Unfair (Unethical IMO) League Set Up

[GOINGDEEP]

What you have to understand is some rec, mostly competitive rec, *is a building block into TB, middle school, high school, and for some college. We had "such" a rec league like that.*

I'm sorry you feel so much frustration, but the other coach is just being strategic. I use to pick my core by the best players I had coached the year before. Then finished my roster through the draft.*

We always had ONE dominate team in each age group and 6-7 other even matched teams. Which you will find out soon is just about the same as in HS conference ball. Usually one ( maybe two ) are dominate, the others are less fortunate.*

As far as 16 age group not making. From someone who has seen it, it's mostly due to the better girls are traveling. They are also playing HS ball. 16 YO have a car and if softball is not their thing they are enjoying that first bit of freedom or some have moved to coed slowpitch to hangout with boys.*

I'll add this, me and my wife were the same age as you when we started coaching 4-6YO's. It took me that first year to understand the "hidden" rules. After that we won the league, regional, state every year........and our last year playing ( 10 u ) came in second in the World Series out of 700+ registered teams in 11 states.

Hang in there and good luck. *

 

[HornetsCoach]

If you don't have any kids in the league you shouldn't bother - why have the aggravation?

 

[ctfastpitch]

Sounds like a pretty lousy deal for the kids in a rec league. I have to believe there are a lot of unhappy parents and other coaches. Maybe time for a hostile takeover of the board to get the egomaniacs out. Alternatively, I guess all the coaches of the non-stacked teams could get together and agree to forfeit their games against the stacked team, and hold a practice instead. Not sure what kind of message that sends to the girls though....

One idea that our town used to develop young pitchers/catchers was to have free clinics on a weekend morning during the off season. Any kid with an interest could attend. Outside, weather permitting, and during the winter they'd use a school or community gym on a Saturday or Sunday morning. There would be a couple adults with enough knowledge to teach the basics (usually a parent of a kid who pitched or caught in HS or Travel). There would also be a few older kids that played HS or Travel that would volunteer to help out. Could also ask parents to throw in a few bucks to invite a real pitching/catcher coach to run a couple of the clinics to help establish the fundamentals.

It's an investment and it probably needs to be sponsored by the local LL or something to cover the insurance/liability stuff, but after a year or two, you start to build a pipeline of kids that start the LL season with some basics and some experience behind them.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Sounds like a pretty lousy deal for the kids in a rec league. I have to believe there are a lot of unhappy parents and other coaches. Maybe time for a hostile takeover of the board to get the egomaniacs out. Alternatively, I guess all the coaches of the non-stacked teams could get together and agree to forfeit their games against the stacked team, and hold a practice instead. Not sure what kind of message that sends to the girls though....

What I always found funny, particular or whatever you want to call it is...........parents on the average teams complained and cried "unfair" yada yada. But my team were at the fields almost every night, and a Saturday or Sunday to practice when the other teams were Rarely ever up there practicing at all.*

How can people complain about a team putting in the hours to get better and then winning? All youre doing when you break up a good team and spread them around shows me that other coaches want "something" for "nothing". Sounds like entitlements to me.*

Nothing use to make me more angry than for parents to say they needed my player for x,y,z's team. "No"!!! I coached them from 4-6 YO, we put in extra time, if she and her parents WANT to stay with me it should be their choice. Not some nut board member who sits on his tail.*

How did we get good? We practiced and worked hard from day one, not waited until 10-12U and then cry about unfairness.*

Just my 2 cents.*

 

[init4thegirls]

CT- I think we'll go with a game of see how mad you can make the other coach. It only takes scoring or holding them under 5 an inning so it should be easy. We're McDonalds and the owners kid is on our team so I think we can arrange some free ice cream after the game.

My wife pitched and I caught, so we've got that under control. Other teams, not so much. A pitcher/catcher camp is needed badly. From the looks of some of these daddys they didn't play ball at all. My little catcher did awesome last night. She threw out all 4 girls on dropped/ blocked 3rd strikes and threw a girl out on a wild pitch at home.

