Should All-District Have One Player per Position? TAPPS 5A doesn't

The TAPPS way, and I don't really agree with it and I am a TAPPS coach, is to rank the best over-all players in the district per each coaches opinion from 1-15, they make up the "1st Team", the next best 15 make up the "2nd Team". At the all state meetings the district representative takes their top 15 to the table against all the other top 15 players from other districts and the battle begins to decide who is "All State". These meetings are very heated and can get ugly. You think the UIL North vs. South battle is bad, you should hear how the private school coaches from South Texas feel about the teams up North. It's not a great system at all but it is the TAPPS way. Change is hard to come by in the land of TAPPS.

All district votes seem more and more about coaches' agendas and not about the player. There is a reason more and more people don't pay attention to them anymore.

Amen! OA5II...the "agenda" as mentioned is not limited to only TAPPS either...

I think everyone should make All-District if you play 20 innings or less you should make 3rd team. If you play 20-50 innings you make 2nd team and if you play more than 50 inning you are 1st team. Just my thoughts.

If you had 600 scouts at one game you are State Champs.

I don't care who you are, that's funny right there man.

quote:

Originally posted by Newscout:


If you had 600 scouts at one game you are State Champs.

And win a gold watch!

Those of you who choose to continue to bash others on these forums must truly have pitiful lives outside of this cyber space....or should I say "literally" have pitful lives

Considering what I have witnessed over the last 5-6 years, all-district teams are nothing more than something to go into the paper. We found out that a another district coach contacted other coaches prior to our meeting this year and asked them to collude with him in the hopes of shutting out some of our guys.

I really don't understand it.

From what I've seen the last 2 years, at least in our district, defensive prowess factors very little into the voting. I guess it's offense that puts butts in the stands.

I guess that means that there will be less butts in the stands next year...

Next year all voting will be based on a per game scout attendance alone.

0-5 average 3rd team
6-599 = 2nd team All district
600-up the whole team is 1st Team

If the ABCA show is in your home town that year you will have somewhat of an advantage.

I think it would be very difficult to do the "one player at each position" in HS because "all league" is supposed to reward the best players in the league. In HS, it is typical for the best players to play P, SS, C, CF (with some exceptions). So, the best six or eight players in the league may all be SS, P, C. And the best LF may be way down on the overall list. This would leave out much better players. The gap is considerably bigger than it is in MLB.

I kind of like the idea of the coaches coming together and ranking the players, and then giving the first 12 or 15 or whatever the number is first team, and on down the line. Interesting that no short stops were included in the first team. One does assume teams put a strong player at short stop.

All District teams are becoming a joke (as you can see with this thread). 20 years ago it was a honor,in all sports. Now it seems that if you start for your team you will make it somewhere from 1st to Honorable Mention.

I believe you have one for each position. If your SS is the MVP then he should be the MVP as well as the 1st team SS. Not anymore, I bet when the teams are published. You will have 50 kids from each district make it in some way. Is this really an All-District team?

They all should get participation medals as well.

quote:

Originally posted by OA5II:
All district votes seem more and more about coaches' agendas and not about the player. There is a reason more and more people don't pay attention to them anymore.

Agree!

"They all should get participation medals as well."


Yes ntsumck we are on the same page. Also scout participation could determine the State Champs or the best team. As an example (only) 600 would be a great number and the team that got 600 scouts would win. They would still need to play that game in Austin because you can only fit 72 behind home plate at most fields.

Individual honors are bogus.

A couple of notes...

Had a high profile company call me today in honor of a national award they are giving to a HS player I coached. Their request for was summer statistics. What does Keyshon Johnson say?..."Come on Maaaan!" I was very nice and explained our situation.

Also,

Senior year of college...I was conference MVP. A player in the same conference recieved All American honors at the same position.

"Come on Maaaaaaaan!"

All that matters is if tears are shed after the last game of each season. The rest are minor details.

quote:

Originally posted by Ken Guthrie:
Individual honors are bogus.

Also,

Senior year of college...I was conference MVP. A player in the same conference recieved All American honors at the same position.

"Come on Maaaaaaaan!"

All that matters is if tears are shed after the last game of each season. The rest are minor details.

Politics... Politics.. Politics... Gets worse every year!

There should be All-District teams, the notion of it not mattering is simply because of the process and the way it is gone about now. Players of all levels in every sport enjoy deserved individual honors.

Take a look at the All-NBA teams, tough list to make - even the third team. Dirk may be a top 15 player ever when his career is over but his position had him competing with Tim Duncan and other great players for that honor, oh well.

Nothing wrong with an All-District 1st team and 2nd team. No honorable mention. MVP's, Off POY etc. should also be 1st teamers. It should be by position and if a player plays everywhere there can be a utility slot for the 1st and 2nd team. Within each district there aren't 10 all district players that play every position. For instance if there is a 3B that plays some OF based on who is on the mound etc. but he is a 3B then the coach submits him as a third baseman.

The goal should be to eliminate the participation ribbon mentality while still honoring deserved success.

Having been to quite a few TAPPS All State Meetings over the years, I can explain why TAPPS does not currently use positions, but instead simply picks the best 15.

TAPPS actually did pick All District and All State Teams by positions in the 1990's. But then in the late 90's (I believe it was either '98 or '99), the softball coaches at the All-State Meeting began asking if they could abandon that system and simply pick the best players, regardless of position. Back then, the best players on each softball team were almost always the pitchers. Not only as pitchers, but also as hitters.* This caused many softball coaches to complain that the best hitters on their team couldn't make All-State, but weaker hitters could. TAPPS allowed this the next year, and the softball All-District/All-State teams have always been chosen with no positions ever since.

Well, the next year the baseball coaches began complaining about having to pick an All-State Team divided by positions, while the softball coaches got to choose their best players without positions! So the next year TAPPS allowed baseball to do the same. The number of players was also expanded sometime later to the current figure of 15.



*Pitchers were typically the best athletes on the softball team. Remember that this was only a few years after the UIL approved softball as a sport. The overall caliber of softball play has evolved greatly since then, and AFAIK pitching and softball position play have become far more specialized. But back in the late 90's the best softball athletes were almost invariably pitchers.

TAPPS coaches thought it was a good idea to follow softballs lead, cause it is comparing apples to apples and everything...lol nice.