Little Leauge

[kristen821]

Thank you! I am going to look around and see what I can find!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

My DD never played baseball, but my 3 boys have. They are 6, 12, and 15 and my 15yo started playing when he was 5yo and my DH has coached or asst coached almost the whole time. There has been a baseball season here and there that he hasn't coached, but in general we're talking 10 years of coaching and a lot of that was at the select level so that's most of the year. There have been years that he has gotten lots of parental help and other years that he's hardly had any help. Nobody to coach a base even. Last spring I was out there coaching a base, which shows how desperate he was. Actually, that was only for our youngest son's t ball, so I was more than able to help out. For the little kids it takes lots of hands and eyes to keep them on track, however. My DH runs a great, well organized practice. He has stations that the kids rotate through so that they learn skills and don't get bored standing around. But that takes adults to help run it. He does make his expectations clear at the beginning and usually doesn't have a problem. Now that our 6yo is our youngest I can be one of those helpers.

Some people still view it as a time to just drop their child off and have some free time, which is sad. Others don't know anything about baseball and can't really help with the skills, which is understandable. I'm the same way with soccer. But with soccer I can organize a snack list and cheer the kids on. There are things parents can do to help even if they don't know that sport and when they are little, just keeping the kids in line can be done by anyone even someone without a knowledge of the sport.

 

[tracers]

I am still digesting the coach post .... will get back to you

 

[tracers]

This post hit me to where I see you coming from!!!

It takes ALOT MORE!!!! Than the money you opted out of candy selling....not too mention that takes money from the league...opting out gets the league less money.

Bringing extra water...while it's nice that doesn't help the league or coaches.

I don't want to sound rude but do you know what it takes a volunteer coach to do to get a team running and competitve?

I lose work hours so I can attend practice which takes away from my income at home. I also have to do what you do..bring water, sell candy, etc....

at practice I have to become a teacher to your kids which doesn't help with a parent that doesn't see eye to you...but if a parent doesn't want to help the team or league why should the team opr league listen to them???? Seriously....if there is input to be had fine....but help out if you don't like the way things are ran...get your own team and see how your way of r5unning works..it may be waaay better who knows...but unless there can be help it hurts to complain and takes away from practices.

Now I am a coach who does listen to every parents concern, but that now adds more to my tabel...not only did I miss work hours, taught your kid...I am now staying at practice without dinner, while my son as homework to listen to a parent who doesn't want to help out but I have to do it so I can help the team! It helps the team because now we don't have the kids around hearing it and the other parents.

On top of the practice time and less family time and work hours, I also have to spend $200+ of my own money for new equipment because I want our kids to have the same chance as the other teams. Yes the league does provide equipment but it just the essentials.....that are very used.

the bats and gloves are next to unusable, so I always have a new bat and glove every year. The bat for the team...as well as some kids parenst by thier own bats also, the glove because I know some parents can't afford a new glove and think that a 20 year old too small or too big glove is enough...Now it cuts into my budget at home but I want kids to have an equal chance....and weather you want to believe it or not THE RIGHT EQIUPMENT IS A BIG PART OF THE GAME. Does any bat hit a ball YES.....But there are bats out there that can turn the worst 10 yerar old hitter into a star.

So now not only do coaches have to pay the same registration fees thsy have to be at practice watching and teaching the kids...while alot of parents think it is an extra daycare and run off and leave coaches with kids unti they decide to comeback. What if we need to cancel practice early? what if thier is an injury? these are things some parents don't think of.

so same fee's, less family time, less work hours, using personal money for team exspenes...compared to paying fee and opting out of fundraiser...which btw coaches have to do as well...so exactly when do we have time to fundraise????



So please try to see the other side of the coin.

Reading my post it may sound like I hate the coaching side doesn't it!!!!

