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Posted on 3/1/23 at 2:14 pm to Tiger Ryno
quote:
The AA level of select ball is glorified rec. I see little difference in quality of play.
Came here to post this. If your kid is an OK player he can be on a AA team and still have fun in tournament ball. Everyone in this thread is acting like there is only one level of play for tournaments, that simply isn’t the case. AAA teams are for fairly strong players and Majors are for hand selected kids (All Stars in Little League terminology).
In Little League the league creates the teams with a draft so all teams are fairly equal and then at the end of the season they pick the best kids (All Stars)to represent them in post season play
Tournament teams are created by the coaches, not the league.
Just two different formats.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 2:17 pm to wheelz007
quote:
#1 IF they stay in rec they'll get 12-13 games, 2 practices per week and who knows what level of coaching their son will get. Might get a rookie volunteer.
#2 Their son might play 40 games in tournament ball and will definately develop more by being with more talented coaches and players. Even if they're on a bad tournament team.
Now, if your kid is a mediocre player and you're in a rec league, your kid might get a chance to pitch, play infield, etc... because most of the A and B players are playing on weekends.
I've said this before and I'll keep saying it.
Travel ball is to rec ball as white flight is to the inner city.
quote:
But, for the more talented kids - tournament ball is 100% the way to go
And that's how travel ball started. Older talented kids, playing together, the kids who would be on the rec league's all star team.
AA travel ball is horse crap. It's awful. Kids have no talent, all daddy ball coaching, and the teams change up each year because the moms can't get along with each other.
Every single, every single kid in AA ball is the son of a parent who doesn't want to associate with "those people" in rec ball... but whose talent and drive in every way is the same as "those people" in rec ball.
Further, every single, every single coach pitch travel ball team is an absolute joke. Nothing but the kids of white moms who want to sneak box wine in their Bugg Bags and white dads who think because they played on the Kenner 13U Babe Ruth team that went 0-BBQ in district play that their 7 year old son will be getting a call from Skip Bertman tonight.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 2:20 pm to wheelz007
quote:
Having said that, in my opnion, there are way too many teams and way too many kids playing tournament ball. I've seen this with my own eyes.
And I'm a coach.
I can't speak for everywhere, but in my area it's completely watered down to the point where there really aren't any organizations that have truly elite talent.
it's all too spread out and is now just a very expensive version of rec ball.
and every team is coached surprisingly by the starting SS's dad.
quote:
who knows what level of coaching their son will get
this is actually the part that bothers me most about the current state of Youth Baseball.
I coached my sons for most of their youth baseball years.
one of the things I noticed the most (especially in the like 10 through around 14 years old or so) is how much these "coaches" harp on winning instead of teaching the game.
for example. you see a lot of them calling steals on every pitch no matter what. Just knowing because it's kids the pitcher/catcher combo most likely aren't getting the runner out. Like to the point of taking comically big leads to force a throw and maybe a run down that 10 year olds don't execute properly.
Sure it pads the win total, but it does nothing to help develop these kids.
They all get to high school now not even knowing how to read a pitcher's movement. Or even when to steal and not run yourself out of an inning, etc.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 3:07 pm to Nutriaitch
You travel ballers need to bring your kids back to LL. It is possible to assemble and maintain a team through the age groups.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 3:22 pm to tokenBoiler
quote:
My dad is a boomer and said when he played little league, the parents didn’t even come to the games. It was all about the kids, by the kids, for the kids. Even their “coach” was another kid just a few years older. Good times.
I'm a boomer and this is my memory, too.
I'm a late boomer and this is close to my memory as well from watching the games. Maybe there would be a dad that did a bit, but not a ton of them. Living in a rural area, the teams were usually a couple of grades, not just one. It started a little before school was out and ended around mid July. There was a parish tourney with all the teams from around the parish playing.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 3:26 pm to wheelz007
quote:
THere are parents of mediocre players who put their boys into tournament ball because they know these things -
#1 IF they stay in rec they'll get 12-13 games, 2 practices per week and who knows what level of coaching their son will get. Might get a rookie volunteer.
#2 Their son might play 40 games in tournament ball and will definately develop more by being with more talented coaches and players. Even if they're on a bad tournament team.
This is kind of it with every sport. Parents know that good coaching does make a difference. It's not going to turn your average kid into a D1 scholarshipped kid, but it might get them on the HS team if they are a hard worker. Rule with most parents is get your kid the best coaching you can afford. An incredibly talented kid that works hard will always stand out. For others, coaching and playing time does make a difference.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 3:43 pm to wheelz007
quote:
I loved the rec leagues, but it's not even descent baseball anymore. There aren't enough solid players to make the level of play competitive. It's hard to watch. Its hard to coach. It's harder and harder to put together a good team.
But, for the more talented kids - tournament ball is 100% the way to go.
if tournament ball wasn't a thing then all these kids and coaches would be in rec and if you had a good rec dept it could be similar to travel ball
I can understand having some travel ball teams for the really good players once the reach kid pitch level.
But anyone starting up travel teams just because your kid wasn't good enough to make it on the better travel team in coach pitch is stupid
Posted on 3/1/23 at 3:52 pm to LaLadyinTx
quote:
Rule with most parents is get your kid the best coaching you can afford. An incredibly talented kid that works hard will always stand out.
