| SOFTBALL TIPS |
|
|
|
| SITE STUFF |
|
|
|
|
ARCHIVES
|
| • |
June 26, 2005 |
| • |
July 03, 2005 |
| • |
July 10, 2005 |
| • |
July 17, 2005 |
| • |
July 24, 2005 |
| • |
July 31, 2005 |
| • |
August 07, 2005 |
| • |
August 14, 2005 |
| • |
August 21, 2005 |
| • |
August 28, 2005 |
| • |
September 11, 2005 |
| • |
October 02, 2005 |
| • |
October 09, 2005 |
| • |
October 23, 2005 |
| • |
October 30, 2005 |
| • |
November 06, 2005 |
| • |
November 13, 2005 |
| • |
December 04, 2005 |
| • |
December 18, 2005 |
| • |
December 25, 2005 |
| • |
January 08, 2006 |
| • |
January 15, 2006 |
| • |
January 29, 2006 |
| • |
February 05, 2006 |
| • |
February 12, 2006 |
| • |
February 19, 2006 |
| • |
February 26, 2006 |
| • |
March 05, 2006 |
| • |
March 12, 2006 |
| • |
March 19, 2006 |
| • |
March 26, 2006 |
| • |
April 02, 2006 |
| • |
April 09, 2006 |
| • |
April 16, 2006 |
| • |
April 23, 2006 |
| • |
April 30, 2006 |
| • |
May 07, 2006 |
| • |
May 14, 2006 |
| • |
May 21, 2006 |
| • |
May 28, 2006 |
| • |
June 04, 2006 |
| • |
June 11, 2006 |
| • |
June 18, 2006 |
| • |
June 25, 2006 |
| • |
July 09, 2006 |
| • |
July 16, 2006 |
| • |
July 23, 2006 |
| • |
July 30, 2006 |
| • |
August 13, 2006 |
| • |
August 20, 2006 |
| • |
September 03, 2006 |
| • |
September 10, 2006 |
| • |
September 17, 2006 |
| • |
September 24, 2006 |
| • |
October 01, 2006 |
| • |
October 08, 2006 |
| • |
October 15, 2006 |
| • |
October 22, 2006 |
| • |
November 12, 2006 |
| • |
November 26, 2006 |
| • |
December 31, 2006 |
| • |
January 14, 2007 |
| • |
January 21, 2007 |
| • |
January 28, 2007 |
| • |
February 04, 2007 |
| • |
February 11, 2007 |
| • |
February 18, 2007 |
| • |
February 25, 2007 |
| • |
March 04, 2007 |
| • |
March 11, 2007 |
| • |
March 18, 2007 |
| • |
April 01, 2007 |
| • |
April 08, 2007 |
| • |
April 15, 2007 |
| • |
April 22, 2007 |
| • |
April 29, 2007 |
| • |
May 06, 2007 |
| • |
May 13, 2007 |
| • |
May 20, 2007 |
| • |
May 27, 2007 |
| • |
June 03, 2007 |
| • |
June 10, 2007 |
| • |
June 17, 2007 |
| • |
June 24, 2007 |
| • |
July 01, 2007 |
| • |
July 22, 2007 |
| • |
July 29, 2007 |
| • |
August 12, 2007 |
| • |
August 19, 2007 |
| • |
September 02, 2007 |
| • |
September 16, 2007 |
| • |
September 30, 2007 |
| • |
October 07, 2007 |
| • |
October 14, 2007 |
| • |
October 21, 2007 |
| • |
November 04, 2007 |
| • |
November 18, 2007 |
| • |
November 25, 2007 |
| • |
December 02, 2007 |
| • |
December 09, 2007 |
| • |
December 16, 2007 |
| • |
January 13, 2008 |
| • |
February 17, 2008 |
| • |
February 24, 2008 |
| • |
March 02, 2008 |
| • |
March 09, 2008 |
| • |
March 30, 2008 |
| • |
April 06, 2008 |
| • |
April 13, 2008 |
| • |
April 20, 2008 |
| • |
April 27, 2008 |
| • |
May 04, 2008 |
| • |
May 11, 2008 |
| • |
May 18, 2008 |
| • |
May 25, 2008 |
| • |
June 01, 2008 |
| • |
June 15, 2008 |
| • |
June 22, 2008 |
| • |
June 29, 2008 |
| • |
July 06, 2008 |
| • |
July 13, 2008 |
| • |
July 20, 2008 |
| • |
August 03, 2008 |
| • |
August 10, 2008 |
| • |
August 17, 2008 |
| • |
August 24, 2008 |
| • |
August 31, 2008 |
| • |
September 07, 2008 |
| • |
September 14, 2008 |
| • |
September 21, 2008 |
| • |
September 28, 2008 |
| • |
October 05, 2008 |
| • |
October 12, 2008 |
| • |
October 19, 2008 |
| • |
October 26, 2008 |
| • |
November 02, 2008 |
| • |
November 09, 2008 |
| • |
November 16, 2008 |
| • |
November 30, 2008 |
| • |
December 07, 2008 |
| • |
December 21, 2008 |
| • |
December 28, 2008 |
| • |
February 15, 2009 |
| • |
February 22, 2009 |
| • |
April 12, 2009 |
| • |
April 19, 2009 |
| • |
April 26, 2009 |
| • |
May 03, 2009 |
| • |
May 10, 2009 |
| • |
May 17, 2009 |
| • |
May 24, 2009 |
| • |
May 31, 2009 |
| • |
June 07, 2009 |
| • |
June 14, 2009 |
| • |
June 21, 2009 |
| • |
July 05, 2009 |
| • |
July 12, 2009 |
| • |
July 19, 2009 |
| • |
August 02, 2009 |
| • |
August 30, 2009 |
| • |
September 06, 2009 |
| • |
September 20, 2009 |
| • |
October 04, 2009 |
| • |
October 11, 2009 |
| • |
October 18, 2009 |
