Little League All Stars - What does the DIS think about this?

[dejr_8]

The league that my sons play in changed their All Stars selection rules. In the past, they fielded All star teams based on age: 9u, 10u, 11u, 12u. If you were selected for a team and turned it down then no All Stars for you.

This year, they are no longer fielding teams for each age but will instead field two 10u teams and two 12u teams. In each age group, there will be an "A" team with the best players and a "B" with less talented players. So for each age group (9/10 and 11/12), the number of kids making All Stars will remain the same just the team make-up by age will be different. This is all good.

Now the change that we think is unfair to the kids. If they are selected for the "A" team and turn down the opportunity (most often because they don't like the coach), they will be eliminated from All Stars and will not be able to play on the "B" team.

What a hard choice for a kid to make - play for a coach you don't like or don't play at all.

What say the DIS.

Note: This doesn't matter to us because both out sons are solid "B" team players. It is more an issue that we see the league board forgetting that this should be about the kids.

 

[mamacatnv]

I spent 6 years on a youth baseball board and my DS played for 8 or so years. Ugh is all I have to say.

Not liking a coach is not (in the boards eyes) reason enough to bend the rules. Not everyone dislikes the same coach or they would not be coaching.

By fielding an A and a B team the league is drawing a line between skill and ability levels. This may actually be something that the parent company ie Cal Ripken or Little League is mandating and if an A player decides he doesn't want to play on the A team then to place him onto the B team would "stack" the playing level of the B team unfairly.

I see the logic in not allowing an A selected player to opt for the B team.

Sometimes, coaches can be horses butts but IMO kids need to learn to deal with that not try to avoid it.

 

[lillygator]

this is how our girls all stars softball works, a and b team....they usually have 3 coaches per team though.

 

[penn19]

I spent 6 years on a youth baseball board and my DS played for 8 or so years. Ugh is all I have to say.

Not liking a coach is not (in the boards eyes) reason enough to bend the rules. Not everyone dislikes the same coach or they would not be coaching.

By fielding an A and a B team the league is drawing a line between skill and ability levels. This may actually be something that the parent company ie Cal Ripken or Little League is mandating and if an A player decides he doesn't want to play on the A team then to place him onto the B team would "stack" the playing level of the B team unfairly.

I see the logic in not allowing an A selected player to opt for the B team.

Sometimes, coaches can be horses butts but IMO kids need to learn to deal with that not try to avoid it.

Agreed. We do All Stars (Not little League) and every year an issue. Hate doing it for this reason. Won't ever make everyone happy. There will be a lot of people in life that you (a general you) won't like. Play with the rules as stated, or don't. Or if parents really don't like it, volunteer, get involved and see if you can make a difference in how the process is done.

 

[njmom47]

Sometimes, coaches can be horses butts but IMO kids need to learn to deal with that not try to avoid it.

My ds has been on the Allstars since age 9, and the coaches have pretty much stayed the same. However, there is one coach (who also coaches ds's travel and rec teams ) who tends to push my son (which is ok with me) and ds isn't always receptive. So yes, they do need to learn to deal with people they may not "like" but ds did admit he has learned a LOT from this particular coach.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I spent 6 years on a youth baseball board and my DS played for 8 or so years. Ugh is all I have to say.

Not liking a coach is not (in the boards eyes) reason enough to bend the rules. Not everyone dislikes the same coach or they would not be coaching.

By fielding an A and a B team the league is drawing a line between skill and ability levels. This may actually be something that the parent company ie Cal Ripken or Little League is mandating and if an A player decides he doesn't want to play on the A team then to place him onto the B team would "stack" the playing level of the B team unfairly.

I see the logic in not allowing an A selected player to opt for the B team.

Sometimes, coaches can be horses butts but IMO kids need to learn to deal with that not try to avoid it.

Totally agree!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I spent 6 years on a youth baseball board and my DS played for 8 or so years. Ugh is all I have to say.

