hopefully they carry that commonsense to being more flexable with the travel kids participating in legion. Some of the coaches will not allow a kid to play if he is playing with a travel team which in turn cheapens legion competion until you get to the regional/national level
Posts: 77 | Location: richmond, va | Registered: May 15, 2006
“Teams will be able to register online after 1st of the year – pay for the fees and insurance with single credit card or debit card payment” said Jim Quinlan, Nat’l program coordinator.
Should make things a lot easier for all! This is an epic step forward for the betterment of American Legion baseball across the country!
Kids have choices to make, to play ALB or not. Coaches cannot make those choices for them.
Posts: 333 | Location: Winchester Virginia | Registered: August 06, 2006
How do I get in touch with a Legion coach in the Midlothian area (Dominion District)? I couldn't find that info on the site. My son is a HS senior (P/OF/1st) who is committed to a D1 school. He is considering doing something different than travel baseball this summer. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Posts: 75 | Location: Midlothian, Virginia | Registered: August 05, 2009
Up until recently I was a Legion coach that usually did not allow my players to play on other teams including travel teams. I did so for a couple of reasons.
The first reason was to make sure I had enough players to play. With so many summer baseball options I needed assurances from players that I would not be wasting the Legion post's money by having to forfeit games due to not enough players showing up. I refused to take the time each week and call all of my players to see who would be playing Legion ball that week. Legion rules state that we play by MLB (American League) rules yet they limited us to an 18 man roster as opposed to the MLB 25 man rosters.
Secondly, pitching is always at a premium. I could not in good conscience send a kid out to pitch if I wasn't relatively sure that he had not thrown a bunch of pitches at a rec ball or travel game the day before. Some kids will not be truthful when you ask or they believe it's ok for them to throw 400 pitches a week.
I had other reasons but those were the main ones. My policies cost me some quality players over the years but I was still able to field a very competitive team and never once had to forfeit or reschedule a game because I didn't have enough kids because of league/team conflicts.
As you can see it was not a "commonsense" issue but a policy brought on by the program's circumstances and by Legion rules. I really believe that the ALB rosters should be expanded to 25 players. This would alleviate some of the problems I've encountered that led me to limit my players participation on other teams. Thus far the national legion folks have refused to do so.
Posts: 32 | Location: Virginia Beach | Registered: May 09, 2008
Coach Wilson is spot on! It's tough to hold back kids from playing on travel/showcase squads. That's were they get seen by the college programs. I see a few college scouts at legion games (usually come tournament time), but the showcase tournaments always have a number of recruiters in the stands.
There was a day when Legion ball was the elite program to get top level players seen. Now there are a lot of excellent travel teams out there with well connected and sound coaches, regional/national scheduling, great facilities and an unlimited supply of parents with a ton of cash to spend (smile!)
ALB national needs to allow the expansion of the rosters up to 25 players. This will allow coaches to manage their assets. Travel/showcase ball is only going to contunue to grow. ALB has to adapt and learn to coexist.
Coach Wilson...you have a PM from me, let's catch up.
Posts: 89 | Location: Tidewater VA | Registered: April 03, 2008
I missed those...thanks for pointing them out! I'd like to push this down here in District 2. Shoot me a PM if you would be so kind; I would like to discuss this with you. You have really done the math on this one!
Posts: 89 | Location: Tidewater VA | Registered: April 03, 2008
Originally posted by birddog: I missed those...thanks for pointing them out! I'd like to push this down here in District 2. Shoot me a PM if you would be so kind; I would like to discuss this with you. You have really done the math on this one!
Give me a call birddog.
Posts: 333 | Location: Winchester Virginia | Registered: August 06, 2006
American Legion Baseball enters the digital era The American Legion - December 14, 2009
Beginning Jan. 1, coaches across the country will put down their pens and power-up their computers to complete team registration online for the first time in American Legion Baseball history. The digital, step-by-step process will tighten administrative communication efforts and result in an additional value for players and fans.
No longer will it be necessary for coaches to collect, complete and mail registration forms, insurance forms and payments to various locations for processing. Instead, coaches with Internet access will have the luxury of performing all of these responsibilities online, using their credit or debit card from the comfort of their own home.
Fans and players will also benefit from the service, as coaches will have the capability of entering game schedules and player profiles that will be viewable and searchable by the public on the official American Legion Baseball Web site.
Another attractive feature of the new system will be the reduction of paper waste. Coaches will no longer need to make copies of their roster for mailing because every roster will be securely available to each country, district and state chairman online.
"We are pleased to offer this new feature for our fans and program participants," American Legion Baseball Program Coordinator Jim Quinlan said. "The new online registration process is a result of our commitment to continue our tradition as one of the most successful amateur leagues, and I look forward to an exciting season."
The 2010 season marks the 85th anniversary of the program, which recently launched a brand new Web site that highlights its reputation among young athletes. The Web site and digital registration process will coincide with the online broadcast of the World Series being played in Spokane, Wash., that begins Aug. 13.
This will stir much interests for ALB, I know that the majority of the coaches always stated the paperwork process was brutal. So it quite obvious that National Headquarters was listening.
It'll be interesting to see how many teams will be registered for the 2010 summer.
Posts: 333 | Location: Winchester Virginia | Registered: August 06, 2006
