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Do they help each other or does the baseball traveling teams and ASA softball hurt Little League Allstars?

Left little league this year, and it was the best decision ever for my son and our family. Too many nonsense "safety" rules involved in Little League, and the limited schedule definitely does not allow for development of skills. I have also found some of the coaches, board members or presidents involved in Little League know very little about how to coach various skills or even very little about the rules in baseball in general, not to mention people skills.

I feel sorry for the kid who may get only one at bat a game or 3 innings in the field. How is this kid going to be able to develop the skills necessary to play the game when he or she only gets about 10-15 AB's a year. My son had that many at bats in a weekend tournament.

I have spoken to many HS coaches who say they wish more people would leave little league, because playing HS rules and playing in more competitive games will enable these coaches to have better skilled and more knowledgable players when they reach HS.

I agree with all the above posts but the sad thing is that travel ball is for the kids whose parents have the money and time to travel some really great athletes are still in Little League due to the money issues alone! It's too bad they can't coexist.

Very few are left..........

abuck76 wrote:Very few are left..........

I agree, because every game we played this year seemed like an all star game with the competition we played against.

Congratulations go out to the Kentucky Copperheads 10U and the Kentucky Mudcats 9U teams.

They both won the Kentucky AABC State Cahmpionships. The Copperheads earn a birth in regional play in Canton, and the Mudcats earn a birth in the 9U AABC World Series in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

How offensive to state that most board members and coaches don't know the game.

We have tried to co-exist with Little league and travel ball, the problem is all of the travel ball parents "bad mouthing" Little League. If it weren't for Little League, most children would not get to play any baseball/softball at all.

Parents need to let kids be kids and not everthing is about the win. I see too many dads (and/or moms) living their past through their kids. Multiple lessons per week, screaming at them from the stands (or worse the dugout). These kids may or may not have the talent but have no choice as to whether they play.

There is my rant for the day. It was really not a fair statement about the board and coaches. We have 350 kids in our league and only a handful of parents that will step up to help and the others just want to sit around and complain. I tend to take it personal when someone says we don't care and don't know what we are doing.

I've tried real hard not to get caught up in this conversation because it is a no win situation.

Everyone has their own thoughts and opinions on the pros and cons of both travel ball and little league. My daughter started off in LL, playing pitching machine through 9&10, but during the last year of 9&10 year olds, decided she didn't want to play anymore LL. She lives for the competition of elite travel softball. Now, I know there are going to be a bunch of people swear up and down that we made her quit one to play the other. And why is that? We (her parents) didn't hold a gun to her head and tell her that she had to quit LL because she was "so much better than everyone else". She knew during her last year at 9&10s that she didn't want to play anymore, but she finished out the season.

I think LL has its place just as travel ball has its place. It's not a battle between the two. There are kids who just want to play softball a few weeks out of the year, and there are kids who CHOOSE to practice and play months out of the year.

One thing that really does get under my skin is the attitude of most people (who have kids playing LL only) toward the parents of kids who play travel ball. They seem to think that we are these tyrannical beasts that scream, berate, and bully our kids into doing something that they don't want to do. Believe me, I have been witness to many parents going ballistic during LL games. I have also read on this forum many times that the kids who play travel ball are miserable because "they don't get to play with their friends". I know I can only speak for my own daughter, but not only are her travel ball teammates her closest friends, but she has made friends from all over the tri-state area that she keeps in contact with on regular occasions.

There are so many people who want to shed a bad light on travel ball and that it is killing LL when actually they are two separate things. If everyone would put in the same amount of effort towards supporting their kid as they do trying to tear down something they are not involved in, the kids would come out ahead. Isn't that what it's all about, anyway?

trojanbuckeye wrote:How offensive to state that most board members and coaches don't know the game.

We have tried to co-exist with Little league and travel ball, the problem is all of the travel ball parents "bad mouthing" Little League. If it weren't for Little League, most children would not get to play any baseball/softball at all.

Parents need to let kids be kids and not everthing is about the win. I see too many dads (and/or moms) living their past through their kids. Multiple lessons per week, screaming at them from the stands (or worse the dugout). These kids may or may not have the talent but have no choice as to whether they play.

There is my rant for the day. It was really not a fair statement about the board and coaches. We have 350 kids in our league and only a handful of parents that will step up to help and the others just want to sit around and complain. I tend to take it personal when someone says we don't care and don't know what we are doing.

