Okay, I tried to post once but it glitched during log-in. So lemme try again I guess
Basically there's a couple of things I'm simply not clear about, so I'm gonna ask.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atocep
What makes this particularly ridiculous is my son is from the same organization and wears the same uniform as these kids every day. The only difference is the age level.
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Okay, doesn't that make them different teams entirely then?
Maybe I'm not grasping the structure properly or something but, honestly, aside from people you happened to know (mostly due to geography) I'm not sure I've ever been around non-school youth sports where "same organization" really meant much of anything to anyone.
Sharing practice space was about the only connection -- again, aside from people you previously knew -- between the different age levels. And that was true across 3 decades of experience from player to coach to parent.
I guess I'm just kinda surprised by your, err, surprise/disappointment.
Now the other comment/question, I'm REALLY thinking that I'm missing something here, or misreading something, or ... something.
As I read your post, what I'm picturing is basically this:
"My son showed up, newly added to the roster, played 1.5 games out of 3"
Was there practice time previously with these guys? Is the season brand new & basically there isn't any "time in service" for anybody else either? I mean, my admittedly probably flawed reading of things was "he got added to the roster kinda behind the scenes (as far as the other parents knew), and suddenly played".
And if that's accurate, well, honestly I'm surprised the reaction wasn't a lot more forceful. Unless it's basically the start of the season, I'm not sure that I've ever seen anything like that happen at any point in my combined youth sports experiences. And anything close to it would likely have led to multiple players leaving the team -- pretty much any team in any sport -- over it.
That said, there's a big possibility I might be missing that would explain it for me: Is this, essentially, "travel ball"? rather than typical league structure youth ball I mean.
If so, most bets are probably off on anything I said because those are largely mercenary & survival-of-the-fittest deals in most cases. That makes for a lot more volatility in lineups, playing time, the whole nine yards.
Then again, it would also make the negative feedback more predictable as well. I don't think I've ever known anyone playing travel ball in any sport* that wasn't doing so primarily as a means to an end (scholarship exposure, draft position, whatever). Anything that cuts into playing time in those situations, well, that's impacting an investment.
Let me try to be clear: I'm not ripping you, I'm not dogging anything you've felt or said. I'm legit trying to figure out why / how this isn't all pretty much predictable I guess.
edit to add the* -- I take that back. I've seen some "just for fun" mentality still exist with travel softball, though I attribute that largely to the more limited opportunities for it versus other most other travel sports. The rest that I've been around -- baseball, basketball, soccer, as well as what amounts to the same thing with the tennis tournament circuit -- are all pretty cut & dried that it's for exposure & opportunity. That's true with both the kids & the parents.
double edit: In reviewing this topic & my questions/comments with my son he raised a possibility I didn't think of. Essentially "club teams" that travel but are not the elite-level teams that my phrasing of "travel ball" was meant to cover. I honestly don't know anyone that's ever played on one of those kind of in-between situations, and am not really familiar with how they roll one way or the other. But that's probably another possibility here too.