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I have a question for some of you that have maybe dealt with Usssa baseball longer than I have. I am asking for some input as to how some of you might handle this and if any of you have had similar situations with Usssa Baseball. Long post so beware LOL.

Usssa just implemented a new rule this fall that wasnt published or in written form and very vague that stated any player who has AAA or Major classification history could not play for a AA team. This rule plays in to the issue I am writing about.

My son was asked this last weekend to play with a AA team the night before the tournament. The team he was asked to play on only had 8 kids because two of them called the coach that night and couldnt play because they were sick.

The coach of this AA team told me that if my son couldnt play they would have to add an 8 year old to their 11u roster. We agree to guest play with them just to help out a friend.

So this coach called the tournament director here in Orlando and told him he had added my son to the roster and told him his teams situation.

The tournament director told this coach that my son could not play because he has Major classification history. Now my son is 10 years old, he is not a homerun hitter or a pitcher. He is just a solid ball player.

Well this coach asked the tournament director why my son couldnt play because of his major history since over half of the teams in this tournament had multiple kids with major classification history on their rosters.

One of the teams even had 4 of my sons 10u Major team kids on it from last year. This team was one of the top 10u major teams in Florida last year. Another team had a active kid on their roster that was also on a 12u Major roster. It goes on and on.

Well this upset me and got me to asking myself why would this tournament director single out my son to apply these new rules to but not to anyone else.

SIDE NOTE: This tournament Direct and I have a history.

So I decided to file a complaint with USSSA for discrimination and Unfair Practices against this tournament director. This was on Saturday.

So since we were not playing on Sunday my son wanted to go out and see some of his buddies who were playing that day. Just like some of you we are a baseball family and would rather spend time at the ball park then go to Disney or the beach. This is where all of our friends go as well.

Well while we were there at the tournament talking with our friends. The tournament director comes up to us in front of my wifes friends and my 10 year old sons and tells us.

To get out of his ball park that this was a private function and if we didnt leave in 2 mins he would have us arrested for trespassing and that he didnt care if I filed a complaint with the President of the United States.

I have spoken to some members of Usssa but it seems based on what has transpired that nothing is being done. I feel maybe they believe I will just drop this if its ignored.

So my question to most of you is how would you handle this.
Do you just let it go and allow them to apply the rules only to a certain few?

Would you pursue this legally?

Do you try to rally media, friends and peers to combat this?

What do you tell your kid?

Thanks for the advice.
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What would you have to gain by taking some kind of action? Would there be more than self satisfaction in this situation? It's not likely the other person is going to change. USSSA is going to slap the guy on the wrist rather than lose tournament venue dollars. It may be the best thing to so is tell your son there are schmucks in the world he'll have to deal with, take it as a life lesson and move on.
Last edited by RJM
quote:
Originally posted by RJM:
What would you have to gain by taking some kind of action? Would there be more than self satisfaction in this situation. It's not likely the other person is going to change. USSSA is going to slap the guy on the wrist rather than lose tournament venue dollars. It may be the best thing to so is tell your son there are schmucks in the world he'll have to deal with, take it as a life lesson and move on.


That would be hard to do. Usssa right now is the primary travel ball tournament provider here in Orlando.

The only other options are AAU which is in Tampa and Nations in Tampa. That is a 1.5 hour drive each way plus I figure about an extra 10k per year than what we are already paying.

The other option would be to move to another state that has year round baseball. This would cost an extra 20k to do so.

The third option is say ok well son you are not going to be treated here fairly so you cant play travel baseball any more. Now what do you think the chances of that are going to be LOL.

This TD= tournament director will not change and therefore this will prevent my son from playing. Also according to Usssa rules if any one files a lawsuit or threatens a lawsuit to correct an injustice then your child is automatically suspended from Usssa events.

So this basically tells me that Usssa has set themselves up to where they can ignore any issue because most parents will not take the chance of having their child suspended from all of Usssa.
It is this kind of behavior that opens the door for other organizations like Nations and Super Series to build a customer base. Free enterprise will correct the situation eventually. I know that does not help your son in the near future. These organizations spend big bucks building brand awareness. USSSA is not the beat all end all of baseball. At your son's age they do run travel ball in some areas. Continue to work hard and look for other opportunities to play ball.
That really is a raw deal. No matter what you do your son is probably not going to be allowed to play ball with his friends.

