CCSSL 2012 - local article from Johnston Co.

The summer high school-aged baseball season gets rolling on Monday with the opening of the seventh season of play in the Central Carolina Scholastic Summer League. The league, which features junior varsity (rising ninth- and 10th-graders) and varsity (rising 11th- and 12th-graders), will add three teams from Johnston County this season, including the two-time reigning American Legion Baseball junior division state champions in West Johnston.

Teams in the league play on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, keeping weekends open for those involved in travel baseball teams as well.

After starting as a strictly Triangle-based league in 2006 with 22 teams, this year’s CCSSL features more than 70 teams and now stretches from Richmond County to Greensboro to Williamston to the Wilmington and Brunswick County beaches.

Cleveland is also making the switch to CCSSL play from the American Legion junior ranks, while North Johnston is making its CCSSL debut.

A change in scheduling for American Legion Baseball junior teams brought most of those new teams into the league.

“Previously, we’d finish our high school season and roll right into Legion ball, our coaches and players preferred that,” said West coach Mike Jacobs. “It allowed us to keep building on what we had been working on since early February. Now, everyone starts the day after graduation.”

Previously Junior Legion teams were allowed to start playing around May 20, but now they’re under the same restrictions as CCSSL teams, which cannot start until the week after high school graduation.

One of the big benefits programs see in the high school summer league is the amount of players the league allows high school programs to work with.

“The CCSSL allows us to have more kids playing baseball,” Jacobs said. “We’ll have 32 kids playing on our two teams (junior varsity and varsity) this summer versus usually having 15-17 with the Junior Legion program.

“As a result, our program should be able to develop more talent and depth. We’ll throw pitchers that usually didn’t pitch as much during the year, experiment with kids in different positions.”

The CCSSL season runs through the week of July 16th with playoffs beginning the week after.

Johnston County will field seven CCSSL teams this year: Smithfield-Selma, Clayton, South Johnston, West Johnston, Corinth Holders, Cleveland and North Johnston.

Garner, a team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the CCSSL playoffs last season, is back as well.

The high number of Johnston County schools will make for short road trips for all of the teams involved. For example, West Johnston’s road trips are to Cleveland, South Johnston, North Johnston, Clayton, Corinth Holders, Smithfield-Selma and Terry Sanford.

The eight-team division featuring Johnston County teams also includes East Wake.

If area teams had remained in Junior Legion, they would have been routinely making road trips to the coastal region and points west of the Raleigh.

“Financially, the closer games are better for our players and their families,” Jacobs said. “Plus the relationships that our staff has with other coaching staffs and our players with other local players will make the games competitive, yet friendly.”

The opening season back-to-back, home-and-home dates on Monday and Tuesday’s schedule illustrate that point. Clayton meets West Johnston, Cleveland takes on South Johnston, Corinth Holders and SSS square off, while North Johnston is at East Wake.

“It reminds me of the old days when I played Babe Ruth baseball for Smithfield, and we played Kenly, Clayton, Four Oaks, etc.,” said Jacobs, a SSS graduate.

“Programs should benefit from the teaching moments that will surely arise throughout the intense, five-week season. That can only help expedite players’ development and help them be the players they want to be.”

 

i don't know about jr legion waiting until after graduation, if thats the case, a lotof teams broke the rules. Lots of Jr Legion games before graduation