Not liking a coach is not (in the boards eyes) reason enough to bend the rules. Not everyone dislikes the same coach or they would not be coaching.

By fielding an A and a B team the league is drawing a line between skill and ability levels. This may actually be something that the parent company ie Cal Ripken or Little League is mandating and if an A player decides he doesn't want to play on the A team then to place him onto the B team would "stack" the playing level of the B team unfairly.

I see the logic in not allowing an A selected player to opt for the B team.

Sometimes, coaches can be horses butts but IMO kids need to learn to deal with that not try to avoid it.

Totally agree!

OP, also if the "A" players were allowed to defer and play on the "B" team because of the coach on the "A" team , what would happen to all the "B" team players who were picked for the "B" team? Would they be out? Would they then have to go to the "A" team to be coached by the person nobody likes?

There's alot of "daddy ball" in our community and alot of coaches that are disliked but a reason to not play on a team because of the coach is not a good reason. Now a controversary around here is that kids are placed on better teams because their "coach daddies" push them to be on a better team than what they are qualified for and people around here get ticked because of that, thus "daddy ball" but thats a whole other thread.

 

[tlbwriter]

I agree with the other posters. I can see why you're unhappy - sometimes it's not a personality clash but a true nightmare of a coach - but there are good reasons for doing it this way.

 

[scrapquitler]

Now the change that we think is unfair to the kids. If they are selected for the "A" team and turn down the opportunity (most often because they don't like the coach), they will be eliminated from All Stars and will not be able to play on the "B" team.

What a hard choice for a kid to make - play for a coach you don't like or don't play at all.

Seems fair to me. You want to play all stars, you play on the team they put you on, or you don't play. Why should a child get to pick which coach they want?

 

[kristen821]

The reason your little league is doing that is because the even years are the important years for little league. They are the years that can make it to the little league world series. You can also be a year younger to play on the teams.
That being said, I understand your frustration, but wouldn't change the rule. My son has been on all-stars since he was 7. Every other year he plays with his age group and the next year he'll play up a level so he is always on that even age group. Every other year his coach is horrible. He is mean and puts all the pressure on my son. He wants him to play every position and throws a fit if he makes a mistake. The mistake can be as little as pitching and missing the left corner of the plate, even if he strikes the kid out. The man is nuts to be honest with you! But, the love my son has for the game he sucks it up and deals with it. I have a few times wanted to take my baby off the field and walk off. It has gotten so bad that coaches from other teams said something to him. This year we went to a traveling team to not deal with it, but they were begging him to play for both teams (which is illegal) I told them if he wasn't the coach we'd consider it, but there was no way I'd put my son through that again.
Anyway, if it got real bad I'd just put my son in another league next year.
We'll be playing my sons old team in a tournament in July. I can't wait to see his old coaches face when my son steps on the mound to pitch against his team. Maybe he'll learn to be a little nicer!

 

[RunningGirl]

That's the way it worked for DS and I did not have any problem with it at all. You don't get to pick your team; take what's offered or walk away.

 

[lovesmurfs]

I use it as a learning tool for the kids. I've often worked for bosses I don't like. Learning how to deal with it young (yes, even as a 9 year old) will help them on their walk in life.

 

[dejr_8]

Totally agree!

OP, also if the "A" players were allowed to defer and play on the "B" team because of the coach on the "A" team , what would happen to all the "B" team players who were picked for the "B" team? Would they be out? Would they then have to go to the "A" team to be coached by the person nobody likes?

Let's say 30 kids are nominated for all stars. The board then ranks the kids from 1 to 30. The "A" coach starts at the top of the list and call kids until he has 12 who say yes. The "B" coach then calls in order the remaining kids on the list until he has 12.

 

[dejr_8]

Seems fair to me. You want to play all stars, you play on the team they put you on, or you don't play. Why should a child get to pick which coach they want?

because at the end of the day isn't little league baseball about having fun.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Please note I can only speak to my own experiences with this where I live. It may be very different elsewhere.

