Swampboy:
Here goes:
Conditioning: Can't answer for all but we bought 2 month memberships for our players at a 24/7 workout facility, "Anytime Fitness". Players seem to mostly work out in the mid to late morning, although some go and lift/run after games. Most do a full workout every day, and then play each night. Most have their own college designed workout, as modified by the player. I was blown away by how hard some of these guys work out.
Recruiting: all of the above. We are now in year 2, but we first contact the coaches that sent us players last summer, especially the ones that turned out to be dead on in describing talent levels. There are a few coaches that we will pretty much take whoever they want to send as they've proven trustworthy. College coaches frequently call us looking for spots, and we talk to pro scouts to get recommendations. College coaches pretty much arrange it, in consultation with their players, but some are far more proactive than others. We've gotten info from players themselves, dads, referrals from other summer teams-pretty much any way you can imagine...but coach recommendation is the surest method. Our recruiting is done by our director of player personnel and head coach. I get to dabble just a tad, but they are the gurus...and it's their role.
We look for talent, like everyone else. As mentioned at the beginning of this thread, we learned some things are invaluable: for example, a real good defensive catcher, or a highly defensively skilled shortstop doesn't have to hit as well to find a spot. As GM, I like guys that live within 2-3 hours of here-since getting the bills paid is in my lap, I love it when friends and family can come to the park, see their kids play, and spend a few bucks while they're at it. Players enjoy family visits a lot and the real families interacting with host families is really neat-I saw lots of friendships born this summer. We like local talent-nothing better than a local kid that can stay at home and play. If a local college player isn't yet up to the league's level of play, it can be touchy so that's where the head coach has to have a heart to heart up front conversation about playing time, expectations, etc., and then the player can decide to either play with us, or perhaps play Legion ball to get more on field time.
TCW: Most teams cut the budgets real close, so less games is less revenue. A couple make money but it's usually a break-even thing-people don't do this in this league for the money. It's a pure love the game-love the kids-love the community thing. The Beer leagues are where the money is...charging $4 for a $1 beer makes a lot of dough for places like the Coastal Plains League, but the VBL is all nonprofit teams, no alcohol allowed.
Attendance for all teams is best Friday through Sunday. Our one year experience is that weekend games attract on average 30-40% more people. Getting up early to go to work the next day is the biggest drawback to week night fans-we hope to eventually get to start our games at 6:30 to help that a little.