Tryouts earlier and earlier yet again

[Passion4theGame]

The problems that I keep seeing are many fold with regards to try outs and teams.

Part 1 - small solo team starts, and may have some success with local small unsanctioned type tourneys. We've all seen them, 4-6 teams, maybe even pay at the plate. Well the small team wins a couple and gets a little 'froggy'. Then comes along 2nd year 12U or 14u, they get sanctioned with USSSA, or USA, and "hell, we won a bunch, guess we are A level". SO, when they now get in a B/C tourney (or Open) and get totally blasted tourney after tourney, it's everyone else fault.

Part 2 - This same team is when they moved to 14U, start posting on social media and such, come join our A level or Showcase tourney, When they are really pretty clueless as to what they really entails, and are leading people ( and themselves astray). Then when the beatings start, and noone really comes to watch, it's someone else's fault.

Part 3 - And the mommy / daddy ball team that forms so Princess Petunia can pitch or play SS every inning, implodes because coaching is lacking, parents upset, etc. But yet again, it's someone else's fault they can't win games (or truly be competitive).

people are not stupid, they can check and research team's records. tourney machine, game changer, etc. All the grandoise claims of college recruiting help, etc. IT IS NOT AN OVERNIGHT THING.

You know why the best teams and Orgs aren't advertising and having tryouts in early July? They don't need to. They have proven track record of success and have players asking them all the time for chances to tryout come August.

There are teams for every level of skill, no question. The problems arise when people really can't judge the levels.

BOOM!!! Stedman with the Mic drop!!!! Spot on!

 

[CARDS]

We do have a good system compared to the alternatives. Some of it is still a mystery to me at times, but it is there if I ever figure it out. The oversight is a great topic there. We keep trying to tighten up the lower class programs and push these teams into playing better competition more suited to their team strengths. But every time we move a team up, they just go some place else that will let them play "down" and dominate. With these non-sanction tournament/event companies popping up in Ohio (TNT, Midwest Tournament Factory, Sports Force Parks) just to name a few, they mix all classifications together most of the time anyways. They run under their own set of rules and most of them have no reclassification processes anyway so win all of the events if you want to.

It is making me think of slow-pitch all over again as that started to happen towards the end of my tenure in it. Then you had an open level and everyone else was a rec team. Or at least they claimed to be so they could win everything.

Yeah back in the mid 80s and 90s when I played SP was king in SW Ohio. Tournaments were the Hudy Classic, Corn Boil, Randy Buck open and of course the metro. The leagues and nights were depending on comp level and the tournaments did a good job with team classification. For the metro Don Saylor must have had a team of 6 or more putting that together. That was when you had to have your roster notarized. Late 90s early 2000s things started to fall apart and teams started to form only to play in the metro. Shafting their league and teams. Now there is a player draft, park bats and a drop in players at all levels. A lot of the parks have closed or are barely fielding teams.

 

[Stedman00]

still seeing more and more teams springing up all over, all ages and claims of division. I can only imagine these are more mommy / daddy ball type teams starting. Got's to have Princess Petunia playing SS if she wants to regards of lacking skills. Lets all celebrate mediocrity!!!

 

[HITTER23]

still seeing more and more teams springing up all over, all ages and claims of division. I can only imagine these are more mommy / daddy ball type teams starting. Got's to have Princess Petunia playing SS if she wants to regards of lacking skills. Lets all celebrate mediocrity!!!

This honestly isnt anything new to fastpitch, its been going on for ages, it just seems more prevelent now for some reason. My DD graduated in 2008 and you knew which teams NOT to tryout for.

 

[DanMaz]

i already saw tryouts for 2025 season! WTH?