For those of you who were not present during the 15 plus hours of meeting time that was taken up trying to explain the changes in detail as well as all the pros and cons (which by the way a majority of clubs voted in overwhelmingly), I would like once again to put in a small two bobs worth.
1. As it stands with the rules for this and following years according to the rule book, all children playing Tee Ball are currently playing with the EXACT same age children that they go to school with to the day ie. All grade fives are playing with all 10 yr olds that were born between Jan 1 and June 30 of the year 2000 as well as those children who turn 11 between 1st July and December 31 of this year (11 year olds who have had their birthday in the last 5 months and those that will have over the rest of this month and December) or children born in the second half of 1999. This applies to all age groups and the above example is the CURRENT Crop of UNDER 12’s which would have been the oldest age group at the State Championships this year however, there was a motion passed earlier in the year to delay this rule for 1 season so as to allow clubs to get their older players involved in 1 final year of State Championships and Super Squad.
2. To be an under X age competition, those competing in it must not have turned the age that they are playing in until the end of that season or a date determined after the season finishes. This date has been voted on by the TBAWA Meeting Delegates from ALL CLUBS earlier in the year and was passed as being the 30th of June following the season’s end.
3. There is currently NOTHING stopping any club from having older age groups playing in their own club competitions and it is not the role of TBAWA to make a determination on any age that a club or clubs which to have children participating in.
4. The biggest and most important reason that the age groups were lowered by an OVERWHELMING MAJORITY VOTE was due to CONCERN FOR PLAYER SAFETY. The size and strength of some players in the older age groups (especially under 13 Boys) is quite frightening to me and a lot of parents that I discuss the state of the game with on a regular basis. I still play senior baseball and consider myself to have quite fast reflexes and yet I would not play in the under 13 competition at PITCHER against the side I coached nor the teams I coached against at last year’s State Championships. Some of these players were the size of fully grown men with power to match and it is only a matter of time until a player gets seriously injured by a wayward hit. The association and all clubs can ill afford the negative publicity nor the future ramifications of insurance premium hikes that would result from such an accident.
5. The early State Championships oldest age groups were capped at under 11’s and then things progressed as the sport grew to allow under 12 GIRLS and then under 13 GIRLS. BOYS remained at under 11’s for quite some time and while it would be great to see things return to the same groups, it is not possible due to Sex Discrimination Laws preventing the exclusion of boys in any age group.
6. Whether or not your club is at war with the local baseball club closest to you or you happen to be involved with Baseball WA, Little League WA or Softball WA at present, your target market IS NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE children in their last years of primary school (or 1st year High School for that matter) to bolster your numbers. This can only bolster club numbers for 1 or 2 seasons at best. To increase numbers of participants in this great sport for ALL CLUBS we all need to be working together to get footholds into Pre Primary Curriculum's, Kindergarten Sports days and Day Care centre notice boards. ALL CLUBS are also capable of modifying their own playing rules to create a simpler way for extra young (3 ½ to 4 yr olds) players to get started in the sport as I know quite a few clubs have done.
7. Clubs can always approach the local baseball club or start up your own Little League/Junior Baseball program. The State League clubs need future juniors and there is a ton of help out there to start your own if you go and ask.
I hope that the clubs whose committees voted for these changes earlier in the year stick to the votes originally cast in accordance with your club directives and that we can get on with improving the game for the benefit of all concerned
Yours in Sport
Stuart Paull
Past Tee Ball Club President (among many other roles)
Current Tee Ball Coach
Current Tee Ball Umpire
Current Parent of multiple Tee Ball Players
Passionate Tee Ball Fan & Supporter for 30 plus years
8 comments:
Stuart.
We at the Morley Eagles have no problem with removing the under 13s from the comp all together.
Our motion is to try and make the age of all kids playing in the State Champs as level as possibe so that all players fit in the UNDER AGE Group. eg Under 10s all players are 9 at the State Champs.
As for keeping in line with the school year, When I was young my mum allways told that playing a sport and joining a club is all about meeting new people and making new friends.
I haven't been involved at all, and this suggestion may have been raised and decided to be unworkable, but how about 13's Teeball being played on a Baseball sized diamond?
Also, I totally agree with Clint's comments re making new friends. I also dont think clubs should pool the kids from the same school into the one team. Let kids make new friends there own age from kids at different schools in the area, and even from different school grades which a early March cutoff date would provide.
Yes Clint. You are correct. Right now ALL players in under 10's are 9 years old or less at the state championships. That is what the age cut off date to June 30 after the season ends was meant to do in the first place. It is the only way to make the State Championships a TRULY LEVEL playing field for ALL players. While in principle I agree that ANY DATE that occurs after State Championships is a suitable date to cut players off from an age division, it was discussed at length at the time and most clubs agreed that the school year date was the most workable from a logistical angle for club Registrars and such.
My ideal date is 1st May after the season finishes as this is in line with age groups in Baseball however, i have accepted that most TEE-Ball clubs dont really care about that and this is their rite to maintain that opinion. With the age group cut off at 30th June there are 1/6 of players (those born fron May 1st to June 30th) that will gain an extra year of Junior Baseball over other players if they choose to continue down that path.
