I had no idea where to post this, but let’s give it a shot here.
I was invited by a neighbor to see his son play this weekend in a travel/select league. He used both terms. It was an u12 league.
Absolutely the worst baseball I have ever seen. They had them playing on a pony league field which was way too big for that age group. Not exaggerating, it was 80% walks, 10% strikeouts, and 10% bat on the ball.
Is this just a money grab to appease baseball parents?
Granted, I haven’t coached youth baseball in a while, but I was appalled by both the coaching and the talent. These kids should definitely been on a traditional little league field and having fun. Instead, after every walk or strikeout, eyes were down. Felt sorry for them.
Sorry to sound like an old guy, but it was really eye opening.
10-15 years ago select ball was fairly legit……you actually had to tryout and make a team….there were plenty of teams but not to the extent it is now.
Now there are dads that call themselves coaches….they take a group of scrub kids and call themselves “select”….i won’t get into the different governing groups but select teams do have rankings……they also are divided into AA, AAA and Majors……Majors is where you will see the kids that are your future college players.
The levels I am speaking of really are only applicable up to about 14 years old….once you get to 15U and above you are talking about high school kids and things tend to get less watered down….also, if you hear anyone calling 12u or younger calling it “travel” ball they are either naive or full of sh-t.
Legitimate travel teams generally don’t start until you are talking about High School age……younger than that, “traveling” is just for funsies.
What you likely saw was an incredibly low level of “select” ball.
In many top tournaments teams are required to have a certain amount of points to qualify for a “majors” tournament……you will see some really good baseball, even from 10-13 year olds.
In most tournaments, especially, “money grab” tournaments nobody really checks….the better teams will stay away from those tournaments……however, sometimes you get absolute idiot dad coaches that will enter their AA team in a tournament with AAA teams with some fringy Majors teams….then you get 20-0 games which isn’t doing anyone any good.
I could tell you some crazy stories……but hopefully you got enough information to know what you were seeing was not “select”.
Thanks, that was pretty much what I figured. So sad to these young kids thrown into a situation where they will probably never realize how much fun baseball can be.
I coached 12U AAA my last couple of years living in Austin. We didn’t win any tournaments but we were very competitive and made a couple championship games in the Austin area (Round Rock and Taylor). I was fortunate to have a group of savvy baseball parents that weren’t worried about winning tournaments which we very easily could have done if we played AA. We’d watch some Majors games and it was a whole different level. Usually saw teams from Houston/Dallas/Austin/SA playing each other while most of our competition came from Austin/SA.
Well, you did good @AgustusMcCoog by having them play up to competition……I guarantee that helped those kids get better.
When my son was 13u we took his team( Majors)up to Omaha for the Battle of Omaha tournament that coincides with the CWS.
Anyway, people that don’t know any better think that teams that compete in the LLWS are the best teams in the country. The coaches for the Great Lakes and the Midwest regions had taken the majority of their core guys and been playing together( select Majors )for about a year after the previous LLWS….Super nice guys and were trying to keep them together and “unofficially” get them ready for the HS coach.
We run ruled both teams……I have always said you could go to a solid tournament in Texas on any given weekend and find a handful of teams that would wipe the floor with the teams at the LLWS.
Little League baseball is not real baseball ( Mickey Mouse pitching distance, base paths, field size, no steals, etc.)
It has gotten bad at the HS level as well. Everyone thinks they should be playing at the highest level. It has almost gotten as bad as the AAU level in basketball. Every parent thinks their kid is getting a scholarship at a high major level when they would be lucky to get one at a NAIA school. Players that were getting cut from their HS teams 10 years ago never get cut. The big organizations will have a ton of teams in the same grade level because it is a money grab.
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Bultokid
("I've Done More With Less, My Whole Life")
8
I’ve been unplugged for few years now after our Baseball Journey came to end. They’re some extremely knowledgeable folks on here that can steer you right and are up to the minute on where the game is at now. Live right by the original BBUSA and it was designed for the best of the best to play against the same ( iron sharpens iron )…but…it’s a big money maker now for lot of folks. You get some coaches that flat out lie about their experience and unless you’re a baseball nut you’d never know. If a guy ever tells you he played pro ball just go to Baseball Reference and check it out…Baseball is a great game and part of it’s greatness is tradition and attention to detail on stats…if a guy ever stepped on a field as a pro, there’s a record of it. Lot of these so called “coaches” are full of crap…research them or ask folks on here.
