TB vs. Rec

[Pdiddy]

10u gold = Asa b
10u silver = Asa c

Usually anyway- at 10u. The gold silver thing is really just a name given by the league.

thank you....just semantics....also, I looked up USSSA also and it appears that they list "rec / all star" as their 4th level of competition in each age group...

 

[coachbob]

I AM THAT SAME HC AND WILL GIVE YOU MY TAKE.

I took a 12U Rec AS team around to travel in various events over the fall and winter up until the new SoCal cutoff. We played a lot of games (60+) and carried about 17 players from our league, including part timers. It was a great experience for them, and definitely gave them a better brand of softball to shoot for. Our commissioner was very supportive, while some of the other board members were not, including the outgoing commissioner who had a hissy fit. It was my intention to return to rec, (also a great 400+ league) and hopefully give these girls a shot at the gold team as they were mostly 2001 players with a great deal of drive. Many of the not-so-driven good players were doing other things or sports during that time. At least two or three could have left and gone to true travel if we did not offer them an alternative. I fully support our league and community softball. It was very tough to get diluted in the rec season, while the local travel kids were honing their skills at a higher level, but we muddled through. Most everyone who played travel with me in the fall made the gold team, as well they should. Miraculously, there was no grumbling. The rec leagues have to adapt to the times and the new rules, and provide an environment for the tweener players who could play B travel or rec. Many people do not want to deal with the large rec league B.S. that goes on with all star selection, and are leaving the leagues for travel-lite or t-shirt travel as it's sometime called. Personally, I love our league, and want very much to support it, but there is lots of softball to be played outside too (u-trip, etc.). As long as the board is progressive (I stay off boards), I will continue to have my older girls take a break in the spring/summer to play rec. I think it’s a shame that you are losing 10U girls to travel; rec is such a good time to interact with kids at different elementary schools who will be your insta-friends in middle school. Time for some thoughtful introspection on the part of your board members. REC LEAGUE BOARDS, LISTEN: You will not be around for very much longer, or will be much smaller if you do not adapt your programs and provide a higher quality experience.

 

[NorthMS]

As the President of a local Sports Association, that oversees our rec league, I expect the better players will migrate to TB. I celebrate it for them. We have some teams with multiple players playing TB, and we always try to accommodate our schedules. I guess we have it better than most. We have a good relationship with the coaches(baseball mainly) that double as TB coaches. I appreciate them volunteering in the rec league. They give better coaching than the kids would get otherwise and add enough players to have an extra team. It's win/win for us.

 

[coachbob]

10u gold = Asa b
10u silver = Asa c

Usually anyway- at 10u. The gold silver thing is really just a name given by the league.

B and C leagues are determined by other factors, like number of players. gold and silver are designations within a league. the gold team is usually the district team mandated to be highly competitive. the silver team is usually a combination of competitive and developmental. Sometimes the silver team plays in the district tournament too.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Please also explain why playing TB and all-stars would be a violation.

Most ASA associations hold that the All-Stars experience is reserved for the 'pure rec player'. That's why there are calendar restrictions (based on where you live and when the seasons run) on when a TB player must quit the TB team if she wishes to be eligible for All-stars. All-stars is fun, very competitive, and there will be players making outstanding plays, but with rare exception, any TB team (other than those All-star teams that become tournament teams) is going to beat EVERY All-star team 9 times out of 10. The TB player plays 9-10 months out of the year, whereas the rec player is playing about 2-3, possibly 4 months a year.

Here's an excellent FAQ sheet from SoCal which pretty much mirrors what we do in NorCal as well:

So Cal ASA – FAQ-Recreational Softball

 

[Little Angels Softball]

Please explain the violations. When you watch LL on tv, many of those players are from TB.

Please also explain why playing TB and all-stars would be a violation.

I think you are confusing Little League and ASA. Out here, ASA runs leagues that are exclusively for girls' softball, unlike LL, which is normally about boys' baseball with girls' softball added to help fund boys' baseball.

In ASA, "travel ball" is defined as "Class A" ball. All-Stars are defined as "Class B" ball and all-star teams regularly travel and play all summer against other league all-star teams. If a girl plays on a "Class A" travel ball team, she is ineligible for "Class B" play (league all-stars) by ASA rule.

Since Little League has no affiliation with any travel ball orgs (like ASA), they have no rules against girls doing both. Most of the good LL all-star teams are comprised almost entirely of ASA travel ball players. Usually it is because there is a very good ASA team in the area that isn't quite good enough to either go to or place high in ASA (or PGF) nationals so they decide to forego that route and have their girls play LL and go to all-stars with the hope of making it to the LL World Series ... a much easier path with far less competition.

 

[Eric F]

B and C leagues are determined by other factors, like number of players. gold and silver are designations within a league. the gold team is usually the district team mandated to be highly competitive. the silver team is usually a combination of competitive and developmental. Sometimes the silver team plays in the district tournament too.

Our league follows this ^. The Gold team are the best 12 players, and will have a chance to move on to Districts, States, Nationals. The Silver team are the next best 12 players. The Silver players get the honor of representing the league, the camaraderie that comes with the All-Star experience, and exposure to a higher level of competition. Without exception, all of the All-Star players - Gold or Silver - reach a higher skill level.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

B and C leagues are determined by other factors, like number of players. gold and silver are designations within a league. the gold team is usually the district team mandated to be highly competitive. the silver team is usually a combination of competitive and developmental. Sometimes the silver team plays in the district tournament too.

Our league follows this ^. The Gold team are the best 12 players, and will have a chance to move on to Districts, States, Nationals. The Silver team are the next best 12 players. The Silver players get the honor of representing the league, the camaraderie that comes with the All-Star experience, and exposure to a higher level of competition. Without exception, all of the All-Star players - Gold or Silver - reach a higher skill level.

That was our experience too. The Gold teams tended to mainly be the older players and I always thought the best younger players should be given some preference for the Silver team. Our last year in the league, they formed 2 Silver teams.

The all-star tourneys leading up to the start of actual championship play (e.g. District) had separate divisions for Gold and Silver teams. Teams from a C league played in the Silver division.

 

[Eric F]

That was our experience too. The Gold teams tended to mainly be the older players and I always thought the best younger players should be given some preference for the Silver team. Our last year in the league, they formed 2 Silver teams.

The all-star tourneys leading up to the start of actual championship play (e.g. District) had separate divisions for Gold and Silver teams. Teams from a C league played in the Silver division.

Both of our 10U teams are a mix of older and younger players. Although arguments could be made about a couple of players, our Gold team is the best of our 10U. Unfortunately, this resulted in all of the league's top pitchers being on Gold, leaving Silver pretty weak in that department. However, all of them are very good all-around players and deserve to be on Gold.

 

[Pdiddy]

In ASA, "travel ball" is defined as "Class A" ball. All-Stars are defined as "Class B" ball and all-star teams regularly travel and play all summer against other league all-star teams. If a girl plays on a "Class A" travel ball team, she is ineligible for "Class B" play (league all-stars) by ASA rule.

you all's versions of All Stars are "B" teams and not "C"...? In this part of the country, there are plenty of "B" teams that travel around and would be just fine to play in your "Rec All-Star" games wouldn't they? Or would they?.....that's if we had it of course, which we don't....but I'm just trying to understand this as you are not the first person to discuss "Rec All-Stars" here and still don't understand it or see where it's listed by ASA or USSSA anywhere....