This Week in Eagles Select - Survey, Tryouts, and more!
Program Survey
Reminder to please fill out the Eagles Select Program Survey!
We’ve received a lot of useful and constructive feedback so far and we need your input to help make informed decisions for the upcoming season. In fact, based on feedback we’ve received so far, we’ve had some great questions about player fees and how those are allocated/determined, which I will dive into later in this email. We’ve also made some meaningful adjustments to next season’s plans based on initial feedback.
Of our approximately 100 families, we’ve received 28 completed surveys. The 2014 team is leading the way with 7 responses, but most teams only have 1 or 2. The deadline is this weekend, please help us out!
Tryouts
Tryouts for next season are coming on July 16th & July 20th!
Budgets and Player Fees!
Our program has evolved over the years and so have our budgets and player fees. There are several factors that play into how they are calculated and fees will vary slightly by team depending on individual variations, such as how many players the team carries and their expected schedule.
An important point to start with: our younger teams do not subsidize our older teams and vice-versa. In many of the “national” programs, a component of the younger and lower-level team’s fees go to support the older and higher-level teams. At Eagles Select, each team stands on its own to pay for its own gameplay budget as well as support the program-wide player development initiatives. We want every player to benefit and develop into the best player they can be.
Our budget is a reflection of our priorities—James W. Frick of Notre Dame said:
Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.
Player fee category targets are broken down as follows (percentages vary slightly depending on the team):
Player Development - 30-35%
Facilities - 15-20%
Equipment - 15%
Admin - 10%
Gameplay - 20-30%
What is in each of these categories?
Player Development
The most important and differentiating aspect of our program, this category contains the costs of running our skill instruction sessions and program-wide player development efforts. This section has evolved over the years from no instruction, to small group specialty instruction, to the program-wide skill development programs we are planning for the upcoming seasons.
Be on the lookout for clinics, technology such as the Blast Motion system, Pocket Radar, individual skill development programming, and resources and tools for team coaches.
Investing in these things as program rather than individually allows us to take advantage of economies of scale and coaching which would otherwise be prohibitive to do individually.
Facilities
Our private indoor facility costs approximately $300/year/player. That is about 1/3 the cost of a membership to a commercial facility (which will also have additional rental fees) and is an incredible deal and resource.
Some teams also have additional facility rental fees if they use the ZWMS gym for winter practices.
Equipment
This category contains player uniforms, coaches uniforms, and any team equipment such as game balls, etc.
Admin
This category cover administrative costs such as insurance, accounting, software we need to run the program (ex. TeamSnap) for both EAA as a whole and Eagles Select individually.
Also included here are ZLL registration fees. Every player in Eagles Select pays a registration fee to ZLL and has the option to play Rec. This registration fee is what allow us the use of Lion’s Park fields for practices/games and covers maintenance, etc and our connection to ZLL. For teams older than 12U, there is a reduced amount that just covers maintenance.
Gameplay
This section covers the entry fees for tournaments and Alliance double-headers. This amount will vary on a team-by-team basis depending on the team’s level and frequency of play.
What happens if there is any money left over?
If there is any money left over at the end of the season, it goes towards our “rainy day” fund to be used for future contingencies. If you follow any of the travel softball social media groups, this time of year there are a lot of teams folding and changing associations due to lack of resources and stability. We have a contingency fund that allows us to weather any challenges and ensure a stable, long-term development path for our players, from 8U-18U.
Overall, our fees fall right in the middle of the spectrum of programs out there, but our player development program is unique and beyond what 95% of programs offer, making us a tremendous value.
Where is everyone playing this weekend?
USSSA Southeastern National Championship
USSSA 6th Annual Firecracker Spectacular
Cicero Stars and Stripes Tournament
2014 (9U)
8U Green
Talk to you next week!
Brian
