Road to the LLWS 2023 edition

[The Man In Blue]

Here is the opportunity though, @Lance Steckler … travel teams are essentially “privately owned.” That means it’s my club, I rule. With community orgs, if you can get people involved, true change can occur.

Imagine if somebody took their administrative travel ball experience and joined a local org to contribute … Change takes time, but it can happen.

You also made me think of something else … kids don’t play LL for college scholarships, but that seems to be the main driver of travel ball. Selfish or team oriented playing?

 

[Vertigo]

And just to add to the community piece of LL - a SEPA team just punched their ticket to the LLWS (baseball) and the local watering hole (next county over) erupted in applause and cheers as they had the game on TV. My FB feed is currently blowing up with the news about this team. It helps that they won their Sectional Championship at our LL field.

 

[OmniscientFan]

Today's semifinal game was a pretty good watch. A back and forth affair between defending champs Midway, TX and a North Carolina team. The starting pitchers did a nice job of hitting their spots, which the NC pitcher took full advantage of with a very generous "outside corner." Overall, as one might have expected, it was a much better brand of softball than I saw when the regionals were televised. This type of game could help grow the sport.

 

[_MIA_]

This type of game could help grow the sport.

Is the sport retracting??

The OK team that won it 2 years ago had a Class A TB team and the current 2nd ranked (EI) kid in the 2027 class hitting bombs all over the yard..Sport should have grown exponentially from that..

 

[OmniscientFan]

Is the sport retracting??

The OK team that won it 2 years ago had a Class A TB team and the current 2nd ranked (EI) kid in the 2027 class hitting bombs all over the yard..Sport should have grown exponentially from that..

I think it is retracting, at least a little bit, in SE Mass. My daughter's high school of 2500+ kids has needed to enlist 8th graders just to have a JV team the last couple years. It was a close and exciting game that was relatively well-played, as opposed to what some of the commenters were mentioning earlier in the tournament. Will it have any impact on the growth of the game? Probably not, but you never know.

 

[_MIA_]

I think it is retracting, at least a little bit, in SE Mass. My daughter's high school of 2500+ kids has needed to enlist 8th graders just to have a JV team the last couple years.

Fair enough. The college game is more popular than ever but that doesn’t mean it is that way at the grassroots level.

In 2023 most kids get introduced to sports via their parents. If the game is retracting it is likely because the parents are deciding to have them do something else when they are little (like I should have done..)

 

[BillyB]

I haven't read all the way through this, but one of our girls moved to Texas from Sioux Falls, SD and is on the SW Texas team so I've been even more dialed in. Lot of bad fundamentals in the tourny and as an outfield dad, it's been atrocious decision making and bad play more than not. Super surprised, until you understand the money these areas have to build up to even become part of this.

 

[Vertigo]

I haven't read all the way through this, but one of our girls moved to Texas from Sioux Falls, SD and is on the SW Texas team so I've been even more dialed in. Lot of bad fundamentals in the tourny and as an outfield dad, it's been atrocious decision making and bad play more than not. Super surprised, until you understand the money these areas have to build up to even become part of this.

Again, as I mentioned on here before - it will be a summer to remember for these girls, their parents, and their communities. If you feel the level of play is that terrible for teams made up of 10-12 y/o girls, just change the channel. Put PGF on and call it a day.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Fair enough. The college game is more popular than ever but that doesn’t mean it is that way at the grassroots level.

In 2023 most kids get introduced to sports via their parents. If the game is retracting it is likely because the parents are deciding to have them do something else when they are little (like I should have done..)

Depending on the age, I would say parents or friends. Putting these games on TV doesn't necessarily drive a kid into the sport, but it provides exposure and a potential hook.

What drives kids out of the game, though? Lack of opportunity. Thinking they aren't good enough. Bad experiences. This is why the death of community ball does lead to the death of the sport. It isn't about the quality of play, it is about the opportunities it provides. It is about getting kids into the game and keeping them there. The worst thing that could happen to the game happened when travel ball began the "everybody who can pay plays" era.

More ball, at all levels, is not a bad thing. While some would argue that those programs can still exist, I will point out that it is a team sport and we have shown that they don't. When kids who don't really belong on a "competitive" team are taken away from community ball so that a (not-really-)competitive team can round out a roster to chase dad's delusional fantasy, it impacts the game as a whole. It isn't just one kid, it is multiple kids ... a team ... a community ... a program ...

 

[_MIA_]

Depending on the age, I would say parents or friends. Putting these games on TV doesn't necessarily drive a kid into the sport, but it provides exposure and a potential hook.

What drives kids out of the game, though? Lack of opportunity. Thinking they aren't good enough. Bad experiences. This is why the death of community ball does lead to the death of the sport. It isn't about the quality of play, it is about the opportunities it provides. It is about getting kids into the game and keeping them there. The worst thing that could happen to the game happened when travel ball began the "everybody who can pay plays" era.

More ball, at all levels, is not a bad thing. While some would argue that those programs can still exist, I will point out that it is a team sport and we have shown that they don't. When kids who don't really belong on a "competitive" team are taken away from community ball so that a (not-really-)competitive team can round out a roster to chase dad's delusional fantasy, it impacts the game as a whole. It isn't just one kid, it is multiple kids ... a team ... a community ... a program ...

I don't disagree I guess. The "problem" with softball/baseball is that it is a sport that has many skills that take a lot of reps to master. If you don't get the reps, unless you are surpremely talented, you will eventually fall behind and regardless of what anybody says being good at something makes it a lot more fun. In 2023 , when playing with your friends is almost nonexistent, how does one get reps? Parents...