I guess I have a different philosophy on rec all stars than others on this board. What is great about forums like this is that different opinions and perspectives can be shared and we can ultimately agree to not agree. IMO the purpose of rec all stars is to win and bring home trophies. Yes, that will mean that some players do not play as much as others. It also means that a dominating pitcher, whether she comes from travel or rec, will play more than the other pitchers on a team if a coach wants to win. This past weekend the team that went on to win the 14U bracket pitched the same girl for all 6 games. This coach wanted to win at all cost. They had two other pitchers on the team but the coach felt that they were not up to the task of winning against the competition. His pitcher was a rec pitcher and has never played a travel ball game. She pitched 4 shutouts and, prior to facing my team, only allowed 2 runs, 1 unearned. Since she dominated the tournament should she have not been allowed to play? No way. In fact that team beat my team in the 2nd ITB when my 3rd baseman made an error that let the winning run cross the plate. Yes, a rec pitcher beat an A level travel ball pitcher. This is the second week in a row that my team took second. Just because a team has travel ball players does not mean they are invincible or guaranteed to win. A good coach will keep his team in the game and take advantage of the opportunities to win the game. Just my thoughts.
Should travel ball pitchers be allowed to play Rec All-Stars?
- Thread starter SoCalSoftballdad
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- Jul 6, 2010
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What team is this? We play in So Cal too and have beeen fortunate enough not to see pitching quite that fast.
Its slightly different in Australia, everyone plays 'rec' ball (as in that's the one that's played week in, week out) and then we have rep softball where the associations all play each other. So the top players go to that level. But everyone plays the base level so that everyone improves. It used to be graded (not enough players now, its usually one division for each age group) but now regardless of ability you all play each other. There were and always will be issues with certain teams 'stacking' their teams. I know my association in Sydney tended to be hard on it. (one coach lured a girl over to their club with a new softball kit. They started every game off with two runs for the other team. Very harsh penalty but he never did it again)
How are the rec players supposed to get better if they never face any decent competition?
How are the rec players supposed to get better if they never face any decent competition?
We only have two teams at the 13/14 level in our District in CT.
The pitchers for both teams play on the same Travel team ... both consistently low/mid 50's.
Once the teams go to Sectionals there is a mix of travel and LL pitchers and for the most part all comparable to the two pitcheres referenced above.
Batters need to see pitchers like this now to get ready for Sectionals ...
Looking forward to the two Travel team mates battle against each other in a few days!
The pitchers for both teams play on the same Travel team ... both consistently low/mid 50's.
Once the teams go to Sectionals there is a mix of travel and LL pitchers and for the most part all comparable to the two pitcheres referenced above.
Batters need to see pitchers like this now to get ready for Sectionals ...
Looking forward to the two Travel team mates battle against each other in a few days!
- Apr 12, 2010
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Where do all you people live that have/had kids.. who play rec AND TB?
My DD plays on a TB team here in SoCal.. and I'm trying to imagine exactly where the hell the time would come from?
Do these girls quit a TB team, join a rec team.. then vise-versa, and just kinda bounce around all year?
I remember a few months ago, my DD and I stopped by a field where a buddy of mine was having his DD's rec practice.
My daughter got up to my ear and whispered.. "Dad, did my rec team look this horrible when I started?"
To which I replied.. "Pretty much"
My DD plays on a TB team here in SoCal.. and I'm trying to imagine exactly where the hell the time would come from?
Do these girls quit a TB team, join a rec team.. then vise-versa, and just kinda bounce around all year?
I remember a few months ago, my DD and I stopped by a field where a buddy of mine was having his DD's rec practice.
My daughter got up to my ear and whispered.. "Dad, did my rec team look this horrible when I started?"
To which I replied.. "Pretty much"
Thousand Oaks, they just won Western Districts and are off to State. Good luck if you face them this summer.
"How are the rec players supposed to get better if they never face any decent competition?" (Lozza)
There is a difference between playing good competition and playing a team that is so dominate that you are playing for second place at best every tournament. I'm all for challenging your team against better competition, my only issue is a few teams are "stacked" with TB players during tournament play only and they are playing almost exclusively 100% rec all-star teams that have no TB players on their teams. At the 8U level, it just seems like overkill to me and might even be bad for the rec leagues. For example, it encourages coaches to now seek out TB players for tournament play, taking away slots that the regular season all-star players would have had. After the summer, the TB players leave the league for 8 months and than come back for summer tournament play next year. Not sure why ASA allows this?
Hi there.....first time poster, long time lurker!
We live in a VERY small town but an hour from a city that has quite a few travel teams, however, there are none in our area even if our girls did want to play TB. During LL allstars a couple of years ago, the team that DD1 was on won regions and districts only to face a team that practiced together year round and ALL played TB together. Needless to say, they were blown out and reallllly discouraged afterward.
If a group of girls wants to play TB and train together year round, that really shows dedication and commitment and is VERY commendable, but for coaches to knowingly put that team up against a team of girls that are only together for how many months out of the year shows poor sportsmanship and is not teaching his team anything about respect and dignity. A teams should play A teams where the skill level is on par for the most part.
Thats like sending a white belt up against a black belt.
We live in a VERY small town but an hour from a city that has quite a few travel teams, however, there are none in our area even if our girls did want to play TB. During LL allstars a couple of years ago, the team that DD1 was on won regions and districts only to face a team that practiced together year round and ALL played TB together. Needless to say, they were blown out and reallllly discouraged afterward.
If a group of girls wants to play TB and train together year round, that really shows dedication and commitment and is VERY commendable, but for coaches to knowingly put that team up against a team of girls that are only together for how many months out of the year shows poor sportsmanship and is not teaching his team anything about respect and dignity. A teams should play A teams where the skill level is on par for the most part.
Thats like sending a white belt up against a black belt.
- Jul 14, 2008
- 1,796
- 63
Travel Ball Pitchers (and players for that matter) are just REALLY REALLY GOOD rec ball players.......
Why shouldn't they be able to play........???
Why shouldn't they be able to play........???
Where do all you people live that have/had kids.. who play rec AND TB?
My DD plays on a TB team here in SoCal.. and I'm trying to imagine exactly where the hell the time would come from?
Do these girls quit a TB team, join a rec team.. then vise-versa, and just kinda bounce around all year?
"
That's exactly what some players do. Its my understanding that they play fall/winter travel ball until March 31 after that time they need to play at least half the games in Spring Rec Ball to be eligible for Rec All-Stars that starts around May 15th through possibly July/August (depending on if they qualify for ASA State or even National championships after 8U) After August, they can go back to play TB and the cycle happens all over again. For some cities, the Rec All-Stars team becomes a psuedo travel ball team playing in Rec "B" tournaments. In a typical 8U tournament with 12 teams, I would guess that 2 or 3 teams will have players on them from TB. You can guess which teams win the tournments each week and qualfy for State championships.
I'm just trying to figure out how best to compete with these "TB" teams using our 100% year-round rec players? Tough mountain to climb but interesting challenge.
