[DEVILOLOGIST]

just a situation..............

[kybaseball]

Maybe we could list of more stories and see if the glove fits the hand. LOL

[DEVILOLOGIST]

Go ahead .. I started the hornets nest, but remember ,, this is only a situation. no names and no bashing kids on here. Talk about your personal experiences with this.

[kybaseball]

no names b/c i don't know any. I do not bash kids they are the best. it's the 25yr + kids that need bashing.I have no personal feelings . I just hear a lot of people talk about different things from different leagues.

[Jshort5]

This is off-topic, but PHS my coach told me today that the gas is so high that we wouldn't be playing anybody that wasn't within a 30 mile radius, so I guess that we won't be playing Belfry this year unless you all came to us or if we could meet in the middle and play at a neutral site. I was dissapointed, but I hope something can be worked out and we play you this year! Just wanted to let you know, Thanks.

[phs1986]

This is off-topic, but PHS my coach told me today that the gas is so high that we wouldn't be playing anybody that wasn't within a 30 mile radius, so I guess that we won't be playing Belfry this year unless you all came to us or if we could meet in the middle and play at a neutral site. I was dissapointed, but I hope something can be worked out and we play you this year! Just wanted to let you know, Thanks.

Yeah.. I already know as I have called to schedule games with Neon and haven't heard back from them. We played at HAP tonight and I actually have only been home about 45 minutes!! You all are participating in All-Stars aren't you? Regardless of my child making OR if he doesn't, I will be there to watch a couple of games. I might just get to meet ya then young man!!

Keep up with the great posts son....

[Jshort5]

Yeah.. I already know as I have called to schedule games with Neon and haven't heard back from them. We played at HAP tonight and I actually have only been home about 45 minutes!! You all are participating in All-Stars aren't you? Regardless of my child making OR if he doesn't, I will be there to watch a couple of games. I might just get to meet ya then young man!!

Keep up with the great posts son....

I don't know if I am playing all-stars because I am going to San Antonio for the International Youth Convention for church and I don't want to start something that I may not be able to finish as I have been fundraising for this for 2 years.
Even though it may be unlikely that we (Neon) make it back to state, there is always a possibility that we may, and thats baseball but I do not want to start with All-Stars and not be able to finish, that would just be letting my teammates down, but I have to do what I have to do.:o

[UKCAT5FAN]

I personally think that all 12 need to be voted on instead of picking 2 if you are the coach. When a coach picks his buddies little boy in stead of a kid who can really play ... it just seems like it hurts the team and the other kids who deserve to be there.
Just my opinion, thats all.

That's why it is important to select the right coach for the job. I like the 10 vote process because (if you have the right coach) the coach can assess the talent and decide on what he needs to have a complete baseball team. I think baseball is so strategic sometimes that its good for a good coach to be able to fill voids. In baseball a coach may need a kid who can only do a certain skill or have a certain talent or maybe have a certain characteristic like speed. A coach may also decide that he needs a kid with a great attitude who is going to get the boys fired up and keep their spirits high but can still play good baseball. People who vote on all-stars usually vote on the most talented kid or the most talented pitcher. Its good for a coach to be able to fill 2 roster spots with whatever he/she believes he/she needs to be successful, more so in baseball than any other sport and I might even feel differently about this process in sports other than baseball. Maybe there were several kids who have great talent but didn't make the top ten, with this process the coach can decide what players are needed on that specific team and add them to the roster. That is why it is extremely important to pick the right coach and not pick someone who is not going to play politics and someone who deserves to be the coach because of his coaching skills and not for ANY other reason such as friendship or favors. I think you see more politics played in the coaching selection than you do in the player selection.....that's a whole other argument though. These are just my opinions on this matter.

[DEVILOLOGIST]

Good post CAT5, Thanks

[UKCAT5FAN]

Basically, little league is completely volunteers. When you have 22+ teams in a league its hard to not have a parent involved in the coaching process. I know personally, having my husband as well as other family members coaching my child has been both positive and negative for him. He definatly is worked VERY hard and yet, he gets it at home as well as the ballfield!! LOL.... He feels as though he can't make a mistake. This makes it hard for him as he puts a lot of pressure on himself. I myself have been president of a little league and I didn't let coaches vote for their own teams. Seeing as their child was on their team this took care of some of the "stigmatism" associated with the voting process of little league all-stars. I guess at the next level it depends on the kid, parent, community, and sport!! LOL