NOT AT ALL


The biggest reward is fighting through the parents, other coaches, and umps and watching a kid come from not being able to throw a ball to turing a double play, or watching them run to first after thier first base hit...PRICELESS!!!

sO AGAIN PLEASE TRY TO SEE THE OTHER SIDE OF THINGS AND WHAT THE COACHES HAVE TO GO THROUGH TO GET THE SAME ENJOYMENY YOU DO WHEN YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER GETS THAT FIRST HIT OR GROUNDBALL...WE FELL JUST AS PROUD IF NOT MORE BECAUSE THAT MEANS WE GOT THROUGH TO THE KIDS!!!!

OK ... let me start with by no means did I ever nor will I ever put a coach down. If I came across that way, it was not my intention. I understand that it is a lot of work and I appreciate it. As I posted earlier I have offered to go out and help during practice. I was responsible for batting practice for 5 out of 10 practices. I have been team mom, offered to help out any way that I could.

 

[tracers]

I had a nice post typed out last night, but my computer crashed and I lost it... so you will now get the short version.

I'm confused about how they do it in your area. Here we have rec and select ball. There are no try-outs for rec ball. If too many kids sign up for the number of teams (based on the number of coaches and the field availability) then they take the kids first come, first serve (always taking the coaches kids). Rec ball starts at T ball.

There is also select ball that a child tries out for. That generally starts when a child is as young as 8yo even though my son tried out and made a team when he was 7yo--he was almost 8yo. He'd tried out the previous summer when he was still 6yo, but didn't make the team. We were pretty sure he wouldn't, but he insisted on trying and we didn't want to not allow it.

We have different teams that a child can try out for if they do not make one select team and different leagues if a person wants to play for a different rec league.

Is the league that your son trying to play what I would call a select or rec league?

Sorry that things have turned out the way they have for him. It's hard to see our little guys so hurt and the last thing that we want to do is to turn them off to a sport.

I have never heard of select ball before. To the best of my knowledge it is Little League. We have t-ball for 5-6 yr old / "coach pitch" for 7-8 yr old / minor/major for 8-10 ( I thought ) then little league for 10-12 yr old. Before yesterday I thought that once they turned 10 they had to try out. I also thought that everyone made a team. What I have learned since it that even a 12 yr old might not make little league and be forced to play minor/major. In our area there really isn't another league to "leagally" to go. In order to play in the league you have to live in the "zone." So by you suggesting we find another league we would have to move to a different area.

I just hate it for him. His buddy called this afternoon and he didn't even want to talk him. He asked me this afternoon what he did wrong ....... Ofcourse I told him he did nothing wrong.

 

[foolishmortal]

OK ... let me start with by no means did I ever nor will I ever put a coach down. If I came across that way, it was not my intention. I understand that it is a lot of work and I appreciate it. As I posted earlier I have offered to go out and help during practice. I was responsible for batting practice for 5 out of 10 practices. I have been team mom, offered to help out any way that I could.

ok back from todays try-outs...lol

And by helping you should have a voice!!! Talk to the coaches and find out exactly why he wasn't chosen!

If a parent helps me even for 1 minute I am glad to digest every single concern they have.

I know I may have sounded rude and I am sorry for that but this is the same type of thing that we hear ALL YEAR yet it usually (99%) of the time comes from the parents that have no clue what they are talking about or do, but just don't help.

So as you stated you are one of the few and I respect that! And any "good" league or coach" should also understand that and be accomdating.

If they know how you contribute and what you bring and are still unwilling to help you understand what happened then I would say don't look back and fret on it...they are a poorly ran league!

Is there another city rec league he can play on? Usually any kid can play on any rec team, you just may need to pay extra for being a nonresident.

I am still with Kristen,..get those other parents together and go to the league offices as a group and either demand to know what is happening, or offer your assistances as a new team. Would it be possible to get a local sponsor for jerseys and hats?

That would be the only concern to the league I would imagine since we are so close to the season start.

I have a heard time imagining they would not take the revenue of a whole team!! Also it is easier to schedule games against teams in your own league since they all share the same fields as opposed to having 2 team they will need to inter squad against 2 or 3 other leagues just to get even 20 games in.

Good Luck and I hope all works out...I hate seeing a kid with the love of a game that cannot play! Bring him to Colorado I'll take him on my team!

