16U playing 14U

[Softball_Parent_72]

Question: When is it okay to add a player to your 14U team after playing 16U all year?

Answer: When you loose one ASA tournament and want to win the next ASA tournament.

I should add that the player is 14U eligible as a '99 birthday.

Nice job C2K! All for a few more wins. I see King Dan has made an impact on your team already......

[Softball_Parent_72]

It just goes to show you what some teams/programs feel like they need to do to win.

[Safebyahare]

Confused??? If Team is 14u eligible what's the issue.
Many 14u teams play 16u teams to improve and get better, and avoid the 14u radar.
16u do the same and play 18u teams. And some 18u play 23u teams.
What am I missing.
The adding of players toward end of season most always taste like crap.
If this is your beef. Agreed.

[WalkOffHomer]

Question: When is it okay to add a player to your 14U team after playing 16U all year?

Answer: When you loose one ASA tournament and want to win the next ASA tournament.

I should add that the player is 14U eligible as a '99 birthday.

Nice job C2K! All for a few more wins. I see King Dan has made an impact on your team already......

The answer to your question, Softball_Parent_72, is: any time such that the player is "released" from her previous team.

Now, to address where you are wrong in your implications:
1) the '99 player was added to the Indy Crush 2000 AFTER they won the NSA Center Grove Invite tournament May 18th
2) the '99 player was added to the roster and played the next tournament which was a PGF at Midwest (although she wasn't available on championship Sunday), not an ASA event
3) She was also a part of the team the next weekend when they traveled to St Louis for another ASA tournament
D) IC2k didn't lose the ASA State Games because of their pitching. The team flat out played crappy. So, there was no need to add another pitcher after that
4) the '99 player in question DIDN'T PLAY ANY 16u tournaments this year because her team was mostly in HS. So, her first time on the mound in a competition in 2014 was with the Indy Crush 2000 team

So, before you go spouting off at the mouth because your DD's team (Indy Dreams?) was eliminated from the ASA State Games tournament in a game pitched by the '99 which you are questioning, maybe you should get your facts straight.

The adding of players toward end of season most always taste like crap.
If this is your beef. Agreed.

Safe, what the OP failed to mention is that the TEAM in question lost their a top pitcher. I won't use #1 or #2 because we all know it depends on who is hitting their spots on a particular weekend. And adding a player mid-May is nowhere near 'towards the end of the season'

[Softball_Parent_72]

@ walkofff - okay so my timeline is off. The player in question played 16U at the end of last season and all of the fall. The only reason they didn't this spring is because of high school. It is simply a move by King Dan to make a team, that he is consuming, win some more games instead of developing the players he has on the team. If he did it because of injury i get adding the player. C2K didn't loose the #1 due to injury and you, I and most everybody else knows that.

If you play 16U for almost a year because the competition isn't what you are looking for in 14U then why come back down and play it now? The answer is simple....just for a few more wins.

Oh and by the way, mid May is near the end of the season.....the season lasts 12 months and there were 2 months left. That's considered near the end.

[fanof2]

Adding a player to a team at or near the end of the season is always a sticky subject. Coaches may not understand the angst it creates for those players that have been on the season for 10/12 months of the season, committed to their team, paid their fees and want to see their child develop and grow throughout the season. There are legitimate reasons to add a player or pick up a sub (i.e. the team lost a player, there was an injury, or the team is short players). But picking up a player or sub at or near the end of the season simply to prepare for the next season or to win games is a slap in the face to the girls that are on the team and have been on the team. My daughters have both subbed for teams on occasion when a team has been short players, but I would never expect my daughter to take a position from the regular players (even if she was better in a position than those on the team) or bat in front of players on the team (even if she has a better stick). The point is she is a sub (or late add on if that had been the case) and the focus should be to work with the players and team that was selected at the beginning of the season and to which the coaches committed. Not gear up for the next season before the one in progress is completed or to simply win a game.

Conversely, leaving a team before the season is over also creates angst for coaches and other families that have relied on that player to complete the team roster. Again, there may be legitimate reasons to leave a team but simply leaving before the season is out because a player wants to secure a new team for the upcoming season is unfair to those that are left behind.

[WalkOffHomer]

@ walkofff - okay so my timeline is off...
Agreed...but not just a little off...off by 5 weeks. That's 4-5 tournaments. The problem with your timeline being 'off' is you made it seem like IC2k lost a game so they went out and secured a new (better) pitcher so that wouldn't happen again. As I have shown, that is way off base.

The player in question played 16U at the end of last season and all of the fall.
I have no knowledge of her schedule prior to this spring. But how is that even relevant? She didn't play all Spring until she joined the IC2k team.

The only reason they didn't this spring is because of high school. Probably true.


It is simply a move by King Dan to make a team, that he is consuming, win some more games instead of developing the players he has on the team.
I'm pretty sure the decision was made by the IC2k current coaching staff. And the decision was discussed with the parents of the current squad.


If he did it because of injury i get adding the player. C2K didn't loose the #1 due to injury and you, I and most everybody else knows that.
I didn't say the lost a player 'due to injury'. I said they 'lost' a pitcher. I didn't see any reason to bring a drama filled situation into the post. You see, we try to avoid and/or minimize drama. Unlike others.