If it was me, I would go after the guy. Your son is screwed either way. Teach him that some times it is good to fight on the side of right irregardless of the consequences. USSSA only runs the 14 and under crowd around here. There are other organizations but the the best ball is USSSA around here.

Rattle some cages, what do you have to lose?
quote:
Originally posted by Doughnutman:
That really is a raw deal. No matter what you do your son is probably not going to be allowed to play ball with his friends.

If it was me, I would go after the guy. Your son is screwed either way. Teach him that some times it is good to fight on the side of right irregardless of the consequences. USSSA only runs the 14 and under crowd around here. There are other organizations but the the best ball is USSSA around here.

Rattle some cages, what do you have to lose?


Well since this posting I have contact the county where this tournament was held. I was told they dont condone this type behavior and that they would speak with someone within the county government to get an answer.

I have personally had 6 phone calls from others who where there that day he threw us out of the park and every single one of them said it was despicable and unprofessional what this tournament director did.

Hey in your opinion do you think this would be something the media would be interested in. I know it would get some attention if a lawsuit was file locally but other than that I wonder if there is some type of human interest story laying around in this LOL.
Last edited by OCB
quote:
Originally posted by RJM:
If I understand your son is a AAA/Majors player who was not allowed to fill in on a AA team even though others kids were. I don't see the long term ramifications.


There may or may not be any long term ramifications. However there are most definitely financial ramifications. If my son is not able to play Usssa then to play competitive travel ball we would either have to:

AAU or Nations which is in Tampa and 1.5 hours away. This I figure would cost an extra 10k per year.

Move which since we dont live in a small home it requires a semi truck and moving companies cost about 15 to 20k. However if we have to move I can promise I wont absorb those cost. LOL
OCB,
Was this strictly a AA tournament with only AA teams? You did not mention whether the other teams, you son's former teammates played with, were AA also, or maybe have been AAA. If they were AAA, then the rule was not violated for them, just your son with the AA team. (I am just filling in the blanks)

This is not specific to USSSSA, I have seen such action in other organizations as well. It is really a regional thing where some tournament director dominates a particular area and decides to make his own rules, or enforce the existing ones subjectively.

Luckily it was just a fill-in tournament and not one with his regular team. I would just tell my son that the guys an idiot and that we were not going to worry with him. He was just going to play with his regular team and have fun playing. No need to expell energy on a knucklehead like that.
You may want to seek further clarification. Unless the rosters are locked he may be able to play.

USSSA seems to have a real problem with State directors doing their own thing.

My son went through the same thing here in Virginia and until or unless the rosters are locked, he should be able to play.

Once rosters are locked then it is more difficult.

They put in these rules because too many coaches have cheated over the years having Major kids play on a AA team just to win a AA state championship.

Shame the bad apples ruin it for boys like your that just want to play.
quote:
Originally posted by EC_Dad:
OCB,
Was this strictly a AA tournament with only AA teams? You did not mention whether the other teams, you son's former teammates played with, were AA also, or maybe have been AAA. If they were AAA, then the rule was not violated for them, just your son with the AA team. (I am just filling in the blanks)

This is not specific to USSSSA, I have seen such action in other organizations as well. It is really a regional thing where some tournament director dominates a particular area and decides to make his own rules, or enforce the existing ones subjectively.

Luckily it was just a fill-in tournament and not one with his regular team. I would just tell my son that the guys an idiot and that we were not going to worry with him. He was just going to play with his regular team and have fun playing. No need to expell energy on a knucklehead like that.


Yes sorry my sons other teammates are playing on the 11u AA team and yes it was a AA tournament. Several of the kids that were on these 11u AA rosters all had Major/AAA roster history. There was one kid on one of these 11u AA teams that is also on the roster of a 12u Major team.

As much as I would like to just move on and let my son play based on this TDs past history and his attitude I dont think that is going to be possible.

