Is Senior Legion Baseball in NC a past time dead sport?

The 2015 season will be all high school kids again. The method to how that is accomplished is included in the 2013 National Rulebook. National guys do a good job of running the program the right way.

 

South Rowan, Statesville, Wilkes CO in the South and Thomasville-Davidson combined with Lexington while Surry dropped. Down to 15 or 16 I believe> And yes, Legion ball is on the way out in my opinion. It has become an embarrasment around town due to the program being divided into 2 teams with 2 high schools. All due to a few individuals not getting their way when they were not allowed to coach the established program. This is what we call "Daddy Ball". At this minute, there are 4-5 existing programs that are finally joining this fight and hoping to get something accomplished at the State Commisioner ranks. At the recent Feb meeting, yet again a request from the newly formed team was allowed EVEN after our own Area commis. was adamently against it. It also was ruled on behind closed doors and in a secret vote, unlike the 3 other similar requests that same day. To top it off, these few adults that have been catered too over the last few years, and who were allowed to break up an established program are NOT veterans of war, not legioaires. Until new blood is intorduced to the higher position, it will continue to go away. Just ask the HS coaches in Catawba County. Ask them their feelings and what their plans are for summer ball. Ironically, that is our State mans home county.

 

Area 3 math

Last years, Area 3 north had 9 and losing T-David down to 8. Area 3 south had 10 but if losing S Rowan, statesville and wilkes thats now 7. 8+7=15
Only going to deteriate with current leaders. I heard cawtawba hi school coaches trying own leaque? I have always supported Legion finincially and spiritually. But really its the baseball. The crap nonsense has gotten old.


What if; we consider other options. That fall weekend leaque we play at Granite Quarry is a good model. Everyone likes that. Maybe rotate host sites each weekend and everyone plays dh's fri/sat/sun starting in may. Mocks, Rowan, L Norman, Kannapolis, Granite ect. all could handle the big crowds. just thinking

 

There is 15 different options to start with because folks no longer choose to unite to fix things, but instead branch off to do something new. The legion model is very good if the adults act as such. This is not the venue, but everyone has a voice. Programs tend to yell when things affect them directly; however, there is mumbling in the background instead of directing concerns through the proper channels otherwise. I've put together an online petition to help gather information to hopefully gain momentum to bring about positive change for our youth. Please check out the link to the petition for "Is NC American Legion Baseball heading in the right direction?".

Petition Is NC American Legion Baseball heading in the right direction??

 

Swing Away

Respectthegame… has credibility and a point. We have followed less wise men before so let’s give this petition a go. Damn toot’in there’s a mumbling going on in the background. To repeat down this road and expect a different result is the definition of insanity, but if it saves 1 team it’s worth a try. I will fill out the petition today. I Challenge every person reading this that would rather go down swinging, to strike out looking; please fill out the petition. K

 

It is time for a change in ALB at the top Especially the state commisioner and Area III commisioner . It is time to upgrade the program instead of downgrading it. We have lost 4 teams and possibly 5 in 2 years. and if there is not a change in the way things are done they will be more.


schedule - What kind of Mickey Mouse 6 game schedule are we playing. after the fact we found out the commisioner counted wrong 7 teams from the south and 2 from the North voted against the new schedule so that is the majority what's up with that. We could have 2 8 team divisions and play everyone 3 times 21 league games with the top 4 teams making the playoffs playing 3 of 5 series or a 8 team double elimination tournament at 1 site. I know the last place teams want to make money but just how much would they make playing 1 playoff game at home, just win some more games.and by making the schedule longer teams will play past July 4th instead of most teams season over when baseball needs to be played. Make this exciting for the players, fans and coaches nobody wants to watch glorified exhibition games. bring back the hay day of ALB.

All star game- Has been a great success Chad at Kernersville has done a great job we need to help as much as possible but something tells me that this is also a commisioners duty to help promote Legion Baseball.



We need to get something going for the good of the program instead of the negative, If we want it to be the premier program then play it like it is.

As far as commisioners they need to change and listen to some of the old baseball men beacuse everything new we tried has failed and this new schedule is failing before it gets off the ground. and whats up with the state commisioner not being able to interperate a rule about a release. It has all turned into a joke. that we need to fix now before we loose more teams, players , coaches and good leaders of the teams.

 

In a perfect world, I agree that every game should count toward making the playoffs, but that is not going to happen due to the large amount of extra stuff being squeezed into a shorter summer. You've been at this long enough....graduation & every picnic, service, party & trip that comes along with it. State games, family trips, college orientation, weddings, mission trips & the list goes on & on for reasons to miss a game. I would love for the level of dedication to be such that all the before mentioned "stuff" could diminish; however, some of the stuff is important like mission trips and some time with family. The gap between "other summer options" with extremely low dedication & old school legion with extremely high dedication has changed the landscape. Couple that with low advertising funds available and that is the main reason you see teams drop out. Yes, there is real problems that need to be addressed within the management of Legion baseball; however, after getting closer to the issue and offering an avenue for those issues to be addressed properly, I do believe that improvement is coming.

