More Little League Drama

[vuduchile 1,941]

We had 3 whiny moms beg us to let their kids play 8u this year, even though theyre 9.

 

They argued that their kids werent superstars and wanted to play with their classmates. I was against it, because I know the kids and theyre not great, but decent. Me and 2 other board members were out voted.

 

Its not unheard of for a kid to play down when hes a total spaz. As a board, we reserve the right to make that call

 

Halfway through the season, the team has only lost once and those 3 kids are the difference makers.

 

The big tournament is coming up and teams are supposed to submit their rosters with birth dates. The President said we should just lie. He later said another option would be to tell the tourney sponsors they can either take the team with the 9 yr olds, or we wont send them.

 

As the baseball commissioner, its now left to me to figure out.

 

The coach is the pastor of my church. Im not about to go to him or anyone else and tell them to lie about the ages of their kids just so they can play in a tourney.

 

We joined a new league this year with other towns weve never played before. They wont be happy when I tell them their 8 yr olds have been getting stomped by 9 yr olds all season. Well also get a reputation for being cheaters.

 

We could pull those 3 from the tournament and make them all move up for the last half of the season, but that screws the other kids on their team, and the teams they move up to.

 

We should have played it straight to begin with.

[DankNuggs 305]

They arent playing the tournament. Let them decide what they want to do. If your league wants to let it slide for the regular season, fine. But they must know they arent playing in any tournaments

[MTSkiBum 1,594]

That sucks, but you need to move the year old to the proper division.

[Reality 2,710]

Should have never been allowed to happen but, the only option now is to do as you said and move the kids up.

 

Do not lie about the age of the kids to enter them in tournaments, it happens and these people are ruining youth sports by their actions, well run tourney's would require birth certificates anyway.

 

Kids need to play in their own focking age groups, everything should be based on age, not grade, I don't care how many grades their parents held them back.

[vuduchile 1,941]

They arent playing the tournament. Let them decide what they want to do. If your league wants to let it slide for the regular season, fine. But they must know they arent playing in any tournaments

This is the only real option I see. It sucks for the other kids on their team though. That will leave them with only 9.

 

8u plays 10 on the field. They can field 9, but when the 10th position comes up in the order, its an automatic out.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

You should have played it straight, yes. Play the tourney without them as they are too old. It's really not a big deal.

[vuduchile 1,941]

Should have never been allowed to happen but, the only option now is to do as you said and move the kids up.

 

Do not lie about the age of the kids to enter them in tournaments, it happens and these people are ruining youth sports by their actions, well run tourney's would require birth certificates anyway.

 

Kids need to play in their own focking age groups, everything should be based on age, not grade, I don't care how many grades their parents held them back.

Yeah. I cant be party to that sh!t.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

This is the only real option I see. It sucks for the other kids on their team though. That will leave them with only 9.

 

8u plays 10 on the field. They can field 9, but when the 10th position comes up in the order, its an automatic out.

You can't find another kid anywhere? I'll bet you can.

[vuduchile 1,941]

You can't find another kid anywhere? I'll bet you can.

Not sure. One of the reasons the board voted yes was so that we could have 2 8u teams instead of one huge team with 17 kids.

[Gladiators 1,904]

Or you move the whole team up to U9 for the tournament. Word might still get out though...

[Cdub100 3,381]

I was on a team that that had an older kid playing. I didn't know it at the time but when the other coaches found out they let us play the tourney and the first game we won was protested then and there and we were out.

 

I learned an important lesson that day as a kid.

 

The president who suggested you lie should be removed from his position.

 

You should send the second place team in their place.

 

The older kids should be moved up immediately.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

Or you move the whole team up to U9 for the tournament. Word might still get out though...

You could. But the results would be disastrous.

[Gladiators 1,904]

Most importantly here, can sizes of the whiny moms and what did you get in return from them for this huge favor?

[Gladiators 1,904]

You could. But the results would be disastrous.

Perhaps, but the OP said they have been stomping the competition. Maybe they will be competitive. Maybe they will get stomped. Getting stomped when youre winning every game can be a good reality check for kids.

[Sho Nuff 719]

If they are going to play down...those parents should have ben told from the start that tournament is a no go.

