"A" Teams & " B " Teams

Let a team's record determine the quality ball it will face on the field..If a team doesn't match or push over .500 let that team play "B" teams and after it exceeds .500 then it can move to the "A" qualification..It doesn't do an "A" team any good blowing out a "B" team 28-0..or does it give confidence to a "B" team to lose 28-0....our goal here is to make the kids better in their abilities and train them to succeed in life through the tool of softball...............but if a team is losing all the time because it feels inferior to another team than I just don't see the positive results that we as coaches are trying to accomplish...put equal or close to equal competition on the ball field and you'll have a game !!! There is a difference in losing a ball game and just being slaughtered because the other team is stacked....I can recall on many occasions where we would be facing a "B" team and I would be thinking to myself ," This Is Going To Be Slaughter ", not trying to sound cocky just knew it wouldn't be much of a game.....I hate games like that..........don't learn anything !!!!! How about your thoughts ?????




Softball Guru

 

I understand this ain't REC ball. That is why we left the REC situation. If it is not good to slaughter a "B" team then why score on passed balls with a 17 run lead? That is definitely teaching a negative to the opponent. Right???

 

But you are missing the point---travel ball is DESIGNED for the serious player...............now my DD started playing ball by the time she was 5,and has been playing all this time up to now which she is 14, she has given up her summer after summer for ball......she is a great ball player,struggled with the bat a little toward the end of last season, but I would put her up against anybody in her defensive game for her age bracket....now lets say that we get to college and one of the teams is beating the snot out of the other........What do you do ???....you keep on playing your best ocourse, my thought may be that College "A" has done a better recruiting job than College "B"...but you don't punish talent and hard work.........you do your best and learn from those who are may be more superior than you are in a given situation....I have been coaching for many years, and don't know everything about the game........but parents are paying good money to play,and I'm not going to tell a kid to perform less than she can per her abilities.....


Softball Guru

 

Guru, I love the idea of an "A" & "B" designation. The only question is, who gets to make the initial designation? Do you go by the teams individual stats on the whole (school ball and if applicable or available, past travel ball results) or do you make the designation after 1 or 2 tourneys?

I believe that if these indiviual communities can get the girls started young enough, teach them the right fundamentals and make them want to learn, the girls will succeed from a young age. Don't scream at a 7 year old for dropping a ball. Wait until the proper time and help them learn to do it better. Stay with them. Tell them you believe in them and that you know they can do it. A lot of youth league coaches are failing miserably out of their sheer desire to win.

If my 16 year old strikes out on a good pitch, using good form, that is the nature of the beast. The pitcher got the best of her........... that time. Nothing wrong with that. She is applying every bit of discipline, training and know how into that one particular swing.

If she strikes out on a high rise ball, with her head out and rolling her arms and hands way over, then we have a problem. She has obviously had bad training or made a bad judgement, depending on the frequency of occurrence.

Am I making sense?

Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals!!!!!

 

Yes--- I believe we can take last years wins & losses and determine who will play in what category..............gray area would be "NEW TEAMS"..lets start them in "A" qualification giving them the benefit of the doubt and adjust accordingly as how they do from a couple of tournaments...Fundamentals may be there but sometimes our kids will pick up bad habits that will choke their skills until they overcome whatever they are doing incorrectly............I heard a wise coach say one time "Give Me 10 Orphans And I'll Show You A Softball Team"...........think about it no parental interference,no critical comments from the ones that the kids LOVE the most (PARENTS)..........you hit the nail on the head........got to be patient with little kids so that they will learn patience as they grow older........... Softball Guru

 

Some of the larger tournaments do actually split the teams up into A and B (Sweet 16, NSA State, Mighty Casey, AAU Nationals, etc.). This time of year and in the fall, it's not feasible due to the limited number of teams that enter tournaments.
Most of the time, you can see the teams entered in tournaments early enough to get a good gauge on whether or not the competition level is going to be what your looking for.
If it's not, go ahead and play up an age group. Nothing wrong with that if competition is actually what your looking for.

 

Guru
I also have a DD that has played since she was 5 She is 23 now and was fourtunate enough to have played college ball.College coaches do the same thing we do att he High school and even Middle school level. They put in there subs, choke the steals and stop playing the short game. Another thing we do at the middle and High school I coach at is if the above actions dont stop the bleeding we have our runners leave the bag early. Its all designed to NOT belittle another team or the girls on it. Just my outlook.
Ray

 

Ray,
Very well put. When those situations arise (and they will) the girls know why we as coaches are calling the dogs off.

 

I don't think that the kids are intentionally trying to hurt other kids by playing hard and putting what they have learned on the ball field,but on the other hand there are probably coaches that have cold hearts...I can't speak for them, but it just doesn't sound logical to quit playing hard because little Suzie hasn't trained as hard as Caroline...I have given over $10,000 dollars to the organization that I play for over the past (4) years....now if I didn't get out and work hard to get that money through donations it would have to come out of my own pocket........"Don't Think That Will Happen As Long As My Wife Is Around".....LOL.......I start campaigning in early Jan. and work hard to get what I need by the end of Mar........and yes pride is out the door when you ask people for help...But I love softball and I enjoy watching the kids compete....my daughter trains at least 4-5 days every week...and again she gives up summer after summer to play on the ball field.....she comes to get me when it's 90 plus outside to throw or hit wiffle balls,because she wasn't quiet satisfied with her performance at the last tournament..I don't think my daughter would perform less even if I told her to....Softball Guru

 

Different coaches and organizations have different philosophies. It will always be that way. Stick with what your comfortable with and good luck to you and your DD.