by McGee » Mon Dec 15, 2014 5:34 pm
Anyone interested in playing travel,ball should do,just that, cut the cord from rec ball and play travel. ASA is now trying to allow teams to do both and it just doesn't make sense. A quasi travel team with one foot still in rec probably can't give give enough attention to their rec team and that isn't fair to their rec team and teaches a poor lesson about accountability.
Playing travel provides advantages but also incurs extra responsibility and effort. To play better teams you have to improve your roster, practice harder and more efficiently, raise funds and spend time scheduling games and practices. You may also lose access to the local rec fields and you have to find fields, build,your own schedule, hire umpires, buy uniforms and so on.
Doing both also means your have to practice and play with two teams spending time that might be better invested elsewhere.
At the same time, rec ball is the mothers milk of the game. I see lots of marginal,players flocking to tee shirt travel,teams in search of the holy grail. Local,leagues are slowing dying at the 12 and 14u level and I am afraid we are killing the golden goose. Where will the better players come from when our rec feeder programs all die out.