| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| stanlewis |
Posted - 03/30/2010 : 09:34:42
Although the subject of teams picking up players has been discussed to great lengths, there are many that still want to discuss the subject. On the opposite side, I have received input that people are tired of tournament related posts, teams looking for players posts, etc being turned into a discussion of who had borrowed players or you aren't being fair to your existing players comments.
Anyone wanting to discuss this subject can do so in this thread. It needs to be a generic discussion and not mention teams directly or indirectly. There have been several instances where teams have been accused of picking up players and it has turned out to be false. You are free to discuss the merits of the subject, just not condemn specific teams, coaches or players. I personally would like to hear comments about the effect smaller rosters sizes, tournaments almost every weekend and the pressure some teams are under that anything less than winning a tournament is failure have had on teams picking up players.
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| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| coachdan06 |
Posted - 07/18/2010 : 08:52:03
REAL BAD IDEA
REAL BAD IDEA
NEVER works and for good reasoning - the families who paid up monies for junior to play ball are now forced to watch him sit so the latest hot shot who can help win a kids ball game can come in and save the day
Too often he dont save the day he may even lose the day then what to say and why go there any how
Two words TEAM and GREED come in to play
REAL BAD IDEA
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| 3up-3down |
Posted - 07/10/2010 : 22:56:41
It's understandable to pick up an extra player if your whole team is not going and you will be short. If you release players who have been with you all year, or bench them entirely, just to pick up a couple studs to win the game for you, that is wrong, especially at the younger ages. Those coaches only are doing it for the bragging rights for plastic trophies. |
| DecaturDad |
Posted - 07/10/2010 : 20:12:24
WBBulls, I am not a coach. Just a dad who is proud of the way his team is coached. |
| WPBulls Coach |
Posted - 07/10/2010 : 11:30:13
Decatur and Buckeye,
If I had a 10 y/o I would want him playing for you guys! Keep up the good work! |
| DecaturDad |
Posted - 07/09/2010 : 12:07:18
Buckeye,
I agree completely. My son is also on a competative, but not elite 10u team. We enjoy this team because all the kids and parents enjoy the baseball weekends so much. We have only added players when we were unable to field nine due to other commitments with the players on the team. We have never brought someone in just to make us stronger. i don't want to send the message that our kids are not good enough, and we need help. In fact, we made it to the sweet sixteen in Cooperstown a few weeks ago. But by then, we just had nothing left. But the kids enjoyed playing together so much, I was happier that they made it as far as they had then if we had brought in a bunch of studs just for the week.
But then, for an elite team, if the expectation truely is winning the big games, I can see why that extra gun could help. My son has been asked a few times to help out. We have done it for teams we knew that had a player shortage, but turned down the big events where it would just be for the win.
Just my personal opinion.
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| SSBuckeye |
Posted - 07/09/2010 : 08:33:24
Of course you are right that once the game begins there's not a player or coach in either dugout that is not focused on winning. We certainly agree there. The differences in opinion on this topic can be explained by the reason these teams form in the first place.
Some folks head to these tournaments with the sole aim to win the whole thing. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. And, as the kids get older (my boys are 6, 8 & 10) and getting noticed by recruiters and scouts becomes important for the futures of some of these kids, I can absolutely see stacking a team to the best of my ability. But at the younger ages like 8u & 10u, my main objective is to make sure my players have a GREAT time on these trips and associate nothing but fun when it comes to the game of baseball, that the families feel like their son is getting taken care of and are getting a reasonable return on their investment, and that we spend as much time as a team at the pool (allowing the coaches to sip on a few beers with the dads).
To me, the younger ages is more about the families. I coach a competitive, but not elite, 10u team, so my perspective is naturally different than someone coaching a top tier ECB team. So, whoever said there is no cookie cutter approach to this stuff is dead on. Short of injury, we're taking our team, not a collection of studs, to whatever tournament we decide to play in at the close of next season. Doesn't make me a better or worse coach, just one with a different mission statement.
quote:
Originally posted by G-Man
I may be criticized for saying this BUT. Anyone who plays a competitive sport on a competitive team it is about winning. I am sure none of us parents, coaches or the kids want to go to a tournament without the thought of trying to win it. So with that in mind it is about winning.
quote:
Originally posted by Tball
Other than injury or a family that can't make the trip for whatever reason. Go with what got you there, otherwise it is about the winning and nothing more.
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| Alter-Ego |
Posted - 07/08/2010 : 22:52:44
There are just too many different scenarios that this falls into to be able to come up with a blanket rule. Especially as you get older. I know at the early ages it seems like a horrible thing, but when you are playing 20 games in 10 days, having extra players keeps from overusing kids. |
| G-Man |
Posted - 07/08/2010 : 22:16:27
I may be criticized for saying this BUT. Anyone who plays a competitive sport on a competitive team it is about winning. I am sure none of us parents, coaches or the kids want to go to a tournament without the thought of trying to win it. So with that in mind it is about winning.
quote:
Originally posted by Tball
Other than injury or a family that can't make the trip for whatever reason. Go with what got you there, otherwise it is about the winning and nothing more.
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| Tball |
Posted - 07/08/2010 : 19:11:02
Other than injury or a family that can't make the trip for whatever reason. Go with what got you there, otherwise it is about the winning and nothing more. |
| bambino_dad |
Posted - 07/08/2010 : 17:19:10
Not usually a great idea. My experience is that unless the kids are pitchers or catchers or are position players filling in only due to injury or absence, it's not worth the headache.