 

My sons travel soccer team fizzled our last year. He was offered a couple chances to practice with a few other teams and may be used from time to time. We were then approached by another coach who I coached with before and we know many of his players and several that my son played with before (before the age change happened in youth soccer). They had a young and inexperienced team and wanted to have my son there to play defense and help their defenders. He ended up doing it...but we knew from the start that he could only play in friendlies and maybe one of the tournaments...but not their state league games.

He did it and had fun...playing when they needed him to, due to low numbers. And went to the state league games to sit and cheer them some and to talk to the defemdershe had played with.

 

But yeah...uszing older kids in tournament type play...thats a no go IMO

[TimmySmith 2,782]

Perhaps, but the OP said they have been stomping the competition. Maybe they will be competitive. Maybe they will get stomped. Getting stomped when youre winning every game can be a good reality check for kids.

Maybe. But's it's more an age thing than a talent thing. Look at what 3 average 9 year olds are doing in his league, now think of a team of them. He'll get beaten badly, all to keep 3, 9 year olds happy. Not a good scene.

[KSB2424 3,083]

Play down? Nobody plays down. Thats a huge No-No

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

Its Jackie Robinson all over again

[Gladiators 1,904]

Maybe. But's it's more an age thing than a talent thing. Look at what 3 average 9 year olds are doing in his league, now think of a team of them. He'll get beaten badly, all to keep 3, 9 year olds happy. Not a good scene.

Its an option for a team that is only having to deal with this because of a stupid decision made by the board. Thats all.

[frank 2,145]

Tell them they are all a bunch of cheaters and make them run laps.

[Kopy 491]

What a tangled web we weave. When first we practice to deceive!

[Baker Boy 1,485]

Submit the rosters with the proper birthdates, let the tournament decide what to do about the 9 year olds. If you are booted you have learned a valuable lesson.

 

Your President must be removed. An adult lying about an 8 year old baseball league is pathetic. Why would you teach your kids to lie!

[Hardcore troubadour 12,650]

Tell them to take their ball and go home.

[Grace Under Pressure 9]

An adult lying about an 8 year old baseball league is pathetic.

 

This:

 

[Gladiators 1,904]

Hey, if we're allowed to be whatever gender we want, or create new ones, why can't a 9 year old be an 8 year old if he wants? Isn't that the world being created?

[Bier Meister 1,514]

Or you move the whole team up to U9 for the tournament. Word might still get out though...

 

i like this option.

 

lying about their age is unacceptable. I believe that the initial placement was done in good faith and i imagine that there is a cut off for when they can be moved up to the U9 (or whatever the next level up is). I also imagine that there might be an avenue to pull players from that other team so long as there is no conflict.

 

to avoid this in the future, is there a way to assess the talent level for those applying for an exemption?

 

 

 

last year we entered our girls as U12 B in for our lacrosse league. we dominated the season (21-2) with many blowout wins. we did not anticipate those results. this year half of the team aged up to U14 (9 of 21). we acquired about 4 girls from the U10s. this year we entered as U12 A and were getting curb stopped every weekend until about 3-4 weeks ago. 2 of our girls had exemptions from moving up to U14. one is very small for her age and could not absorb the contact from the bigger, stronger girls. the other was a first year player last year and is still developing her stick skills and filed sense (lax iq). no competitive advantage.

[Baker Boy 1,485]

Hey, if we're allowed to be whatever gender we want, or create new ones, why can't a 9 year old be an 8 year old if he wants? Isn't that the world being created?

Yup, like 25 year olds playing HS basketball.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

1. Never let kids play down. Never as in never.

2. Do not let kids play up unless this kid is the next coming of Babe Ruth. If it happens once every 3 years, it is too often.

3. Now that the horse is out of the barn, ask the team to vote on one of three options:

a. Play up as a U9 team

b. Play as a U8 team with those 3 players not part of the team

c. Don't play any tournaments

 

Make sure that everyone knows who the whiny parents are because they will be back around next year to pull the same BS.

