about ECB were the same as they are now. Garbage cans were always overflowing, the ground around the fields were always littered with seeds and trash, the scoreboards never worked. If it hasn't changed since 2006 when my son started playing travel, I don't think it's ever going to change... |
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KentMurphy
96 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2018 : 16:35:28
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quote:
Originally posted by bballman
My son hasn't played travel ball for over 6 years now. From when he was 12 until he stopped playing travel at 17 in 2012, the complaints about ECB were the same as they are now. Garbage cans were always overflowing, the ground around the fields were always littered with seeds and trash, the scoreboards never worked. If it hasn't changed since 2006 when my son started playing travel, I don't think it's ever going to change...
Maybe so... BUT, you should see the new $20K turf tractor they have to laser-cut the fields!  |
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bbsis
42 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2018 : 17:30:20
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LakePoint's impending bankruptcy (or to be gentle, "reorganization") might just make East Cobb relevant again. Barton County bought in to the LakePoint hype and things aren't going so well ----
The Development Authority of Bartow County signed off on a $36 million bond to finance construction. Almost three years later, however, the facility hasn't lived up to its lofty economic expectations — indeed, the county expects the venue to generate just $2.5 million in 2018.
And the county remains on the hook for expenses — per Olson, to the tune of $6 million. |
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Crazyforbball
391 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2018 : 17:49:07
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| Bball man...LOL..you are right! Caco3, everyone trades players, ECB included. The price varies dramatically if you are on a Dad team or a pro team. And yes, that issue is for another thread. |
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BaseballMom6
233 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2018 : 17:47:22
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| Played at ECB last weekend. first game of the day and stands were littered with trash. It was a Triple crown Tourney and according to their website all gate money stays at the facility. So at $5/head of everyone who came to watch, they still couldn't be bothered to sweep the seating areas. Unfortunately as long as Triple Crown and others continue to use their fields without holding them to a higher standard, i.e. requiring working scoreboards, water jugs in the dugout, cleaned stands, we will all continue to be subjected to their mess. Don't even get me started about the extreme lack of parking for the number of fields they have going at the same time, they have more stuff strewn about taking up parking spaces(dirt/equipment)then should be acceptable. |
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turntwo
955 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2018 : 22:06:12
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quote:
Originally posted by BaseballMom6
Played at ECB last weekend. first game of the day and stands were littered with trash. It was a Triple crown Tourney and according to their website all gate money stays at the facility. So at $5/head of everyone who came to watch, they still couldn't be bothered to sweep the seating areas. Unfortunately as long as Triple Crown and others continue to use their fields without holding them to a higher standard, i.e. requiring working scoreboards, water jugs in the dugout, cleaned stands, we will all continue to be subjected to their mess. Don't even get me started about the extreme lack of parking for the number of fields they have going at the same time, they have more stuff strewn about taking up parking spaces(dirt/equipment)then should be acceptable.
Yet T/C continues to sell out week in and week out when they have ECB tourneys. Go figure. YOU (re: your team) can vote on it with your money by not playing in the tourneys, yet they typically turn teams away almost every weekend. So folks want to play there... "Water jugs" in the dugout, this isn't a Holiday Inn Express. |
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Vandy
36 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2018 : 00:34:18
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A lot of valid comments. Well said Roaming. ECB has a "Culture". If you play there you know exactly what it is and whether or not it works for you in the long run. Is it perfect? No. However it was the very first of it's kind in the world. 99% of all high end TB programs in the country used ECB for a model at one point. It's a business owned by one guy who 1) likes to do things his way. and 2) Always has the ECB Astros' best interest at hand. The scoreboards DO light up. When and if you play for or against a 13u-up Astro's team you will see that the electric bill has been paid.
Pros:
Probably still the best organization in the country to get scouted for college receiving real offers at a younger age.
Play for one of the well managed, competitive teams and you'll likely pay less than 2500 while playing in 10+ PG tourneys.
A true Wilson sponsored program. Not smoke like others mention. Each family gets a login to buy Wilson, Demarini, Atec, Louisville Slugger, etc at substantial discounts all year. New A2000 $160-$179 depending on sale or not. Louisville 918 $220...
No Daddy ball to deal with for the most part. If you're a person who complains about this or that all the time you won't last a minute. Go pay 5g and be told how good your son is if it makes you feel better.
Competitive teams year in and year out at every level.
It's not going anywhere. It may be sold but it is owned without a boatload of debt like LP.
It's not trying to be LP. Lots of free parking for cars from all over the country. Snack shack is likely turning a profit but nothing like the ones at a PG event. Roast a pig on your tailgate, don't get too loud, make a mess, and you're golden.
Pretty good centralized location with excellent accommodations nearby.
Cons:
It's a business owned by one guy who 1) likes to do things his way. and 2) Always has the ECB Astros' best interest at hand.
Even if you play on a team that can beat the Astros day in and day out, you'll never receive due accolades around the ECB dinner table. You will not get your team picture placed on the website for winning a tournament, beating the Astros again, etc.
Desperately behind the times relating to information sharing ie website information during a tourney, etc. Last tourney there was not even a bracket sheet showing wins, losses, seeding, etc at the higher age levels.
Cages and indoor facilities could use some TLC. As stated, pretty low dollar investments would easily handle that.
All in all a pretty good spot to learn how to play at the highest level competitive baseball in the country.
There's not a D1 head coach or scout in the country who does not know of ECB. All this without breaking the bank.
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Edited by - Vandy on 06/16/2018 09:29:24 |
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What is going on at EC
