"A" Ball

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radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
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[QUOTE, post: 578236, member: 8854"]
Interesting how stuff like this varies by region.
In CA, all travel ball is "A".
[/QUOTE]
Hence the confusion in calif. of who in travel ball is actually top tier or not.

No classification of team level , tryout adds can be misleading...or hard to decifer.
Looking at what tournys on schedules help to differenciate.
But still not a tell all.
 
Last edited:
Jul 22, 2015
851
93
In north Texas (at least a few years ago) there were quite a few B tournaments at 10u-14u levels. I always felt like it truly was a step up from rec ball for the kids who couldn't make most A level teams or just weren't quite ready to be that serious. Most of the teams had a few girls who could play for almost anyone but the rest of the roster was made up of girls coming up from rec ball.
 
Mar 4, 2015
526
93
New England
A, B and C is however anyone wants to define it. It's really a myth. If you have 100 teams playing 12U in your state, there isn't this huge gulf between No. 16 and No. 17 or anywhere in the pecking order where you can draw a bold line that everyone agrees with. And when you start describing A teams as 'having 3 aces' or 'no dropoff in the lineup,' etc., it's all relative. When the No. 16 team plays a tournament with teams in the 30s and 40s, it might appear that they have 3 aces and no dropoff in the lineup. And when they play the best 4-5 teams in the state, they might find they have 0 aces and several holes in the lineup. The No. 16 team may like to call itself an A team and define that as the best 25 teams. Fair enough. But the No. 12 team thinks 'A' is the best 12 teams. And the No. 3 team thinks there are only 3-4 ''true A'' teams in the entire state. Let people call themselves what they want, IMO. It's kinda silly, really.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
In SoCal we see a lot of "Gold" and "Elite" teams that are not very shiny and not very elite. :ROFLMAO:
not very shiny.... Or elite
"But its in the name of the team"

i called it confusion ...your description was spot on!
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
Hence the confusion in calif. of who in travel ball is actually top tier or not.

No classification of team level , tryout adds can be misleading...or hard to decifer.
Looking at what tournys on schedules help to differenciate.
But still not a tell all.

What?? Noooo.... :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
 

Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
You can call yourself whatever you want. The reality is most teams are “B” level teams.
“A“ teams by definition are supposed to have better pitching (depth) 3 aces basically and expected to compete for titles every tournament they enter.
“B” teams should be competitive but don’t have the depth especially in the circle to beat Legit “A” teams consistently.
“C” teams are basically Rec Allstar caliber talent/teams that can be competitive with some “B” teams but have no business being on the field with a legit “A” team.

Pretty reasonable definition. Additionally, a top-level "A" team will have a pretty deep batting lineup that can usually paste the best pitching on a "B" team or lower.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
It is all relative really. We have an 11U team here in OK who has not been beaten by a local 11U team in a few years but got their teeth kicked in a few weeks ago in IA by both 08 Bandit teams (granted the year before they double dipped the Demarini team in the finals of the Select Fastpitch World series but a lot changed in a year..) Obviously that team locally is an A team but Nationally..who knows.
 

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