Baseball Knowledge Base Article Summaries

12 Year old passed over - RD (length=1374)
Is select better baseball as far as talent? Yes. However everyone seems to forget that there are boundaries in LL but not in select ball(for ...

12 Year old passed over - THE COACH (length=1998)
I brought select team baseball to Texas in 1986 and often wonder what I have wrought. First, todays "select" teams are playing way to many g ...

Are we SURPRISED....? - Kathy (length=2641)
***When such "ELITE" squads are created and the "inferior" players are weeded out, it's my personal opinion that we've thrown away the true ...

Are we SURPRISED...? - Repost for Knowledge Base - Hopper (length=5176)
People often wonder why I get so set off about AAU, travel, tournament and all star teams from time to time. Things like the Danny Alomonte ...

Caliber of Play - Randy Dykstra (length=2276)
Well, seeing how I have experience with most at their Championship level...LL, Pony, AAU, AABC, USSSA, CABA, USABF...(see photos) there are ...

Competitive Rec Ball - J Ross (length=1944)
Our LL is structured T-Ball (combination tee and coach pitch), Farm for 7-8 year olds (combination kid pitch/coach pitch - no walks), Mi ...

Could use an opinion here. - bbcoach (length=1619)
CJ, Speaking to you from experience. When I was playing as a 9 through 12 year old way back when, I played on the top teams in this area. ...

Expensive Select Team Plays Coach's Boy Ball - Seadog (length=2306)
Baseball Nut, Unfortunately you are so wrong about what I know about travel ball. I have coached many travelling teams and my first priori ...

Expensive Select Team Plays Coach's Boy Ball - Seadog (length=1501)
Baseball nut, If you came to me and said the only position your team can offer my son is Blankety blank and wanted me to agree to a contra ...

From Rec to Cal Ripken-need advice - Scorekeeper (length=3148)
I mean they didn't play together, I meant they "all" didn't play together. And assuming that you're correct and at least 8 of the kids remai ...

From Rec to Cal Ripken-need advice - Scorekeeper (length=1047)
The only thing I would take issue with you on is about whether or not its the coach's responsibility to try kids out for positions. At the ...

From Rec to Cal Ripken-need advice - Scorekeeper (length=6142)
Why does everyone assume that their team should have won more games than they did? Let me make it clear that your team won exactly as many g ...

From Rec to Cal Ripken-need advice - Scorekeeper (length=4850)
Yes, they are the hardest working now, but my contention is, they outght to be looking back to see if anyone is catching up. I don't see n ...

From Rec to Cal Ripken-need advice - Scorekeeper (length=5587)
You have to understand that when I make a statement like that I don't necessarily mean its absolute, one way or the other. There is some bon ...

Gone to AAU? - Kathy (length=1689)
Most travel teams here are not made up of kids who's families are financially well off. All the teams I know of work very hard to raise the ...

Help with starting a 16-17 y/o tournament team? - Mom of 2 BB players (length=3606)
I'm in Illinois. Teams here would contact one of the state reps for a program like USSSA, CABA, AAYBA or whatever. You can contact them o ...

How Much Is Too Much!!!? - THE COACH (length=2898)
TIPS FROM THE COACH How much is too much? I have a friend with twin 12 year old, ball player sons. These kids, this spring, played in two ...

How Ugly can Competitive/Tournament/Travel Ball get! - Lori (length=4711)
I have to say, Baseball Mom, there are always two sides to the coin. And I think there are those out there that will agree with me when I s ...

How many games - Bear (length=1577)
I am not able to answer nor authenticate averages nor maximums. I can only attest to what I have heard, seen & done in the past (and it ...

Losing leagues to travel teams - Splitter (length=3032)
I have been on a BoD as player agent for LL and now coach a travel team. I think I can fairly say that the knife cuts both ways. LL does a ...

Select / Elite - Scorekeeper (length=2146)
As you so aptly made the point, its a twin edged sword. What we have here is a Harlequin doing a juggling act for the king! One day the king ...

Select / Elite - Scorekeeper (length=3747)
It depends on where you are. I'd say that in general you have "Rec" baseball that encourages every kid, boy and girls to play baseball. Th ...

Select / Elite - Scorekeeper (length=2038)
Your experience notwithstanding, what you say may be one of those "absolutes" and I have no disagreement with it at all. But I guess my feel ...

Select Ball Snobs - JT (length=1298)
FYI: Travel ball is for those who want to expose their sons to the advantage of playing REGULARLY with and against top-flight competition. ...

Short Fence for Dist Playoffs - Scorekeeper (length=2137)
We just came back from Tucson for a tournament with 72 teams played on 12 ML spring training fields. Even though the fields at each of the 2 ...

TOO PRECIOUS TO PAY SOMEONE ELSE - bgtx (length=3332)
In 1987, I brought “select” team baseball to Texas. My God, what have I wrought? Saturday December 21, I accompanied my son, the pro bal ...

Then I Became A Travel Parent - THE COACH (length=2628)
This was recently sent by a dad of a ballplayer who took lessons from my son. He had sent it to other members of his son's team. I thought y ...

Travel Baseball and Little League - Dave Kreiss (length=3375)
Splitter and Jon, I appreciate the time and effort you put into your responses which contain excellent examples and great ideas. Let me say ...

Travel Baseball and Little League - EagleCoach (length=1344)
Baseball Mom, Keep in mind when deciding whether to play travel ball or not, that it is a very large commitment, and very expensive also i ...

Travel Baseball and Little League - Jerry Z (length=808)
To Baseball Mom, Parents and coaches who think that just because a kid is not on a travel or select team before high school is bizare and un ...

Travel Baseball and Little League - Jon Toner (length=3012)
I agree with you on several points. Minors. These are the kids who are going to be in your majors program. Only 15% of our Majors kids wer ...

Travel Baseball and Little League - Walter K (length=1577)
You know it just doesn't seem to matter what sport, you always get fanatics or kooks who figure that a kid is washed up by 11 years of age i ...

Update on new Select for LL---Scorekeeper - Scorekeeper (length=3667)
Sorry I'm late on responding. Somehow I missed the post! The only thing I'd question about the pitching is whether or not 12 pitches will ...

What Does it Mean to Keep Your Word? - Colorado (length=1632)
Speaking only as a parent, I sympathize. If as you say, each parent made an expressed commitment to you without condition (did they say "we ...

What Does it Mean to Keep Your Word? - Scorekeeper (length=3682)
Don't blame the parents for this one, blame the system! I think almost everyone agrees that nearly ever kid who plays organized ball start ...

What Does it Mean to Keep Your Word? - Scorekeeper (length=4898)
I guess I should have made it more clear that the "real" ugliness goes on in really a very small percentage of the teams available. But, the ...

What Does it Mean to Keep Your Word? - Scorekeeper (length=2338)
I was trying to say that as soon as we move our kids "up" and rationalize it by saying "they" want to do it, or that its "better" for them, ...

What Does it Mean to Keep Your Word? - sco (length=2471)
Altho our reasons had to do with having made that commitment but also avoiding the label of being deemed travel team prostitutes.< ...

travel and/or select teams..Hi Bean - Kenneth Bean (length=1060)
Hi Back, Sal In "Bean's" I spent the entire first chapter, (entitled 'Playing To Win'), trying to adjust the parents'direction of motivati ...

travel and/or select teams - Kathy (length=1285)
Bean, Do you also think all children should be taught academics at the same pace? Advanced/gifted students learning at the same pace as st ...