 

[foolishmortal]

I have never heard of select ball before. To the best of my knowledge it is Little League. We have t-ball for 5-6 yr old / "coach pitch" for 7-8 yr old / minor/major for 8-10 ( I thought ) then little league for 10-12 yr old. Before yesterday I thought that once they turned 10 they had to try out. I also thought that everyone made a team. What I have learned since it that even a 12 yr old might not make little league and be forced to play minor/major.

I just hate it for him. His buddy called this afternoon and he didn't even want to talk him. He asked me this afternoon what he did wrong ....... Ofcourse I told him he did nothing wrong.

RUN AWAY FROM THIS LEAGUE ASAP!!!!!!

DO NOT EVEN TRY TO GET THE OTHER TEAM...LOL



ANY LEAGUE THAT HAS 12 YEAR OLDS PLAYING WITH 8 OR 9 YEAR OLDS IS POORLY RAN!!!

A 12 year old that doesn't even know how to play compared to a 9 year old that does is still unfair. The 12 year old hits harder and throws harder which makes for an unsafe enviourment in both practices and games!

Imagine a 12 year old hitting a hard grounder to an 8 or 9 year old!!!! yikes, that post right there scares me!!!!!!!

our league is much like you said 456 t-ball, 7- 8 coach pitch, 9-10 minors (now an 8 year old can play if they prove they know the game and would not get hurt)

11 - 12 majors (a 10 year old can play but again has to prove it)

13 - 14 juniors

15 - 16 seniors (by this time though there are alot either on a select team, high school team or no longer playing)



no there are a few cases where an 11 year old would play minors but that is only if they have not demonstrated they have any skills in the game and even then we have to make sure once they get it they wouldn;t hurt the younger kids.

in my 5 years in this certain league there has only been 1 11 year old play down....1 thats it, so to have even 12 year olds play against them worries me to no end!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I have never heard of select ball before. To the best of my knowledge it is Little League. We have t-ball for 5-6 yr old / "coach pitch" for 7-8 yr old / minor/major for 8-10 ( I thought ) then little league for 10-12 yr old. Before yesterday I thought that once they turned 10 they had to try out. I also thought that everyone made a team. What I have learned since it that even a 12 yr old might not make little league and be forced to play minor/major. In our area there really isn't another league to "leagally" to go. In order to play in the league you have to live in the "zone." So by you suggesting we find another league we would have to move to a different area.

I just hate it for him. His buddy called this afternoon and he didn't even want to talk him. He asked me this afternoon what he did wrong ....... Ofcourse I told him he did nothing wrong.

I'm so sorry! Poor guy!

Sounds to me that what you are describing is our rec program except we do not have the zones. We can sign up for whichever league we want, which is nice. We have some "issues" in our league and haven't played there in a while, but we are going back there with our youngest because it is the closest league and I think that more kids from his school will be play there. If we have another bad experience there we will reevaluate. Our kids are the top priority. Too bad that the people who run your league are forgetting that.

And to make 12yo's play with a way younger child is not good. Ours are 2 year groupings, with occasional exceptions, usually up and sometimes down. IE, my son was allowed to "play up" and sometimes a new player without many skills can "play down" a season, but that is discouraged.

I'm guessing that your area does also have "select" or "travel" baseball. What county are you in?

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Here's an example of a select organization in what I think is your area. Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about. http://eteamz.active.com/hvbombers/index.cfm?

 

[tracers]

Here's an example of a select organization in what I think is your area. Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about. http://eteamz.active.com/hvbombers/index.cfm?

This looks as if it is an invitational kind of thing. They actually have scouts go out looking for kids to play for them. OR at least that is the way it was explained to me.

 

[tracers]

I hate seeing a kid with the love of a game that cannot play! Bring him to Colorado I'll take him on my team!

Thanks for the words of encouragement ...... if you were just a drive away I would take you up on that! Looks as if we are going to have lots of backyard ball this year.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

This looks as if it is an invitational kind of thing. They actually have scouts go out looking for kids to play for them. OR at least that is the way it was explained to me.

