Who are the big tough teams at 10u level A?? are there any?

[Crimson]

Ok. Heres my take on "A" and "B" Ball. It is not necessarily about winning and losing. It is about trying to play the best competition. Playing the best competition your team can play is what makes your team and players better in the long haul. I think we can all agree on that. Some teams may not be the best 1,2 or 3 teams out there, but may still, by compettitve standards, be an "A" team. There are teams out there right now that are registered "B" teams that could go to "A" Nationals and compete just fine. Some may lose every game, but still compete. I see only a few reasons(and may be a combination of all) a team may register "B".

1. In the beginning they did not know what they had
2. Financial reasons(proximity to nationals)
3. Sand bagging

The teams that I have seen this year that are "A" teams in my mind are.....and some actually are registered "A" teams.

1. NWI Sox
2. Indiana Xtreme
3. Hoosier Crush
4. Crown Point Bulldogs
5. Indiana Gators 01
6. Indiana Magic 01
7. Valpo Phoenix
8. Indiana Eclipse
9. Ambush
10.W. Newton Blaze
11. Indy Edge

Those are just the teams that I have seen that may fall in that category by competitive standards. Might add the Sharks? Lady Bandits? Warriors?. In any case by my list and what you guys think , we could probably come up with at least 20 teams for a very competitive field for a tournament.

[softball_freak]

Ok. Heres my take on "A" and "B" Ball. It is not necessarily about winning and losing. It is about trying to play the best competition. Playing the best competition your team can play is what makes your team and players better in the long haul. I think we can all agree on that. Some teams may not be the best 1,2 or 3 teams out there, but may still, by compettitve standards, be an "A" team. There are teams out there right now that are registered "B" teams that could go to "A" Nationals and compete just fine. Some may lose every game, but still compete. I see only a few reasons(and may be a combination of all) a team may register "B".

1. In the beginning they did not know what they had
2. Financial reasons(proximity to nationals)
3. Sand bagging

The teams that I have seen this year that are "A" teams in my mind are.....and some actually are registered "A" teams.

1. NWI Sox
2. Indiana Xtreme
3. Hoosier Crush
4. Crown Point Bulldogs
5. Indiana Gators 01
6. Indiana Magic 01
7. Valpo Phoenix
8. Indiana Eclipse
9. Ambush
10.W. Newton Blaze
11. Indy Edge

Those are just the teams that I have seen that may fall in that category by competitive standards. Might add the Sharks? Lady Bandits? Warriors?. In any case by my list and what you guys think , we could probably come up with at least 20 teams for a very competitive field for a tournament.

I agree with you Crimson on all but one team, the Valpo Phoenix. There is absolutely no way that they are on the same continent as the majority of the other teams that you listed. Their pitching is very weak and the hitting is about the same. They also make quite a few more errors than your typical "A" team does. I have not seen them at any "A" tourneys this year that these other teams have been at. From what I hear, they seek out the "B" tourneys cause they know they can't compete at the "A" level. Maybe next year they will be better (with some quality pick-ups) and even get on the same continent as some of these other "A" teams. I could be wrong, but I don't see them placing in the upper third in the "B" World Series. Some of these other teams that are going "B" (Xtreme, Bulldogs, etc.) should place really high in Fishers.

[Bake]

Question for Crimson and softball_freak, .........What standards does the rule book use to determine "A" or "B" ???? Sounds like a stupid question, but back 12 or 13 years ago I remember the "B" Class was strictly for town or district All-Star Teams, when did that change??
Hey, I've been out of travel ball for a few years, cut me some slack!!

[softball_freak]

Question for Crimson and softball_freak, .........What standards does the rule book use to determine "A" or "B" ???? Sounds like a stupid question, but back 12 or 13 years ago I remember the "B" Class was strictly for town or district All-Star Teams, when did that change??
Hey, I've been out of travel ball for a few years, cut me some slack!!

That's probably more of a question for Crimson. I do agree that "B" should be more of a town ball or all-star. I'm still fairly young in the travel ball circuit. My daughter played 8U travel and this is her 2nd year of 10U. So I don't know what it was like 12 years ago. All I know is that you can definitely tell the difference between "A" and "B" teams (let's not get into ASA). I was just making a remark that the Phoenix really don't belong in the same class as the majority of the other teams listed. Not from what I observed anyway. So I guess the question is where do teams of this caliber go for the world series? There are so many teams like them out there (a big step up from rec ball, but not near the caliber of the majority of other teams listed). I believe this is how the "B" world series became so popular and has so many similar teams.

[Crimson]

Bake, I agree thats what should be the rules for "B" sanctioning teams, but I think it is up to the discretion of the coaches unless an organization mandates "A" ball. Teams can be reclassified by state directors though. This does not happen very often. With so many sanctioning bodies out there, a state director risks losing a team to another national event if they reclassify them "A" and they do not like it. Thats the business side of it. At 8 and 10 and under I think it might be open for the winter season. Softball_Freak I respect your opinion about Valpo, but they have come on pretty strong late in the season. We will have to see where they finish in Fishers. : )

[LilBomber!]

Answer to the Op -- no they're all in Cali!

[softball_freak]

One more week for NSA play! Then on to 12's...new forum gonna start soon? lol

[clayface74]

I was really puilling for this thread to hit 100 pages....I am truely disappointed in the 10U commitment to softball....This had potential to be an "A" Thread.....what a let down...Long Season

[softballnut75]

Look at the NWI White Sox, check out the CP Bulldogs always in hiding and coming alive at the end. Look at the Aftershock along with the Hoosier Crush. Indiana has some very talented teams they can hold their own with anyone around the state or even outside of the state.

[Fuddrules]

Gotta keep the thread going.

Just an FYI for the rest of you bucketduds - NWI was one of the first teams to quality as was noted

http://johnsoncityasanationals.com/?p=274

Thanks for the input and clarifications, Cindy. Where is Fuddrules?

First and foremost, working.

Secondly, I'm watching the 10U Bake's in TN. Already. Just watch and learn.