Very unhappy with the way the softball side of the organization has been run seems like all they care about is money not the kids we where told that we would have out side instructors come to help with are team we have yet to see that and uniforms helmets and bat bags have been nothing but headaches wont be back next year that's for sure
Son played here for 6 years before going on to play college ball. Thank you for the experience we had here!
Been with SCS going on 8th year for baseball. Also had 2 daughters go through the softball program. SCS has taught them much more than how to play the sport. It s taught them leadership, determination, commitment, sportsmanship and respect.
Thankful for the time with this organization.
Our son has had the privilege of playing on a Steel City team for several years now. He has benefitted from the constructive coaching and has enjoyed the experience. Not only has Steel City helped him to develop as a player, but he also has learned the character-building values that being part of a team brings.
Played for Coach Diesel in 2010-2012 before going on to play at fairmont state. Appreciate all that you did for our group!
Elite baseball and softball training and practice facility. Staff is awesome. Coaching is top notch.
Didn t provide the jerseys they said they would, no training, no outside coaching as the claim, and absolutely no professional coaching. Promise the world then cheap out on everything. Terrible Softball program and terrible management/people. I can not wait for this year to be over so the whole team can go elsewhere. Every softball team they have is leaving next year.
Was a little skeptical about accepting a position on the team upon learning that not only does the coach have a son on the team but he played the same position as my son in the infield. But accepted and had high expectations for the team and believed that the coach would be fair at this level of play. As Covid came. Training was Nonexistent. As the season started son played some great ball. Both offensively and defensive. Then noticed that son was pulled from a game. And was sitting bench game after game. He dropped from the top of the line up to the bottom. Upon questions the coach about this his excuse was that we felt my son may make an error. (I have never heard anything like this in my life. Son had played error free up to and including now) yet players that had made error after error. Game after game were still playing. Was like how do you justify not playing my son because your afraid he may make an error? What about the kids that did make errors? Then question why my son moved from the top of the order to the bottom. Was advised they moved my son to the best place for him to succeed. My son had the second highest batting average of all the kids in the line up. And was one of only two kids batting above 300. Every kid batting ahead of him had a lower batting average except one. His batting average was even higher Then the coaches son. The coaches son also had the highest amount of strike outs. Actually had more stroke outs then hits. And also went 5 straight games without a single hit. Yet he never moved from the top 3 of the line up. Well I understand playing time is not guaranteed and have no issue with son doing his time on the bench. what they need to understand is that the players pay them to develop all the kids. Not to sit the bench. And when they treat one so unfairly it s even harder to stand.
The coach also had kids running from second on ground balls hit to the left side when not being forced. So was having our lead runner run into an out instead of waiting till they threw the ball to first. High School kids in the stands were making comments like what is this guy doing. Had more kids called out on basses during the year then I have ever seen.
While I never expected to win this argument but thought Diesel should at least know about what was going on. Tried contacting him through the number listed on the web site. Only to find that is not in service. So sent him an email requesting he call me. He did respond with an email. Again requested that he call me. Still waiting for that call. Don t think a 5 minute phone call is much to ask for considering how much money was paid to them.
I have never given a negative review in my life but to have a kid be so unjustly treated this way is unacceptable. This was nothing more then Daddy ball.
Ask questions before committing. Ask to see the overall budget, team budget, per player budget. Ask how much of your tuition will be spent on your player and their team. Last season 13u softball players paid $1,200 tuition, $125 lottery ticket (5) fundraiser, $70 night at the races tickets (2), and $225 for uniform package. No bags or helmets for returning players. Team received only $3,500 budget for tournaments. No sanctioning fees paid from tuition. Indoor training sessions cancelled without refund and unwilling to reimburse coaches for field rental from the tuition money. Ask questions about how your money will benefit your child and their team before committing.
Was not impressed. My son did random drills with pvc pipes for nearly the entire practice. Coach threw overhand for maybe 5 minutes. The owner came off as cold/pompous. Very unorganized and do not deliver on what is promised. A few of the coaches do seem to care about the players on a positive note.
Great program! All the parent coaches gone on the softball side now so that it is run like baseball.
We had high expectations for this year of baseball as we had chosen "an elite" baseball program for our son. We were thrilled when he was selected for the team.... however, learned the hard way from Coach Diesel " the $2500 fee only guaranteed a spot on the roster". We were told that "practices are more important than play time during games" even though this was portrayed as a tournament team from the beginning. I was under the assumption, if you made the team you were good enough to play on the field. This was difficult to stomach noticing there were 15 players on the team.
The instruction provided in the practice lapse during covid was nonexistent. It was not until the end of April that our son was provided with some options for drills at home via Instagram and social media. I'm not sure why this wasnt looked into early on, as other teams in the area were doing conditioning via Zoom meetings.
Interested players need to be aware they highly promote additional "individualized" extra training for additional fees during group sessions. This became apparent during game time that this was important to SCS when it was noticeable that these players who participated were showcased during tournaments.
I will be highly skeptical of playing for a tournament team again after this. It's a shame that this organization is more about the money than what's described on their website. Seeing the look on my son's face these past few tournaments after he came off the bench, and left the game was heartbreaking- Especially when he played his heart out for the few innings he was not overlooked and allowed to be on the field (and I know what is assumed- this is not for lack of talent.) Keep this review in mind and review options when you're looking for a travel team. Ask alot of questions and know what you are paying for.
Great development and coaches. Our experience has been nothing but positive. Thank you to the entire staff!
1 star is giving them a higher rating than I would like. Owners clearly are only interested in lining their pockets and provide the bare minimum, at least on their softball side. Below is the bag they provided a 16u Softball team next to a real size bag, embarrassing. They have done nothing as stated, zero conditioning or strength training, no higher level coaching, at 6 months in have not even used the hit track system, and they've double booked their facility at times and we've had to share this small area. They've collapsed their Softball program and I would be embarrassed if I were SCS.
