Well, I gather we are all in agreement that its ....a make a Team.... I play my child. and the rest can go suck an egg..
Well, in the Pflugerville, Texas area ..my little cousins were known for having the best little Bad A$$ hispanic little team in the area.. because they consisted of.. 5 Ramos' and they were HOT not because they were my kinfolk but they took their little team on the road..hehehhe. They would go and beat everybody.. because they were all living in the same place and so they always got on the same team... and they took control of the infield,... So they would WIN all the time.... till one day a DADDY yelled and said that TEAM IS STACKED... how in the world can a team be stacked of cute little boys......hehhehehe.. well, because they were all kin to one another they could no longer play together... the little bad news bears were no longer, but that never broke their spirit..they just got better..well, the LL Association there in Austin Texas took over ..they had to write a new law because of them that no kinfolks can play on the same team unless they were brothers..and that is why that law came to be because of them, the Ramos Boys made History.... So, they went on to play college/proffessional baseball.. for Rice and for Texas State.. Texas Rangers and Oakland A's....and the Boston Red Sox.. and Independent Leagues and Ramos Boys Rock on..........ahahahhaaaa

Little League is so full of politics and STUDID Rules!!! Every year there is something new! Select Ball is the way to go!!!

Numbers have dropped, because so has the amount of kids. Or maybe kids are just big wennies now a days.

crazyme- LL tried to be topdog when they tried to enforce no other form of baseball once the allstar tourney began. remember? it lasted 2 yrs.

this yr. it was immediately dropped to let kids go elsewhere but instructed the charters to select those kids who would be at practice, etc. They know its drooping.

Victoria dosnt know because we are out in the country. Pt. Lavaca has great select teams in softball, baseball and basketball. Victoria needs to offer more. Mr. Cavazos needs to be a leader and suggest 2 zones. Let the small towns have thier own tourney to winner to play metro (Victoria) on next rd.

If anyone has looked at the Little League numbers they have dropped a lot due to players going to Select ball. In the older league they have gone to West and East all stars due to the fact they can't get players. I wonder if it could be burn out from terrible all star coaches when they were younger? Even the younger players have decided to go to select ball and give up on Little League. Ask some board members about the Little League numbers. Down every year! Wonder why??????????

True. Little League aint gonna get it done if your looking to go to the next level. Only travel ball with tons of quality exposure. Grades are the absolute deciding factor.
Colleges usually don't call HS coaches. They have thier showcases. The only one that I know that does is Coach Kolle.
Don't use HS a recruiting service. The select/travel team is the norm. Wake up parents!
Is your kid able to go to the next level?!?: Here are some tidbits: (1) is their academics in order, (2) They have fine tuned their great skills, (3) they are not seasonal players, (4) They travel to camps, showcases, evaluation workouts, they got exposed, (5) They know the game and love to play and (6)they(parents too)sacrificed a lot to get to practices, events and (7) is the kid coachable. Someone will notice.
Most parents who volunteer as coaches played the sport. Thier kid is usually around the sport so to the kids it comes natural. Go tryout on a team out of town. See how good your child is. Those teams don't have daddies or care how much you make. They what skilled roster players.  

G17 my suggestion to you... is always encourage your son...and tell him there are people out there ...that can be cruel... and there are some that are most sincere.. and honest...and truthful..and will take a player under their wing.. Like Adrian Peterson... my sister and some of her friends took him under their wing and helped that young man out.. and when he made it big... the kinfolk came out of the wood work including his parents that abondoned him...but, he always remebers my sister till this day he calls her Ms Debbie....but, I suggest you take your boy to college baseball camps during the summer all the ones you can... if you start them off young and take them to the same one every year that coach from that college will see him grow... and will remeber him at their camps and when he goes to tryouts.. they will say .. We know him he's been to our camps every year...and of coarse that will be a plus in his favor of playing for them.... everything helps.... Good Luck and dont get discourage over the politics..if he's good no one take that away from him...

Get into baseball booster club, bake lots of cookies. Bring kool-aid, chips, and make silly signs. They love that stuff. There are lots of ways to kiss butt.

Well that certainly is discouraging. Hopefully they will hurry up and get the two schools built and more kids will get to play the sports they love. I don't have the money to kiss anybody's butt with so that leaves my son out!

High School Baseball is the most political thing in Victoria. It has been over the past anyway. I can only hope this has changed. It's who you know and how many favors you do. Like new sprinklers.
In a High School as big as Memorial it is VERY hard to make the team. Just from sheer numbers. Many are called few are chosen.  Another product of consolidation. By the sophomore year the weeding out is complete.

Texas Huckelberry and CrazyMe, you both hit the nail on the head. Maybe the "bench warmers" will have their chance to shine come high school. Anybody know if it's as political in high school? I would think by then the boys would be judged by skill and not who's son they are. All I can do is hope for that since I'm a single mom, I have no influence over what goes on in daddy ball and if you DARE talk to the coach about your concerns, your name becomes mud. Oh well, we had a great run through little league regardless of some of the things that happened but my son will shine because all he has is his own talent and luckily he's blessed with a lot of it.

Hate to disagree and agree all at the same time.

