The flute player

[djcarter1966]

Our organization moved to this model the year I left (in house rec and select). Our problem was we had 4 teams in 10U and 12U and we played each other twice then played other teams from the community to fill out the rest of our schedule....those games were terrible we never had a competitive game outside our org. I took "MY" team not the All Star team a "regular rec team" to a travel tournament (B level) just to get some competition we went 3-3 and were competitive in every game. This wasn't middle of nowhere either this was suburban San Antonio, Texas. Our All Star teams consistently went to state and nationals, basically was just an area where there we no real travel teams close (within 20 minutes) and everyone knew the quality of the rec we played so they just played with us.

I think they only had one select team and the others stayed rec....it was almost like pre selecting All Stars. everyone just assumes rec is just for fun and while fun was emphasized the competition was stiff....but circling back around this is 8U...

 

[_MIA_]

There are lots of opinions here, some good, some not so much.

In your opinion.

 

[texasheat]

There are lots of opinions here, some good, some not so much.

This statement indicates that while you came here saying you were looking for opinions, you weren't. You were seeking validation of your opinion.

Dr. Phil out..............

 

[The Man In Blue]

It's a situation the league has created by allowing league-sponsored select teams to access the league’s player database and solicit the rec players. The message being sent is that rec ball is for beginning players to play for a couple of seasons and then move to select ball if they enjoy softball and have any talent. Furthermore, select players are not allowed to play rec ball once they have joined a select team (even if they find select ball is not for them).

What’s left is a rec league fully devoid of any decent pitchers, catchers or hitters. I’ve been an advocate of allowing select players (not whole select teams) to continue playing rec ball to gain experience at different positions and improve the level of rec play. But my opinion has been in the minority.

And BTW, the previous coach took 5-6 players from the previous team and solicited players from other rec teams to join. Also, my intention is not to take my entire team to form a select team, but to take just a few and follow the above plan as the league has designed it. I’m not in favor of the system, but I’ve not been successful in implementing changes to it either. I'm not moving to select by choice, but by necessity. If I don't provide an outlet for my best players to play more competitively, they will be swooned away by someone else.

For the record, I am still very interested in what happens with The Flute Player. Please do provide updates.

Bold #1 above — There is nothing wrong with that, with some caveats (which you hit on). Please don’t construe my comments to say otherwise. Every player has to start somewhere, and rec is that place. (One of the things I was working on when I left was marketing for the program with a picture of home plate, our logo, and the slogan “It all starts here!”) Some players will stay there, some will move up, some will move on.

Bold #2 — I agree with this wholeheartedly! Our plan was to require the travel/select players to take part in a rec team. It not only helps them continue to develop, but it helps improve the quality of play for everybody. If you keep skimming players, the quality deteriorates quickly at all levels. It deteriorates at low levels because it is just bad all around. It deteriorates at the upper levels because you are pulling up players who have no business being there, but hey — you got your team.

Bold #3 — That’s where I disagree, and this is just my opinion. If you think coaching a rec team is the way to find bodies to fill your competitive roster, then you are the wrong person to be coaching a truly competitive travel team. If you want to be a competitive travel coach, you need to be holding open tryouts with a talented pool. You will take 11 girls you don’t know and your daughter (who may not belong there either). Anything else is about satiating your ego. (Using ego in the true psychological sense, not pejoratively.)

I’ve seen it repeatedly. Whether it was coaches from my rec program, coaches my daughter played for, or coaches I have seen umpiring ... it’s all the same story over and over again.

 

[The Man In Blue]

LOL ... a travel team can play more games in a weekend than a rec team will play in a month!

I suppose there is a lot of differences in what “rec”, “travel/select”, and “competitive” mean in each of our areas.

The rec program I was part of started practicing April 1, started games after Mothers Day, and was done by 4th of July. 12 weeks maximum. They got two practice times (one weeknight and one weekend) for 90 minutes each. Once games started, they typically played two games a week (which the weather wreaked havoc on) to the tune of 10-12 games. We used to have year-end tournaments, but parents decided they didn’t want to stick around for that.

This is a town of about 3,000 just outside a “major” city where our student poverty rate is upwards of 60% and 1/3rd of our residences are rentals. Over the years we played against other programs within about a 30 minute radius; but many of them actually joined our program because we provided maintained fields.

Adding another practice and a double header on the weekend wasn’t going to kill any kid who had the desire to play more.

 

[Tide_will_Roll]

8u Rec kids wouldn't know favoritism if it bit them in the rear. They know what color flowers they are picking in the outfield though.

My 8 year old DD plays U9 travel soccer and she knows what girl may or may not get the benefit of special treatment by the coach.

For anyone wondering, it's the best player on the team whose dad played professionally.

 

[sluggers]

Something that bothers me is the implicit "practice is work, games are fun". That is, the OP is suggesting that PT (playing time) is "earned" by doing something that is not fun (practice).

Practices should be more fun than the games. At the 8U and 10U age levels, the practices should be much more fun than the games. At those ages, kids show up for practice because they are having fun and hanging out with their friends, not because they are worried about playing time.

 

[badmonkey]

Something that bothers me is the implicit "practice is work, games are fun". That is, the OP is suggesting that PT (playing time) is "earned" by doing something that is not fun (practice).

Practices should be more fun than the games. At the 8U and 10U age levels, the practices should be much more fun than the games. At those ages, kids show up for practice because they are having fun and hanging out with their friends, not because they are worried about playing time.

The thing I'm just now getting my head wrapped around is that the girls work hard when they have fun. If they aren't having a good time, you'll get next to nothing out of them. It's still the case at 12U TB. Some of the girls will grind a little, but for the most part, if it's not fun for them they check out.

 

[uncdrew]

at 8U you may be correct. I know that at 9U Kids see it. They may not know what it is called, but they see it. My DD plays another sport. There is no need to go into details, but all of the kids on the team have mentioned it to each other and their parents. The favorite has even gone so far as to mention that she can do what she wants and not get yelled at or taken out.

as RAD mentions it is complicated because this girls is also a dominant defensive player. Is that why? Or are other circumstances?

Extreme cases, for sure. The subtleties of daddy-ball are only seen by the most insecure parents.

 

[bmakj]

at 8U you may be correct. I know that at 9U Kids see it. They may not know what it is called, but they see it. My DD plays another sport. There is no need to go into details, but all of the kids on the team have mentioned it to each other and their parents. The favorite has even gone so far as to mention that she can do what she wants and not get yelled at or taken out.

as RAD mentions it is complicated because this girls is also a dominant defensive player. Is that why? Or are other circumstances?

again, I think there are two different sets of treatment being talked about here

one is favoritism truly, where a girl knows she can get away with poor behaviour, and others see it and realize it as well.

the other is simply saying this is rec, every kid should be playing, and the girl did nto choose that seemingly disengaged dad.

two differeent situations, not really comparable.