What is the player development philosophy of the younger Rebels 10U and 12U teams?

In the younger levels (10U and 12U) we have three primary objectives:
I. - Each girl will develop a positive self-image in terms of softball (she will feel good about herself as a softball player).
II. - Each girl will acquire the correct throwing, fielding and hitting mechanics.
III. - Each girl will be exposed to balanced play in the infield and outfield.

Our rationale for this is simply that it is too early to tell which girls will end up being better outfielders or infielders. Thus, we want to help them develop such that both options will be realistically open to them. This differs from some programs in that we strive for balanced playing time among all players in terms of how much they play and where they play. At this level each girl has one primary in-field position and one primary outfield position (pitchers and catchers will all play another infield position as well). Accordingly, each infield position has three girls that play it (assuming a 12 girl roster).

Our approach is to improve the quality of play through improving the skill of the players versus improving the quality of play by playing some girls and not others. The short term cost to this approach is that we may not win as many games, especially in the first part of the season, as teams that do require the same balance. However, the long term benefits to the individual girls and to the program justify this cost to us. The individual girls acquire a broader range of skills and the program develops a broader range of girls with diverse skills.

What is the player development philosophy of the next level of Rebels 14U, 16U and 18U teams?

Beginning with the 14U teams, the young women increasingly specialize such that they have either a primary outfield position or a primary infield position. Similarly, some players will have more playing time than others during tournament play, though we still seek to bring balance by allowing girls who did not play as much in a tournament to play more during practice games.

By 16U, our playing philosophy begins to look more like traditional travel teams in that playing time is based upon the player's skill and the team's need.

How are Rebels' rosters constituted?

Rebels seek first to meet the needs of the players in our community and/or those who have participated in our in-house program. Having said this, Rebels also recognizes the benefit of integrating players from outside our community in measured degrees. As a rule of thumb, Rebels seeks to constitute teams with at least 70% of the girls from Downers Grove and/or those who have participated in our DOLLS in-house program.

How is the Rebels program funded?

Rebels is funded through player fees and supplemented by sponsorships, team fund-raisers (e.g., sponsoring tournaments), and any agreed upon cooperative arrangements with the DOLLS in-house program (e.g., clinics provided to the in-house program).