ps- I wouldn’t trade a minute of all the late night drives, getting back to hotel at midnight and having to wash unis…eating dust all day…some crappy food…baking in the stands or on the field…loved it all
At the end of the day it’s all about money and sadly with baseball it didn’t make a difference cause rarely anyone was getting a full ride with scholarships since 11.7 was for the entire team
Now with roster limits it could change but it still varies but I know freshmen aren’t as valued on the D-1 level as a whole as it’s about JUCO and now portal player
Basketball turned into a money grab in the 2000s and now freshmen aren’t valued unless your a special type of player - it’s all portal and JUCO
Some parents gotta see what I see with their kids but they refuse to and keep spending
The group I am with only has two17 year old groups….we have one that 90% of the kids will go d-1 and a few that will go d-2 or Juco……a handful have been drafted….some very high.
The other group is made up of mostly d-2, d-3 and NAIA kids……
It’s not a money grab with us as 95% of the kids will play somewhere….mostly somewhere good….we definitely have schools that we steer them away from.
But one thing that is silly to me is the “A” group traditionally plays in Florida, California and Colorado as well as Texas.
Two kids in the last 5 years have gone to play out of state……that’s it. IMO it is a huge waste of money when 90+ % of the boys are staying in Texas.
You are 1oo% correct……and then you have other coaches that actually did play pro ball….but they just take your money and go through the motions….no heart in it at all.
I did not play pro ball….4 years of d-1 ball but not pro….but I can tell you this……the absolute best, most knowledgeable guy I ever coached with only played HS ball.
He joined the military out of HS and put in his 20 years……coached some….when he retired he put everything he had into coaching baseball……unbelievable coach……people would ask me what his “credentials “ were……I would tell them “his son is his credentials”……his kid was a high level d-1 player……would have been drafted in top 5 rounds but had a horrific knee injury skiing before his junior year……never made it all the way back….
2 Likes
Bultokid
("I've Done More With Less, My Whole Life")
12
Ain’t that the truth ! If I had a $1 for every parent that said Coach SoandSo who played in MLB said my kid has MLB potential…( long as he keeps taking private lessons with me ) I’d be a rich man …Agree 1000% just cause guy played Pro Ball doesn’t mean jack squat when comes to actually being a good coach. If you find a good coach stick with him, he’ll do your kid right.
I’m in the room with a former MLB pitcher who doesn’t do lessons but we’re watching these guys on facebook solicit pitching prospects to train under thim - in 10 seconds he spotted a major throwing flaw that was taught lol but that coach is getting $75-100 a pop
What always cracks me up are parents paying $100 an hour for hitting lessons~~~~from an ex- PITCHER!
More than likely the guy has not picked up a bat since HS……and then there is a good chance he was a PO……but there he his making cash giving “hitting” lessons….lol
Don’t get me started on which tournaments to play in. My son was on a team that had 15 D1 players that had verbled to high major programs. He had gotten hurt so he was like one of the three that hadn’t committed. We went to Hoover, Atlanta twice, Cary NC, and AZ. My son didn’t get a good D1 offer until he played in a no name tournament in Melissa, TX, which is north of DFW. Save your money and go to the local tournaments or at least stay in TX. There is a tournament in Melissa called the Don Mattingly tournament. Every school in TX goes, and just about every school in the SW. They even got a lot of Big Ten school that show up. If you play in that tournament, and you can play, you will be rewarded.
I’m all in for select ball at the age levels y’all are talking about. It’s all about honing the skills the players have demonstrated and that’s the way to do it.
Traditional little league definitely needs to modernize. Increase the field size and move back the pitcher’s mound. Allow real baseball rules for the majors (11-12 year olds). Lead offs, etc., at the lower ages would only slow down the game, endless throws to first and teasing by the baserunners.
LL is essential in order to provide opportunities for those who can’t afford alternatives. It just made me sad to see kids who should be playing at an appropriate skill not having any fun. And the money grab is definitely there at the lower levels.
Where should they be playing? Little league? Or just practicing “skills” as you say with no where to see if they measure up.
Those of us that know what we are talking about have discussed the pros and cons of “select” ball….and what constitutes real select ball vs. watered down.
And in HS it’s not “select”….its travel or showcase….but I’m sure you know that.