Legion Ball

As far as kids playing 2 or 3 sports let them play what is in season but be commited to the sport they are playing at the time. to much emphasis is put on a kid at an early age to decide what sport to play let them be kids and play the game, also push the point of being commited to what sport you are playing at the time.

As far as the Wilmington issue that was brought up in an earlier post it is sad they have that many teams in that particular area they have watered down the competition. Post 10 was always a state power have not heard from them in a while . I am not close to what goes on down in Wilmington but can come close to the issue someone or parent, high school coach was upset with johnny's playing time and decided it would benefit him and the entire high school program to form there own legion team which kept the good players from playing where they wanted to play which made the teams weaker.People have to understand that legion baseball is not high school baseball, aau, showcase, usssa But some people think you can take that concept into legion baseball. This is when the legion officials need to step in and stop this kind of growth or the quality of legion baseball will fall. This kind of stuff is trying to get started in area 3 and it needs to stop especially in the Greensboro and Forsyth county areas.

 

South Rowan

A very good group of young arms are coming into the mix. Hopefully to replace some of the old heads that have been around for a while. It could be an exciting summer for the people in that area. Stay tuned

 

Intimidator & Andro,,,, I agree that 2005 will be a very interesting year in local legion ball once again with virtually the same 5-6 teams contending for the Area III Southern Division title. However with that said, I realize South Rowan has some very good talent returning, but your losing Andrew Morgan and that will be huge. You can replace most players when they age out, but every now and then kids like Zach Ward & Andrew Morgan (who are difference-makers) come along and when you lose them, you just don't have what those superstars gave your team--- that automatic stopper. Your other players will definitely have to step up in order to make up for the loss of Morgan. Good Luck. Here in Kannapolis, even though we have won Area III the past 2 years, actually there's a lot of excitement in Ktown about what we have coming out in 2005. Thats all I'm going to say about us right now. Of course those Rowan County boys will be strong again too, they made a nice run late last year and also had a very strong junior legion team. They are loaded with pitching. Not sure how many of those Mocksville boys will be returning, but Mocksville's always strong. Stanly County is improving and will beat a lot of folks too, they have a couple excellent pitchers who can beat anyone. And I'm just talking about the Southern Division, we all know there's numerous different Northern Division teams who are always strong. I'll take this type of competition every night during the summer ANY TIME...

 

IMHO-

I will agree that the recent influx of legion teams that represent 1-2 high schools has watered down the competition. AAU, showcase, etc... teams that play in the summer also water down the level of talent at the legion level, but the upside is that in many cases for those players playing on an upper-echelon showcase team, the exposure is better for them. I think that it can be safely said that legion bali is not where it was say, 10-15 years ago, but it is still a great opportunity especially in rural areas where there aren't as many other options.

 

I don't know if I agree with the idea that legion teams that are made up of only 1-2 high schools have caused legion ball to be watered down.... That thought process just don't wash everywhere. I can think of a few examples right here in my backyard. Our own Kannapolis team is made up of only 2 schools, and yet we've won our area championship 2 years in a row beating legion teams that are made up of 4-5 schools on a nightly basis. Another local legion team (South Rowan) is one of the best legion teams around and they are only made up of 2 schools.

Maybe the quality of legion ball is down in certain areas of the state, but I think its more by coincidence than anything else. I've been following legion ball for over 40 years, and most of the current teams are still as strong as ever. A lot of folks have been saying that our recent Kannapolis teams have been as strong as any Kannapolis teams in the past 40 years. The 2002 Rowan County team (that featured Cal Hayes, the Davis "brothers", Lefko, Sides, Steedley) was quite possibly the strongest legion team that Rowan has possibly ever had in their tradition-filled county, nearly everyone on that team went on to play collegiately and Hayes is currently playing in the Cardinals organization. The very next year (2003) Cherryville finished runnerups in the NATION. Then last year (2004), teams from Garner (state champs), Caldwell County, Pineville, Kannapolis and Greensboro were all very strong ballclubs.

I will agree that some areas may be watered down because of various reasons, but I don't think its affected the true legion hotbeds. As someone said earlier, it costs in excess of $10,000 to operate a legion baseball program. If the smaller communities don't have support from local businesses, then I can see why its not as popular in certain areas. In "THOSE" instances around the state where legion ball is not popular, then yes I think the better players decide its better for them to play AAU or on a showcase team.

 

Shoot I should have started a "Legion" thread a couple months back so I could have had someone to talk to !!!!!!!

Nevertheless ... having the repuation as the most opinionated person on the board (by necessity ... or else we'd never have any posts), I'm going to sit this one out!



There are liars, d*** liars and statisticians ... I may fall in the last category.
:xyzthumbs

 

NCBBALLFAN, look what you started...

....... its all in fun, just good baseball discussion. Agree or disagree, its good to hear other people's opinions.

 

yeah, look what's been started here...

In no way did I intend to imply that all 1-2 school legion teams were watering down legion ball. I do realize that the quality of legion ball is much better in some areas of the state than others. I simply believe that the recent influx of new teams drawing from 1-2 schools is one of several reasons for this.(look at the Wilmington situation for instance) I played legion ball in Southeastern NC and grew up playing against Post 10 (New Hanover and Laney) and the post that was at Winter Park (Hoggard). With each school there going its own way it has had to water down the traditionally strong programs there. In Fact, I believe the Winter Park team folded but has since been replaced by Pleasure Island (they may be in fact the same post #). I have not lived in the Wilmington area for 15 years now.

I realize the stable programs remain stable for a reason. Good quality people, good players, great community support, and doing the little things right!! Legion Ball has a great tradition, and to be quite honest, it has bothered me to hear that some people dont think as highly of it as in the past, but times change, although I don't believe that all change is necessarily good.

 

Legion ball is growing. Post 522 is sponsoring a new jr. & sr. teams in western Forsyth county next summer. The board of directors and coaches have been selected and the search for additional sponsors has begun. :xyzthumbs

 

CoachEvans,,,,, thanks for explaining your comment. :xyzthumbs

Actually Bmac1 just brought up a very good point that nobody has even mentioned about JUNIOR legion teams. More and more legion teams are getting JUNIOR legion teams. With the growth of JUNIOR legion teams, is it possible that legion ball is IN FACT growing in numbers??? Or again, are we just talking about certain locations?