See this guy is not a state director he is a tournament director trying to act like he is the state director. His favorite intimidation tool to use even though he doesnt have the authority is to threaten any coach who disagrees with him with moving their team up in classification or sticking them always with bad schedules during tournaments. He has done this to me and others that I have witnessed.
quote:
Originally posted by Doughnutman:
My only worry would be the fact that he kicked you out of a tournament that you were just watching. Sounds pretty vindictive and petty to me. If the TD is willing and eager to do something like that, I will bet that he will be more than happy to kick your son out of USSSA over some made up excuse.


See this is a potential problem. See Usssa has a by-law that states any parent who threatens to file a lawsuit or files a lawsuit that child of that parent and the parent is suspended from Usssa events.

To me that seems like an easy way for Usssa to control any issues their organization faces without the complainant having any real recourse if they decide to ignore it.
Thanks for answering for the original poster. I only have twelve years of tournament ball experience. He has such a can't do, doomed approach to the situation I wanted his take on bad seeds.

Given the situation I have to think the original poster has been in some terrible confrontations with the tournament director. He said there's a history. TD's don't arbitrarily pick someone and penalize them. There's another side to this story.
Last edited by RJM
Aside from the beef with USSSA, there should be plenty of AAU and independent teams in and around Orlando. It was only a couple of years ago when we were playing AAU, and we played in Orlando, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Kissimmee, all the time. Doesn't the Juice practice in Orlando? OCB, if you haven't already done so, you should check out sunshinesports.net. I know there are some other very good organizations for older players, like the Scorpions. Maybe they have younger divisions - I don't know. But in a place like Orlando, surely there are other options.
Last edited by 2Bmom
I see this as two seperate issues. The first being the conduct of the director on asking you to leave the park. If you or your family were not creating a disturbance, and it does not sound like that was the case, he was definitely outside the scope of his authority. It sounds like you are already getting that addressed. The other issue being the USSSA rules on playing down to a lower level. It has been my understanding from my son playing in USSSA for several years that the rule has always been you could play down one level (Ex: Major to AAA) and you never could play down two levels and if you did do that you were now classified at that level (in this case AA)for the rest of the season and could only play up one level (AAA) for the rest of the season. That has been common practice (right or wrong) for some time in the area we were living in. So if that is in fact the actual rule, the director might have been dooing your son a favor in the long run because it could have hampered his participation in the Major level. I understand your son just wanted to play ball with his friends (we have been in the same position) but the levels are there for a reason and a part of the concern is injury to the players that are not as skilled. Again, this is my understanding of the rules and I could be incorrect as I am not a USSSA expert.
quote:
Originally posted by RJM:
Thanks for answering for the original poster. I only have twelve years of tournament ball experience. He has such a can't do, doomed approach to the situation I wanted his take on bad seeds.

Given the situation I have to think the original poster has been in some terrible confrontations with the tournament director. He said there's a history. TD's don't arbitrarily pick someone and penalize them. There's another side to this story.


Where do you see the cant do/doomed approach. Also DM is spot on with what happens. Also this is not just me who this happens to. This TD has what I refer to as the GOD complex.

Anyone who DARES to question him is struck by lighting lol. Yes there is a history but its a justified history and this TD has a history with a lot of people.

If you call questioning the TD because he advertised giveaways on his website to players from Worth, Mizuno and Easton to attract teams. Then once you get to the tournament which required a hotel stay and he says oh we didnt have the money. Yes thats a history.

Its a history when you question the TD because he doesnt follow through with his duties.

Its a history when a TD oversteps his boundaries and you call him on it. Usssa rule 3.03 states that only a state director can reclassify a team.

Yet this TD is always threatening coaches who disagree with him or question him with reclassification.

Its a history, when a TD doesnt apply the rules to fairly to all.

Its a history when rules are changed as you go.

Its a history when he cant find umpires that know what an infield fly rule is.

So yes RJM I do have a history with this TD and so do several others. I am willing to bet that I am not on this TDs Christmas card list either. SOOO WHAT!!!