Great points!!! I don't think there is a perfect system for voting all-stars. The major league sports have had this issue for years and it's still a popularity contest. The fact the L.L. is a volenteer organization means that you WILL always have parents involved in coaching. That is just the way it is. Every year at the L.L. World Series, the Head Coach is almost always a father of a player. That is the nature of the beast in little league. Having a rule against coaches voting for their own players is a great idea, IMO. It does take some of the favoritism out of things. There is no perfect process but I like the 10 player vote and the coach picks up 2 players and again it comes down to the coach selection. The coach selection has to be right in order for this process to work and if it's not done right then it just doesn't work at all and then I think the 12 vote process is better. The coach selection can not be a popularity contest and it can't be given to someone for "all the time they put in" or "how much work they do" or " because his kid is the best player in the league" or whatever the case may be. The selection must be earned and not given to someone. The 12 vote process should and would be better if the coaching selection is a popularity contest. I completely see Devilologist points and he's right about the kids. I will say this, I know where his heart is and it's with the kids. He's definately for the betterment and developement of those kids. I've been really pleased and impressed with mostly every coach in the R.F.L.L., They want to be there and they care about the kids. Sure they are competitive and they want to win every game but it's obvious that most of them have their hearts in the right place when it comes to the kids. They work very hard to develope these kids and prepare them for the next levels and Devilologist is right there in the mix.

[kybaseball]

this is a hyperthetical situation.nothing more, say you have person A who has other teams playing outside the LL. say person A has person B,C,D,E, help them in the other endeavors and they work it around to get persons 1,2,3,4,5. to load up the board. then gets B,C,D,E the coaching jobs in the LL. then have a meeting with all the above said members and say lets make sure we get all our players from the other endevor on the all star team. then instruct the players who to vote for.and get all the players to make deals with other players i'll vote for you if you vote for me deal. then pull the old back laceration move. coach A has 4 out of the 5 voting bodies wraped up. therefore the all star selection has been manipulated. i don't know if this has ever happen but it could quite easily.

[kybaseball]

there really is no good way to pick ALL-STARS. however i like the 5 system (even though not perfect) the best

[DEVILOLOGIST]

this is a hyperthetical situation.nothing more, say you have person A who has other teams playing outside the LL. say person A has person B,C,D,E, help them in the other endeavors and they work it around to get persons 1,2,3,4,5. to load up the board. then gets B,C,D,E the coaching jobs in the LL. then have a meeting with all the above said members and say lets make sure we get all our players from the other endevor on the all star team. then instruct the players who to vote for.and get all the players to make deals with other players i'll vote for you if you vote for me deal. then pull the old back laceration move. coach A has 4 out of the 5 voting bodies wraped up. therefore the all star selection has been manipulated. i don't know if this has ever happen but it could quite easily.

For one, all kids who play all-stars have to play in the league. They have to be residents in district with the league. They have to play at least 1/2 of the season to be elegible for all-stars. Now if you are saying that these kids play other leagues of baseball like AAU, USSSA or American All-stars and also play in little League. Then the kid is eligible for All-stars. If the kid plays AAU, or USSSA and does not play in the little league, he will NOT be eligible to play All-stars.

[phs1986]

District 7 All-stars will be played in Paintsville for the 9-10, 10-11, and 11-12 year old divisions..... for the Jr. League and Senior League divisions it will be played in Prestonsburg. IF I'm not mistaken the little league starts on July 4th and the Jr./Senior Leagues start on July 6th.

This should give everyone ample time to get their all-stars chosen, practice, and uniforms in!! (This has always been a rough spot for me).....
Good Luck to all area teams!!!

[kybaseball]

For one, all kids who play all-stars have to play in the league. They have to be residents in district with the league. They have to play at least 1/2 of the season to be elegible for all-stars. Now if you are saying that these kids play other leagues of baseball like AAU, USSSA or American All-stars and also play in little League. Then the kid is eligible for All-stars. If the kid plays AAU, or USSSA and does not play in the little league, he will NOT be eligible to play All-stars.

all the kids would be eligible. because some kids would be picked for a travel team b/c who they are and maybe some kids would be better but would not m get on all star team b/c the system can be fixed.i am just pointing out how a all star voting can be manipulated.

[FBALL]

There will always be politics involved.

[UKCAT5FAN]

There will always be politics involved.

As much as I hate to agree with this statement, it seems to be the truth. It's a complete shame too. The fact that even something as pure as Little League has been corupted by politics make my stomach turn but it's evident to me that it is true.

[kybaseball]

As much as I hate to agree with this statement, it seems to be the truth. It's a complete shame too. The fact that even something as pure as Little League has been corupted by politics make my stomach turn but it's evident to me that it is true.

Well said.

