TB Rankings and Levels- Can I get some help for a friend.

Orange Socks said:

This is true for many "Unknown" and known organizations. From my experience, the showcase directors of nicer tourneys will invite the known teams/organizations so that they can play against each other. I know of team locally after attending Colorado Sparkler last year said that they weren't going back. This particular team mopped up most of the teams that they faced last summer and into the fall. During the fall they were playing on the remote fields against inferior competition in various tourneys(Ronald McDonald, Texas Gold Cup, etc). They have 3 committed players. I heard the parents were getting restless as they wanted to play better teams and on the "better" fields. This year they got an invite to the supplemental power pool at the Sparkler. They are going back. I guess what I am saying, it takes time and you have to win to get some of those invites. Even if you are in an known organization your team may not be the "showcase" team in that age group. Even then you may be playing in the right tourney, but on the remote fields.

This is the reason that many teams fold into a larger organization thinking they will get preferential treatment. As you get to the 16U/18U age groups you tend to play the same teams over and over.

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While college showcases are adding teams as quickly as they can find fields, they still need to put quality teams on the primary fields in order to put college coaches butts in the seats. A showcase without college coaches will not last long. Just be aware that if a new, unproven team is admitted, they are probably going to be playing other new, unproven teams, on EBF fields until they prove themselves. This is why is it VITALLY important that players contact coaches and invite them to watch them play and provide the field location, number and game times.

Realities of “Showcase” teams.

-Anybody can be “Gold”, “Elite”, “Premier” or anything else they want to call themselves.

-Most of the so-called showcases are sparsely attended by college coaches.

-When looking at the list of “colleges attending” pay attention to the fine print. Most will say either schools were invited, or schools that showed up in the past.

-Any team can attend “Nationals”. You need to really educate yourself to learn which ones colleges attend. In general ASA/USA, TCS and PGF are the most heavily attended. Even then it depends if it’s A, B, C, D, Platinum, Premier or a direction (ie: Northern, Midwest).

-Every state has dozens of “State Champions” every year. See above and add USSSA, AFA, NAFA, PONY, LL etc. and multiple levels per age group.

-“Former Players in College” can also be deceptive. Big name orgs can list players who were recruited while they played for different programs. No-name organizations can list players who spent half a season with them at 12U.

No program can guarantee she’ll play in college. Coaches can talk up their program all they want about Nationals, championships and former players in college. It’s up to the player and her parents to separate fact from fiction and learn about the process to get her recruited.

MNDad said:

“Former Players in College” can also be deceptive. Big name orgs can list players who were recruited while they played for different programs. No-name organizations can list players who spent half a season with them at 12U.

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People should also be aware that teams like the Thunderbolts have a lot of players join their team AFTER they commit to play in college. If someone just looked at their 18U Gold Roster you would think their coaches were God's gift to softball coaching...