However, when the above conditions are met for picking up players the benefits are definitely worth it. Deep pitching and solid catching can win a big, competitive, tournament.
On the other hand, when the above conditions are not met the sheer pressure to play - especially if it's an end-of-season tourney - based on the investment of time and money becomes overwhelming for the parents of those players who are the 11th or 12th players on the platoon/sub list. Rare is the parent who accepts less playing time for their kid calmly. They will let you know by attitude, action, or altercation. It can either ruin a tournament experience or destroy a team.
I have been on all three sides of this dilemma: the parent of a player who was picked up, the 11th/12th player parent, and an assistant head coach who made a decision to pick-up players. Unfortunately our staff chose to pick up all-star kids not based on any of the above conditions and a great team was ruined in the process.
My 2 cts.
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| Spartan4 |
Posted - 07/07/2010 : 15:08:33
10 BB
Your son is one of the kids I will go out of my way to watch play in the 11u division. I first saw him play in the fall with the Stixx 2 seasons ago and I was very impressed. While I don't think I would rate any facet of his game as average I totally agree that I have only seen a handful of other boys with his total love for the game and his competitive drive. Many boys could be a lot better if they watched the way he approaches every game and every play. You should be very proud of him and congrats on that National Championship!! |
| loveforthegame25 |
Posted - 07/06/2010 : 22:11:50
10 games in 5 days, you need to pick up pitching |
| 10 BB |
Posted - 07/06/2010 : 11:51:24
My son loves to play for teams that need or just want some extra pitching or catching. He played for a team at Disney this past weekend in the AAU National Championship, this team won the event and would have without my son. He never even stepped foot on the field in the championship game but I feel that this is ok and that a player needs to know his role when it comes to being a guest player. I for one would never want to cause a team that is established any trouble because my son has come on as a guest player.
I feel like my son is a very likable kid and is a fierce competitor. Because he is this way I feel like other coaches see these things in him and appreciate his hard work and know that these are the things that other kids feed off of. His abilities on the field are average but it is his attitude that makes him a champion at heart.
I think any player given the chance to guest play should do so. |
| Spartan4 |
Posted - 07/06/2010 : 10:11:48
We have recently picked up with a team for a couple tourney's as well as the Grand Slam World Series, we have had such a good time that hopefully we can work something out for next year. A couple of my nephew's best friends from travel ball were also picked up for a certain 11U team and also stayed for this season and I don't see how they won't be back next year. I have mixed feelings with the whole "commitment" issue. A team can make a commitment to a kid who just stops performing, and then they have hurt the other 9,10,11 boys chances of winning. I know that if we didn't play for a successful team my nephew and a couple of his friends wouldn't want to play as many games per season. Winning is a part of the game and the boys need to learn to lose but there if all parties are ok with "guest players" then a team can seriously help their chances of winning. And regardless of what anybody says winning is important or we wouldn't keep score. |
| stanlewis |
Posted - 07/06/2010 : 08:51:43
I am pushing this back to the top as a reminder that we can have general discussions, but people are tired of hashing it out team by team.
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| stanlewis |
Posted - 04/12/2010 : 11:53:24
Just a reminder that this topic will be used to discuss the merits of adding players for tournaments, not specific posts. Generic discussions - not hashing out each team. From the comments I receive, people are tired of hashing out the subject team by team. |
| BBmaniac |
Posted - 03/30/2010 : 13:34:50
From the beginning, I do not think any responses have criticized any team for picking up a player due to a shortage of their players for any reasons....sickness, injury, school ball interference, vacation. This criticism comes when teams pick up players while sitting their own. And just to be clear, any team that picks up a player for a weekend should have plans to allow tht player to play. But when a team that has 3 to 5 of their own roster players on the bench and plays a pickup kid every inning of every game it is hard to percieve anything other than what most consider obvious. And most negative comments that are made are in defense of those 3 to 5 roster kids that sit.....they paid, they practiced, they come to every game with the expectation of playing with "THEIR" teammates. |
| kingofthehill |
Posted - 03/30/2010 : 10:44:42
I thought "guest players" was the only common thread that you guys have down here in the south. As a matter of fact I have been told that some teams take up all uniforms at the end of a tourney and then redistribute to the kids they ask back and the pick ups the next week. BTW, my son is available this weekend. |
| whits23 |
Posted - 03/30/2010 : 10:17:01
I am hoping to one day fall into the catagory of being talked about for picking up some players and winning a tourney. I just cant find anyone who is 14u eligible that wants to play free baseball.
Tough when you have school kids this time of year, you dont want to carry 16 to make sure you have 10 so you carry 12 and hope you can pick up one or 2 for weekends. Most teams get weaker when they pick up players unless your the top teams then they get the better players. You have to dumb down your team some as new kids do not know all the signals or what you want as a coach. IF any 13u want to play up or 14u want to play full or part time lmk then we too can me talked about ;} |
| mrbama31 |
Posted - 03/30/2010 : 10:12:10
Let me start by saying I love Travel Baseball and all it has to offer young men and their families. I do feel that in a lot of instances teams and players would be much better off by having rosters with a minimum of 12 players and ideally around 13 or 14. This would allow for much more reasonable amounts of rest for pitchers and catchers. Also it would allow for flexibility in regard to players missing time due to injuries, family issues, etc. BUT PARENTS will never agree to this because they want to get the MOST for their money. They want Little Johnny playing all the time. So coaches keep very lean rosters and then have needs to pick up to be competitive.
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