Help me understand this?

[Softball4eva]

Is it common for a LL board member (with full oversight of the girls softball signups) to dictate who goes to minors regardless of age differences? He told several 6th grader parents (at fall signups) that their daughters would stay down in minors. Regardless of them being second or third season players (not new), as well as major age bracket 6th graders.
Some parents went to the president of LL, and he was caught stacking a team around his 4th grade DD that he also coaches.
I'm just curious how common this is out there?

 

[ArmWhip]

Stunts like that are more common in baseball but it does happen in softball also. It sounds like a major breaking of the rules, it's one thing to stack a team, it's something else when you do it by going around the age rules. If you don't get any satisfaction with the league officials you might try calling LL headquarters, since it involves player ages there might be strict LL requirements.

 

[Softball4eva]

Thanks for the reply, armwhip. Does his board member role as softball team organizing of the teams make him the player agent?
We certainly see the "conflict of interest" in the role he carries out.

Our daughter played this recent fall ball season mentioned as a 6th grader 11yo (middleschool). Spring/allstars season was still minors for her and her friends, but this fall was supposed to be the breakaway from that board member/coach. We can only conclude that he was upset to see 10 players move up to majors, their birthday bracket.
Here's the blantant: There were 10 minors (by birthday) at signup, and 10 majors. Yet he contacted us and said only 5 of us were "signed" for majors, and 15 for minors, and we could either sit out the season, or play as minors through a draft.
Luckily, the parents became privy to this, and spoke up to board president.. not wanting to combine their 3rd graders, likely sitting on a bench with 6th graders running the game, and vice versa.

The issue was remedied, but to our dismay, this board member recently got voted back in. Apparently he's an asset to fundraising.
The vice president warned our coach to not get comfortable thinking we're keeping our team together as a group in spring...that they're will be drafting, because Mr. Shenanigans is playing his 4th gradeDD all the way up to majors come spring.

 

[Softball4eva]

For clarity...All of this is LL reference and not a middleschool team

 

[RADcatcher]

This week a family told me the little league coach told them even if they don't play in the league games he would still like to have her come play on the All-Star team when it gets selected. Which just sounds extremely peculiar that somebody who didn't play during the season could then come play All Stars.

Yep shhhtuff happens.

 

[Softball4eva]

Raddcatcher... Lol

That very coach/board member I'm talking about was one game shy of meeting the games criteria of allstars, as well as not coaching enough games for himself to be there...yet, they fudged the papers

 

[PJR202]

This week a family told me the little league coach told them even if they don't play in the league games he would still like to have her come play on the All-Star team when it gets selected. Which just sounds extremely peculiar that somebody who didn't play during the season could then come play All Stars.

Yep shhhtuff happens.

Our LL requires any middle school player who misses games/practices for MS games/practices to still attend 1 practice per week and play in 5 games in order to play in all stars. It hasn't been an issue yet because I was scheduling with LL in mind. I'm not scheduling anymore though.

 

[RADcatcher]

Fudge comes in all sorts of varieties...
Some are nuttier than others.

 

[tim_s]

our rec league holds player assessments....all players ar ranked 1-5 on throwing/hitting/fielding grounders/pop ups....we also make notes re following directions, etc

every player is ranked

we highlight those with P & C experience....we start by making sure they are spaced out accordingly

then we start placing players, based on rank, to make even teams.....ranks aren't perfect, but they are a start.....we do our best to accommodate requests (siblings together, players together due to rideshare, etc)...but making even teams is our #1 goal

if your rec league does not have some sort of system to create equitable competition, you leave yourselves open to BS.....