CPR for Rec softball program

[DonnieS]

[Same issue here in the past- less talented girl parents actually ran the the All-Star team- their DDs not only made the team, but seemed to find starting positions or move more talented girls out of position. Only one(of a group of five) are still playing today. The politics and infighting were terrible-very much a soap opera

Only good thing is that at least its not just in our part of the world. A small town 20 miles from here had a rec league that was run very much 'by the book'. By that I mean, the guy who ran it, worked very hard to keep the politics out as much as was possible. He kept the league on ASA rules, and wouldnt allow the all-star group to do anything but ASA (class B obviously) - and they, followed the rules, something of an oddity around here. I took teams over to play in their league and appreciated what they did over there - and told them. Now when parents come up and ask me where I think they should play - thats where I point them to.

[softballdadcoach]

I know here in my area, more and more of the "better" girls have been moving to Travel Ball and do not have the time or are not "allowed" to play for the local Rec leagues. On my 11-12 YO team this year I had 4 girls out of 12 who had never played organized bat-and-ball sports. While that is a good way to bring more into the sport, very few stick with it past a rec season or two. Also, most Rec leagues empahsize every girl gets to play (and rightly so, IMO) and many parents prefer their girls earning playing time based on skill like with Travel Ball.

I wish there was some way to better push Travel Ball and Rec leagues together and have more of a community-oriented teams approach in Travel Ball...