I wouldn't say this is true really or most of the time. You aren't wrong in an ideal world but it doesn't really work like that. Most parents are either clueless and never played so they don't know good coaching, or they played and their coaches aren't doing as much as they are.
Obviously a better coach is definitely better and you are more likely to have a good coach at better levels, but there are a lot of idiots that think they can coach out there in travel ball of all levels. I mean there's idiots at the D1 level.
Playing travel ball really is exposing your kid to the best talent to play and coach against so they know how shitty they actually are and if they want to be better how much they need to be.
ETA: to answer the OP, what happened is social media even to young kids and the lack of memory of how good competition was actually "back in the day". Competition is much better now even in rec leagues, we just don't want to believe it.
This post was edited on 3/1/23 at 3:53 pm
Posted on 3/1/23 at 4:01 pm to TheRouxGuru
quote:
Holy crap bro….
YOU
ARE
HILARIOUS
do you write your own shite? Post more!
Jealous?
Posted on 3/1/23 at 4:38 pm to Nutriaitch
quote:
it's all too spread out and is now just a very expensive version of rec ball. and every team is coached surprisingly by the starting SS's dad.
This is one stereotype in all youth sports that I feel like is overblown. You do find, in all youth sports, that often times the the coach of the team has his son starting SS, or PG, or QB, etc….
I find, however, more times than not the reason for that is because their son is easily the best player, which is why they are coaching. A lot of times, what separates kids at the youth level is just a commitment and drive to get better, and a family who provides them the opportunity to do so. Often times those parents end up coaching because their kid wants to play all the time and they want to give them the opportunity.
So while I agree that a lot of these teams have coaches who’s son bats lead off and plays SS, I don’t agree that it is because of daddy bias, in fact, most of those coach/dad’s should be commended for taking a vested interest in something that is important to their kid.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 5:38 pm to Mr. Hangover
quote:
Y’all wear shorts that are shorter than a juvenile’s attention span. Shut the frick up with this crap
Alright, didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers. Hope I didn’t ruin little Jaxxxson’s batting practice.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 5:39 pm to Tornado Alley
quote:
I grew up in the very rural Deep South and played baseball my whole life. I played high school baseball in the mid 2000s.
We didn't have neon hair, chains, Pit Viper sunglasses, etc. The team was also diverse (for our area). I don't even think Pit Vipers existed then. All this is to say I think some of the cringeworthy antics are attributable to the era rather than the game.
The try-hards are always going to copy what they see MLB stars do. The guys I know who made it into the league were exactly how you described your playing experience. No non-sense, and just wanted to play the game.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 5:40 pm to Mr. Hangover
quote:
Y’all wear shorts that are shorter than a juvenile’s attention span. Shut the frick up with this crap
Sorry you're self-conscious about your legs. Some folks in society like to show off the money makers.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 5:42 pm to rantfan
quote:
Your first two boys didn't have any skill. That's why they quit. Also, I remember back in the 90s all us skilled baseball players started dipping like our heroes. Yes, boys copycat their idols
this guy seems like a real winner 
Posted on 3/1/23 at 5:57 pm to Lsudx256
I can hear the Travis Scott walk-up music blasting from a boombox at my neighborhood park each weekday evening at 9 pm. Do they go to school or nah?
Posted on 3/1/23 at 6:14 pm to mattz1122
The problem I have is that it seems to be all or nothing. If your kid can throw and catch at 6 years old, they end up playing with kids that are still rolling around on the ground and can’t hold a bat or put the glove on the correct hand and have parents that don’t care to work with them or even want you to fuss at them to pay attention. The kids that can throw end up hitting kids in the face with the ball and is the reason Traction is playing with foam Baden balls. Your other option is to spend $$$ and every weekend at a tournament to play travel ball. There is just no in between.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 6:32 pm to LaLadyinTx
quote:quote:
My dad is a boomer and said when he played little league, the parents didn’t even come to the games. It was all about the kids, by the kids, for the kids. Even their “coach” was another kid just a few years older. Good times.
I'm a boomer and this is my memory, too.
I'm a late boomer and this is close to my memory as well from watching the games. Maybe there would be a dad that did a bit, but not a ton of them. Living in a rural area, the teams were usually a couple of grades, not just one. It started a little before school was out and ended around mid July. There was a parish tourney with all the teams from around the parish playing.
Where did you guys live? I was in the Lafayette/Scott area and there were coaches with kids playing when I was growing up and parents at every game. A lot of loud obnoxious moms
Now there were also groups of kids older and younger than the ones playing trying to get pick-up games going in any open diamond.
I'm a late boomer myself, born in 62.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 6:36 pm to Rick9Plus
Your dad is obviously going through dementia. Please get him help. I will pray for you.
Posted on 3/1/23 at 6:47 pm to Lsudx256
quote:
Every kid at the cages has bags full of bats, that cheesy baseball hair, wearing chains, and have Kenny Powers glasses on. They all seem to be a bunch of punks.
When I played in the 60's which was 10 and 12 and under. All we had for uniforms were these city-owned hand me down shirts with long colored sleeves to differentiate the teams.
Hats were whatever you brought from home. We rode our StingRays to the game with our mits ran down through the handlebar.
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