Travel Players in Rec Games

[Chardon Storm]

I was at a meeting last night for our local rec league and one of the topics of discussion was that one community in the fastpitch league they play in has six girls from an area travel team playing on it. The girls are all 12U, playing up to 14U rec but the argument is that the two (travel and rec) shouldn't mix because of "safety concerns" and lack of parity. Wondering if any coaches have kids who play rec during the week and how other communities address this issue?

 

[mroby5172]

I coach a 10u travel team and 10 of my 12 girls also play rec ball, one of which is my 07 daughter. None of our local leagues have an issue with travel girls playing rec, most communities need these girls to have full teams and honestly the travel girls are great at helping the other girls develop quicker...

 

[daboss]

Somebody is trying to make something out of nothing. Give me a break! You want those Rec girls to improve they need to be exposed to the mix of girls that'll display a higher level of play, mainly thru more thorough coaching and practice. !0 is 10, 12 is 12. If playing 12 yr. olds at a 14u Rec level isn't helping with parity I don't know what will. Tell these busy body people that your 12 yr. old is still a 12 yr. old regardless of their concerns and quit trying to make something out of nothing. I've dealt with them before. They seldom do anything but complain. Leave the kids alone to be kids. They'll sort it out.

 

[Stedman00]

i think alot depends on the level of the travel girls. Between pitching lessons, hitting lessons and during the week practices with travel team, How do they have time to play on a rec team also???

 

[mroby5172]

i think alot depends on the level of the travel girls. Between pitching lessons, hitting lessons and during the week practices with travel team, How do they have time to play on a rec team also???[/QUO

Personally, I coach both of my daughters teams so I can control schedule and it is still not easy. She loves the game and plays almost every day of the week(game or practice). She has played 43 games already this year...

 

[Stedman00]

enjoy that scheduling ease now before they hit school ball. You have almost no control from Feb thru late May.

My point on level of travel, is my DD used to have pitching lesson Mondays, travel practice Tues and thursday, hitting Wednesdays. and tourneys Fri-Sun. Where was the time for games and or practices for Rec ball??? And some elite travel teams do more than that.

 

[CARDS]

I was at a meeting last night for our local rec league and one of the topics of discussion was that one community in the fastpitch league they play in has six girls from an area travel team playing on it. The girls are all 12U, playing up to 14U rec but the argument is that the two (travel and rec) shouldn't mix because of "safety concerns" and lack of parity. Wondering if any coaches have kids who play rec during the week and how other communities address this issue?

Should be a non issue... If the parents registered and paid their money they should be good to play. The only problem I could see is if the players were from different communities and parents within the teams community complained but even then most could care less as long as they can field a team and the coaches ran it properly.

I know in our area Rec softball and baseball are in trouble. We have very nice top of the line facilities and struggle the past five seasons getting enough teams to use them on a regular bases over the Spring, Summer and Fall.
Fastpitch has one 10U and one 12U team this year and boys baseball is way down at the older ages 15 and up. Talking with some other league directors participation seems to be down in other communities as well.

 

[mroby5172]

enjoy that scheduling ease now before they hit school ball. You have almost no control from Feb thru late May.

My point on level of travel, is my DD used to have pitching lesson Mondays, travel practice Tues and thursday, hitting Wednesdays. and tourneys Fri-Sun. Where was the time for games and or practices for Rec ball??? And some elite travel teams do more than that.

My daughter is not a pitcher, she is a catcher, so no lessons...travel practice once during the week during tournament season. She can play rec Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and sometimes on Friday depending on the tournament schedule. I know the scheduling will change as she gets older and I don't see her playing rec after 12 anyways with all the middle school sports too.

 

[wow]

My daughter is not a pitcher, she is a catcher, so no lessons....

Not to change the subject, because travel players playing rec is a concern, but why not get the catcher lessons? There are a number of catching coaches in the area. Catching is SO important to the game. Even at the higher levels you don't see the proper techniques Ie blocking, sliding, framing, etc.

I am of the opinion the catcher is the smartest kid on the field. They see the game from a totally different view. They eventually call a ton of games in older divisions. Softball IQ behind the plate is so important.

 

[mroby5172]

Not to change the subject, because travel players playing rec is a concern, but why not get the catcher lessons? There are a number of catching coaches in the area. Catching is SO important to the game. Even at the higher levels you don't see the proper techniques Ie blocking, sliding, framing, etc.