| • |
November 08, 2009 |
| • |
November 15, 2009 |
| • |
November 22, 2009 |
| • |
November 29, 2009 |
| • |
December 27, 2009 |
| • |
January 03, 2010 |
| • |
January 10, 2010 |
| • |
January 17, 2010 |
| • |
January 24, 2010 |
| • |
January 31, 2010 |
| • |
March 14, 2010 |
| • |
March 21, 2010 |
| • |
March 28, 2010 |
| • |
April 04, 2010 |
| • |
April 18, 2010 |
| • |
April 25, 2010 |
|
|
| SOFTBALL LINKS |
|
|
|
18U or H.S.U
by Dave
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Is it 18 and under or high school and under?
There is a growing chorus of those who are angered by the presence of girls who have already played college ball on 18U teams. Added to this is a dislike of showcase tournament teams with girls on the roster who have either already signed on the dotted line of NLIs or who have "verballed" with a school. Part of me understands the concern and part of me doesn't. So, let's explore some of these thoughts.
As far as I can tell, ASA rules regarding who is and who is not eligible to play 18U ball, whether at Gold or A levels, pertain only to when a particular player was born. If you were not 19 as of January 1, 2008, you are eligible to play 18U. If I'm missing something there, please don't hesitate to correct me.
Secondly, ASA 18U ball is competitive play. As in any sport at almost any level, there's always more to it than meets the eye but essentially teams exist for the purpose of trying to win games, tournaments, berths, and even the national championship. Obviously, many of these teams exist in order to get exposure to college coaches for their kids. But basically the teams are out there to win unless they are playing some showcase. I understand that college coaches want to see competitive play, not just showcases, and that this requires them to go watch competitive ASA tournaments, particularly at very high levels. And these coaches do so knowing full well that there are girls playing who are already enrolled at other colleges, who have ongoing relationships with schools who may be recruiting them, or who have already signed to go someplace. Still, they come to watch because they want to see the highest levels of competition they can.
If ASA wanted to, they could change rules to prohibit 18U eligible girls who have already played college ball at any level (or at particular levels) from competing at 18U. That might make it a more friendly kind of competition for girls seeking scholarships and opportunities to play. They could mandate that these off the market women move up to 23U. Heck, maybe that would expand the number of 23U teams out there.
But the ASA doesn't do that. Their objective is to have the most competitive tournaments possible, not to market unsigned, unrecruited high schoolers. That's not their function.
I suppose many in the community would like to see 18U play limited to girls who have not already had their chance - to show their stuff in front of college coaches. There's also a little of that competitive edge in there someplace too. Some people want their team or teams from their area to have a greater shot at winning berths or titles. They lose to this or that team with some superstar college pitcher and complain that, were it not for her, their team would have succeeded. That seems kind of crass to me.
I understand that the growing chorus hopes to begin the process whereby 18U might be cut down to girls not already in college. They'd also like to remove girls who have already signed NLIs from the showcase circuit. There's no way to deal with girls who have verballed since, while not exactly a secret, verballing does not exist to the rule making bodies. The idea is that the girls who are working so hard to get noticed by college coaches ought to get their shot to do so. Therefore, showcases should be closed to those signed or ready to sign. And ASA 18U ball should be limited to girls in high school since getting NLI signees out would be considerably more difficult.
