we took our team to a tournament that was a 10U "B" division.....we are a true B level team and we played several teams and saw several teams play that are A/ Open teams...they came in with let's say a 32-3 record playing up and then play inn our division...this happen quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, we love to play tough competition to help our team get better but the tournaments need to make sure the B or C teams get to play each other if that's what the division should be.
10U Tournament sand bagging
- Thread starter lynx
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
B is the toughest division to play IMO - strictly due to the number of teams defining themselves as "B". If you are an A or C team you generally know what to expect. In our state in any given age there could be 70% of the teams registered as B teams. When you have that many teams you are going to get a VERY wide spread of skill from the top B teams (better than some A teams) to the bottom B teams (worse than some C teams). I'd like to think that most coaches/teams classify themselves with the best intentions, but obviously that isn't always the case.
- Jun 8, 2016
- 16,118
- 113
Only way a team classified as A can play in a B tournament was if it was an unsanctioned tournament..unless you are just classifying them yourself and they are actually classified as B.
- Jun 20, 2015
- 851
- 93
the problem i see on the tourney level debate is 2 fold, IMO. Part 1 - people with good intentions classify themselves as B level and in reality are barely above Rec level, skill wise, and then run into real B level teams and get smoked. See this alot. And it might be cause coach just doesn't know what to expect for the levels and incorrectly chose B.
Part 2- Teams that should probably be in A level tourneys, play as B and kick teams in the teeth to win ribbons.
Just this past weekend, Cap City tourney in Columbus (pretty large recruiting type event). There were 18u teams all over that really should not have been in this level of tourney. But it's early season, lots of games, great venue, experience, etc. But if you're playing in events like this and not competitive in any of your 7 games, You may not be at the level you think you are.
Part 2- Teams that should probably be in A level tourneys, play as B and kick teams in the teeth to win ribbons.
Just this past weekend, Cap City tourney in Columbus (pretty large recruiting type event). There were 18u teams all over that really should not have been in this level of tourney. But it's early season, lots of games, great venue, experience, etc. But if you're playing in events like this and not competitive in any of your 7 games, You may not be at the level you think you are.
Was having this discussion the other day. Looked up IL USSSA teams. In 14u and 16u, it's about 60% of teams are 'B'. In 14u, there are 266 teams registered (43 A, 157 B, 66 C). So even if we assume every team is registered/ranked exactly where they should be, you could still have a 'B' matchup between the 44th and 200th best teams in the state.
- May 13, 2023
- 1,538
- 113
For reference to the discussion how would you @lynx differentiate an B level 10U team versus an A level 10U team?
- Jun 8, 2016
- 16,118
- 113
Around here by 14’s the better teams rarely play any tournaments where self classification matters.
- May 13, 2023
- 1,538
- 113
^^^^^
... with so many teams with no classification things like this happen.
For instance in the USA Preps Moneyball tournament in Vegas last weekend a particular team lost 16 to 0. That represents itself. Because there is no evaluation grading system. Even though that losing team is Mercado Athletics doesn't represent the level of play. The coaches name now does. Coach can switch organizations. But people will remember the name.
Probably this example in calif. Comes from the fact there are so many teams within one organization that the organization name no longer represents the level of play of the teams.
Last edited:
- May 13, 2021
- 654
- 93
Was it a B class tournament or Open? Around here in 10u you you hardly ever have any teams classified as A class the years you do there may be 1-2 in the whole state. Tournaments are C class and open. This year in USSSA there are 0 A class teams 38 B class and 69 C class in the state. I do think USSSA should take teams after the fall season rank the by there power ranking and split them evenly among all three divisions. Then allow any teams that so desired to move up a class if they wanted. It would make for better competition and better tournaments.
That has happened in our area as well. There were a few big name organizations that had so many girls come to their tryouts that they opted to create additional teams, rather than turn them away. It's a double edged sword for these organizations: build a reputation of quality teams and you attract more interest (and $), but the talent pool only supports a certain level of play. Do you keep a certain standard of play, or grow the organization and hope to "train up" girls and just accept that your going to have different skill levels of teams and are ok with that. Tough call.
