new A/B/C classifications for ASA?

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Jun 20, 2012
436
18
SoCal
My additional two cents:
Rec ball allstar teams should represent the best players based on the skills, talent, motivation the player has exhibited over the previous SPRING season. including the GOLD team... to say that 12 girls will be "tagged" as GOLD at the beginning of the season and all other girls can at best strive for Silver is BS... anyone that tells me those 12 girls will NOT be the GOLD players the next year and any silver player has a chance is dreaming ... too much daddy ball for that to happen...

The idea, as presented, is to allow for players to be moved onto and off from the team as the season progresses, and you don't have to lock-in your team until the normal all-star season. Good luck explaining to little Suzy why she is no longer on the "select" team at the end of the season. Think there's hard feelings and hostility now with the current system, wait until this gets implemented.
 
Mar 26, 2013
1,915
0
That would be correct, except the lure of playing on a "select" team for the more talented players will draw them to other leagues, resulting in a perpetual talent drain from a C-league with no "select" team to the B-leagues with "select" teams. My opinion is this: you should leave a rec-ball league to join a travel team, not to join another rec-ball league. ...
Better players already move between leagues for better competition. We had a steady stream from a local C-league when my DD was in rec years ago. I also recall a few players moving from our league to a huge league nearby.
 

JJsqueeze

Dad, Husband....legend
Jul 5, 2013
5,412
38
safe in an undisclosed location
As long as families have options on where to let their kids play to find the right fit why does it matter if it drains talent from small leagues? Is the concern for the league or the players?

The better players are already leaving for bigger leagues or TB so a select team is a reasonable way to try to keep some of those better players longer.

As for who plays on a select team in a small league, my experience is that the top 7-9 are pretty obvious and the next 4-6 are coin flips among a whole lot of girls. So I would have those top, top, top girls form the nucleus and the invite the next level of girls throughout the season to fill out the roster as needed and fill the last 4-5 slots with an end of season tryout.
 
Jul 19, 2014
2,390
48
Madison, WI
As long as families have options on where to let their kids play to find the right fit why does it matter if it drains talent from small leagues? Is the concern for the league or the players?

The better players are already leaving for bigger leagues or TB so a select team is a reasonable way to try to keep some of those better players longer.

As for who plays on a select team in a small league, my experience is that the top 7-9 are pretty obvious and the next 4-6 are coin flips among a whole lot of girls. So I would have those top, top, top girls form the nucleus and the invite the next level of girls throughout the season to fill out the roster as needed and fill the last 4-5 slots with an end of season tryout.


That has its own set of problems, JJ.

DD #3 was on a 10U rec league all-star team 2013, and the team did well. All 13 girls on the team stayed to play as an 11U tournament team the next year, and 11 of the 13 are still on the team for the 2015 season.

At the end of the rec league season, they put together a 12u all-star team. The older 12U players generally did not join the team. So, of the 12 girls on the 2014 12U all-stars, 9 had played together the year before, and for several summer tournaments. (One of the other girls played on the 10U all-star team).

Just that small disruption in the team made a huge difference. There were now 3 girls on the team who hadn't learned everything the other girls already knew. The all-star practices were mostly reviewing what 9 of the 12 girls already knew.

Not to criticize the 3 additions to the team, since they had some real talent, but the 2014 all-star team did not play as well together as everyone had hoped.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,210
38
Georgia
In GA ASA is primarily A-level tournaments. We have a host of other organizations that specialize in B-level and some in C-level tournaments. Not sure if ASA can become all encompassing, and I personally think they should stick to what they do best.
 
Jun 20, 2012
436
18
SoCal
Better players already move between leagues for better competition. We had a steady stream from a local C-league when my DD was in rec years ago. I also recall a few players moving from our league to a huge league nearby.

I'm a huge proponent of playing for your city. If you don't like the way things are done, then do something about it. Some people just aren't willing to make the investment and want things handed to them. That's not what I want to teach my DDs.
 
Mar 26, 2013
1,915
0
I'm a huge proponent of playing for your city. If you don't like the way things are done, then do something about it. Some people just aren't willing to make the investment and want things handed to them. That's not what I want to teach my DDs.
The C-league was in the same city, so that doesn't apply. I know some of the families tried to improve things in the C-league for everyone, but their efforts were twarted by a few oldtimers that controlled the league and ran it for their own players' benefit. Consequently, the families came to our league and their assistance was welcomed.

Well run orgs invest in newcomers by supporting their efforts in the beginning and in the process identify candidates to help run the org in the following years.
 
Mar 23, 2014
611
18
SoCal
I'm a huge proponent of playing for your city. If you don't like the way things are done, then do something about it. Some people just aren't willing to make the investment and want things handed to them. That's not what I want to teach my DDs.

Sometimes that is easier said then done..... There are people willing to help, make recommendations and volunteer but the "regime" likes the status quo. You've all heard it and seen it... So and so is a friend or plays the "worship" game and their kid ends up an all star. Same kid gets called for fall ball while others are told to sign up and see. Not saying all city leagues are like this but I've seen enough between both DDs. (Several years and regimes apart). It does teach people some lessons:
1. life isn't fair
2. you can't cry about it
3. accept it, change it or leave
4. Kiss a$$ or don't

Just concerned that a SoCal select team option will implode some leagues that are already seeing decline in girls participating.
 
Last edited:

MTR

Jun 22, 2008
3,438
48
Don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but ASA cannot arbitrarily change this. What is being discussed is probably a proposed change in the code that will be addressed in November. It should also be noted that if the board wants to get something through the general council, the legislative committee will lobby for it and it will become code.
 
Sep 24, 2013
695
0
Midwest
USSSA in the Midwest has prohibited teams from registering themselves as C. Its A or B only. If you want to be C you have to submit a roster and petition the board to be moved to C. Once there they can move you back up as they see fit.

It keeps teams from bumping down to C with players that have played for many seasons and with players that have played A or B ball.
 

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