The reasons I object to this way of thinking is because I feel that the showcase circuit should be open to anyone who wants to play and who can make a team. Sometimes girls who already have verbals in place aren't quite so sure they want to go there. Also, some girls have small partials or less than an iron-clad verbal from a school or learn that the coach they have been courting for several years has been fired or has left. I can think of some girls who believed they were going to this or that school for their freshman years and then changed their minds after interaction with a coach at some showcase. Showcases can't be expected to police out everyone who has a verbal. They could exclude NLI signees but that would reduce the playing level.
As far as 18U ball goes, I look back to my childhood and wonder why there is any fuss. The best amateur baseball I ever watched was something called county ball. In county ball, teams would form up with some good high schoolers, some college players and some older guys - there was no age limit. I recall a team which had some guy pitching who they referred to as "Doc. Doc was so called because, I think he was a dentist or other MD - obviously in his thirties and well beyond professional baseball aspirations. Also, he had this nasty habit of doctoring the ball! The team had some kid from a local high school catching and he was destined to shoot up like a rocket in the minors and then fizzle. Several kids from a well respected college program also played their summers for them. I remember seeing more than a handful of guys who would do something in the big leagues. A select few had noteworthy careers in the bigs. But what strikes me is the younger kids most likely benefitted tremendously from playing with the older hands.
So when discussions turn to whether high schoolers should be playing competitive ball with college kids, I'm afraid I'll have to fall on the yes side of the fence.
Aside from the prejudices, formed in my youth, I also wonder what would happen if you took all the college players out of ASA 18U ball. Wouldn't the level of play fall? In my county baseball context, play definitely would have been hurt by the absence of guys who already played college ball or had otherwise moved out of the recruitment world. If I were the college coach looking for recruits, wouldn't my take on the level of play diminish with the removal of college players? If I came to watch kids play against the best possible competition, wouldn't I be better served by watching competitive 23U ball and focusing on the few 17s and 18s who chose to play that level instead?
Now I do understand that college coaches probably like to observe 16U ASA A level nationals to get recruits. That's so because they have little doubt that these girls are not yet signed. But wouldn't removing talent from 18U result in the class becoming a wasteland where only girls who are less desirable would play? That's not a definite but doesn't excluding the better college-experienced kids create that possibility?
I believe I have a full appreciation for the thoughts of those who would like to see college kids removed from 18U ASA ball and those who would like to see signed and verballed girls removed from showcases. But I am going to have to respectfully disagree with them. I believe it waters things down to an unacceptable degree and makes things worse rather than better.
Tom writes in response to this post as follows:"You missed a very important fact in your recent article about college players playing u18. These u18 players are very likely to be freshman. They may or may not have seen playing time on their college team. Most of these players will have only seen limited time as they are playing behind upper classman that have played for 4 years, gone through the conditioning and are simply stronger/faster/smarter.
A college freshman has a hard time finding a summer team because of her limited availability and limited number of teams playing. She will not be available for any winter tournaments or even early season play. These girls should be strong at the u18 level and would get a lot of innings (helping the college player). If they were on a u23 it could look a lot like their college teams and their playing time could be limited. The difficulty of finding a slot on a u23 team is compounded by the few tournaments that a u23 can play and the limited number of sponsoring organizations.
A case in point is my daughter; who is league age of 18. She was severely injured last summer and was in rehab through December. She was pitching behind seniors, and other underclassmen. In the field, she was behind a senior that was on pace to set a new school career hits record. She saw no pitching innings and no fielding innings although she was at all practices and games. She needs this summer to get up to game speed and to have a shot at an open slot. She was fortunate to land on a good u23 summer team. She will get sufficient playing time and innings on the mound. Our backup plan was to get on a u18 that needed a pitcher/player and work that route.
I can't imagine the ASA/NSA being able to govern a 'No College Player' policy at the u18 level. Next year my daughter will have to play u23. Next year she will be a sophomore with some playing experience. However, I think that if a u18 player struggles against a college freshman pitcher or a college freshman takes their daughter downtown; then maybe that scholarship should be in jeopardy. If however that high school player tees off on a college pitcher or that high school batter humiliates that college freshman pitcher then their darling daughter's prospects go way up. What is truly the difference between an 18 year old college player with maybe one year of experience and an 18 year old high school senior?
The few girls that qualify in this age group have always been playing up in order to play with their grade. I don't see any reason to penalize them one more time. Play the game with and against the best competition you can find. The college coaches are pretty smart about filtering the information. I suspect that most college coaches would rather see a prospect going up against a college pitcher and having success than that same prospect teeing off a weak high school pitcher.
Tom, thanks for the perspective of an 18 year old college player. It is highly relevant and hopefully will show some of those who are looking at it only from the high school players' point of view that there is more to the issue than they see.Labels: asa
 
|
|
|
