Asa 2015 rule and code changes

[SoCal_Dad]

Right, it's not mandatory that these select teams be formed at all. As for players switching leagues, they're probably still going to do it. They will just not be all-star eligible, which is no big deal to the upper-level players anyway. Being honest, no one ever cares if weaker players are moved by their parents to neighboring leagues.

The residency requirement applies to select teams too. FWIW, I recall a number of strong players switching to stronger leagues back in the day.

From the way this reads, a travel player could play spring rec and be with their TB until the end of may, quit the travel team, then join the All-star team in a "C" league for the summer.

I don't see anything to stop people in a league from forming a travel team and suspending it for All-Star season. The restriction for "B" is much tighter.

 

[vcackerman]

Neither of those passed. There was also a proposal to require JO pitchers to wear a face mask, but that proposal was withdrawn.

Two that did pass:

10u will be allowed to bat their entire roster during all rounds of their national tournaments

16u GOLD and 18U Gold will be allowed to bat their entire lineup during pool play at their national championships

These were the major ones for FP, there were several other changes to the slow pitch rules.

As a 10U coach, I am glad that they will allow you to hit the full lineup. You know how hard it is to tell a girl or their parents they aren't in my best 9 hitters?

 

[Eric F]

What is the "residency requirement"? Our league draws players from a pretty wide area, including cities that have ASA rec programs.

 

[1bucketmom]

As a 10U coach, I am glad that they will allow you to hit the full lineup. You know how hard it is to tell a girl or their parents they aren't in my best 9 hitters?

But sometimes it sparks a fire in the player........Having been that kid and having that player as my kid too....

 

[CoogansBluff]

But sometimes it sparks a fire in the player........Having been that kid and having that player as my kid too....

Team can still bat nine. It's just not a requirement any more.

 

[CPEM]

It's going to destroy small leagues, like ours. This gives us 2 options, neither of which is very good:
1) Don't form the select team, lose whatever talent we've helped develop to leagues with a select team. Watch as the numbers slowly decrease until the league folds due to lack of players.
2) Form the select team, strip the regular rec league of whatever talent they have, watch the regular league teams get run-ruled in the inter-league games vs. larger leagues, and see a lot of "one-and-done" girls leave softball for soccer. But it's ok, because at least we kept the talented girls (and their parents) happy, right?

One option I read required the select team members to play on a regular rec team IN ADDITION TO the select team. That would help mitigate the dilemma faced by small leagues in forming select teams. But now we have competing interests fighting over a girl's time. Coach Select isn't going to want Suzy, his ace pitcher, pitching in any games for Coach Rec, but Coach Rec needs her to pitch this game. One coach teaches a girl to swing one certain way, and the other coach teaches a different way. Depending on the age level, our teams are scheduled 2-3 games a week. Add in the select team's practices and games, and Suzy could be playing up to 6 games in a week, and practicing 2-3 times a week. When I asked this, it was suggested that regular rec season then be limited to 1-2 games a week to allow for this. Again, we are sacrificing the regular rec kids season in order to cater to a few talented kids.

And let's not even start with the headaches and drama of basically selecting your all-star team before the season has begun. Oh, and who's going to manage it?

I've always understood the mentality of rec leagues to be "all kids play" while travelball is "only the best play." All-stars was an opportunity for the best of the rec players to get a taste of a higher level of competition. If they like it, and could get enough attention, then they take the next step to travelball. It gave every player something to shoot for. But the emphasis was always on the regular rec season first, then all-star season, so there wasn't any conflict. I think this change muddies the water a bit too much. It is my opinion that ASA is taking a step in the wrong direction with this, and participation rates in softball will decrease as the casual players leave to play other sports.

 

[coachbob]

CPEM - I think the ship has already sailed. Small leagues are already folding in the older divisions. Travel ball is not "only the best play" anymore, and that is why I think this idea has merit. The only thing I see here is that the larger leagues will rightly be able to keep some of their players from going to B level travel. The will also bring in better coaching, and give the younger kids something to shoot for down the road. They get to do all this with hteir school mates too; very cool in my opinion.

 

[CPEM]

They get to do all this with hteir school mates too; very cool in my opinion.

Not when the closest "larger" league is 3 towns over. For the casual rec player (and parents), that is just too far in SoCal/LA County traffic to fight 3-5 times a week.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

What is the "residency requirement"? Our league draws players from a pretty wide area, including cities that have ASA rec programs.

In the NorCal ASA document posted by Dabears17, both "B" select and "C" All-Star teams specified "All players must live in the approved boundaries of the Recreational League." This could stop the exodus of players that CPEM is worried about.

There shouldn't be an issue with outsiders playing on regular teams within the league. That's the way it was/is in Little League.

You should check if that residency requirement is included in the SoCal regs at this weekend's meeting.

 

[Eric F]

In the NorCal ASA document posted by Dabears17, both "B" select and "C" All-Star teams specified "All players must live in the approved boundaries of the Recreational League." This could stop the exodus of players that CPEM is worried about.

There shouldn't be an issue with outsiders playing on regular teams within the league. That's the way it was/is in Little League.

You should check if that residency requirement is included in the SoCal regs at this weekend's meeting.

I saw the language in Dabear's document, but it's not something I have come across for with ASA in So Cal. I will check on that topic for sure. For our league, we draw from a pretty good-size area, and some of those players make it to the all-star teams (and would be "select" players, if we go that route). I know that LL in our area has geographic boundaries, but I'm not aware of any for ASA. It could just be my own ignorance.