[parrot 789]

1. Never let kids play down. Never as in never.

 

This times infinity. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

 

We let a 9 year old play down one year. He was somewhere on the autism spectrum and didn't want to play apart from his 8 year old brother, so the parents begged us to let him play down with him. He was big, but had always been pretty bad, so with the agreement of all the coaches, we let him play. Of course he finally found his eye and started pounding the ball, which, natch, pissed off all the other coaches who had agreed to let him play in the first place. From there things spiraled downward, culminating in me being called a racist in a letter to the editor in the local rag. Good times.

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

 

This times infinity. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

 

We let a 9 year old play down one year. He was somewhere on the autism spectrum and didn't want to play apart from his 8 year old brother, so the parents begged us to let him play down with him. He was big, but had always been pretty bad, so with the agreement of all the coaches, we let him play. Of course he finally found his eye and started pounding the ball, which, natch, pissed off all the other coaches who had agreed to let him play in the first place. From there things spiraled downward, culminating in me being called a racist in a letter to the editor in the local rag. Good times.

 

We even make the kids with Downs (ed) play with their age group. Pandora's box.

[vuduchile 1,941]

 

This times infinity. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

 

We let a 9 year old play down one year. He was somewhere on the autism spectrum and didn't want to play apart from his 8 year old brother, so the parents begged us to let him play down with him. He was big, but had always been pretty bad, so with the agreement of all the coaches, we let him play. Of course he finally found his eye and started pounding the ball, which, natch, pissed off all the other coaches who had agreed to let him play in the first place. From there things spiraled downward, culminating in me being called a racist in a letter to the editor in the local rag. Good times.

Not sure why this made me chuckle, but it did.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

We let a 9 year old play down one year. He was somewhere on the autism spectrum and didn't want to play apart from his 8 year old brother, so the parents begged us to let him play down with him. He was big, but had always been pretty bad, so with the agreement of all the coaches, we let him play.

Funny how the parents would beg to let one brother play down to be together, when they could have opted for younger to play up. Tells you all you need to know about the focus of parents and sports. They want their kids to succeed at all costs.

 

Anthony Dilweg was a local HS football star whose family was suspected to cheat at just about anything. He failed English on purpose his senior year in HS to play a 5th year. Then redshirted in college to get 5 years there. He made the NFL, so there's that.

[vuduchile 1,941]

Our by laws state that we have the right to move a player to another age group if its in his/her best interest, or in the best interest of the league.

 

Having seen a few other situations, I cant say it should never be done. We had 2 brothers a year apart once who wanted to stay on the same team. The older kid had 0 talent for the game, but wanted to be a part of it. He had one hit the whole year. In that scenario it worked out fine.

 

As for playing up, weve done that more frequently. Its a small town so the talent pool is spotty for some age groups.

 

My youngest started playing baseball at 6 even though he technically should have been in tball at that age. He did well and loved it. Hed have been bored to death in tball.

 

At 8, he often plays up on a 10u team if they need someone to fill in. Hes better than most of them already. He loves the game. He gets to play more often, and they can field a complete team.

 

The situation in my OP is much different. Those 3 kids were average players at 8. At 9, theyre among some of the best in the 8u league. Its not right.

[parrot 789]

Not sure why this made me chuckle, but it did.

 

I'm finally able to laugh at it a little. Only took a decade or so.

[Voltaire 4,560]

Merge the two teams and boot the three that are too old and explain why. Or make an "all star" team out of the two.

[vuduchile 1,941]

Funny how the parents would beg to let one brother play down to be together, when they could have opted for younger to play up. Tells you all you need to know about the focus of parents and sports. They want their kids to succeed at all costs.

 

Anthony Dilweg was a local HS football star whose family was suspected to cheat at just about anything. He failed English on purpose his senior year in HS to play a 5th year. Then redshirted in college to get 5 years there. He made the NFL, so there's that.

That shits going on around here too. One of the 8 yr old kids in our league is in focking 1st grade! All the others are in 3rd.

[vuduchile 1,941]

Merge the two teams and boot the three that are too old and explain why. Or make an "all star" team out of the two.

Thats the other thing. These kids are ineligible for 8u all stars. Someone suggested they be considered for 10u all stars and I told them no focking way.

 

They arent eligible for their all star team unless they move up immediately.