Complaint Review: BUFORD OUTLAWZ FASTPITCH TRAVEL SOFTBALL TEAM - Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama,

In March 2023, we welcomed our daughter, Natalee, into the Buford Outlaws Softball team. Despite a few unavoidable absences due to weather conditions and a family emergency, Natalee showed up to all the tournaments and practices she possibly could, even sacrificing her rec team games and work hours. The majority of these practices focused heavily on batting with only a limited amount of fielding practice. We had stressed upon her induction into the team how crucial it was for her to gain the experience and improve to meet the expected travel softball level.

On joining, we were required to pay the initial fees to secure a team jersey, bat bag, and helmet. Regrettably, we've only received two jerseys and a helmet till now. Coach Ashley, to his credit, has been instrumental in enhancing Natalee's swing, hitting, and overall strength through his coaching during practices.

However, we were left disheartened and frustrated at the recent Social Circle tournament. Despite Natalee's dedication, she was sidelined in favor of two pick-up players who were given priority. She was deprived of the chance to play and engage meaningfully with her teammates. This decision, unfortunately, did not lead to a win. Natalee was restricted to just one inning in five games, an experience which was dispiriting for her and distressing for us.

Our interactions with Jody, Coach Ashley's wife, were equally disconcerting. Her lack of responsiveness to our questions and concerns, coupled with a public confrontation, was a bitter pill to swallow. She appeared to shirk from engaging with us and, when my wife, Dawn, did manage to approach her, she was met with hostility and rudeness.

Dawn was publically humiliated when Jody loudly announced in front of other parents that we had paid nothing more than the commitment fee. To date, we have received no response from Jody to the emails Dawn has sent. At the tournament, when asked about the bat bag, we were told that Jody hadn't yet gotten around to embroidering it. We were left feeling unacknowledged and belittled.

The Outlaws organization claims to foster family and togetherness, but our experience has been far from this. We have decided to withdraw Natalee from the Buford Outlaws in light of these events. Coach Ashley's decision to prioritize pick-up players over committed team members and his wife's dismissive attitude towards our concerns have shown us the true colors of the organization.

We believe that this ordeal could have been averted with a simple act of empathy and understanding from Jody. We hoped that she could have calmly reassured us that our concerns would be addressed after the game. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

We requested that Natalee receive the bat bag promised to her. We hold no grudge against the team or Coach Ashley, but we believe it's crucial for others to be aware of our experience. This journey has taught us a valuable lesson and we're now heading in a new direction. We may cross paths with you again on the field, but it won't be under the banner of Buford Outlaws.

PS>Follow-up, they responded finally toi our original complaint email and the response was backhanded, did not acknowledge any of our complaints genuinely instead it was an email outlining all the ways in which we apparently do not understand how travel softball works. When in actuality we took our complaints to no less than 5 families we know personally who are also on travel teams and had our suspicions confirmed that none of the behavior our daughter and my wife had to endure is common or normal. Now they are insisting that we return all of the gear despite paying the fees, and we are being held to our agreement which would in effect keep her from being a pick up player on another team or joining another team altogether.

BEWARE THIS VILE ORGANIZATION THAT HOLDS YOUR KIDS AS NOTHING MORE THAN A COMMODITY AND DOES NOT GENUINELY CARE ABOUT THEIR DEVELOPMENT OR IN TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS!!!