I am of the opinion the catcher is the smartest kid on the field. They see the game from a totally different view. They eventually call a ton of games in older divisions. Softball IQ behind the plate is so important.[/QUOT


sometimes it is not always about lessons or individual coaches, she has numerous family members that have caught at higher levels that can offer guidance...she is 9 and knows framing, sliding, etc.

 

[wow]

sometimes it is not always about lessons or individual coaches, she has numerous family members that have caught at higher levels that can offer guidance...she is 9 and knows framing, sliding, etc.

I once walked in your shoes. My only advice, given to me, is to get instruction. You will be amazed at what you learn and how much more quickly yr DD developes. Sometimes as dads we don't want to admit we don't have the answers. Just .02 worth.

 

[Long Baller]

I was at a meeting last night for our local rec league and one of the topics of discussion was that one community in the fastpitch league they play in has six girls from an area travel team playing on it. The girls are all 12U, playing up to 14U rec but the argument is that the two (travel and rec) shouldn't mix because of "safety concerns" and lack of parity. Wondering if any coaches have kids who play rec during the week and how other communities address this issue?

That's an interesting take...We had the opposite in our community. The travel kids were looked at as "The girls who think they are too good to play with everyone else" by the parents and coaches of the non-travel kids. Yet, at the end of the season they all came knocking for the travel kids so they could try and "clean up" in whatever super duper rec-ball world series they were going to.

Conversely, my DD's travel coach at that age had an "Absolutely No Rec-Ball!" rule for his players.

 

[FastBat]

Somebody is trying to make something out of nothing. Give me a break!

Agree!

A few years ago, I was catching my 10 yo dd and I overheard a rec ball parent say very loudly, "she should't be allowed to pitch in this league."
My dd wasn't overly large and there was no safety concerns, although, they may have thought so. At that point, I knew the parent was just annoyed her dd was no longer going to be the star!

I really feel this is more of a parent problem, than a "safety" issue!

 

[Lasersteal06]

Re: Catcher discussion, all I can say is that we were lucky enough to pick up an amazing catcher this year that is a beast behind the plate. She does lessons every week even though she has an older sib who catches and could probably teach her everything. Not sure if she was already amazing before the lessons or if it was the lessons that did it, but man, oh man, oh man. I feel like we've won the lottery every time I see her behind the plate. Her parents have told us that the weekly lessons are very intense and it shows. She has more endurance than I've ever seen at 10U. My point, take it or leave it, is lessons can help an already good player become a great player.

 

[josie]

My 10u daughter pitches for her rec team but isn't quite ready to pitch for her travel team. It's been very good for her this year and she has improved so much! May get a shot a pitching with the travel team this weekend. Having said that, I am tired of people harassing her because she throws a line drive and not a men's rainbow slo pitch. When she hears people saying stuff, it makes her want to throw faster and better. I think it is a non issue but I can understand why some girls are afraid to stand in the box when she is pitching - it is part of the game. Our league tends to spread the travel players around.

 

[Louuuuu]

I really feel this is more of a parent problem, than a "safety" issue!

That's probably true 95% of the time. Most of the complaining parents don't want to see other players outshine their own kid. (The "Big Fish in a Small Pond" syndrome)

 

[Coach_Joe]

I have a second year 10U team with 2 out of my 12 girls playing rec ball, one is an 07 and the other is a pitcher that doesn't get much mound time. We have a rule, travel come before any rec ball activities, and the parents are under the agreement as well. As we start to transition to 12U next year, we will have a rule of no rec ball. Rec ball is recreational, it's pay to play and very watered down as far as rules. The local rec league has a different set of rules. You can't steal till the ball crosses the plate, you cant steal home, those are just two of the many. Winning your local rec league with a team full of travel players isn't impressive to me. Develop the girl that is stepping on the field for the first time. Teach her the proper way to LOVE the game.

 

[gcg3refs]

There is a travel league that plays in NEO, covers about 3 counties. Most teams a mix of tournament travel players and players who only play in this travel league, some you could "Rec" players. The league handles this issue as; the more tournament players you have, you are moved up to a higher level, i.e. B division to the A division, where you will face similar type players. The tournament players end up playing every day with games, practices and then the tournaments on the weekends.

 

[Long Baller]

You got to love these parents....Their kid can't compete, so keep changing the rules until they can.

 

[Chardon Storm]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply- very helpful.