What is a True 'A' Team?

[Laces_Out]

I'll take a stab at answering these but I think the answers differ depending on what age level we are talking.

Does saying you are an 'A' Team get more College Coaches to look at your Team? No. Not in the way you have asked the question. The team would have to be an A or Gold team to get into the tournaments or exposure events the college coaches are attending. Also coaches are not watching the team per se, but rather a player that has contacted the coach in advance. That is not to say that another player may catch the eye of the college coach.

Are the Coaches hoping to get the areas top players by saying they are an 'A' Team? Probably. The coaches advertising for A, have the goal to play at that level against the games top talent in that age division. Sadly travel ball is too diluted and many teams with this goal can't put a roster full of A ball players together.

Why even classify Teams if eveyone thinks they are an 'A' Team? I don't think everyone does think they are A. Again this depends on the age groups. There are plenty of teams playing in the B division 14U and lower. 16U and up is when it needs to be A or Gold.

How many tourneys have you been to that the 'A' Class is saturated with Teams who are not very good claiming to be 'A'? No question about this one...it happens. Too many teams. Coach must take lesser talent to fill roster. Overall quality of team is lowered.

Who is getting anything out of those games when it is certain to end in a run rule? The true A or Gold level team with the W gets something out of those games. They get the easy stats...K's, boost in B.A. hitting off a lesser pitcher, etc.. That teams looks and is stronger on paper and in reality. Probably a lot of boring games for them. But they will take the fluff games.

I understand everyones goal is to play the top talent in hopes of getting better. I have never completely understood this statement. What happened to coaching? Lessons? Parents who take the time to work with their kids? I'm not sure how playing 1 on 1 against Reggie Miller makes me a better basketball player. Playing Reggie might show me where I need to be, but it doesn't actually improve my skills.

Why put a team full of average or less players through a Fall and Summer of 'A' Ball? I hear Coaches and parents say it will make them better to play the best. Why indeed. See above.

I wonder if you are going 3 up 3 down with all strike outs because the girls are not ready to play at that level, what are the girls really Gaining? Nothing. This is counter productive.

Why not play 'B' and let the girls get better while hopefully building some confidence before moving to 'A'? A wise question.

[Pridefpsb17]

At the young age groups (10U-14U), I see the total opposite. Too many teams play down at B in search of trophies instead of pushing the players and the team to play better competition. It is especially bad at 10U.

[illini 1]

I agree with Pride 100%!! Be happy that all these teams care about playing the best and making there teams better. I think there are to many B teams that should be A, but the coaches care about winning more then making there teams better.

[Laces_Out]

By what criteria should a coach use to determine the ability or class of the team? For discussion sake let's keep this 14U or lower. A match-up I saw multiple times last year might be good example. Team Y was stronger 1-9 in positions and hitting (no projects) but did not have overpowering pitching. Team Z had impressive pitching, but arguably, a weaker overall line-up. Each game was deep into Sunday, close, and anybody's ball game.

Is Team Y an A ball team because they were average to above average in most positions with good pitching but not great? Is Team Z an A ball team because of the dominant pitching?

[slapperdad]

Great example Laces Out. When my DD was younger, she played on a "B" team. We played primarily USSSA. So designations weren't necessarily that big of a deal, because typically everyone's thrown into the same pool. We were a pretty good B team, one good pitcher and strong lineup thru the first 5......6-12....roll of the dice, but a lot more outs than baserunners, typical B team in my opinion.

The real differences in my opinion between us and what I perceived to be A teams at that time:
1. In B ball, there were teams that we were better than, and pretty much no matter how we played we were going to beat those teams. In A ball, you need to bring it every game because the other team will beat you if you don't.
2. We could compete with A teams, and did so on many occasions, however in a tournament format, we couldn't beat three or four of them back to back to win the tourney.

I never got caught up in the whole A or B thing. I tried to teach my kids that you play whoever whoever shows up in the other dugout. Labels make it easy to make excuses. That's not going to serve them later in life.

[illini 1]

I agree with trying to make sure that the girls are ready to play no matter who is sitting on the other bench but.......

I have been coaching a number of years, and when I had a 11u team we played 12u ASA A tournaments all summer, at the beginning of the season we got creamed by the elite teams, going home in the first games on Sundays, in fact I remember getting beat 15-0 the first time we played the eventual state ASA champs that year. By the end of the year we were making most semifinal games and eventually got to a championship game. Then in the last tourney before state we ran into that same team, although we lost, it was a 2-1 in 8 innings. Then we went onto great things when we were older 12s!!! I dont beleive for a moment that if we played B that summer do we even come close to having as good as year as we had as 12s!!! Then as 13s, we competed with all the 14s and even did very well at ASA A State!!!

[Nun40]

"A" teams ? Compared to Ca we do not have any "A" teams that can compete. Our pitching is good enough but the hitting is not. If our hitting were up to par then some of the best so called "A" teams would have been able to finish well in the ASA Nationals not only this past summer but in the last several years.

What Indiana have teams have ever finished in the top 10 in the "A" ASA Nationals this year? As far as I know not any!

Very few Indiana teams have ever finished well in the ASA Nationals in the past years. One was the Shockwaves who finished 4th in 16U last year; another was the Magic Gold that finished 5th back in 2003 and then the Edge 18U team that finished 2nd in the ASA Nationals back in 2005.

The advantage Ca has over us is they play all year around and get the experience that our teams really need to compete. Also fastpitch softball in Indiana is not the main sport. Basketball, Volleyball and Soccer are the main sports. Softball is not as popular in Indiana as it is in Ca.

JJ

[patches]

I would have to say i don't agree with Nun40 if you look at national's Indiana will have about 5 team's cal will have over 20 that doesn't make it an even playing field. I would have to say the teams in Indiana have made great stride's in competing with the teams from the warmer climates.I would have to say the coaches and players in Indiana will continue to raise the level of play on both sides of the ball not just PITCHING so go Indiana softball.

thanks
mark
The Indiana Gator's

[slapperdad]

Not sure what relevance California has in this thread, but WTF, I'll play along. Forget the weather:
1.California has roughly SIX times the population of Indiana.
2.California has about 11K higher median household income as Indiana.
3.Purely a guess on my part, but I'd venture a guess they have a lot more training, private instructors, etc. available to them.
4.As has been pointed out, the culture if just different there, kids here dream of hardwood glory, and start dribbling a Basketball as soon as they can walk, out there they play Softball and Volleyball. However, in my opinion the culture is starting to change. I have witnessed a change in both girls and boys youth sports. If Basketball is still king, the throne is getting a bit tarnished. On the boys side, Football is rapidly becoming the thing in Indiana. Girls, not sure, but Softball is definitely making great strides.

[SnocatzDad]

To me the reason to play "A" even if your not going to win many games is that in "B" ball you have lots of match ups that become slug fests because the pitching is mediocre. Hitting .750 against a pitcher that probably will never start Varsity for High School or pitch in college just doesn't do much to develop you as a hitter and I see lots of kids stop working at hitting because they think they are studs because they pound weak pitchers, but when they face great pitching they make excuses for why their batting average drops below .150.

If you can't win 1/4 of your games or field at least one pitcher that can give your opponents the same challenge your expecting from them, then you should play B.