PLAYING DOWN

[onedownonetogo]

even So Cal has that problem

So maybe if its common in Central Texas and Southern California, maybe it's not such a "problem." The arrogance on this board is amazing to me. You would think everyone here has a DD who is going to Arizona or Texas A&M

There are no SoCal travel teams worth their salt that play down in the fall. Any top team that did that would be a laughing stock.
Once you start back up after nationals you play in your age group for the nex that you couldn't get playing where you should or you are trophy hunting.

what he said!!!

What if the team is a glorified rec ball team or a "B" team playing in an "A" tournament?

[Demonboy]

Please see my previous quote as to who I was referring to.

"There are no SoCal travel teams worth their salt that play down in the fall. Any top team that did that would be a laughing stock.

Spazsdad. Looks like some are having trouble grasping your point. Try typing slower.
I would also add to "top teams" 2nd and 3rd tier teams.

People it's not that we object to this practice so much as we're just laughing at it.

[onedownonetogo]

Please see my previous quote as to who I was referring to.

"There are no SoCal travel teams worth their salt that play down in the fall. Any top team that did that would be a laughing stock.

Spazsdad. Looks like some are having trouble grasping your point. Try typing slower.
I would also add to "top teams" 2nd and 3rd tier teams.

People it's not that we object to this practice so much as we're just laughing at it.

Oh, I grasp your point. What you and others don't seem to grasp here in the rarified air of heybucket.com, is the bottom 75 percent of teams are laughing at your elitism.

[Lefty's Dad]

Please see my previous quote as to who I was referring to.

"There are no SoCal travel teams worth their salt that play down in the fall. Any top team that did that would be a laughing stock.

Spazsdad. Looks like some are having trouble grasping your point. Try typing slower.
I would also add to "top teams" 2nd and 3rd tier teams.

People it's not that we object to this practice so much as we're just laughing at it.

Oh, I grasp your point. What you and others don't seem to grasp here in the rarified air of heybucket.com, is the bottom 75 percent of teams are laughing at your elitism.

It's true in Texas too (well Houston anyway), teams that play down are being laughed at, especially after being eliminated by teams 2 years younger. That's not elitism, it's just facts. This past weekend, a team was being laughed at the entire weekend. That does nothing for those players but hurt them.

[Demonboy]

Please see my previous quote as to who I was referring to.

"There are no SoCal travel teams worth their salt that play down in the fall. Any top team that did that would be a laughing stock.

Spazsdad. Looks like some are having trouble grasping your point. Try typing slower.
I would also add to "top teams" 2nd and 3rd tier teams.

People it's not that we object to this practice so much as we're just laughing at it.

Oh, I grasp your point. What you and others don't seem to grasp here in the rarified air of heybucket.com, is the bottom 75 percent of teams are laughing at your elitism.

I guess this is a silent majority?

[onedownonetogo]

It's true in Texas too (well Houston anyway), teams that play down are being laughed at, especially after being eliminated by teams 2 years younger. That's not elitism, it's just facts. This past weekend, a team was being laughed at the entire weekend. That does nothing for those players but hurt them.

And going 0-4 helps a team exactly how? Okay, maybe 1-4? Explain how does that help a team?

Oh yeah, right, they need to (1) quit the game, (2) go back to rec ball, (3) find another team to play on, (4) take the beating in 16u because it's going to "prepare them for the future . . ." Did that about cover it.

You are laughing at kids because they got beat? Do you realize how elitist that sounds?

[texasfastpitch]

It's true in Texas too (well Houston anyway), teams that play down are being laughed at, especially after being eliminated by teams 2 years younger. That's not elitism, it's just facts. This past weekend, a team was being laughed at the entire weekend. That does nothing for those players but hurt them.

And going 0-4 helps a team exactly how? Okay, maybe 1-4? Explain how does that help a team?

Oh yeah, right, they need to (1) quit the game, (2) go back to rec ball, (3) find another team to play on, (4) take the beating in 16u because it's going to "prepare them for the future . . ." Did that about cover it.

You are laughing at kids because they got beat? Do you realize how elitist that sounds?

Would you please get over it? Okay so you don't agree, but 99% of the softball population does!

Obviously if your team is going 0-4 or 1-4 playing teams their age (and younger) it is time to disband or find another team. Seriously!

[DonnieS]

Oh, I grasp your point. What you and others don't seem to grasp here in the rarified air of heybucket.com, is the bottom 75 percent of teams are laughing at your elitism.

The point is regarding the bottom 75%, you need to challenge your kids to excell. Thats all anyone is saying here.

Another suggestion is do what a lot of us did years ago, look at what the better teams and organizations are doing, look at their practices, look at their game tactics, look at what they do and copy it. And honestly, moving up after nationals wasnt an idea I got from anyone else, it was just common sense.

[Lefty's Dad]

It's true in Texas too (well Houston anyway), teams that play down are being laughed at, especially after being eliminated by teams 2 years younger. That's not elitism, it's just facts. This past weekend, a team was being laughed at the entire weekend. That does nothing for those players but hurt them.

And going 0-4 helps a team exactly how? Okay, maybe 1-4? Explain how does that help a team?

Oh yeah, right, they need to (1) quit the game, (2) go back to rec ball, (3) find another team to play on, (4) take the beating in 16u because it's going to "prepare them for the future . . ." Did that about cover it.

You are laughing at kids because they got beat? Do you realize how elitist that sounds?

Actually a 16u team (this coming Spring) went 2 and 2 in bracket play while playing in the 14u division this past weekend. I would have to believe that going 2 and out against teams you should be playing would be better for the girls morale than going 2 and 2 against teams that you should be blowing away. At least by losing to teams in their own age division, they really know what to expect and hopefully how to fix what needs to be fixed. By losing to younger age division teams, they just get demoralized and then when they beat those teams, they can't possibly find any positives.
By the way, the team was being laughed at, the coaches were being laughed at, not the players. Everyone knows the girls don't decide which age division to play in, it's the coaches that make that decision. The problem is that the players suffer for the coaches mistakes.

[onedownonetogo]

. . . I would have to believe that going 2 and out against teams you should be playing would be better for the girls morale than going 2 and 2 against teams that you should be blowing away. . . . By the way, the team was being laughed at, the coaches were being laughed at, not the players. . .

Why should they have blown the 14u teams away? Because they happen to be moving up to 16u next spring. Age does not necessarily equate to talent. Obviously they shouldn't have been blowing the younger teams away because they didn't. Apparently, they went 2-2 in bracket play.

As to laughing at the girls. . . keep telling yourself that enough, and you might even start to believe it. But how is "better for the girls morale" when you personally called them out on this board, whining before a single pitch was thrown. They chosed to play 14u, they went 2-2, they apparently knew exactly where they belonged talentwise. Had you just kept your mouth shut, they would have had fun, got beat, gone home, and no one would have every thought twice about it.