Hernando Dizzy Dean picks it’s All Stars at the end of the season and they have roughly 2 weeks to gel as a team and get some practice in before warm up tournaments start and then the real deal. This hardly seems like enough time for a team of hand picked, position specific kids, to adjust to potentially new positions and become one as a team. You have to get along with the other kids to play well otherwise that is something that sticks in a kids mind. I have seen some All Star Games, and those teams from Grenada, Batesville, Sardis, Pontotoc look like they had been practicing together a lot longer than 4 weeks. One of the parents told me that they pick their All Stars after the first tournament or even as soon as the draft so they can get that chemistry going ASAP, I am not sure that is true but it makes sense.
What makes up a good All Star team? I think you need good utility players and enough time to paractice and get the team familiar with each others talents. Players that can move to any position and understand the schematics of that position. Can a kid that has been on first base all season because he is the best catcher make a good left fielder. Now he has a wider area to cover, back up center filed, third and short stop. A utility player can do just that because he has taken it upon himself to learn all the positions, or almost all of them. He also has to be consistence in hitting, base hit every time not just a homer or triple twice a game and there are quite a few of those in the league.
I am excited abouot the All Stars because I finally get to sit down and enjoy a whole game without yelling, “pay attention, put those clovers down and watch the batter.” or ” stop looking at the ball and run!”
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When it comes to the Dizzy Dean World Series, I have always thought that it was for basically All Star teams to compete. This past weekend while at a Dizzy Dean World Series Warm Up tournament in Batesville, I met parents from a Philadelphia Mississippi team called the Neshoba Elite. The parents bragged that their group of girls have been together for three years, with the same coaches, and play year round. They also mentioned that they are playing in the USFA State Tournament this upcoming weekend in Meridian and then returning to play in the Dizzy Dean State Tournament the following week. They also boasted about possibly playing in the USFA World Series in Panama the week of the 12-18. If this doesn’t sound like an all out competitive trophy hunting team then what does? Is that really fair? If they can do that then why can’t everyone else? Anyone got any answers on the stipulations of who plays in a DD World Series? I know what the rule book says but really….is anyone checking?
Oh and I agree with you Joe….Hernando picks its All Stars way too late. The way of selecting AllStars and coaches is ridiculous. For heavens sake, just follow the rule books suggestion and we would be better off. You barely have enough time to order uniforms and figure out who is where and then the Series is here. One last complaint and I will wait on someone to comment on my issues….why does Hernando provide NOTHING to their All Star players? Other cities such as small ole Senatobia at least give the All Star coach a check to purchase his or her team uniforms of choice and NO they are not dressed cheesy?!
Oh Sabrina, how I agree with everything you are saying! I do think that competitive teams can play in the tournaments like the one this previous weekend in Batesville however I THINK the world series and state tournaments are sanctioned for Dizzy Dean only organizations…do they check closely? I have no idea.
YES, Hernando is WAY BEHIND when it comes to picking all star teams. Our team played the Batesville all star team this past weekend and their coaches stated that this was the 3rd tournament their team had played in for all stars!! The way Hernando handles all stars NEEDS TO BE CHANGED ASAP. Also, I think that the coach that wins the rec season league (most wins or whatever) should be the all star coach, like the rule book states. When you have a group of outstanding players who have the potential to bring a state trophy back to their hometown and possibly a world series trophy, why not give them the coaching staff that will help them do so?!?! Yes, it is rec ball but when it comes to all star tournaments, the best players should be put in the positions they were drafted for…not “its rec and everyone will get a turn to pitch, etc” isn’t that why they are chosen?!
Thanks for letting me vent!
You have some good points, but let me see if I can shed some light on a few of them. I must first say that as far as the All Stars goes, I don’t have a dog in the hunt. My kids and I (with the exception of the 5 that live in the Hernando Area) are not eligable to participate in All Stars, unless the whole team goes, asnd we considered it. We were informed of this from day one and have resolved to it. We just want to play ball and teach our kids the game. Ss they become better we may move to a comtetitive environment but I think that is way off down the road.
Back to your question about All Star player status verification; team players, coaches papers, birth certificates and forms (filled out way back in May and Submitted to Dizzy Dean) are checked and verified at checkin. You are also right about the tournaments. This past weekend in Batesville and Horn Lake are “warm up” tournaments that anyone could have gotten in. I disagree with your statement about the coach that wins the most games in the rec league should coach All Stars. There are 3 factoes I would consider, tak the coach that wins the most regular season games, the coach tha wins the May Madness Tournament and the June Jam Tournamtent and let the everyone vote on those choices. Just because a team wins the 1st place in the tournament doesn’t make them the best tream in the league and have the best coach. I like the way the kids are chosen now. Each coach picks the ones from other teams they recognize as the best, (or they should) could there be favors going on? Sure; “You pick my kid I pick yours”. . Also, kids are not drafted to positions, they are drafted to a team, they have to earn the positions as they grow. The best All Star players are not the best 1st baseman, the best shorstop the best catcher, no, no no it is the best utility players from all the teams. If you draft the best 1st baseman from 4 teams 3 of them are going to have to learn a new position quick. If coaches would teach their players to be more versatile and play 2-3 positions good then you have the makings of great utility players and a versatile ball team. This kind of coaching takes a lot of practice and patience to find multiple positions in one kid. My coacehs and myself spent a lot of practices doing this.
As far as the coaches, there is no measure for perfomance here. My kids came from dead last in the past 2 years to winning some and taking the game to the very last point. At the beginning of the year they made the bad news bears look good but when the season ended we ended up with some really good ball players. point is you have to come up with a strategy that is simple and just stick to it. Is the current process the best, nope, is there a better way, probably, does this work, for now.
Ok, so what if the same coach wins the most regular season games, May Madness AND June Jam? Im not saying that just because that particular coach wins the most games that makes them the best coach but it is certainly a strong argument. I could even see picking a coach from each team and letting them all coach the all star team as a whole. Im just saying the process, the way it exists now, is broken. And while I realize that players are not drafted into positions, it is given strong consideration during the voting process, after all, could you draft a whole team of outfielders and then expect one of them to be a pitcher or catcher for all stars? No! And the coaches have ALL season to know the strengths and weaknesses of the players that are drafted, unless they just weren’t paying attention during the regular season, which we know is not the case. I agree with your point about strong utility players but it causes nothing but chaos, if positions are being constantly switched IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAME. That is what practice is for. Which brings us back to the point that picking all stars in Hernando should be done much earlier to allow for ample practice time before tournaments and for players to get comfortable playing in their new found positions. Thanks for your comments!
Well said. I think a lot of people agree with that line of thinking. We do need to get All Stars Selected earleier. I would say right after May Madness. By then the stronger players have already emerged and the border ones will follow. Those coaches that are worth their weight in salt do take note of key players on each team. Instead of mentally maybe they should get a note pad and keep up with it. As kids move from coach pitch to kid pitch coaches have to be more observant and mindfull of strengths and weaknesses in a team.
You people are putting too much into the All-Star process. Firs
How do you mean? “We people” are just one person that manages this site. I write about what is pertinent at the time and ongoing in the sports community. The All Stars is a big thing because it is the next step in a progression of levels in the youth sports community. I would love to hear about what the soccer, tennis and football communities are doing but they are not as forthcoming with information as the baseball\softball communities. You are more than welcome to share your thoughts here, that is why I created the blog. We would like to concentrate on community and regional sports with a touch of the local community concerns. It sounds like something is bubbling on your mind so please by all means, you may have the floor. I would love to entertain any topics our readers feel important.