Does my history with him still make what he has done any less improper and illegal. Does it make the ramifications to my son any less important.
quote:
Originally posted by txbaseballdad:
I see this as two seperate issues. The first being the conduct of the director on asking you to leave the park. If you or your family were not creating a disturbance, and it does not sound like that was the case, he was definitely outside the scope of his authority. It sounds like you are already getting that addressed. The other issue being the USSSA rules on playing down to a lower level. It has been my understanding from my son playing in USSSA for several years that the rule has always been you could play down one level (Ex: Major to AAA) and you never could play down two levels and if you did do that you were now classified at that level (in this case AA)for the rest of the season and could only play up one level (AAA) for the rest of the season. That has been common practice (right or wrong) for some time in the area we were living in. So if that is in fact the actual rule, the director might have been dooing your son a favor in the long run because it could have hampered his participation in the Major level. I understand your son just wanted to play ball with his friends (we have been in the same position) but the levels are there for a reason and a part of the concern is injury to the players that are not as skilled. Again, this is my understanding of the rules and I could be incorrect as I am not a USSSA expert.


Yes the divisions are there for a reason and I personally agree with the rule 100%. However this TD was aware of several kids on several different teams in this AA tournament that had Major classification history.

There was one such kid who was also on a current 12u Major roster. There were 4 kids from my sons 10u major team last year. This team was one of the top 10u major teams in the country last year. Yet all 4 of those kids were on the same 11aa team in this tournament and the TD was well aware of this because other coaches I know said they emailed him on it.

Anyone who plays Usssa knows that the only reason AA teams have major classification players is they want to sandbag to when the metal.

I personally think all rosters here anyway should be frozen after a team plays their second tournament. This in my opinion would stop all the teams from bringing in ringers and keeping kids at their proper classification.

If this happen then AA teams like the one my son was asked to guest play for would have other AA players they could get because all these other teams would have to disband because of the number of major classification kids on their AA rosters.
quote:
Do you want to win the fight and screw things up for your son ?
Your history whether you are right or wrong is screwing up your present.


My thoughts exactly. OCB, you are coming across as though the battle with the TD is the focus, rather than what is best for your player. When you talk about having to drive to Tampa, that seems to me like a "reason" for you to stay and fight with this TD.

I remember when stuff on the small field seemed like life and death. It's not. Let it go. Find another option, relax and have fun. When your son is in HS, hopefully you will look back and realize that this wasn't as important as you thought.
Last edited by 2Bmom
quote:
Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
Do you want to win the fight and screw things up for your son ?
Your history whether you are right or wrong is screwing up your present.


I have thought about this, discussed it with friends in the know and we all have come to the same conclusion.

My son is screwed no matter what with any Usssa tournaments from Jacksonville to Tampa since this TDs company extends to those areas.

One of two things must happen in order for my son to be able to play Usssa.

Either this TD is fired or two he is severely reprimanded by Usssa and told to back off. I honestly dont see any of those happening because if it does then Usssa is admitting guilt.

I have only 3 options for my son.

One he can play AAU and Nations in Tampa. This is an extra 1.5 hours each way and I figure that will cost me an extra 10k per year. The money is not the issue but our schedules would hinder this.

Two, our family can move to another state. This will cost me 15 to 20k just so my son can play Usssa. The money is not the issue. That I have plenty of but I only have one son.

Three, I could file a lawsuit against Usssa and the TD but this would cause my son to be suspended from Usssa events according to their rules.
Last edited by OCB
quote:
I have only 3 options for my son.

One he can play AAU and Nations in Tampa. This is an extra 1.5 hours each way and I figure that will cost me an extra 10k per year. The money is not the issue but our schedules would hinder this.

Two, our family can move to another state. This will cost me 15 to 20k just so my son can play Usssa. The money is not the issue. That I have plenty of but I only have one son.


Wow. That's what I miss about youth baseball. The drama.

You are in Orlando, Florida. If you can't find a local option for your son, then you are not looking hard enough.
Has your son been banned from playing on his major level team ?
I can tell you from all my years of BB, no one wins in these fights. Your son will be the biggest loser.
One thing I have noticed over the years is that the same issues are recurring in every part of North America.
I learned to stay in the background and stay out of the fights. Believe me I love a good fight but it was my son who would lose.
quote:
Originally posted by 2Bmom:
quote:
I have only 3 options for my son.