The way it works around here (and I think in most places) is that the teams will have open slots and will have tryouts. Our teams find the kids to try out by ads in papers and word of mouth. They try out and the kids are picked based on their skill, what positions they play, etc. They are invited to play I suppose, but only because they can't try out any time (only preseason) and they can't tryout if there isn't an open slot.

Some teams have open tryouts EVERY preseason and weed out the weaker kids on the team. Other teams keep all the kids and only have tryouts for any they are losing because they are moving or leaving the team for any other reason. The problem with that is that sometimes some kids are kept on the team who really might not be good enough players to be on a competitive team. But at the same time, it's hard to "cut" kids.

 

[kristen821]

RUN AWAY FROM THIS LEAGUE ASAP!!!!!!

DO NOT EVEN TRY TO GET THE OTHER TEAM...LOL



ANY LEAGUE THAT HAS 12 YEAR OLDS PLAYING WITH 8 OR 9 YEAR OLDS IS POORLY RAN!!!

A 12 year old that doesn't even know how to play compared to a 9 year old that does is still unfair. The 12 year old hits harder and throws harder which makes for an unsafe enviourment in both practices and games!

Imagine a 12 year old hitting a hard grounder to an 8 or 9 year old!!!! yikes, that post right there scares me!!!!!!!

our league is much like you said 456 t-ball, 7- 8 coach pitch, 9-10 minors (now an 8 year old can play if they prove they know the game and would not get hurt)

11 - 12 majors (a 10 year old can play but again has to prove it)

13 - 14 juniors

15 - 16 seniors (by this time though there are alot either on a select team, high school team or no longer playing)



no there are a few cases where an 11 year old would play minors but that is only if they have not demonstrated they have any skills in the game and even then we have to make sure once they get it they wouldn;t hurt the younger kids.

in my 5 years in this certain league there has only been 1 11 year old play down....1 thats it, so to have even 12 year olds play against them worries me to no end!

I agree a 12 year old should not be hitting or throwing a ball to a 8 year old.

The way it works here is

5,6,7 - teeball which the coaches pitch after the third game
7 year olds can try out for minors
8,9,10 - minors and the kids pitch
10 year olds can try out for little league
11,12,13 little league
14-17 seniors


Good luck and let us know what happens!

 

[tracers]

WELLLLLL ...... last night we got a phone call from one of the board members. Seems that my husbands call prompted him to look a little closer at tryouts. What my husband was told as that there were three "rookie" coaches" and the they felt that the picking for teams was done poorly. One coach even picked his neighbor for his last pick. WOW .... big suprise there. He stated that they were going to place DS first on a wait list. In the event someone has to drop out or is injured. BUT he will still have to play ont he minor/major inthe mean time.
It isn't the greatest end result but at least they admitted that there was something wrong! That in itself is HUGE.
Just wanted to update you all .......

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I suppose that is good news. Not exactly what you want, but hopefully the same end results. Hopefully somebody will drop out.

 

[tracers]

No it isn't the greatest .... but again I am happy that they admitted to wrong doing. I think we have DS convinced that playing in the minor/major league again this year will be good for him. We pointed out that while his buddies will be sitting the bench in LL, he will be playing. We explained to him that if he plays in minor/major league this year is shows that he has good sportsmanship and that he will be the better person ...... I am not sure that he bought it or not ..... he is still really upset about it.

 

[JCJRSmith]

I've been coaching for 12 years and the way our league does it is every coach from every level from t-ball to seniors grades every kid trying out for LL on
1. running
2. grounders
3. flyballs
4. hitting
5. throwing

they get graded from 1-5 (by halves ie 3.5 or 4) in each area. the sheets are then added up and the top kids make it. Not saying you are like this but many parents really think there kids are better then they are. Ask how they are graded and ask to see the results. I think our way is great as we usually have 30+ coaches grading kids so even if someone has it out for your kid (and I have seen this), his vote doesn't count much. I do feel bad for your son and hope his not making the team was not the result of some childish adults.

I am a travel soccer coach and it sounds like the way we do things here. We have some retired indoor soccer pros in the area who run the tryouts - the coaches get NO input. The kids are assigned numbered pinnies to where and their scores are put by their number on the sheet. Only the coordinator knows what names go with what numbers. It is very fair, and no cronyism or nepotism involved.