In my experience,I have found that the player of the coach was always pretty good,because his dad had the time to work with the kid. That hour and a half of practice is never enough.The coache's son always played, so the confidence and experience was there and he did not have to fear one strikeout or one errror would sit him on the bench. After five years of this a good ballplayer was developed. I always believed that a team was only as good as the players on the bench were,because of reentry rules, mandatory innings played, injuries,and absences. I used to spend my time on the three of four nonstarters to improve or find their skills. At the end of the season. You want to have a full roster to avoid losses due to forfeits.

I did coach when my oldest was playing; in two different towns. I learned my lesson. When my youngest played, I refused to coach. I had enough of the whining parents, rude parents, hollering parents, and basic trash talking parents. And yes, some of the coaches. Thankfully I am out of it now.
Over all it was a good experience for all of my kids. All sports are good for kids. Just keep the parents out of it.
Maybe they could hire some coaches if you don't like the way it is run.

Oh by the way CrazyMe..... I agree with you too... that happens alot also... and I love it when the dads sons cannot believe that their sons arent playing college level...and the guys they sat the bench are actually making it in the college level..go figure !! heehheee...I guess throwing 88 miles an hour from left field to home plate does come in handy huh??? I wonder where the coaches son is right now....?? pssst.. (bring ear closer) ...Whispers (NOT PLAYING BALL)..oh well...unlike the guy that sat the bench... is that where this saying comes in ..think so... if I can remeber it ..it goes something like this....What goes around comes around... that's it...

G17 .. I totally Understand your views and I Agree 110% if one child is there and can't go anymore PULL HIM PLEASE and let someone else pickup the slack...but, the finish line and the glory sure looks good..to everyone..that is just human nature...but people tend to forget ...TEAM....WORK.. remember when you were little they would place you in a Group...and they would test your social skills... well all that stems to this.. and apparently some dont do well in "sharing" the glory...because Its A all About me society... sorry that it will not ever change ...we can only tolerate it ...

No matter how much you preach Daddy Coaches will NEVER see the dis-service they are doing to their own children! It is ashame that they want their child to shine and many times it cost the team a win.

To ragman, I am NOT a whining parent, I am pointing out facts. I don't think my son is the best all the time, when he's not playing well I do think he should sit the bench. I'm just saying that ANY kid having a real bad inning should rotate out. How does keeping him in help win???? My son got plenty of play time and he sat the bench too. I don't have a problem with that. We lost because of keeping kids in that were struggling when we had plenty of others who could've picked up the slack and maybe we would've stood a chance. Oh, and I do get involved but if you've been there, you know well HOW involved you can get and that no one will listen anyway. You must be one of those daddy coaches.

This has gone on forever. I was involved and still the politics was there. It was not only NE but NW was horrible. BUT let me point out that when a child is given any position he wants because Daddy wants him happy does that teach the child anything. There are 2 players that excelerated in High School and are going on scholarships to college that sat the bench in all stars or didn't even make it. Let me point out the players whose Daddys gave them the spot sat the bench in High School and have to pay their own way to college. The players that don't make All-Stars or sit the bench turn out to become better players due to the fact they have to learn how to FIGHT for a spot and it is not just GIVEN to them. Congratulations to Michael and Blake for fighting for your spots and getting a chance to play college ball. Good Luck!

This has beengoing on for YEARRRRRRRSSSSS...parents would actually move their kids even to go play in the NE..I remember the time when ... VSW was the best...because they had a little boy by the name of TJ Jimenez, (nephew of the one and only Coach Sandra Jimenez)(Great Coach, but, that's another story) ...infact the Team he played for was Alvarez Construction......he worked hard and pitched like the dickens.... lets just say NE asked alot about TJ.....hehehheee

If you don't like the way it is run--get involved. I am sure they would take all the help they can get.
Coaches aren't a problem, but whining parents sure are. Everyone thinks their angel is the best. I have been there.

I agree that NE has the most daddy ball in all of little league. I know this because my son was on the NE all star team. It doesn't matter how good your kid is, the coaches kid's will all be pitchers and when they're not pitching, the will have a permanent spot on the infield. It doesn't matter if one ball after another is going by them, they WON'T sit the bench for even one inning. If another kid who's not a coaches son misses a ball or he strikes out, he will be on the bench. It is so unfair how political it is it won't change. I personally think that no matter how good you are, if you portray a bad attitude at practice or on the field by throwing bats, cussing, stomping feet etc... you should be sitting the bench. I've seen over and over that this behavior is totally acceptable of coaches sons. There should be a better way of choosing these all stars. I also think that if parents have a problem with the way things are being coached, they should be able to tell the president of the league and expect that he would do something about it but since he's drinking buddies with these coaches, that's not going to happen. Changes need to be made!

NE is the most political zone. Daddy ball.

That kid will win in the long run. He probably is out there on Sundays at the field or his parents will see he stays involved. Dad's kid is sleeping till 1pm.

There should be a provision that other coaches can nominate a kid from another team if a kid is left off. Now if the kid is a coach's son and the coach went against the NE powers during the season then he probably gets no vote. Sad.

Age old problem Guy....Stats could be a way of determining All-Stars, but it isn't scorekeeping done by parents who might not know an error from a hit? The manager of the All-Star team should want the best of the best.