No composite bats

[T.J.]

fwiw...My daughters love rec ball too...as do I. The whole league is part of our town and community and I would never let my daughters NOT play rec ball. They also play outside of rec ball...but rec is a gimme.

As far as the bats...I agree and support the idea of just going to your local sports store and have your DD pick one out that is sized right and of the colors she (they) like (lol).

Your other option is to use the equipment that the rec league provides. Each rec league team should have an equipment bag supplied by the league, bats included. If the bats they provide aren't sufficient I would attend the next league meeting and ask the Equipment Director to make a proposal to purchase new Softball bats for all the teams, assuring they are appropriately sized for the ages intending on using them. You have some leverage here too in that the new rules have put a hardship on the many that play rec league...and the league should be providing equipment within the rules.

 

[BB875]

Not sure what you are asking, really. Andersen bats perform as well as any composite. I would make sure they are allowing Andersen's. I would say a Rocketech is a decent priced bat. I bought a prior year model 30/21 for under $200. Also, I am new to this site and I haven't experienced "nose in the air" attitudes. I have coached rec league teams for 7 years & TB for 5 years. I think a person could learn a lot about the game here.

 

[MTR]

I had one turn up at a tournament. A 10U team was using a baseball bat, my son actually pointed it out. All we wanted to have done, was to have the bat taken out of the dugout. The other team started to argue, the ump calls in in the UIC and he deemed it an illegal bat. The tournament had very specific rules for the use of an illegal bat, the player who used it was now out and her and the coach were tossed from the game. Not what I wanted to happen, I just wanted them to take the bat away. The funny thing was that this team's organization was the one running the tourney and they wrote the tourney specific rules.

Clarification. Speaking ASA, a baseball bat is not an illegal bat. An illegal softball bat is a bat that was once a legal softball bat that is no more due to damage. A softball bat with which someone tampered is an "altered bat". A softball bat which is not approved by ASA is a "non-approved" bat. A baseball bat is just a piece of non-approved equipment.

Anal? Yes, but when discussing rules, it makes a difference. As an example, the bat in question in this scenario should have just been removed from the game. If a player is caught using it, they are out when they step in the box with it or after hitting the ball.

There should be no ejections, well, at least, not for the bat just being there.

 

[rowdy]

If you want to use it for both the league and travel ball I would go with the Anderson. We have had a couple over the years and they are really good bats. The only thing I would add is some are end loaded and more difficult to swing so make sure you get the correct weight for your girls. I would also look at some of the online stores at closeouts and you may find some that are a couple years old that are still in new condition but marked way down.

 

[mad hornet]

When I was coaching machine pitch 8u rec ball I picked up an Easton Reflex (metal alloy) to be used as a team bat for $19.95. Honestly that bat performed better than any bat on the team. First time out one of my players used it and hit two screaming line drives to the fence on a high school diamond. I still keep that bat around to hit infield with. This bat definitely has the best pop for the money IME.