The 2012 preseason meeting was full of complaints about cutting down the rosters to 18 so soon. It's not fair to the teams that have high schools that go deep in the playoffs to have conference games until around June 10th so that is the main obstacle. How do you schedule a regular season that is full of conference games with playoff implications in 18 days?? Summers use to be longer. People use to take less trips. Things have changed dramatically over the last 20 years, but Legion baseball has not changed much in its approach. We have to adapt in order to survive. Leadership is not doing the same thing because it worked once upon a time. Tradition is important, but not worth extinction. We need to do what is right for the kids. Our program has made that our main objective and it has turned the tide for us. Did not happen overnight, but time & dedication will correct most problems.

Most legion programs are one person away from nonexistence. We need more people involved to avoid that being the case. I had 3 past players age 20 volunteer their time last summer to help with our program. Each one of them offered their time to help teach & coach the kids. Without me asking why, each one individually expressed that they wanted to give back so that others could have a chance to experience what they did as players. That is enough for me to reach for a better environment in Legion baseball and to remain dedicated to what we love. If you are not happy with how things are going, I suggest you get involved.

 

Let’s talk turkey, straight up, no chaser. Of course it’s time for change, past time; hell boys, quarter of the herd goes off the cliff might be best to mend the fence.
‘Most legion programs are one person away from nonexistence.’ That’s SO true; a guy or 2 in every team holding it together. But he can’t make much noise cause he gets the boot, down goes the team and leadership thinks that will show them. Bet not one of those guys, ok maybe one, had any input on the changes. Not one.
18 man roster BS crap: Hold them to protect teams in HS Playoffs! Except, 4th round of HS playoffs are over May 21, that’s a whopping 27 days sooner than conference games begin. At most 1 or 2 teams are playing on and if so we always just rescheduled that teams conference games. Truth is we want 22 or so players when kids quit or get hurt. So change the rule or don’t, but if you ask the teams that quit you may find that shady rule keeping played apart as well as money. Point is, the 16 guys holding it together are in charge, really. They should band together, stop wasting their breath blaming the commissioners and tell them how it needs to be. All issues, each team, one guy, one vote, live with it.
Don’t kid yourself; he can interpret a release when he wants to. Being involved is going to require working together cause you can't play yourself.

 

There is alot of things that need changing but i still beleive that American Legion baseball is about dedication and commitment, now some programs with a lesser draw must let kids miss multiple games . Where as teams with larger drawing pools can have stricter rules which is another problem {not a level playing field for all teams}.

As far as the schedule i think it can work . The reason everyone was allowed in the playoffs came into play in the mid 90's when the high schools expanded there playoffs and teams were missing players thru the middle of the season. I just think there is a better way to play more meaningful games longer regular season and shorter playoffs and make this something the palyers ,coaches and fans look forward too every summer like it used to be.

And the statement about some programs are just one person away from nonexistence is very true herd several the other day say they would not be back next year and hope someone would take there programs over.

Me personally i do not want to see this turn into some recreation baseball league it needs to stay the high level that it is and we need to fight hard together instead of against to continue to have a strong league and make it stronger for he future.

Leaders need to show up for the winter and fall conferences and voice there opinions {even though the commisioners don't listen} on how to make it sronger It seems the only ones at the conferences are the teams that are commited and dedicated to Legion Baseball that have alot of tradition.

 

In response to the previous two posts:

Our program (Kernersville) is about back to a point where we can be more strict with our team rules regarding missed games. Maybe I'm to soft, but that is honestly how I see it. Certain programs move a game or multiple games during graduation. If they choose to do so then I think that there should be enough days to jam the season in if that is their decision. Looks like I will have 9 seniors on my team and instead of fighting it, we will not play the June 7th - 14th. We have 32 regular season games so yes our kids still have to be dedicated. Do I like taking that much time off???? Absolutely, not; however, I do agree to it, but begrudgingly.

Because I've been there, the fourth round of the HS playoffs is not an acceptable time to begin conference games. I once believed different, until our 2010 season. Had one high school team in state finals & a couple kids in the college regionals. We did not finish 6th in the northern division because we wanted or tried too. I debated on rescheduling all our conference games until those guys finished their spring season; however, it did not seem like a good idea to play 18 league games in 21 days. They were honestly banged up when they did get there & we did not put our best lineup on the field until the 3rd round of the playoffs. The season structure has to figure these scenarios in because they are real and happen every year. The entire plan should allow for a fair, level environment. Any plan that takes the top 4 teams in the playoffs totally eliminates a team like we had in 2010. Don't think a single person that attended the State Tournament or the Regional would say that we did not deserve to win. With all that being said, that is my justification for a week after HS finals and that bumps into most graduations. See how the spiral goes. If you say heck with it, then plan on even fewer teams. I simply think we need to adjust to fix the main problems facing the regular season. I believe that the Area III schedule for this year addresses the most common "complaints" from coaches & AD's and I support it.

Lastly, could not agree more with working together. If all the responsible folks could get past "what's good for me" mentalities and work together, it would be awesome. There are some good people that have become bitter. I understand how it happens, but we have to put aside minor differences for the overall health of the organization. I believe one of hidden benefits of the Showcase & All Star game has been that the Northern Division teams have become more united over the last few years.