Little League - grounds for forfeit

[GA Umpire]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

As usual, my point is missed. You figure out the reason.

Perhaps if someone else made the same point, it would be understood?

Anyone?

While I do miss many of your points, my guess is how the poster worded his statement. "Well, the managers are just some parents who volunteer to coach." Implying that just b/c they are volunteers, they don't know anything. And, seems as though it is giving an excuse of why they didn't know the rules.

This is my guess and may be off the mark. But, I think I might be close this time.

[Berkut]

Originally Posted by GA Umpire

While I do miss many of your points, my guess is how the poster worded his statement. "Well, the managers are just some parents who volunteer to coach." Implying that just b/c they are volunteers, they don't know anything. And, seems as though it is giving an excuse of why they didn't know the rules.

This is my guess and may be off the mark. But, I think I might be close this time.

Meh, I actually think his current coaches are outstanding. Not making excuses for them per se, just acknowledging that they are just people like me, and the only difference is they are willing to put in a huge amount of time and effort to teach kids, and hence I am not going to get too worked up over them missing something like this.

I am not implying that they do not know anything - clearly they know a lot more about teaching kids baseball than I do - but I am saying that they are not people who have the luxury of being able to spend a huge amount of time making sure they understand the nuances of the rules. So mistakes happen. They ahve taken ownership of their mistake and the consequence of it admirably, IMO.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by GA Umpire

While I do miss many of your points, my guess is how the poster worded his statement. "Well, the managers are just some parents who volunteer to coach." Implying that just b/c they are volunteers, they don't know anything. And, seems as though it is giving an excuse of why they didn't know the rules.

This is my guess and may be off the mark. But, I think I might be close this time.

Maybe it should be highlighted this way: "Well, the managers are just some parents who volunteer to coach."

It's the parents part, folks! Good Christ, there are volunteer coaches at D-I universities, who are some of the best coaches who ever walked on a diamond!

It's a system that is designed to produce mediocre results. When a player arrives at his first day of high school practice with a Little League background, he is behind, with little likelihood of catching up.

And I guess I could placate everyone who takes offense at that reality, but then, I can't figure out quite how to word the sing-song portrayal. I'm better with the truth.

Let me try anyway: If you have a son who loves baseball and would like to play it even as far as high school, and perhaps even college, then Little League is a wonderful place to start. Scores and scores of young players spring from the Little League ranks and pepper college and professional rosters just as they always have.

(Sorry, I need to go wash my shoes.)

[Steven Tyler]

Sorry,

Excuse me for having an opinion (deleted)

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by Steven Tyler

Sorry,

Excuse me for having an opinion (deleted)

Your previous actions have obviated your right to have (or at least to express) any such opinions.

[Berkut]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

It's a system that is designed to produce mediocre results. When a player arrives at his first day of high school practice with a Little League background, he is behind, with little likelihood of catching up.

Behind compared to what though?

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by Berkut

Behind compared to what though?

Principally PONY, but also travel ball and the other stuff that springs from those programs. Whatever the league affiliation, it is critical that a young player learn base running and pitching with runners on base way before he is 13. Playing in a ballpark with realistic outfield fence distances also is a critical element.

I'm from Southern California. Here, Little League players have little chance of being a high school player, and no chance at all at a competitive high school. It's been that way around here for about a dozen years, now. And it is becoming that way most everywhere.

I have literally seen one Little Leaguer make it at a competitive local high school. He was the ace on the Thousand Oaks team that won Williamsport. He didn't start until he was a senior, and only made it at all because he was a left-handed pitcher.

I'm sorry that's the way it is, but it's just the way it works these years.

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

I'm from Southern California. Here, Little League players have little chance of being a high school player, and no chance at all at a competitive high school. It's been that way around here for about a dozen years, now. And it is becoming that way most everywhere.

I have literally seen one Little Leaguer make it at a competitive local high school.

A little further down the 5, it's a different story. LL is King, and PONY is it's slow, drooling little brother. Our town is sandwiched between two PONY bergs, that get the beat down from our high school teams year after year. Nearly every player on the two HS teams are LL products.

I think the real difference it the quality of the coaches teaching the game. I've umpired in the surrounding PONY leagues, and it's just not there, for whatever reason. They're just not savvy.

I truly believe that good coaching is passed down year to year within a league, no matter the affiliation.

[jicecone]

Sorry Kevin, as well as your examples for S. Calif. may support your threads here, I don't believe it is indicative of the entire HS, College or Pro community.

Good talent does not always begin at 11, 12 or 13 and High School is certainly not the only judge of good talent in a ballplayers career.

Your supporting facts may or may not be true for where you live but, I don't believe it is for all areas. JMO

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by jicecone

Sorry Kevin, as well as your examples for S. Calif. may support your threads here, I don't believe it is indicative of the entire HS, College or Pro community.

Good talent does not always begin at 11, 12 or 13 and High School is certainly not the only judge of good talent in a ballplayers career.

Your supporting facts may or may not be true for where you live but, I don't believe it is for all areas. JMO

May or may not be true? I've been involved in this in several capacities for an extended period all over Southern California.

Maybe if I highlight the keywords, my message will be more clear:

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

Principally PONY, but also travel ball and the other stuff that springs from those programs. Whatever the league affiliation, it is critical that a young player learn base running and pitching with runners on base way before he is 13. Playing in a ballpark with realistic outfield fence distances also is a critical element.

I'm from Southern California. Here, Little League players have little chance of being a high school player, and no chance at all at a competitive high school. It's been that way around here for about a dozen years, now. And it is becoming that way most everywhere.

I have literally seen one Little Leaguer make it at a competitive local high school. He was the ace on the Thousand Oaks team that won Williamsport. He didn't start until he was a senior, and only made it at all because he was a left-handed pitcher.

I'm sorry that's the way it is, but it's just the way it works these years.

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

, it is critical that a young player learn base running and pitching with runners on base way before he is 13. .

WHY?

It's maybe two days of practice to teach that stuff.

[MrUmpire]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

WHY?

It's maybe two days of practice to teach that stuff.

That speaks to the quality of LL coaching.

Back in the days when a computer took up its own room, our Babe Ruth coach spent much more time coaching these critical parts of the game. Perhaps surprisingly to you, high school and college coaches continued our education in these areas. Maybe someone should have told them that it takes maybe two days. It would have saved us a lot of work.

[kylejt]

I'd say it was half a season of LL Juniors to get them up to speed on the open bases. But most good LL players are also playing travel ball in the offseason, so there's usually no problems at all.

[jicecone]

Kevin, your begining to sound like a New Yorker. They believe that the world is not flat or round. It just doesn't exist outside the city limits of New York.

So let me highlite the key words for you!

So.California represents approximately 1.4% of the United States in area and 3.5 % in population.

In the last statistics course I took, these numbers hardly justify being represenative for the norm.

But as a resident of So. Cal. if you wish to believe otherwise, Happy Birthday to you.

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by MrUmpire

That speaks to the quality of LL coaching.

Back in the days when a computer took up its own room, our Babe Ruth coach spent much more time coaching these critical parts of the game. Perhaps surprisingly to you, high school and college coaches continued our education in these areas. Maybe someone should have told them that it takes maybe two days. It would have saved us a lot of work.

What baserunning skills are different? All the other stuff is the same in both worlds.

1) How to lead off and not get picked off doing it.

2) ????

3) ????

4) ????