Middle School/Travel Ball

[The Maj]

Depends on the state. In Alabama there is a 50% rule, where no more than 50% of the girl's on a TB team can be selected for a Jr High, JV, or Varsity team AND there is a rule that applies to all levels that says they cannot play or participate with TB during the season... Generally, there is a dead period for those players from 1 January until their season ends - "participate" means they cannot even go to a team meeting or take part in fund raising activities...

Think no one cares? Well, a Dixie All-Star Baseball team won the State Tournament this year and since over 50% of the boys associated with that team were on the High School team, they had to turn down a trip to the World Series because WS play was scheduled after the start of the school year which would violate the 50% rule... Everyone thought that it could be appealed to the AHASSA since it technically was not travel ball and with the Dixie geographic restrictions most of the boys attend the same high school and surely the governing body would grant a waiver... The answer was "you can either play in the WS or play high school baseball but you cannot do both"...

It is a stupid rule, especially the association with TB during the season...

 

[Mom_Coach_Fan]

Your profile says Georgia, so I'm assuming that is where you live. To my knowledge, there no such law/rule in GA. My DD plays both and "feeder ball" is a big thing here. Most TB teams lay kind of low during MS season, but they still do practice and play occasional tournaments. The good news is that MS season is only until end of September and then TB cranks up.

Agree - 100%. My DD did both for two years - and it was too much!

 

[Mangler II]

The good news is that MS season is only until end of September and then TB cranks up.

The BAD news is that the Aug-Sep season is freakin' SLOW PITCH.
Spring is fast pitch

 

[quincy]

Lol, depends on area.

 

[CMMom1740]

The BAD news is that the Aug-Sep season is freakin' SLOW PITCH.
Spring is fast pitch

Not in GA. We have our first MS game next Monday (8/15). Last game scheduled for last weekend in September.

 

[Lenski]

The BAD news is that the Aug-Sep season is freakin' SLOW PITCH.
Spring is fast pitch

Where do you live?

 

[Ariel116]

In Georgia middle school ball starts as soon as school starts. We started school on 8/1 and our 1st game was on 8/8. We are scheduled to play through mid September but that is also subject to change since our coach likes to try to find school tournaments for us. Last yr we played through the 2nd week of October. We were told no travel ball (practice or games) while playing MS ball and we probably couldn't even if we wanted to because of the MS schedule. I think we only have Fridays and Sundays off for the next 8 weeks!

 

[CoogansBluff]

In Georgia (and probably every state), the state high school association has no jurisdiction over the middle schools. They can do what they want.

Also in Georgia, most school districts don't sponsor sports. I know that DeKalb County does, but most don't. When we lived in metro ATL, there was a feeder league for middle school students, but it wasn't officially affiliated with the middle schools or the school systems. It was something organized by people (including high school coaches) who thought it would be a good idea to have a league that prepares kids for school ball. So, for example, you'd have a team of players who lived in a particular high school district. They might even play at that high school's field and call themselves the Etowah Junior Eagles, but those schools weren't running it in any official capacity.

Any feeder league like that, or any true middle school league, is free to make up its own rules. There is no statewide rule.

 

[Andy S]

In TN, you have not been allowed to play in an associated MS team and participate in "game situations" with independent ball (TB). Game situations include scrimmages or situational play. They just changed that this year to allow MS to do both at the same time.

I believe schools/coaches and maybe even regions can have independent rules on that.

HS in TN still has the rule. No independent play during school ball season, which starts when the coach turns in their roster to TSSAA (not first game or even practice).

The MS has a separate but I assume related governing body, the TMSAA.

So it probably varies significantly by state.

 

[chinamigarden]

x2
There is no rule that doesnt allow kids to play travel during a season in MS.
Some coaches may institute that using the HS rules as his basis but thats a lie.
(I'd tell him to pack sand if it were me)
Rule IS that a HS team cannot have more than 4 (ish) players on the same HS team and that the Coach cannot coach them in TB during the HS season.

Not all states have the same rules.