re: Tournament Baseball is a scam

JJ,

I've played BREC, CYO and USSSA. In none of those leagues have I had the choice or the opportunity to draft players via mass callout. I would LOVE to have that opportunity, because it would place me on a level playing field with all the other teams we play against. I have always had to recruit my own players, and my team is far from elitist in any way.
We are a league team because league ball is all we play... and we follow the rules of our league. None of the teams in our league are assigned players or allowed to draft from a central pool. I wish it were that easy, because I have to scratch and dig like hell to find new players.
I tell the kids on my team that their spot is guaranteed until age 14, because that's as long as I intend to coach, and every kid on my team can stay on my team until then, if they choose to. I WILL NOT CUT THEM.
In the years that I have coached, I have never turned away a single kid who has ever approached my team to try out. They've all been invited to join the team. All they have to do is demonstrate a will to play baseball, and minimum skills. I will teach the rest. Over the years, I have provided opportunity for some kids who would NEVER have made it on another team. I have coached kids who were handicapped, I have coached kids who could not afford to pay a league fee (I paid it for them), and I coached kids who were obese or otherwise physically challenged.
Other teams DO get a chance to get my kids to play for them. In fact, I can't get them to STOP recruiting kids off my team. All of my players are free to go and play for anyone they want, any time they want. I have no protection when it comes to keeping players on my team. All I can do is a good job as a coach and hope they stay.
Now, maybe the USSSA label is throwing you as far as the impression my team makes on you blind. But my team signs up through USSSA because it's required by our league, and that's how I insure my team against liability.
Now, make no mistake, our competition in our league is TOUGH. And I don't intend to just roll over for them. I want to give them a fight. But I'm being 100% honest with you when I say that yes, our team IS different from many others.
How? For one thing, I teach my kids. I develop them into skilled, knowledgeable players. I don't just try to collect the best players I can scrounge together and throw out on a field. And, we don't care about winning. Seriously. I don't just say that. All we're concerned about is having fun... and being COMPETITIVE before being some sort of all-world little league team.
Believe me, you've got the wrong guy if you think I have an "elite" baseball team disguised as something else. My team's just trying to survive and enjoy what little time we have to play ball.
When my kid and his teammates turn 14, I'm going to start all over again with an 8 year old team, then take them to age 14. And I'll do it again and again. Because I think we DO have something different to offer kids in this town.
By the way, I'm not angry that you're skeptical about my team. I just want you to know that our heart really is in the right place. I actually enjoy spreading the word about what we're trying to do.