When is rec ball no longer rec ball?

[YOCOACH]

Chinamigarden-You're absolutely correct. My DD Is coming from a slowpitch division. However, we do have FP also and our FP teams play a dual season within our league and this other one that is comprised of other area league teams. The inter-league league (if that makes sense) pulls All-Stars teams from all the teams. The area leagues pull from the remainder of their home league. I'm moving up to take over one of those teams next year in our home league. That's why I'm asking and why I'm here...to learn as much as I can because I know I have a huge learning curve as does my DD.

Coachmom-You may be right but you have to understand our FP divisions don't start until 12u. So the kids, although fundamentally sound as far as throwing, catching etc., (at least in my opinion) are at a severe disadvatage when it comes to situational plays, drills etc. That's why the FP coaches practice so much at the beginning of the season. It tapers off as the season goes on to 1-2 a week at most because of the game schedule. As a lower division slowpitch coach, it is my job to get these girls not only fundamentally sound but to prepare them for the rigors of the FP teams' practice schedule and methods.

 

[CoogansBluff]

IMO, rec ball is as important and worthwhile as travel ball. One should not look down on the other. I see players in rec ball all the time who would be better than some of my travel players if they wanted to be. But they don't, which is fine. What separates travel and rec players is not just talent. The other two elements are the players' choice about how to spend their lives, and parental support.

Here is how I see the difference -

Rec ball is open to anybody who wants to play, assuming she is the right age, etc. ... Her skill and experience are irrelevant. If her parents pay their money, she is entitled to be on a team and play. Rec leagues give all teams a fair chance to be competitive with the other teams. In other words, team selection is supposed to be 'fair.' Better coaching, better drafting, etc., might shift the balance of power, but it's not about 'building' the best team, but doing the best with the players that were drafted or dealt.

Beyond that, it probably depends on the rec league you're talking about. Some are much more competitive than others. Some coach the teams more like travel teams in terms of how hard they work and try to win, how they do their batting orders and field lineups. Others are much more laid back, and winning and losing isn't very important at all. It's a matter of opinion as to where to fall on that spectrum. I'll only offer that parents/coaches usually want to win more than the kids do in rec ball, and that should be some guide. But it's good that some kids/parents have some choice in what rec league to put them in.

 

[undergroundga]

In our town rec ball, IMHO, sucks. There are about 6 teams. Out of those six teams in my dd's age group(was 8u). Out of those six teams there is maybe one coach that really knows what he is doing, the rest are well intentioned dad's that don't really know the game of softball, let alone how to develop a player. Each team might have one really good player that could play on a tb team. A couple teams had 2. There are other girls with great upside, but with poor organization and even poorer training most languish in below average mediocrity until they quit. It is not competetive, though you couldn't tell by the parents watching. Around here if you really want your dd to develop as a player you have to get her on one of the few tb teams.
Rec ball does have it's benefits. There is low pressure and girls can play new positions. DD can also play with her friends. We won't play in our local rec due to poor organization so we go to a neighboring town which has better instruction and is more competetive. Still it is not even close to tb. I long for the day when dd know longer wants to play rec ball. It's too easy for her to pick up bad habits.
I know this is not the case in some areas. I don't think rec players should be looked down on. That's where most of our girls started. But in our area, it sucks.

 

[nanotech14]

I have to ask this,what do you guys call slowpitch?When I think of slowpitch,it is a 6' to 12' arc pitch hitting a mat.They use to play modified pitch around here 25 years ago.YOCOACH, you live in Ohio , if you don't know the difference between Rec and TB , you must not leave your house much, Ohio has TB teams that can and do run with the best in the country. In your area there is thunder elite and they are really good.

 

[YOCOACH]

Nanotech14: Slowpitch is exactly that except we use catchers and believe it or not, make plays at home (in the 10-12 and 13-17 divisions). Our league uses it solely until 12u for play. At the age of 12, players have the option to move up to FP in the 12u or stay slowpitch. We also have a 13-17 slowpitch division. Many girls from around the area come to play in these two divisions (slowpitch 10-12 and 13-17) because around here, THATS what we consider rec ball. Even if it's only league play in FP around here many would argue that it's a blood sport and not rec ball. We have many teams, league All-Stars included, that play in local tournaments as well as regionals/states/nationals etc. that are not considered TB teams in the traditional sense. Yet, as I stated earlier, these teams travel to play tournaments. So I was asking what the definition is in other parts of the country to see if maybe there was someplace that had a similar situation and they considered them to be a Tb team. I have since learned that in certain areas of the country they call these select teams.

 

[marriard]

Nanotech14: Slowpitch is exactly that except we use catchers and believe it or not, make plays at home (in the 10-12 and 13-17 divisions). Our league uses it solely until 12u for play. At the age of 12, players have the option to move up to FP in the 12u or stay slowpitch. We also have a 13-17 slowpitch division. Many girls come from around the area to play in these two divisions (slowpitch 10-12 and 13-17) because around here, THATS what we consider rec ball.

I can think of exactly one SlowPitch girl's league around here - I am not even sure that that ran this year. My DD was confused by Slowpitch when she saw it as she had never seen it before.

Everything is now Fast Pitch and some start kid pitch as young as 8U (generally modified kid-pitch with coach pitch added in to avoid walk fests). Our rec league starts working with the older 8U's for pitching so they can be ready for the step up to 10U. We run Sunday evening sessions for our rec league pitchers with some local coaches and assisted by local high school pitchers.

 

[Quake Softball]

Around here it is pretty easy to define. We have LL, which only plays LL and then we have TB.

The thing that has always frustrated me is the snobbishness that people show for girls that play LL but what something better than that. They are looked down upon for trying to better themselves. Our team is made up of 5 girls that have never played TB before and people give us grief for trying to learn the game. I mean what are these girls supposed to do if they want to get better. Move up to TB is the only way to do it. This fall we are 7-13, but we knew going in that we weren't going to be world beaters. Quit looking down your noses at girls that want to get better. End rant.

 

[nanotech14]

Thanks for clearing that up,well I have to say that I'am shocked that young girls even play slowpitch other then messing around at a field before practice.Well not be a jerk,but my dd thinks that slowpitch is only for old guys,or women that can't play FP anymore because they are to old and I would have to agree with her.Not saying what you play isn't competative where you live.Are rec ball is FP,well I don't live that far from where you live maybe about 2hrs away,I guess I will have to check it out sometime.Well your form of rec. and at least my form of rec. is like comparing apples to oranges.

 

[smallball]

When is rec ball no longer rec ball? To me it's pretty simple. If every girl who signs up is assigned/drafted to a team, it's rec. When you start culling players it ceases to be rec.

The competitiveness of a rec league will depend on what part of the country you're in and who's in charge of the league.

 

[GI Tom]

One thing I agree with is that different areas in the country will have different opinions on this. Here in N. Texas, TB is much more common than Rec Ball. One doesn't necessarily look down on the other but everyone here for the most part understands the differences. The ones that can't compete consistently in TB move over to Rec and the other way around. There are complexes here built around TB associations and then sometimes the city uses those secondarily for rec purposes.

In the end, alot of it has to do with individual talent, some of it has to do with the individual girl's preference and lastly some of it lies with the parents. Due to the very large number of TB teams here in this area, it's simply not as big of a deal to hear "My DD plays for a TB team". Saying that may carry much more weight in a different locale. I am not saying that to demean the accomplishments of the girls here locally that play TB, or anywhere for that matter, just trying to give others an indication of how the two compare here in this particular area.