One he can play AAU and Nations in Tampa. This is an extra 1.5 hours each way and I figure that will cost me an extra 10k per year. The money is not the issue but our schedules would hinder this.

Two, our family can move to another state. This will cost me 15 to 20k just so my son can play Usssa. The money is not the issue. That I have plenty of but I only have one son.


Wow. That's what I miss about youth baseball. The drama.

You are in Orlando, Florida. If you can't find a local option for your son, then you are not looking hard enough.


The only local options here for Travel Baseball. AAU, USSSA, Nations and once in a blue moon Triple Crown.

In Orlando you have Usssa. Most teams in Orlando that play some AAU in Tampa also play Usssa. If my son wont get a fair shake in Usssa it limits the number of teams he could play for that play both Usssa and AAU.

In Tampa for Travel Ball there is AAU, Usssa and Nations. There are teams that play only AAU but all those are in Tampa.

We play more than just travel ball. My son also plays Babe Ruth and Pony but the caliber of ball is not the same as travel ball nor do you have the opportunity to play as many games as in travel.

BHD, you are right however that no one wins. Yet in order for there to be change someone has to fight. Turning a blind eye only allows these type circumstances to continually be abused by those in power.

Point in fact. Can anyone give good reason why Usssa has a rule that if someone threatens or files a lawsuit their child is suspended?

My personal take on that rule is simple. Its meant to handcuff participates in Usssa. If Usssa wants to ignore or sweep an issue under the rug they know most parents are not going to jeopardize their childs ability to play in their organization in areas that Usssa is the dominate sports body.

Youth baseball is not life or death. However when your child loves the game as much as mine does and it brings family and friends together to celebrate the relationships and bonds that are formed because of the baseball. Then yes even though it is not life or death it becomes a huge and important social part of ones life.
The TD is def out of line in his singling out your son, but getting your USSSA state director or Nationals to boot the TD isn't going to happen. USSSA will support their TDs, esp ones that are long entrenched in big markets.

Realize its Fall Ball, & not as many opportunities to play, but playing down two classifications, rightfully sent up a red flag. Am sure we all agree this should have been addressed differently. IMO, each & every one of these 11Majors should not have been allowed to play on same year (or one year older) AA rosters. Thats the only way to be fair, and this could have been addressed well before the tourn began, if rosters were required to be submitted 48 hours before play began & your state director was on the ball.

In my home market (Oklahoma), its basically been the rule in USSSA that Majors could play down only one classification, and only IF they played up a year. North Texas USSSA has had a similiar rule for several years. In OK, during the Spring, players leaving a Majors team & joining an established same year AAA team risk having that AAA team bumped to Majors. To many of us, this has made absolutely no sense, as OK USSSA just does not have the numbers of regionally competitive Majors teams. Not to be demeaning, but most of these players were nothing more than solid AAA players & in our little pond one player was(is) not going make a decent AAA team into a competitive Majors team. When put in such a position, our newly bumped Majors teams usually give up driving out of state to find USSSA Majors tourns to make, and instead play Super Series Americans. This only takes money out of our local USSSA TD's pockets, yet uninformed & discrimate team classifications continue.
quote:
Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
Do you want to win the fight and screw things up for your son ?
Your history whether you are right or wrong is screwing up your present.
Wow! This is twice today I've agreed with Bobblehead. And this is over 10U baseball? I can't imagine how torqued up you'll be by 14U. 18U? If I had a laundry list of complaints like yours that other coaches agree with I'd go to USSSA as a group. I'd never take the guy on as an individual. He has too much power.

If a lot of coaches have issues with the TD you have other options to play baseball. In 13U we got the attention of our TD when we started running our own tournaments with eight of the best teams in the age group. It cost him $4,000 plus concessions each time we ran our own tournament. We got our own fields and umpires. It was half the cost to play baseball. We didn't invite weak teams. It was good baseball. Who cares about USSSA points. It's about playing good ball. The USSSA ranking system is a joke anyway. It worked so well four of us ran our own tournaments the following year as a fundraiser.
quote:
Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
Has your son been banned from playing on his major level team ?
I can tell you from all my years of BB, no one wins in these fights. Your son will be the biggest loser.
One thing I have noticed over the years is that the same issues are recurring in every part of North America.
I learned to stay in the background and stay out of the fights. Believe me I love a good fight but it was my son who would lose.