All clubs still need to realise and accept that Tee-Ball is age restricted by the very nature of the sport and IS NOW AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN a precurser to continuing further into Diamond Sports whether it be Softball or Baseball, Male or Female.
As for the anonymous comment about pooling kids from the same school into one team i can only say that NO CLUB should do this after the first year that a player arrives if they have been brought down to the club by an existing player and only in circumstances where the players are very young ie 5 or 6 years old.
Clubs should also be targeting ALL schools in their immediate surroundings to obtain new registrations. There is a MASSIVE amount of assistance from TBAWA and Baseball WA in these areas and I am led to believe that Softball WA is also now allocating resources so that Tee-Ball clubs can get into Schools to run clinics etc.
Stuart you seem to have missed my point altogether.
A cut off date in early March is the only way to level the playing field at the state champs and give all children playing tee ball the best chance possible to play state teeball.
When the cut off date was the 31st of December it was about 1/6 of children playing in the wrong age group at the state champs.
Now with the age cut off date being the 30th of June it has increased to over 1/4 of children playing in the wrong age group at the state champs.
As I said before with a cut off date in early March, eg, UNDER 10'S - ALL KIDS ARE AGED 9 NOT AGED 9 OR LESS, the 'less' you refer to is the 1/4+ children playing in the wrong age group.
I am also still yet to see how a cut of date at the 30th of June makes it easier for a club registrar, as all state teams should be made up of all the best players from different club teams and they either fit in that cut off or they don't.
Thanks for being brave enough for releaseing your full details Stuart.
NO Clint, I havent missed your point AT ALL! It doesn't matter which way the figures are manipulated you still end up with a 12 month age bracket of children playing in each age division. I am only stating as I have on many occasions before that it has been chosen as June 30 after the season finishes by a majority of voting clubs. It is simpler this way for most of them because the players are broken into age groups that reflect what they are in school. The less I refer to are the better players that actually play in an age group ABOVE where they qualify and NOT in the wrong age group. This happens in a lot of clubs that have LESS than 150 players and still happens in the club where my children play. STATE CHAMPS is all about competition and for the better players to push themselves to perform at the best of their ability whether they are in under 9's or any other age group.
NO CHILD has ever played in the WRONG age group as you suggest as they have always had to be a certain age or lower to play in that division.
For the clubs who dont follow the TBAWA age groupings whether it be due to restricted numbers or just because they plain want to, that is their business and quite frankly i don't really care if they do or don't. It just makes it harder to sort the kids into grades if they are using different systems and thay have to sort it out themselves.
I have stated openly many times before and will do so YET AGAIN so the 2 people in the world who haven't heard my opinion on the matter can understand my feelings as well: Tee-Ball is a sport played by young children BEFORE THEY GO ONTO BASEBALL OR SOFTBALL!!! End of story. The age groups were voted on to be lowered to previous levels earlier in the year due primarily to safety concerns.
For those who still think it is dangerous for the same kids to be playing baseball should get down and have a look at the training that goes into developing a young Pitcher so as to protect themselves as part of their action when pitching. There is also the fact that usually in older age groups the weakest players are placed at pitcher and catcher which i feel is absolutely a major concern to me. Any Junior baseball coach will happily tell you that more often than not it is the better skilled players who usually end up playing in the Pitcher and Catcher positions and even though nearly ALL OF US have rotation policies that give every player a chance to play every position it just seems to work out that way.
I just hope everyone can get on with it next year and keep the game moving in a forward direction on behalf of ALL diamond sports.
As for you guys out there at Morley Eagles, I sincerely hope that you get together with the senior baseball club properly over the next couple of years as you would have undoubtedly one of the biggest and best structured clubs in WA. There is a wealth of support and knowledge in that club and you would ALL benefit from Coordinated Collaboration just as we are starting to achieve at the Club(s) I am involved with.
To Anonymous, I am always happy to say my peice and will ALWAYS put my name on it otherwise I feel it is just wasted words.
To anon of 25 November - Little League Baseball (Uber13) is played on a 60 foot diamond. So you already play Under 13 tee-ball on a baseball sized diamond.
I fear for the first club to have a seriously injured player from the pitcher position in Under 13 tee-ball - the day is coming people - prepare for the damage.
It's very disappointing when the whole argument around age groups is based on the state champs.
I have a baseball background and some year ago the powers at the time decided to change age groups to align to the National Champs (ie to 14, 16,18) - DISASTER !!!! The best thing for local club ball has always been 13, 15, 17 and well done to whoever it was that changed it back - one of the reasons baseball numbers are growing again.
To decide on age cutoff based around the state champs is ludicrous and destined for grass roots disaster if not done properly.
Why is it that WA is the only state that has a state champs? Ask any other state and they will argue black-and-blue that we should not be putting kids as young as 7 through the tryout and rejection process we do. Frankly I agree.
Tee-ball is for fun, fair play etc etc etc. Not to tell some kids they are elite and some kids that they don't cut the mustard. The kids will learn those life lessons when they get old - let kids be kids, enjoy the game and worry about the sigma of not being picked later on it life, when they are a little older and wiser.
In my opinion, replace the state champs with a beefed up lightning carnival - so that any kids can play - not just the chosen few.
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