Reread my statement--I said some not most. I did get involved in LL last year, and had my eyes opened to many comments and issues and I am just here to say that we are glad we left. There are a lot of good people involved in this league, but they seem to get overshadowed by the few. My son played in over 30 games this year, and got to play against teams from Columbus, Cincy, Lexington, Louisville, Huntington, and Knoxville in several tournaments, and he loves the competition. He told my wife and I he wanted to play more, and we were given a great opportunity for him to do so. No living vicariously here, just supporting him.

We do all have to agree to disagree on this subject. My biggest concern is the kids that aren't "elite" level.

We have tried to co-exist with Little league and travel ball, the problem is all of the travel ball parents "bad mouthing" Little League. If it weren't for Little League, most children would not get to play any baseball/softball at all.

Parents need to let kids be kids and not everthing is about the win. I see too many dads (and/or moms) living their past through their kids. Multiple lessons per week, screaming at them from the stands (or worse the dugout). These kids may or may not have the talent but have no choice as to whether they play.

Sometimes, it is not only the travel parents who badmouth LL, but it is the LL parents who badmouth LL. When a league has a group of negative parents who do nothing but sit and complain (loudly)....how good can the league become? When parents do not support the coaches (who are, incidentally, volunteers) enough to even keep a scorebook....how is that helping the children?

In my experience, it has been that the parents who complain the most are the ones who step in to help the least. Heaven forbid they get out of their comfy chair and get out on the field with the kids. There are a few (thank heaven) who do attempt to help....and then they are badmouthed as well, right along with the coach.

Perhaps a reason why experienced coaches are leaving LL is because of dwindling support and lack of respect from parents. Sure, there are LL coaches who do not know the game as well as others...but, hey...they're out there. District 11 would do a world of good if it had some coaching clinics....and coaching mentors. Unfortunately, many talented coaches are leaving for travel ball because they are able to simply coach.

The parents who show no respect to coaches and managers are the parents who have kids who have no respect for coaches and managers. When a coach tries to show a 10 year old how to hold a bat and is met with this response: "I've been batting like this all my life. I don't care what the coaches say, I'm never changing how I bat.".....well, how in the world can a coach do his or her job?

That is my soapbox for the day.
I believe that both travel ball and LL have their place. I support both...and I favor LL because we simply cannot afford the travel associated with travel ball. Unfortunately, we also do not enjoy or appreciate the politcs associated with LL.

Sometimes, we adults need to step back and remember that it is all for the kids. We must teach them...and then let them play. It is a game. (a fun game)

I HAD AN OPPURTUNITY TO WATCH QUITE A BIT OF TRAVEL BALL THIS PAST SEASON,I PERSONALLY THINK THAT THERE IS LITTLE COMPARISON TO THE LEVEL OF PLAY THAT EACH TEAM FACES.TRAVEL BALL CAN PULL KIDS FROM ALL OVER[THE TEAM I WATCHED HAD SOME KIDS FROM AS FAR AWAY AS 3 HOURS] I PERSONALLY CAN'T AFFORD THE TRAVEL THAT GOES WITH IT,BUT AFTER SEEING WHAT I SAW I WISH FOR MY CHILD'S SAKE I COULD.








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As you all can guess I am a supporter of Little League, the main reason is that Little League takes all kids. The teams are not hand picked, the kids are "recruited".

Almondrox said it best that we all need to remember that these games are for the kids, not the parents. I have to say that we all get caught up in the "politics" of the game and the drama surrounding it sometimes.

I wish that all players had the opportunity to play as many games as those on traveling ball teams that is just not fesible when you are trying to schedule 20 teams on 3 fields.

I just want to that all the volunteers, Little League and travel ball alike. Thanks!!!

Thank you, trojanbuckeye.
My child just loves the game and wants to play. A major league career is highly improbable and not on the radar...however, my child (and many others) just like to play the game.

The sad part is that, yes, my child would be able to play more on a travelling team, but we cannot afford it and I do not know if my child's talents would afford a spot on a travelling roster. My child loved LL this year, and was a decent little ball player...however, the season was severely clouded by the politics and other off-the-field issues that were not related to the game. My child does not want to go back to that league next season, but we must play in the district in which we live.

