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Originally posted by IRISHMAFIA
Speaking of which, even National Tournaments have lost their prestege because of the BS some of these coaches shovel. I was always under the impression, as a player and umpire, that playing for a National Championship was something you worked hard for and had proven you deserved to be there. Nowadays, just about any team can grab a berth to some of these tournaments and send their team "just for the experience." Forget that they may not even belong in the same state, let alone complex or field as their competition. I can appreciate them wanting their players to experience something special, but what good is experiencing getting your *** handed to you by teams who ask, "why did we have to waste our playing time against a team like that?" Forget they sucked up a field, scorekeeper and umpiring crews.
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Here, in this hotbed of nationally competitive 12U teams (yeah, right), one of the sanctioning bodies is sanctioning 12 of what used to be invitational tournaments as 12U NQs. One weekend in May there are 3 going on simultaneously; another weekend in June, there are 4 going on simultaneously. A second sanctioning organization is not far behind. ASA seems to be the only organization that tries to have teams actually earn a berth in national championship play.