Great advice. Wish I had of learned it sooner in my son's baseball journey. Now when I get frustrated with baseball politics, I just go out and throw the ball with him. We both feel better afterwards.
quote:
Originally posted by RJM:
quote:
Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
Do you want to win the fight and screw things up for your son ?
Your history whether you are right or wrong is screwing up your present.
Wow! This is twice today I've agreed with Bobblehead. And this is over 10U baseball? I can't imagine how torqued up you'll be by 14U. 18U? If I had a laundry list of complaints like yours that other coaches agree with I'd go to USSSA as a group. I'd never take the guy on as an individual. He has too much power.

If a lot of coaches have issues with the TD you have other options to play baseball. In 13U we got the attention of our TD when we started running our own tournaments with eight of the best teams in the age group. It cost him $4,000 plus concessions each time we ran our own tournament. We got our own fields and umpires. It was half the cost to play baseball. We didn't invite weak teams. It was good baseball. Who cares about USSSA points. It's about playing good ball. The USSSA ranking system is a joke anyway. It worked so well four of us ran our own tournaments the following year as a fundraiser.


I agree with you and your ideas. However in this age group for most of the coaches and some of the parents its all about the prestige of the trophies, medals, usssa ranking system and the Elite 32.

To prove that point. I can point to a 11u major team here that just traveled up to South Carolina a few weeks ago to play in a Super NIT with a bunch of weak teams.

We have a Super NIT here at the end of Nov at Disney but the teams here will be much stronger than those that were in SC. This 11u Major team I would say is one of the top 7 strongest 11u teams in the country. Yet they went to SC to win the Super NIt and get the berth to the Elite 32 in SC instead of waiting 6 weeks to get it here.

I am somewhat new to travel baseball politics and I have made some mistakes along the way. Knowing what I do now if I had some of those things to do over again I would but that is just water under the bridge.

The one thing that I cant stand is corruption and those abusing their power to take advantage of a situation but I am finding out at least here in Orlando that seems to be the flavor of the day.

Can some of you share with me where you think the best year round youth baseball is located.
LOL just thought I would post something I just saw interesting. It seems now the tournament director has blocked anyone from seeing the teams in this upcoming 12u aa Fall State Warm Up tournament.

I guess he doesnt want others to see who has major history classification players on their rosters. Just another attempt to abuse power.
OCB,
I don't blame that team for travelling up to SC and trying to go ahead and get that berth out of the way. I recommended anyone around here that thought they wanted to qualify for it to do the same thing. Winning Super NIT's are such a cr@p shoot sometimes because there are outside forces (weather for one) that can affect the game. It is nice to know you have qualified and can make plans around that from a travel perspective. We have an automatic berth this year because we won it last year, so it is nice knowing we don't have to chase a berth around the SE, hoping it does not rain or that all the strong teams don't end up in the same side of the bracket. (Because seeding is based on USSSA points, this happens a lot.)

Whether people want to admit it or not, the USSSA Elite WS is usually the strongest tournament in the country for at least 13U and below.
Last edited by 2014_Lefty_Dad
quote:
I agree with you and your ideas. However in this age group for most of the coaches and some of the parents its all about the prestige of the trophies, medals, usssa ranking system and the Elite 32.

To prove that point. I can point to a 11u major team here that just traveled up to South Carolina a few weeks ago to play in a Super NIT with a bunch of weak teams.

We have a Super NIT here at the end of Nov at Disney but the teams here will be much stronger than those that were in SC. This 11u Major team I would say is one of the top 7 strongest 11u teams in the country. Yet they went to SC to win the Super NIt and get the berth to the Elite 32 in SC instead of waiting 6 weeks to get it here.

These are warped priorities for pre teen or pre high school baseball players.
Last edited by RJM
quote:
Originally posted by RJM:
quote:
Whether people want to admit it or not, the USSSA Elite WS is usually the strongest tournament in the country for at least 13U and below.

Who cares!


The only appeal the elite 32 has for us is that its played at Disney but after playing there several times in the last year it loses its appeal.

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