If we could just find a place to "play ball", we would be happy.

In my experience, I would be perfectly content being given a group of 12 players who know absolutely nothing about the game...but who enjoy it, want to play, AND are teachable. I guess I'm one of the old-fashioned ones who believes it's not all about winning. Well, yeah...you want to win...but at what cost?

Travel ball and Little League has many good coaches and yes both have coaches who do not know the game very well.

The biggest difference is most travel ball players have PARENTS WORK WITH THEIR CHILD TO IMPROVE. They take them to camps and coaches who are good enough to spend their time with children to make them better. Most travel ball teams does not have mandatory play rules. Your child may make the team but that does not mean they will play.

Little League has some parents who work with their child and they have parents who blame the coaches when their child does not play well. I do not care who the coach is they can not teach every player what they need to know. It is up to the parents to teach the basics(throwing,catching,etc...) It is the job of the coach to teach the team how to play like as team. I guess another way to look at it is Little League by far is the biggest in number of players and when you have more people ,you have more complaints.

Sports Junky you pointed out the biggest problem between travel and LL. You said that with travel ball the parents work with the kids by taking them to camps and coaches etc...Not every parent can afford those things. I know many parents that would love to be able to afford the camps for their kids and just can't.

Every camp or coach wants paid. The only one that I know of that does it for the love of the game is Bill Kammer. He teaches any girl who wants to pitch free of charge.

I know of several boys in portsmouth that would be awesome baseball players for traveling teams but their parents are so disinterested that it is sad. The travel coaches don't want to pick up these kids on their teams because the coach would end up paying. Explain to me how this is fair.

I know that not everything in life if fair, I am not that naive and you have to take the lumps sometimes but everyone needs to focus on the fact that most of these kids you are talking about kids under the age of 12 and a lot of adults tend to forget this.

I know of many good guys who does not charge to work with kids. There are also High School kids who work with younger kids. They will not come looking for you,You have to start asking around.

I know my child helps 2 younger kids. She enjoys working with them and I think it makes her better because she is thinking about how the game is played.

Good luck in your search.

The biggest difference is most travel ball players have PARENTS WORK WITH THEIR CHILD TO IMPROVE. They take them to camps and coaches who are good enough to spend their time with children to make them better. Most travel ball teams does not have mandatory play rules. Your child may make the team but that does not mean they will play.

Excellent point! My dad spent hours with my brothers and I...just going over the basics. I have tried to do the same with my child. However, many parents either do not want to spend the time or cannot spend the time (they're "busy").

Especially in LL...a coach will have players from both ends of the spectrum...those who have never touched a bat and those who have vacuum cleaner gloves. Even a great coach cannot cover all playing levels in the 2 hour practice. In order to improve, the player, regardless of ability, needs to practice on his or her own. Since we're talking about children, it usually takes some adult leadership and initiative to develop these habits.

Yes, parents need to get out of their folding chairs and GET INVOLVED....and, quit taking it out on the coach. Yeah...there are lousy coaches...BUT...there are also lousy parents.

Yes Travel ball does cost but as the old saying goes "you get what you pay for". This house is a LL boardmember house. Our son quit baseball at 9 says it's too boring and slow (he's a football and basketball kid,but loves going to his sisters softball tournys lol). Our daughter has played LL, travel ball and LL and travel ball at the same time. Yes we much prefer travel ball and yes it is very expensive. Yes she has private lessons and does camps all of which we plan and sacrifice some for (but not at our sons expence). Yes we are involved in helping her get better, no we are not living or re-living our childhood through her. As long as this is something that she wants to do then we will do what we have to do to support her and see that she gets to do it. By no means are we rolling in the money to support this but again we plan.
LL is very political inside and out and yes TEAMS ARE STILL HAND PICKED in LL because there are always the back door deals going on and if you say there aren't then you dont' live in the real world. Someone always refuses to let his or her child play for a certain coach, a certain coach can no longer deal with certain parents or kids or I had so and so's brother or sister and theres no way I'd pick that kid. It goes on all the time. Travel is picked like anything else. Get used to it when they are in HS everyone doesn't get to be on the team and there are times when everyone doesn't get to play. Thats' life.
As a parent you do what you can do for your child and if LL is all that you can do so be it. If travel ball is something you can afford or would like to check into then give your child that chance if it's what you as a family think is best.