Baseball, however, around here, is a mess.

 

[brerrabbit]

I had to comment on this whole thread because I have been involved with Little League Baseball for many, many years. I played form 8 till 12 when I was a kid, coached with a friend for his little brothers team for 4 years, and took my son all the way through the program from 6 till 16, have served as a league officer including President and have been an Assistant District Administrator for the last six years.

First, there is a huge differance between Select baseball and Little League. Select is just that, you select your team and play in tournaments, and possibly some league play. You are not bound by where you live, only by your sons age. Most times the coaches of these teams will scout the kids and approach the parents to see if the kid will play for them. The costs are huge. You pay for your own uniforms, tournament entry fees, travel and everything else. Little League is not affiliated in any way with select ball as they have their own governing body with one of the larger ones being USSSA. It is the highest level of competition and they are very competative.

Second, the idea that you have to volenteer for your kid to suceed is wrong. You can be a good supportive parent and do some concession stand duty and a couple of work days at the field and you will be doing more than most parents. An earlier comment about candy buy out making the league less money is wrong. Our league asked each kid to sell $84 worth of candy and our profit was 50% or $42. Our buy out was $42, so we made the same amount of money either way. And what most people did not know was if you took the candy and sold none of it we would still take it back and try to sell it at the concession stand so technically you could get away cost free. We hoped people would sell it because it was a major fundraiser and we made about $30,000 a year doing it.( its a big league)

Third, try to encourage your son to stick with it. It hurts not making the majors when your 11. Our league is 11-12 play majors if drafted and if they are not drafted they play minor which is all 10 year olds and all 11-12 year olds not drafted into the majors. I was very involved with the league and was Sr vice president when my son was 11. He did not get drafted up and had to play in the minors, he was very upset. I coached his team that year and he worked really hard and developed into a good player. The following year he got drafted up to the majors and outplayed all the other 12 year olds who were drafted up the year before. He played through his sophmore year in high school where the numbers caught up to him. 200 trying out for three teams. Additionally, Little League mandates the ages for each league and will not let different age groups compete against one another for saftey reasons. Only in extreme case where the league does not enough players will you ever see more than a two year age grouping.

Fourth, try as we might we as league administrators cannot guareentee what will happen at a draft. Dads who coach in the majors with 11 year old sons usually draft a lot of 11 year olds who they feel they can work with, they are building a team that will win next year when their sons are 12 year olds, its just the way it works. The most competative part of Little League is Allstars and the coach who wins the league is usually the coach who gets to take the allstar team to the Little League playoffs. This process makes things difficult because coaches don't care about kids feelings but rather are doing whatever they think it takes to win the league. Unfortunately this sometimes means that kids that are good players don't get taken and sometimes like it or not it can be a coaches perception of the parent or the kid. Having witnessed numerous drafts I can tell you that certain kids were not taken because of PP(problem parents) or BA(kids bad attitude) and others were taken becase the kid had a great TM(team Mom) and others taken late in the draft because they had a GLM(good looking Mom). Now as a league officer if I heard that during a draft I would question it but the reality is we had 8 major league teams with 12 kids per team and that meant 96 kids. We usually had over 150 kids trying for those slots. So regardless of the reason a coach took a kid he could always tell me it was becasue of his playing abilty, even if it was not.

Give your son a big hug and encourage him to stick with it. After all these years I can still tell you the guys that were on my Little League teams and my mangers and coaches. It was a wonderful experience and something I always enjoyed, even when things did not always go my way.

If you have any questions I could possibly answer for you let me know.

 

[foolishmortal]

I had to comment on this whole thread because I have been involved with Little League Baseball for many, many years. I played form 8 till 12 when I was a kid, coached with a friend for his little brothers team for 4 years, and took my son all the way through the program from 6 till 16, have served as a league officer including President and have been an Assistant District Administrator for the last six years.