If you play 16U for almost a year because the competition isn't what you are looking for in 14U then why come back down and play it now? The answer is simple....just for a few more wins.
I don't think the player in question was concerned about wins/losses. I believe she just wanted to play softball. I don't see anything wrong with that. And I don't think you know enough about what she was 'looking for' to accurately comment about that.


Oh and by the way, mid May is near the end of the season.....the season lasts 12 months and there were 2 months left. That's considered near the end
I agree with this analogy. But, let's face it, the real softball schedule is broken up into 3-4 distinct seasons. 1) Fall...it's all about getting your team together, playing some softball, and establishing the direction of your program. 2) Winter...it sucks, it's boring, and it's very difficult to get much accomplished in the Midwest. In fact, IC2k takes most of November/December off just to allow the girls an unobstructed opportunity to be teenagers. 3)/4) Spring/Summer...everyone knows this is when all the real team oriented preparation takes place. This is when you grow as a team. This is when you hope to start your climb towards peaking at the end of July. So, based on this analogy of the 'season(s), mid-May is 'early'
.

Parent, I really hope you can get over your envy and start to concentrate more on your own DD and her team real soon. Otherwise you are going to miss out on all the enjoyment of watching her/them grow, bond, and develop!

[Softball_Parent_72]

@walkoff - You can check the players history on NSA's website and see where she played last year. Oh, and if you are in fact part of the IC2K team and are going to try and say you don't know this player came from the Prospects 16U team your making yourself look foolish. She left the Prospects 14U Gold (which folded and not due to her leaving) to go the 16U team last fall, that's a fact.

Trust me, there is no envy on this side of the fence. I wouldn't expect you to see anything wrong with the player making a switch if it benefits your DD's team. You make it sound like King Dan has no part in this.....A team he is taking over in the fall picks up a player from his current 16U team and there's nothing more than a kid wanting to "just play the game".

How many tournaments did the IC2k win in April and May before she joined the team?

How'd they do in the Crush Invite at the end of April?

I have a lot of respect for the players on that team. They are definitely as solid as it gets and good for them. They work hard, have a ton of talent and deserve everything they earn. This really goes back to King Dan and the Prospects consuming teams instead of building their program. If they don't merge with the Xtreme the Prospects wouldn't have a really good 14U team this year. If the Crush/Prospects don't merge this year they probably wouldn't have a really good 14U team next year. Runge doesn't build teams he consumes them.....

[big blue nation]

Hey softball parent 72,
Sounds to me like you have a problem with king Dan. If that is the case why don't you settle it with him? You are calling out a team that he's not even a part of as of now. The IC2000 had a coaching change a couple of months ago. They lost a pitcher at that point. They have picked up 2 pitchers since then. King Dan didn't make either of those moves! Oh the horror, they added 2 players!!!
Since the coaching change, the team has won 2 tourneys, a 2nd, and a 3rd. They have qualified for PGF and ASA nationals!! This is because of the girls not an adult!!
Also this team has been recruited by the IMG. Shockwaves, NWI Sox, and several other organizations. So who knows where they will end up!

[WalkOffHomer]

@walkoff - You can check the players history on NSA's website and see where she played last year.
Sorry bro, I guess I'm just not that interested in knowing what 12-14 year old girls did last year.

Oh, and if you are in fact part of the IC2K team My DD is on the team...I'm just a supporting parent. Like I said, you should try that too.

and are going to try and say you don't know this player came from the Prospects 16U team your making yourself look foolish.
I didn't say I was unaware of what team she came from. I said "I have no knowledge of her schedule prior to this Spring."


She left the Prospects 14U Gold I didn't know there was such a team

(which folded and not due to her leaving) to go the 16U team last fall, that's a fact.
Wait a minute. I thought you said she was 14 eligible but playing 16s because "...the competition isn't what you (she) are (was) looking for in 14u..."


Trust me, there is no envy on this side of the fence. I wouldn't expect you to see anything wrong with the player making a switch if it benefits your DD's team.
I didn't see anything wrong with the (2) 12u IMG girls going to IN Gators '01 at the "end of the season" last year either. It provided them with a team to finish the season. And it just made that team even better and more of a challenge for our girls.


You make it sound like King Dan has no part in this.....A team he is taking over in the fall picks up a player from his current 16U team and there's nothing more than a kid wanting to "just play the game". I have met Dan once. I cannot speak for him. But, I tell ya, if something small like this that you think he is behind has you this upset, he must be doing something right. Because, typically, the most envied people are the successful ones.

How many tournaments did the IC2k win in April and May before she joined the team?
You are suggesting that this new pitcher is the only reason IC2k wins or will win, lol...

How'd they do in the Crush Invite at the end of April? 3rd...sorry you didn't get the invite. But it was the Best of the Midwest, after all.

I have a lot of respect for the players on that team.
THEN SHOW IT BY NOT TRYING TO STIR UP THE CRAP AND THE DRAMA AROUND THEM...DICK! I'll leave the rest of your paragraph to simmer. It's just a continuation of your jibberish.


They are definitely as solid as it gets and good for them. They work hard, have a ton of talent and deserve everything they earn. This really goes back to King Dan and the Prospects consuming teams instead of building their program. If they don't merge with the Xtreme the Prospects wouldn't have a really good 14U team this year. If the Crush/Prospects don't merge this year they probably wouldn't have a really good 14U team next year. Runge doesn't build teams he consumes them.....