[DEVILOLOGIST]

Well I can speak from experience, I as a coach started a travel team in USSSA, AABC and American All-stars and this is how I picked my team. I first took my son and other kids who I knew could play baseball, and let me say this, they loved baseball and they never missed. Then I took kids who I knew from the league. I started a team when they were 8 years old and they played together for 2 years. There were 4 coaches including me and we as coaches had the overall selection of the boys. Out of all of the kids that played on my team, ALL were kids in the little league program at Russell/Flatwoods. I happened to be a board member at the time I did this and I CAUGHT ALL KINDS OF ****. I had parents call my house asking why their kid was not on my team, why their kid did not make the team. How can you explain to 50 people that you play 9 at a time and 3 alternates who can pitch. These kids played together for 2 years and the team changed over time but one thing was for sure, they learned to play baseball and they learned to win. Out of the 12 kids that played on my travel team. 11 made the all-star teams at RF. One did not becasue he lived out of district but plays in our league. he is not elligible to play in All-stars. Now if you think that the votes were rigged to pick these kids for all-stars you are mistaken. These kids can play baseball and if you did not pick them you would be silly. I am thankful that some parents were understanding and knew that this team was not started to hurt feelings but to better those kids who were playing baseball. They played together as 8 year olds and went 38 and 2. As 9 year olds they played in a 9-10 year old division and held ther own only loosing to few team that were loaded with good 10 year olds. As 9 year old they played in the state tourny for USSSA, voted as best defensive team and people could not believe that not only were they from the same stae but they all went to school together at the same school. They performed very well. As 10 year olds they played and beat alot of teams, I think they only lost 5 games all year. When All-stars were picked these kids were ready to play. THEN we had 1 kid put his hand thru a window requiring stitches on his throwing hand. We had one break a leg in regular season that kept him out. Then 2 weeks before we go to state a kid has to have an emergency appendectomy. he still played in the state tourney, not 100% but played. The boys did very well in the LLstate tourney last year but they could have done better, and I hope it will be their year to win the state tourney. We dont know who will be picked for all-stars and that is what scary...... Those 2 picks that are left up to the coach can either make you a genius or a target.
We will know more Sunday morning when it is posted.


Lets pray for those kids that are elligible to represent their area in the tourney this year..

[kybaseball]

i am saying it could happen not that it did.

[THUGLIFE#1]

The Board members, and coaches go into a little and discuss who sould make all-stars,And Befroe the regular season tournament starts the kids vote. But the coaches vote counts the most. Thats how paintsville does it.

[kybaseball]

devil are these boys playing 11 or 11-12?

[DEVILOLOGIST]

The board voted to keep all teams per age group. Kids who are 11 could not play on 12s. I think it is good,,, becasue you have 12 year olds who need to play with their age group and 11/s should play with 11s. NOW that is just a personal oppinion from me but I am biased on this. I want my son to stay on the team he playe with last year. That way they stay together.
So to answer your ??, my son is playing 11 only. That is if he makes the team,, they will post Sunday after church.

[kybaseball]

i heared of a LL that did that split last year and made it to the state,i heared of LL a few years back that did it and the parents of the 12's got mad and would not let there kids play. i guess there are two types of thinking on the matter.

[UKCAT5FAN]

The board voted to keep all teams per age group. Kids who are 11 could not play on 12s. I think it is good,,, becasue you have 12 year olds who need to play with their age group and 11/s should play with 11s. NOW that is just a personal oppinion from me but I am biased on this. I want my son to stay on the team he playe with last year. That way they stay together.
So to answer your ??, my son is playing 11 only. That is if he makes the team,, they will post Sunday after church.

"If he makes the team".......... a bit modest aye!!! HA HA!! I think he'll make the team. I know of at least 1 vote he has for sure!!!

[DEVILOLOGIST]

Thanks for the vote. Just wonder who is going to make it?? I had heard that the coach who has the team will be selecting his 2 picks and none of them played on the team last year. This is a scary part of the all-stars. Be hard to not have the kids from last year that made it close. I am just waiting to see the 2 that are picked. BUT I have to tell you , I dont have a good feeling on this.

[kybaseball]

hey if they don't make it take them fishing.

[DEVILOLOGIST]

You got it KYBBALL,, but only for a weekend,, football season starts conditioning on July 15th.. Not far off and football is a blast.

[kybaseball]

man you guys start early for the middel school. of course that could be one of the reasons why you guys have on of the best high school programs in the state. i want to move to Russell.

[DEVILOLOGIST]

Brother you can move if you want to....
Now we start conditioning, not practice. We start practice the last week in July just like everybody else. The reason we are always competitive I THINK is that we have a tradition and JFL program. Our JFL slogan is
"Tradition starts HERE!!"