First, there is a huge differance between Select baseball and Little League. Select is just that, you select your team and play in tournaments, and possibly some league play. You are not bound by where you live, only by your sons age. Most times the coaches of these teams will scout the kids and approach the parents to see if the kid will play for them. The costs are huge. You pay for your own uniforms, tournament entry fees, travel and everything else. Little League is not affiliated in any way with select ball as they have their own governing body with one of the larger ones being USSSA. It is the highest level of competition and they are very competative.

Second, the idea that you have to volenteer for your kid to suceed is wrong. You can be a good supportive parent and do some concession stand duty and a couple of work days at the field and you will be doing more than most parents. An earlier comment about candy buy out making the league less money is wrong. Our league asked each kid to sell $84 worth of candy and our profit was 50% or $42. Our buy out was $42, so we made the same amount of money either way. And what most people did not know was if you took the candy and sold none of it we would still take it back and try to sell it at the concession stand so technically you could get away cost free. We hoped people would sell it because it was a major fundraiser and we made about $30,000 a year doing it.( its a big league)

Third, try to encourage your son to stick with it. It hurts not making the majors when your 11. Our league is 11-12 play majors if drafted and if they are not drafted they play minor which is all 10 year olds and all 11-12 year olds not drafted into the majors. I was very involved with the league and was Sr vice president when my son was 11. He did not get drafted up and had to play in the minors, he was very upset. I coached his team that year and he worked really hard and developed into a good player. The following year he got drafted up to the majors and outplayed all the other 12 year olds who were drafted up the year before. He played through his sophmore year in high school where the numbers caught up to him. 200 trying out for three teams. Additionally, Little League mandates the ages for each league and will not let different age groups compete against one another for saftey reasons. Only in extreme case where the league does not enough players will you ever see more than a two year age grouping.

Fourth, try as we might we as league administrators cannot guareentee what will happen at a draft. Dads who coach in the majors with 11 year old sons usually draft a lot of 11 year olds who they feel they can work with, they are building a team that will win next year when their sons are 12 year olds, its just the way it works. The most competative part of Little League is Allstars and the coach who wins the league is usually the coach who gets to take the allstar team to the Little League playoffs. This process makes things difficult because coaches don't care about kids feelings but rather are doing whatever they think it takes to win the league. Unfortunately this sometimes means that kids that are good players don't get taken and sometimes like it or not it can be a coaches perception of the parent or the kid. Having witnessed numerous drafts I can tell you that certain kids were not taken because of PP(problem parents) or BA(kids bad attitude) and others were taken becase the kid had a great TM(team Mom) and others taken late in the draft because they had a GLM(good looking Mom). Now as a league officer if I heard that during a draft I would question it but the reality is we had 8 major league teams with 12 kids per team and that meant 96 kids. We usually had over 150 kids trying for those slots. So regardless of the reason a coach took a kid he could always tell me it was becasue of his playing abilty, even if it was not.

Give your son a big hug and encourage him to stick with it. After all these years I can still tell you the guys that were on my Little League teams and my mangers and coaches. It was a wonderful experience and something I always enjoyed, even when things did not always go my way.

If you have any questions I could possibly answer for you let me know.

good post..I agree with drafting part based of off a problem parent...I heard that about 3 kids at this weekends try-outs! So guess who will take them...lol, good kids and I don't let the parenst get in my way!

but I TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH YOU ON FUNDRAISING.

If we choose fundraiser we would bring in $80.00 to the league, if we opt out we only bring in $20.00

And if we don't sell all the candy the parent HAS TO PAY FOR THE NON-SOLD PORTION!!! It is told at sign-ups what is expected.

Maybe your league does it that way but not ALL LEAGUES.

 

[brerrabbit]

Well when it comes to fundraising our league is very unique. We are one of the few leagues in the state where we actually own our own fields. We have a 32 acre complex that is the home of two youth football teams, Little League Baseball, and Girls Softball. We pay all our own utilities, have our own well for water, and maintain the entire facility. On opening day we auction off prime parking spots and last year that raised about $21,000. Our candy sales net over $30,000 a year and opening day festival raises over $40,000. The leagues annual budget will exceed $400,000 a year.