How is this for an unfair tournament draw

[andyh64000]

Our LL district is putting on a mid-season tournament. 14 teams total with 7 in each pool and only games within the pool so some lucky team gets to play 4 pool play games (which is us...and honestly I am happy to get an extra game...except...).

Here is the rub: All pitchers can throw only 9 total innings for the tournament and that 4th pool play game will count in the standings.

 

[amanda_cake]

That really, really sucks. I hope you have some good pitching.

 

[andyh64000]

Nope...we have 1 good pitcher

 

[Ade's Dad]

Guess I would pitch the outfielders through the pool games .

 

[DonnieS]

Then play real softball, not little league.

 

[Coach Al]

Then play real softball, not little league.

I wasn't going to go there, but Donnie said it! Over the last 20 years the baseball/softball organizations that are Little League in this area have opted out of LL play in favor of ASA, NSA or almost anything else. Now I am not very well versed in LL rules. I was told it was because of restrictive rules and the level of competition was low. LL made many innovations to youth baseball, but IMHO they get far to much coverage as they represent a small percentage of baseball/softball players in this country.

 

[andyh64000]

My daughter plays both and I enjoy coaching so I coach he LL team (I don't coach her select team) and you are right it is like night and day (my wife hates going to the LL games).

To make matters worse you have to be top 4 in the pool to advance to Sunday.

 

[DonnieS]

When LL softball came to our area, a LL honcho called and asked if I would be interested. I said sure, tell me about it. He started explaining the rules, first rule I questioned was the leaving a base after the ball passes the batter. I asked him to explain it and he said girls at this age cant throw runners down at 2nd so this gives them time to learn. I invited him to come out and watch my team play, 10u at the time, we had two very good catchers and both could throw out runners at 2nd, one from her knees. Then he got into the pitching innings rules - and I asked him where these ideas came from. He started this long line about the research LL did, but what he told me was the same rules that boys had. I told him that it seemed to me that they were trying to dumb down competition so that the more talented girls would be held back. He argued that this was all wrong. Anyway, I said no thanks. Over the years I would get girls at my practice that would want to try out for my team and I would get girls who played LL in the small towns around here. It got to the point that I told the girls who played LL that I would rather they stayed home, laid on the couch and ate fritoes rather than play LL, at least we didnt have to break the bad habits they got from LL.

 

[John T]

The way I look at it they are trying to get the teams to develop pitchers. My daughter is a pitcher and I will be damned if she is going to pitch the entire tournamant with no rest or more than half of it. At that age they are too youg to be pigeon holed into one position.

I worry that travel teams are going to drown out the "House" leagues and some of the kids are going to be left behind at such a young age. 10U or 12U is far too young for kids to be left out. They are still growing into their bodies and learning how use them and we are weeding out what could be the best players (Michael Jordan was a bench warmer).

My $.02

 

[Coach JV]

Our rec league switched out of LL for this reason. I worked the state LL
tourney last summer and the best team did not advance becaise of pitching
limitations. They had 2 games go into xtra innings so they burned up one too many
pitchers. LL rules are for the boys, LL is driven by the boys