Going Deep- No offense but I'm not tryin to win the league or take advantage of hidden rules. That's the whole problem. We just did it because they didn't have enough coaches after sign-ups. This team in particular was hand picked in fall ball and practiced most of the winter. He didn't get them when they were 6 and make them better, I have no problem with that. Those girls deserve a return on their investment.

We decided to coach one weekend, picked the girls the next,(no try-out, just a blind draw) and started practice a week later. I'm pretty sure we've done about all we could in the time given. I put two rubbers in our back yard and have the pitchers come to our house when we don't have team practice. We rented batting cages, rented another city field when there were tournaments at our field, etc.

If the teams were average as you say, I wouldn't have a problem either. Like I said earlier day one, 7 of 14 couldn't throw or catch, and we're not the worst. Not really average in my opinion. I'm from Tennessee, we don't believe in entitlements, I think they already gave our electoral votes to the republican candidate, haha. I do think it it should be about the girls, not some grown man trying to be Joe Torre out there.

 

[init4thegirls]

If you don't have any kids in the league you shouldn't bother - why have the aggravation?

My wife really wanted to and I figured it was in my best interest. I wouldn't be aggravated at all if we didn't have 3 girls that care A LOT. At the second game I showed them their stats and told them they did pretty good even though we got killed. We just have to keep those girls from getting down.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

4thegirls

I'm glad you are doing it, even without a daughter of your own. But buyer beware, you may have so much fun that a "little" one could be in *near future.

Mine is now 16 and we are trying to make the dreaded college choices. I've been trying to talk the wife into one more DD so I can do it all over again. But that's another thread.

I think we take things more personal and winning has a higher stake when our DNA is playing. So just keep your eyes open, learn, have fun, and I wish you best of luck.*

Wait, where in TN? Me too. I'm in a little burb north of Memphis. What organization are you playing under? Dixie youth?

 

[3'sDad]

InIt: I'm at the the tail end of my Rec. coaching career - I was dragged back this season as the DD (14) wanted to play a final Spring Rec season with her friends, as she attends a differnt high school than most. I enjoy coaching and teaching the kids.

In my tenure, our league does an annual draft to replace graduates. Pitchers and catchers are selected 1st, with the league director and player agent present to insure some level of paridy. from there, its a crap shoot on what you get from each selection.

The biggest joys don't come from winning ( never won our lovcal league - runner up 5 times), they come from these things:

1. #14 hitter (we had a big rooster that year) has 2 hits in one game - the combined distance travelled would reach the pitching circle and stabs a rocket hit to her in the OF. Think that kid & her parents will remember that game?
2. #12 hitter on another team passing on playing rec ball becuase she practiced over the Winter has was selected to play for her middle school team.
3. 2 years ago our team lost in the final game buy a few runs. Thekids all knew after our last game we were going to Friendly's for ice cream amd burgers. 5 minutes of tears, then " Let's get to Friendly's and eat, Coach is buying!" That they may remember.

 

[SoftSocDad]

What I always found funny, particular or whatever you want to call it is...........parents on the average teams complained and cried "unfair" yada yada. But my team were at the fields almost every night, and a Saturday or Sunday to practice when the other teams were Rarely ever up there practicing at all.*

How can people complain about a team putting in the hours to get better and then winning? All youre doing when you break up a good team and spread them around shows me that other coaches want "something" for "nothing". Sounds like entitlements to me.*

Nothing use to make me more angry than for parents to say they needed my player for x,y,z's team. "No"!!! I coached them from 4-6 YO, we put in extra time, if she and her parents WANT to stay with me it should be their choice. Not some nut board member who sits on his tail.*

How did we get good? We practiced and worked hard from day one, not waited until 10-12U and then cry about unfairness.*

Just my 2 cents.*

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. Everyone else in your rec league sucked and all these other crappy rec leagues suck, too, and you're one of the only ones who did it right.

Since this thread is such a painful reminder to you of all the suffering you endured during your rec days, perhaps you'd be better off leaving this one to the people who might have an interest in helping the OP to deal with their present situation.

 

[init4thegirls]

Goin Deep- We're in Columbia, its ASA. We have a team from Centerville and one from Mt. Pleasant because they don't have enough for a league. They are average since they pool a whole community. More talent in Columbia but its all on one team for the most part.