EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

I was just thinking.......

I played baseball as a kid....didn't grow up playing, just when I was 10 and 11, then again in high school my freshmen year. I was ok at baseball but football was more my sport. Don't get me wrong, I loved the sport, just never played it enough to get really good at it and being raised by a single mom and my father not being around much when I was young, I never really got the training I needed to get better.

When I got out of the army I started umpiring baseball because I enjoy the sport and I like working with kids. It paid fairly well so that was a bonus. I've been an umpire for nearly 20 years so I've seen alot of changes in the sport.

Now days you have your regular youth recreational leagues and you also have your select leagues and teams. The recreational teams, of course, are made up of neighborhood kids of...oh....mediocre to low level talent while the select leagues and teams have the "studs". Some of their parents were major league, minor league or college athletes. In some instances its just the fact that they have a excess of money to buy private training from professionals. Needless to say, they have a great base to build on.

It disturbs me that SOME of the select ball players, coaches and parents look down on the recreational leagues and players. It's not the fault of the recreational league players that they don't have the genes, the training, or maybe the money that the select leagues have access to.

Baseball should be enjoyed by everyone that wants to participate and the "elitist" shouldn't snub their noses at those who maybe don't have the same advantages. In fact, the "elitist" should be mentors for others and encourage....not belittle.

But...it's not just baseball that this happens in. I see it in other sports as well.

the team my 9 year old played on this year started playing tournaments the 3rd weekend in february and ended their season the 2nd weekend in december so yea you have to love watching your kid play ball. had to give up a lot of stuff. i coached third base on this team so i was there every weekend we played. we played every other weekend and a few months we played three tournaments a month. tons of baseball and TONS OF DRAMA. there were several times when i would tell my self man it was so much fun playing rech ball. but here we are again just put together another select tournament 10u team our first tournament is the 3rd weekend in february.     

oh and kevin you must have some pretty good nerves because i have heard a lot of b s talking to the blue
some of the old guys crack me up

Lol, yep. It's funny.....I try to stick to the older boys as much as I can and the coaches/parents/players get used to you and you learn them pretty well to.

Every so often ill fill in at a lower age level or my boss will assign me a lower age level game for a specific reason. It's those games that ....oh.....sometimes I have to "remind" the coaches why they are there and what is considered acceptable behavior.  popo

There's no crying in Baseball!!!!!! -Tom Hanks (League Of Their Own) LOL

Really though, I know what you mean. I was pretty good at ball all growing up and tried out for a few Minor and college teams but had a calling to go to the Military after 9/11. Well, growing up in school and select teams and camps and all was sooooo stressful. Once in the Army I was stationed in Germany did my time there and next thing you know I'm traveling around Europe playing SS and 2nd with a bunch of Krauts. The wife got pretty tired of it so we came back after I was through with the service. When I got back to the Mother Land I began umpiring 12U and 14U and have officially seen it all. The best line I've heard so far was to my field umpire, he missed a call and I heard "C'mon Blue! If you had another eye you'd be a Cyclopes!". I busted out laughing!
SORRY! To make a long story short. Now I play Tournament Slowpitch Softball with some buddies and I have the time of my life and enjoy the laid back and cant believe what I put myself through before. Anyways, good post.

not trying to brag in anyway but im 18 and i got selected to play on the national under armour team when i was a sophomore and it was the coolest thing ive gotten to participate in by far but  man its crazy at all the cocky suckers out there.. now i do recommend to all of you that have kids that love the sport as much as i do to look up local under armour tryouts in your area.. mine was at cedar hill near dallas. They are great great great at getting the kids name out to dang near all collages!! Its a lil expensive for the most part but if your kid is  wanting to pursue in baseball I highly recomend this .. check out the video program they have . you will be amazed if you do it!

Kevin. I played baseball in both the city league and select.  I played city league from 4 to 15 and then all 4 years in highschool.  I played select from 11 to 15.  I had more fun in the city league just because thats where most of my friends played.  The select was fun at first but playing every single weeking having to miss out on other stuff my friends were doing the rest of the year I started to get burned out. I went to highschool in a small 2A so if you were half way decent at any sport the coaches wanted you to participate in them all. Once I was in highschool between ffa and playing all sports I just stopped select ball.  Select ball is fun and definately where your kids need to be if they are wanting to go to the next level just dont let them get burned out.

X2!!!