First year team dilemma

Devastating! I'd do everything in my power to petition to get to play at a lower level. If you said that they could compete at the major level, but just might not win any it would be a little different. But it does not sound like they can compete there. Don't put them in a situation where there are being set up for failure. There is enough failure in baseball already.

I agree with T-Ball. Put your team in a position to at least compete.

Coach D. - I can't imagine a worse scenario for 11 year olds to be in. There has to be a better way to work this out. Plus you already sound defeated before you have started. Maybe the best answer is to stay in the rec league if you cannot find an appropriate league to enter.

Coach D:

I'd get them at a lower level and not only for them, but also for the opposition. Good teams usually do not want to play teams that do not at least present a challenge. If you go forward and it does not turn out well, you will not be doing any favors for either your players or yourself.

I've spoken with their head coach about the possible harm is may cause. Not only with the team he has assembled this year but it will hurt any chances of recruiting. He's tried to get into a less skilled league, but can't because of players not being from the same community. I suggested dropping from the league, play in a few lower skilled tournaments and try to pick up a few scrimmages. Take a couple years to develope the team to become more competitive.

As mentioned above by others, your position does have potential for some negative consequences, but depending on the character of your boys it could become a positive. If your boys have that competitive "fire" but have never really seen what the next level of baseball is all about then it could jump start their desire to learn and become better baseball players. This is what actually happened to our first team. Our little 8 year old team had just been walking through league championships for the first 3 years, thinking they were KINGS of the diamond. That all changed when we got our invite to the State tourney as 8 year olds. That's when the boys got their first taste of defeat, err ... Butt whooping. The first game of the tourney our boys got spread 24 - 1 in 3 innings. Now, the boys got a little down, expectedly, directly after the loss, but what happened afterwards was awesome. The boys were attentive at warm-ups, pre-practice and in-game instructions. That butt whoopin' lit a fire, that us as coaches really did not know existed. We ended up coming in 8th in state that year (out of 32) which we were so proud of. We played Nationals that year and came in 4th but the best thing that came out of it was the new found desire of teh boys to become better so that they can compete and win at this next level of play. Worked out well for us playing out of our comfort zone but you need to judge the character of your boys first. Any doubt about their competitive drive should mean that you should play rec league and schedule some AA tournaments. JMHO

Coach D

My 11yo has played on several travel teams at various levels. While there is some difference in talent at this age, a key factor separating teams is the coaching.

If your friend putting the team together doesn't have the experience to teach/coach, it could be very embarrassing. However, a good coach could make those "average" rec players very competitive.

As an example, at Cooperstown last year 10U, the skill level among the athletes was very comparable, however the coaching was not. The coaching clearly separated the "men" from the "boys".

At that young age coaching can be the key differential!!!

When you have better coaching the players are more fundamentally sound even if not more talented that the opposition

The coach of the team my two son's are on started out his team just taking all the late league signups and other kids that couldn't find a team. We have picked up a player here and there but most of the kids have been on that team for 4 years now (now 11U) and have won 3 state championships at the major level along with one national championship.

With good coaching and player retention it can be done. But I do believe that you do have to be able to have some success early on for this to work.

I would not set kids up to fail. How many kids do you think will come back next year if they lose every game? My advice would be to play at a level they can compete in, and test the waters by playing up a level in a tournament or two. Then next year, you can better judge where your team stands and what direction you should take.
JJ