Perfect Game 16u Atlanta// Question

1 Catcher certainly isn't enough.  14 players seems like an awfully small roster for 16 U.  How many games are guaranteed in that tournament?

Hi, Its a 7 game guarantee over 6 days. With Standard perfect game pitching restrictions. After the 7 game guarantee there will be a championship bracket, but you have to play in.  What I want to avoid is spending the money and the time from work (1 week), to attend a tournament that we will not be competitive in. 

you will not be competitive

5 pitchers is going to leave your team a little short. We went last year with double that amount. Do any of your position players pitch??

We do not have any Pitcher only's, we only have position players who also pitch.   We have a couple players that we have not utilized at all for pitching who train for pitching and could do well given the chance. Which, it seems they will get if we go. 

Here's a question? If everyone pitched, would 14 players be enough? It seems as if it would take careful planning to make the pitching rotations work for that many games. That is 2 pitchers per game with everyone pitching. 

Thank you for helping us figure this out!! 

mamabb0304 posted:

Here's a question? If everyone pitched, would 14 players be enough? It seems as if it would take careful planning to make the pitching rotations work for that many games. That is 2 pitchers per game with everyone pitching. 

In my opinion, no.  Best case scenario that I can see is you will not be competitive and nobody gets an arm injury.  That is the best case scenario

A thought:  I think you can go back to last years list of teams for that same tournament (check perfectgame.org).  The rosters are listed.  Check out a few to see how many players are listed and what positions they are.

Here I did it for you:  https://www.perfectgame.org/Ev...eams.aspx?event=3327

Are you talking about the WWBA July 7-14?  If so, that is the biggest PG tourney for 16u when it comes to the amount of teams and the quality of teams. I wouldn't consider going there with no less than 10 pitchers and at least 6 of those being PO's. Most good teams you see there will have 20+ players. You will probably not be very competitive with pitchers throwing in the low to mid 70"s. You will see a lot of mid to high 80's. Unless you have a bunch of D1 hitters and fielders, you will probably not have much fun.

I would recommend going to the BCS National in Ft Meyers. It's July 17-23, has a lot of teams that play, but not near the level of competition as Georgia. Just my .02.  Goodluck!

You would be wise to "regroup". You really do need 2 catchers + a multi position guy to fill in...And at least 6-8 PO, with backups. To compete at this type event, a roster of 18-20+. 

Plan on HEAT & HUMIDITY! It will take a toll on these guys! You don't want to lose anyone to heat exhaustion (been there, done that with a catcher. NOT fun!) Keep 'em hydrated, potassium tabs & ice water cloths/towels in dugout. 

Your catcher better not get hurt and he will have to be an iron man.  You do not have enough pitching.  It is possible you could be c ompetitive for one or two games.  Mid 70s pitchers can sometimes win a game with some luck, but they will not draw much interest.

I would either pick up a few players, especially pitchers and another catcher.  If that isn't possible, you need to contact Perfect Game ASAP and tell them your situation and that you are not coming.  Last minute teams dropping out creates all kind of problems with the tournament schedule.and other issues.

Just came back from a WWBA qualifier, 40 teams. We had 14 kids, 8 of which are good pitchers, and we still lost a game due to pitching. Hardest thrower  in our pool was 90. Saw 1 86 and a lot of mid 80s. Our team had 2 84s, 2 83s and 2 that touched 80. There were teams that probably shouldn't have been there, but it is quite an experience for the boys.

My son plays 14u and we often see low 80's at these PG events, and high 70's is the norm, again that is 14u.

Have you looked up pitchsmart rules?  Here they are for 16u:

0-30 pitches = 0 days rest

31-45 pitches = 1 day rest

46-60 pitches = 2 days rest

61-75 pitches = 3 days rest

76+ = 4 days rest

Max of 95 pitches per day

With high 70's pitchers I would suspect you are more likely to have a 15-20 pitch inning than an under 10 pitch inning, so basically your pitchers are good for MAYBE 2 innings if you want to pitch them the next day and with 7 games....I'm sorry but you don't have enough pitching.

Let me also so IT'S HOT IN GA! You add the turf fields at Lakepoint into the equation and you raise the 90+ temp another 10-15 degrees.  We legit have shoes softening and melting on some of our turf fields in GA....I'm not joking.....and your coach wants one guy catching 7 games? For the sake of THAT kid please encourage your coach to pass on this one.

Thank you all for the advice. I agree that we are short on pitching and catching and am quite concerned about this. Unfortunately, it seems as if we have passed the window for a credit towards another event, they do not offer refunds. We will be in the situation of losing quite a bit of money. Seems kind of like we are in between a rock and a hard place. It feels like it's the wrong situation for the team, but we may just be stuck.  

We are from Texas, so the kids are used to heat, but the injury component is important too. 

Again, Thank you all!!

Contact PGStaff asap! He posted above...Looks like he'd work with you, from his post. 

mamabb0304 posted:

Thank you all for the advice. I agree that we are short on pitching and catching and am quite concerned about this. Unfortunately, it seems as if we have passed the window for a credit towards another event, they do not offer refunds. We will be in the situation of losing quite a bit of money. Seems kind of like we are in between a rock and a hard place. It feels like it's the wrong situation for the team, but we may just be stuck.  

We are from Texas, so the kids are used to heat, but the injury component is important too. 

Again, Thank you all!!

 

Have your coach pick up some local kids.

Here is a board that is for north GA:

http://www.nwgabaseball.org/

Post in the "High School Team Openings or Tryouts section" asking for local players to join your team for the event. I'd open it up for 14u (Major) and up.  The 14u's are done in early July and available....to be blunt, you need bodies so your kids aren't wrecked.

Here is also to PG pick up player board of kids LOOKING to play in that event:

https://www.perfectgame.org/PlayerTeamBB/coaches.aspx

Its Ok!  The only thing to do now is try to learn from it.  You will likely face some of the better teams you have ever seen.  Most likely will get beat, but keep a good perspective, stay positive.  If your boys (and parents and coaches) stay positive and look around, they will see what they need to work on to compete at this type of tournament.  You can still have fun, try hard and see what happens.  Just understand that the numbers really don't add up for what you are carrying on your roster.  First and foremost, keep the kids hydrated, don't overuse your pitchers and catchers.  I think PG used to have a board on their site with players looking to pitch or play in certain tournaments as well. 

found the link:

https://www.perfectgame.org/Pl...es.aspx?eventid=4457

Thank you!! I will pass all of this on! I appreciate everything! 

1. Mercy Rules: 15 after 3, 12 after 4, 8 after 5.
2. Pool Play:  All Pool Play games will be played with a strict two hour time limit

Primary goals are #1) keep everyone safe from heat/injury and #2) have fun.  At a minimum, try to get some decent scheduling with some games in the evening.

@2017LHPscrewball 

This made me laugh, thank you for that This information may very well be needed as well! 

My son's team had 12 position guys (2 or 3 also pitched) and at least 7 or 8 PO's when we went.  We played 8 games and really didn't have enough pitching for that amount...we'd have been in deep trouble if we went any deeper in the tourney.  You might even start a new post on here asking if anyone wants to help out....at lot of GA/FL posters here who may have a son who would like to throw a few innings at that event

I have seen a few teams send emails out to players who are able to handle that level of competition and recruit nationally to fill their needs. There are plenty of pitchers who would love to get that exposure . Pitching in that event is quite an experience. Same for catchers. Get out and find more pitchers and catchers who can help your team compete...otherwise it wont be much fun and you will not have enough pitching even if you do manage to win your pool and move on to playoffs.