What possess's an A team to enter a B tournament?

[FPMark]

So a high school football team should play college teams to get a measure of where they are? College basketball teams should play NBA teams? Because that is about the same difference in skill.

My B team does not have a single player that takes personal instruction in hitting or fielding. Only one is planning to play in college and that is at Div 3. All of them fit softball in around jobs. Half did not play HS softball this year. My roster doesn't have 1 player that made 1st team all conf in HS this year, let alone all-state. Yet we are competitive in a true B tournament. Don't win them, but play competitively.

Upset about playing teams better than us? Well we paid $450 this weekend to get run ruled in 3 of 4 games. (Twice by the same team I mentioned in my original post) If you think I should enjoy that experience, you must believe in Bobby Knight's approach to handling rape. (Just sit back and enjoy it)

We have no real illusions of getting better. We are at 18U and 60% of my team will play their last game of softball in 2 weeks. Hopefully that game will not be to fill some putz's trophy cabinet.

Travel ball is competitive softball. B is a step for teams not yet ready to play A. If you have no goal of improving then maybe you should be playing in a rec league. If you play travel, you will play against different levels of competition regardless of whether you play A or B. You can look at the better teams you play as "Trophy Hunters" or as opportunities to see what your team needs to do to improve. I guess it depends on your goals. If your goal is to not practice, or not improve, but to play competitive tournaments, why are you playing a 450 dollar NSA State championship tournament?

I guess I'm just tired of hearing B teams complain about A teams trophy hunting while not having a good definition of the difference. Look at all the teams in your age group, the top team is A, the bottom team is B. There are alot in the middle that can't win in A, but can in B. What are they? B teams when they play A, and trophy hunters when they play B. Just sayin'.

 

[sanchosj]

This Happens a lot here in New Mexico.We have all classes mixed together because the T.D wants as many teams as possible.Most coaches don't even care who they play untill they have to classify then they drop down at state to place higher.

 

[Country Boy]

Travel ball is competitive softball. B is a step for teams not yet ready to play A. If you have no goal of improving then maybe you should be playing in a rec league. If you play travel, you will play against different levels of competition regardless of whether you play A or B. You can look at the better teams you play as "Trophy Hunters" or as opportunities to see what your team needs to do to improve. I guess it depends on your goals. If your goal is to not practice, or not improve, but to play competitive tournaments, why are you playing a 450 dollar NSA State championship tournament?

I guess I'm just tired of hearing B teams complain about A teams trophy hunting while not having a good definition of the difference. Look at all the teams in your age group, the top team is A, the bottom team is B. There are alot in the middle that can't win in A, but can in B. What are they? B teams when they play A, and trophy hunters when they play B. Just sayin'.

High School Football is competitive also. And the last I checked, they don't let college teams play HS football. Why? I don't know. Maybe an unfair advantage. Do you take your 12U or 14U team up to 18U tournaments? Why not? Would you be upset if they allowed me to bring my 18U down to whatever age group you play? Doesn't sound like you would and we would quite possibly demolish you. If there is to be no real distinction between A and B, then there is really no reason for age differences. I mean, if the field should be even, it should really be even.

We play NSA B, and until this year played competitively, because it is a much more player friendly league than ASA. Liberal batting and courtesy rules allow more players in the game. Last I checked this game is about the players and not filling a coach's trophy cabinet.

My team is what softball used to be. A group of fairly talented girls that enjoy playing a game. Very few $400 bats. No personal instruction. No $1000 team fees. No year round practices. Just having fun. But maybe our time has passed. Maybe if you are not harboring illusions of grandeur, you have no place in softball. Maybe you have to be bloodthirsty. Maybe winning at all costs, even if you are playing way down, is all that matters.

I understand competition. I've been doing this quite a while. If a really good team wants to call itself a B team and do it all year, so be it. I don't understand why a team that prides itself as an A team in ASA, all of a sudden decides it would be a B team for a weekend in NSA. Unless it is to play down in the hopes of getting an easy trophy. Winning a B tournament does not make you A material. Dominating B competition (consistently run ruling teams, playing 3 inning games, etc) means you are in the wrong level.

Maybe it's time for me to leave this 'game' to the professionals. Like the coach who had his player steal home on a passed ball when leading by 10. Perfectly legal. Usually executed by an a**hole with no class.

 

[absdad]

Most coaches don't even care who they play untill they have to classify then they drop down at state to place higher.

I've seen in our area, and it causes alot of confusion.. teams will register at the B level, and play quite a few A tournaments. They may or may not do well. But when they get to State, and WS, they play at their classified level.

 

[joemcq51]

The biggest problem with the classafications is how they are determined. In most all cases, the coach decides where his team should play. I registered my team "A" this season in USSSA and NSA. We are by no means "A" caliber. I see that much clearer now, then when I registered. I would certainly have played a different schedule this season. We will finish the season playing "A" with no hope of winning a tournament. I am ok with that. We will hopefully improve and make adjustments going forward. Here is where I think we needed help that we didn't get. First few torunaments of the season, back in April, we played tournaments with 15-20 "B" teams and 2-3 "A" teams. Why wouldn't these State Directors hold "open" brackets until say June 1st. At that point, you have a better understanding of who the teams will be. Then the State Director could designate the class. Maybe the top third as "A", bottom third as "B" and middle third as "open". At least in ASA there is some system in place. You don't hear much about this type of issue from the California teams. I know they distinct between Rec all stars and TB as well. Do not know the answer, just know that as long as coaches decide where to play, there will be coaches who choose to stay in "B", who should be "A" and vice versa.