The whole A Team/B Team concept may be well intentioned, but in reality, I'm not sure it's all it's cracked up to be. Often, at least in the younger age groups, a lot depends more on who you know than what your skills are. As kids get older, the differences between the teams become almost non-exisitent, and here's why.

As kids move through the age groups, they change. Some get better and more passionate about the sport, and others, just the opposite - some spreading themselves very thin with many sports and activities, not making games and practices and such, and others concentrating on just one sport, the latter naturally becoming better. (Attitudes also play an important role in sports and kids attitudes can change at the age group we're talking about, often in a big way.)

Yet once an A or B Team player, always an A or B Team player, and for a variety of reasons. You could very well have a player who, at 10, was a B Team player, but by age 12 or 13, after working very hard at the sport, is now an A Team player but is still on the B Team. And vice versa - an A Team player at 10 but lack of practice and enthusiasm for the sport makes him now a B Level player at 12 or 13 yet still on the A Team.

So why not move? It may not be so much that the player doesn't like a different coach, but that the player is most comfortable with "their" coach and teammates and doesn't care to switch. They have a history together. And the coaches feel the same way, having groomed their players, they're happy to keep them. Even among coaches, it's competitive.

I have also seen coaches become so nutty that nobody wants to play for them anymore, so those coaches wind up with almost all new players every year so what may, in concept, be an A Team in reality becomes a C team, lol. Cause part of becoming a great team is learning to work together; it takes a long while to jibe as a team. So players and coaches who've been together, say, for years, could very well have better skills than a brand new team, and this may well be the B Team with better ooutlook and coaching.

I agree young players need to learn to play with a variety of coaches and styles if they're going to succeed. However, sometimes if a coach is too far out there, nobody is going to want to play for them and worse, players will lose enthusiasm for the sport. There should be a good balance of fun and discipline, ideally.

 

[lovesmurfs]

because at the end of the day isn't little league baseball about having fun.

Yes, during the season. Afraid not at the All Star level, at least in our area. It's a different level of playing, and highly competitive.

 

[kydisneyfans]

This is coming from someone who has coached for 7 consecutive years:

Youth baseball organizations are one of the most politically contrived organizations in existence. Board members do not vote on behalf of the benefit of the entire program, just what benefits their own kids the most. Chances are the top members of your board all have kids in the same age group and any change is to make their own look better.

I also strongly dislike the idea of a 7-8-9 year old "All Stars". Some kids are developed more, some have more talent, but to say my kid is an 8 year old baseball "All Star" is crazy-let them have some fun before hauling them 200 miles in 100 degree heat to play 3 games in the middle of the afternoon on a holiday weekend.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

because at the end of the day isn't little league baseball about having fun.

Yes, and no. It depends on the age, the kid, the level of play and the league, IMO and E.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

I think it's perfectly fair. If you are selected to a team and do not want to play on that team then you don't play at all.

 

[mamacatnv]

This is coming from someone who has coached for 7 consecutive years:

Youth baseball organizations are one of the most politically contrived organizations in existence. Board members do not vote on behalf of the benefit of the entire program, just what benefits their own kids the most. Chances are the top members of your board all have kids in the same age group and any change is to make their own look better.I also strongly dislike the idea of a 7-8-9 year old "All Stars". Some kids are developed more, some have more talent, but to say my kid is an 8 year old baseball "All Star" is crazy-let them have some fun before hauling them 200 miles in 100 degree heat to play 3 games in the middle of the afternoon on a holiday weekend.

While I agree that is why SOME parents sit on the board, there is also those of us who sit on the board for the betterment of the league. I believe that kids sports are good for our community and thus even though my DS had moved on up to another league for older players I spent and additional 2 years sitting on the board of the younger players.

Do not make assumptions and lump all board members into the self serving parent group, thank you.