LLWS Observation

I’m not sure the announcers even know what travel ball is.  🤣. I heard some bizarre things from them in the regional coverage (lefty play SS stuff).  And everything is pretty Disney.  

Those kids definitely play travel though.  Looked up some of the pitchers on PG.    

Now that you mention that, RJM, yeah.  I like it... think it's a good thing to keep the focus on the LL experience for this event - avoid the comparisons that lead to LL being belittled.  And yes, TL, it is definitely Disney'd up a bit.  I don't mind that either.  I'm a sucker for highlighting kids being kids.  Tie that in with decent baseball, nice human interest stories and passionate parents and I'm good.  It's the last age where there is still a lot of "kid" in them but they're just old enough that the play is enjoyable to watch without having skin in the game.  It is a production with narrative but it is still real.  Still a fan.

first thing I noticed is that the kid from honolulu - Lancaster is at least 14 yrs old.

@cabbagedad posted:

And yes, TL, it is definitely Disney'd up a bit.  I don't mind that either.  I'm a sucker for highlighting kids being kids.  Tie that in with decent baseball, nice human interest stories and passionate parents and I'm good.

I agree with this as well!  There is a youthful feel to it which is fun.  The travel team comments probably got air time when 13s  played because a lot of them showcased and/or played on regionally or nationally ranked teams.  And since there is a lot of human interest stories, those accolades probably surfaced in the parent interviews.  They are probably not avoiding the topic as much as it’s not as prominent of a background story for 12yr olds.  

We went to Williamsport when my son was ten, eleven and twelve. My first impression was it’s Disneyland for baseball. I have no desire to return. But it’s something everyone with preteen kids should do.

When my son was twelve we went to watch the team that beat his team in states. Sitting with parents  (and my son with the kids when they weren’t playing) we found out it’s mostly non stop fun for the kids in the teams. They’re also given a lot of equipment from sponsors.

One thing that isn’t talked about on tv is the problem the local twelve and thirteen year old local girls can be. It’s Baseball Annies on training wheels. They have “get a kiss from an all star” contests.

One of the players my son is still friends with as an adult is and was really good looking. He complained he couldn’t hang out on the hill because the girls wouldn’t leave him alone.

These announcers know about travel ball. Some of the same announcers have been doing the LLWS going back to when they talked up travel ball.

By the way, travel ball is used by many successful LL programs around the country to beat the system. The rules have changed (become looser) about travel ball and playing LL. But, when my son played I coached a travel team with fifteen prospective all stars from our LL. Having fifteen players meant the league hadn’t selected the team before June 15. But all our all stars came from those fifteen.

We played in a Sunday DHer league concurrently with the LL season. It allowed our prospective all stars to see all star level competition two games per week. My job as head coach along with my assistants was to teach a group of all pitcher, catcher, shortstops how to play the positions they will play in all stars. Being travel coaches made us ineligible to coach all stars. I think this rule has changed.

When you see poor outfield play in Williamsport it’s when those kids who were all P,C,SS were not worked with enough to learn outfield angles on the ball.

I had heard that about the girls at the LLWS. Very, very aggressive. A nearby LL played there and a dad was telling me about the girls. You wouldn't think that would be something to be wary of or that would need to be managed

The dad told me most of the American kids he knew were mostly not very interested or shy or bothered by it. However, there were some foreign kids who were all about it! Ready and willing to go!

We never did LL, Pony was closer and then we started select in 7U (He just wanted to play longer and we obliged). Starting in 7U we'd often run into the Lake Area Pirates (Lake Charles LA). They'd come to big Houston tournaments competing in the USSSA major division they always used narrow barrel LL bats - they were competitive.

Never saw them in person after 12U, but 9 of the 12 players on the 6U roster were on the 2008 South Lake Charles LL team that fell one game short of making the Williamsport championship game (played for 3rd against Japan).

I'd always wondered if somewhat pre-selecting a LL All-Star team and training them 6 years in advance of the big tournament was a normal thing or allowed?

Teams are not allowed to be selected before June 15th or two weeks before that year’s tournament. My son would receive an email at midnight on the 15th he made the team. The only time he was ever concerned was when he was eleven. Our league frowned on having 11’s on the 11/12 team. Had he not made the team he would have played on the 10/11 team.

However, as described in a previous post there are legal ways to get a jump on the all star season. Some teams start with “prospective” all stars as early as January. When my son was ten I approached coaches at Williamsport and asked how their programs repeatedly got to states in large states with sectional tournaments. I got our league to adopt some of these plans. Our league went to states the next three years. Whether done the way LL prefers are by beating the rules a LL is typically going to have the same core players for several years.

Looking back scouting LL all star team opponents and charting games is real over the top. But, in the moment it worked. Since I coached the “prep the all stars” travel team I was ineligible to be an all star coach. I scouted opponents. I turned in extensive scouting reports to the manager/hard coach. Since my son was the catcher I went over the reports with him on how to call pitches for hitters.