The parents are the ones who gnash their teeth, wring their hands, mutter and have the occasional outburst about losing. Not that I'd know from personal experience.
A/B/C
- Thread starter RedeemerKing
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Nothing wrong with these definitions, but the practical difference between "A" and "B" teams is often how they choose to define themselves. One can usually tell who belongs where by their record against different categories and common opponents. Both typically end up in the same tournaments anyway. Plenty of "B" teams can play at least .500 against "A"s, and plenty of self-described "A" teams that have trouble beating any other "A".
At the younger age groups, there is often a very big difference between mid-"C" and mid-"B". Where I am, there are plenty of "C" teams in 12/14U, but almost none at 16/18U. Some teams improve and move up while remaining competitive, and others will stay there and eventually break apart. The better players stick with it and fill 16/18B rosters, and the rest will find something else to do.
At the younger age groups, there is often a very big difference between mid-"C" and mid-"B". Where I am, there are plenty of "C" teams in 12/14U, but almost none at 16/18U. Some teams improve and move up while remaining competitive, and others will stay there and eventually break apart. The better players stick with it and fill 16/18B rosters, and the rest will find something else to do.
- Jun 8, 2016
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Sure but I was referring to his list..While it is my DD’s job to care about how her team does, I personally couldn’t care less as long as she is being challenged, improving and still enjoys playing. I root for the Sox, Celts and Pats..that’s it.
That said I don’t watch very often so my opinion may be different if I had to sit through a bunch of sh$* shows…
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A-B-C is whatever anyone wants it to be. It's all a myth.
If you take every 12U team in the county and rank them 1 to 5,000 or whatever, you're not going to find a dividing line anywhere that clearly separates one group from another. There's no magical border that separates teams with two solid pitchers from those with just one. All these descriptions about lineup depth and pitching are purely relative. The No. 272 team in the country might have 3 solid pitchers and 7 good hitters compared to the teams in the 400s and 500s, but when they play top-100 teams, suddenly they have only pitcher and 3 hitters who can complete. And all differences between teams is team specific. There are all sorts of reasons why inferior teams are inferior and better teams are better. It could be pitching, hitting, fielding, depth, or any combination. There's no reliable pattern between one and the other.
If you take every 12U team in the county and rank them 1 to 5,000 or whatever, you're not going to find a dividing line anywhere that clearly separates one group from another. There's no magical border that separates teams with two solid pitchers from those with just one. All these descriptions about lineup depth and pitching are purely relative. The No. 272 team in the country might have 3 solid pitchers and 7 good hitters compared to the teams in the 400s and 500s, but when they play top-100 teams, suddenly they have only pitcher and 3 hitters who can complete. And all differences between teams is team specific. There are all sorts of reasons why inferior teams are inferior and better teams are better. It could be pitching, hitting, fielding, depth, or any combination. There's no reliable pattern between one and the other.
- Jan 3, 2021
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National teams: Some of the best teams in the nation with great hitters all down the line up, amazing fielders, and a very strong pitching staff
A: The top teams in the state. Usually very strong hitters all the way down the lineup and some really good fielders. Their pitchers might not be as excellent as the national team pitchers but they’re still good enough to be called great.
B: The average team for players ranging from below average to really good. The top half of the lineup is usually very strong but the bottom half struggles. These teams tend to rely on 1 or 2 good pitchers. B levels tend to be the most varying. Some B teams could are so good they could be considered A teams in different states, most are pretty good, and then some are Rec teams who overestimate their abilities.
C: Usually considered the rec ball level. These types of teams are usually made up of below average hitters and then have one or two diamond in the rough type hitters who are good. Pitching is usually pretty weak at this level. Most C teams attend the smaller tournaments. There are also some B teams that play down in the C level to increase their record and to inflate their numbers.
A: The top teams in the state. Usually very strong hitters all the way down the lineup and some really good fielders. Their pitchers might not be as excellent as the national team pitchers but they’re still good enough to be called great.
B: The average team for players ranging from below average to really good. The top half of the lineup is usually very strong but the bottom half struggles. These teams tend to rely on 1 or 2 good pitchers. B levels tend to be the most varying. Some B teams could are so good they could be considered A teams in different states, most are pretty good, and then some are Rec teams who overestimate their abilities.
C: Usually considered the rec ball level. These types of teams are usually made up of below average hitters and then have one or two diamond in the rough type hitters who are good. Pitching is usually pretty weak at this level. Most C teams attend the smaller tournaments. There are also some B teams that play down in the C level to increase their record and to inflate their numbers.
- Jun 8, 2016
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For the most part the designations are either self-assigned (A,B,C for USSSA for example) or given by the org (National,Premier, etc) hence for the most part they don't mean much of anything...
Especially for B and C, because the overwhelming majority of teams aren't playing in officially sanctioned tournaments anyway, or maybe do 1 or 2 "state" or "nationals" tournaments and the rest are more local. Just about every "chicagoland" tournament I see advertised on facebook, websites, etc. lists the "level" as B/C anyway.
- Jun 8, 2016
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At 14U and above you are not a "real org" nowadays unless you give your top teams a title..which is funny since many of the truly good teams don't have one..LOL.
I have not seen as many teams as others here. I can't speak to what "A" looks like, but "B" has me going "Wait, this is a B-level team? A bunch of our girls could compete for spots here" and "C" is "Well, at least they'll play some teams better than the rec teams in our area.... and it doesn't hurt to just play more games and get more experience."
This describes our area. DD’s 12u C team played in an open tournament this Summer. A mixture of C and B teams signed up. Her team wasn’t very good but they managed to stay with the B teams they played for most of the game. It was the lack of depth in hitting and poor OF defense that lost the games. Our top 4 players could have easily played for any of the B teams we played against. 2 of the 4 were also our pitchers which is how we stayed in most of those games.
We moved DD to a “B” team that are all first year 14u players like herself. As a team…the squad has been together a couple years already but the bulk of the girls were aging out of 12u like DD. The big difference I’ve seen in their practices is how many more girls on the team can field, throw, and hit consistently. On DD’s C team only 4 or 5 could make that happen.
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