 

[Coach JV]

My team is clearly a 'B' class team. I welcome playing the best competition
but with limitations. We went up against a B class team a few weeks ago whose
'in class' record was 33-0. IMHO they should be reclassified as an 'A' team.
We lost to them 6-1, the majority of their games were 10+ run wins. How
does this schedule make them a better team

 

[Goetz]

It seems like Country Boy is the one with the ego issue. You should use the opportunity playing against better competition to understand where your daughter and players need to be and what they need to do to be competitive. In your own words if they are out there for a "Fun Weekend" then why are you playing in a so called travel tournament? Stay home and play rec ball and have fun. The problem in today’s world everyone thinks their daughter has special talents and travel teams are formed with players who don’t even possess the basic skills to compete. The classifications are a joke and if you play ASA or USSSA you understand that the coach determines what class to be in until your team proves otherwise. The competition varies greatly from area to area as well. In your state you may be competitive in a class but in reality when you face other teams from different states you see a big difference. There is no way to determine the overall talent level until you get out there on the field. Maybe instead of complaining about a team in a tournament you play to the best of your teams capabilities like you would in any other game. The problem is you don’t like losing and you know the other team is more talented. That is where the ego issue comes into play. Tell your daughter like I tell mine. Instead of making excuses look at the other team and their talented players and use that as a barometer for what you should strive for if you want to be a good player!

 

[Momo'sDad]

Okay, so what happens when you go to an ASA national tournament and see all these other teams that have a dozen HS players on their roster? It isn't a matter of me disagreeing, but telling you that what you are citing is not part of ASA's code.

Here is the ASA Code. The phrase "high school" does not appear in it.

NorCal, like SoCal, has created their own little set of rules for their area. I understand that this is pretty much for participation purposes and protection for some leagues and teams. However, when it comes to ASA championship play outside of your area, it is possible that your teams will be at a disadvantage. I will not argue that this is not fair and that the local commissioners are given leeway to apply certain rules for their area. Personally, as stated before, I believe they are doing you a great disservice.

I don't mind that ASA has different rules for organized softball in different parts of the country, but I would argue that the code which governs Region 14 is more than just a 'little set of local rules'.

I don't understand how provisions to keep more older girls in the sport equates to doing the region's teams a disservice, when the goal is to provide a quality softball experience to as many players and families as possible.

 

[Country Boy]

It seems like Country Boy is the one with the ego issue. You should use the opportunity playing against better competition to understand where your daughter and players need to be and what they need to do to be competitive. In your own words if they are out there for a "Fun Weekend" then why are you playing in a so called travel tournament? Stay home and play rec ball and have fun. The problem in today’s world everyone thinks their daughter has special talents and travel teams are formed with players who don’t even possess the basic skills to compete. The classifications are a joke and if you play ASA or USSSA you understand that the coach determines what class to be in until your team proves otherwise. The competition varies greatly from area to area as well. In your state you may be competitive in a class but in reality when you face other teams from different states you see a big difference. There is no way to determine the overall talent level until you get out there on the field. Maybe instead of complaining about a team in a tournament you play to the best of your teams capabilities like you would in any other game. The problem is you don’t like losing and you know the other team is more talented. That is where the ego issue comes into play. Tell your daughter like I tell mine. Instead of making excuses look at the other team and their talented players and use that as a barometer for what you should strive for if you want to be a good player!

Don't tell me about what travel ball is. I've been here a while. I have a competitive B team that places a priority on having fun, because this is a game. Just because we are not all D1 bound, doesn't mean we are talentless. We just don't have the level of talent to play A ball. We play some A teams during the week by choice to 'see' where we are. But the point is, if I pay $ to play in a B tournament, why should I have to play A teams pretending to be B for a week? It has been years since my teams won any tournament (numerous 2nds and 3rds) so don't tell me that I am pi**ed because I can't get a trophy. Don't care about trophy's. Want my players to play their best and have fun. Hard to have fun when elite teams are beating you 14-2 in 3 innings.

My problem is not my ego. My problem is with the coaches that don't have an issue playing down. The ones that see no harm in their playing a B tournament for just this weekend. The ones trying to make their parents happy so they will keep spending money. It is their ego I have an issue with. I don't mind losing. I mind not having a chance.

Forgive me for instructing my players to have fun. I forgot this sport has become all about winning. If you don't have 10 D1 prospects on your team, you should just not even show up. All hail you 'winners'. Just remember this sport was started with teams like mine. Too bad we're not welcome anymore. Have fun playing with yourselves.

 

[nanotech14]

I would rather play a team above your own level then play down,but on the other hand.How does one know if it was the A teams fault that they played a B tournament and if was so what.As a coach do admitt defeat before you even play the game.Do you tell your girls that they can't win because they are better then you.I hope not,let them play the game,good teams have been beat before by lesser teams.If you lose walk off the field with the taught that you did your best and hold your heads up.Nothing worse then acoach that whines"they where a A team "ever game is a lesson to be learned win or lose.