But I would challenge any accomplished national TB pitcher and mostly their parents to come on the board here and admit that every last one of ya said to yourselves "Ah why not get in there and go beat up on some rec players (and get that chance to be on tv and get that spot in a local newspaper that nobody reads anymore.
I would consideer my DD an "A" TB pitcher. as a 14 YOA pitcher in the 8th grade last spring, she had no choice as to play rec if she wanted to keep pitching. While all of her teammates were in HS, she needed to play. She signed up and played LL. Some games were brutal and she would only throw an inning. There were two teams that were competetive out of the 5 she would play. She would pitch those games. When the spring season ended, she left and went back with her TB team and played a very difficult "national" type schedule. As we were approaching the end on the summer season, she was asked if she wouldn't mind pitching for the LL All Star team. She had no intention of doing so and even had a trip to visit family planned. The LL coach was persistent and finally he was able to convince my DD to go and help her friends, who she has played with and known for the past eight years, to try and win the State tournament. Much like everyone else here, I thought it a waste of time. She needed her rest and time to heal from the summer. She went and pitched great and they won the state championship. The teams they beat were not very strong until the semi finals. Still, no team from our town had EVER won a LL state title. They went on and played in regionals. The teams there were better. Not great, but better. They went undefeated in pool play. Beat a pretty good Georgia State Champ. Ended up losing a 2-1 thriller in the semi finals. DD pitched all but 2 innings of Regionals. She was tired, sore, and sad they lost. When she agreed to play for the coach, she thought like the rest of us. Then she got out there and was with her longtime friends. Most of which will never play in HS, let alone college. She helped them experience winning a state title. They didn't care if it was ASA, PGF, USSSA or Little League. It was what they played. I actually went from anti Little League to a supporter in just a few weeks.