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Competitive Leagues Player Selection Process
We are often asked how our player draft process works and how players are selected to play in our various competitive leagues.  

The following email was sent out by HOYB President Neil Bonner in March 2007 explaining how the process works. Our draft policy was crafted over a period of many years during many discussions at our monthly HOYB Board meetings. All adults in the Herndon community are welcome to attend our Board meetings and our league calendar lists the specific dates and times.   

Rookie League, Minor League and Major League Parents:


We've received several comments and emails regarding the placement of players in our competitive leagues (Rookie League and above are competitive). I want to share with you the process that we use for player selection in these leagues.

I often get emails or phone calls from parents asking for advice as to what league is 'right' for their child during the sign-up period. The advice that I almost always give is as follows. If you are having a tough time deciding between NL Majors and Minors, for example, I usually recommend that the parents choose Minors. My opinion is that I would rather a child be one of the top four players on a Minor league team than one of the bottom players on a NL team.

During the many years that I have managed teams in HOYB it has always been the case that after the season is complete the parents tell me that it was a good choice for their child to be in the lower level league. The child often becomes a team leader due to their extra maturity and they generally have more success on the field. Make no mistake, being successful on the field is a very important ingredient to a child enjoying his baseball season.

During signups, parents are free to signup their children at whatever level for which they are age/grade eligible. At that point it is up to the good judgment of the parents as to what league would be best for their child to participate.

This year we had 284 kids signup to play in the competitive leagues and only 282 available slots. However, the distribution of signups were such that after the AL Majors draft was complete we had to drop 32 players down to be eligible for the NL Majors draft. Consequently, the NL draft dropped 18 players to the Minor League draft and the Minor draft dropped 23 players to the Rookie League draft. Finally, the Rookie League dropped two players into the Machine Pitch league.

This was a very competitive group of players and the draft process worked very well. Most all of the managers have been managers or coaches in past seasons so they generally know the players from on-field experience. Also, the managers had the end-of-season skills evaluations available from their prior team manager to rely upon. Lastly, for those that made it to the tryouts, the coaches had a chance to evaluate them this month. So, there are at least three sources of information regarding a player available during the draft.

While managers are free to choose from the available pool of talent, it is in their best interests to select the best available players. Is it possible that your child is a better player than someone the same age who was drafted into a higher league? Of course. No system can be perfect. What can be done about this if you feel your child was overlooked? I recommend that children play on the team they were drafted and 'prove everyone wrong' by their performance on the field. It is my experience that the most talented players in a league are always drafted into a higher level during the following spring season (assuming they are age/grade eligible).

As an example, a few of the most talented 2006 Rookie League players were drafted into the Majors this spring. So, it is possible to skip leagues if you are one of the best in the league. On the other hand, a child could play a maximum of nine years in HOYB yet there are only seven leagues available (T-Ball through AL Majors). So a child must repeat a league at least two times in the HOYB program. Everyone repeats leagues, it is the way that our leagues are structured.

I hope this note helps to answer some questions that you or your child may have about their team placement. It is my firm belief that the skill levels within leagues and teams are much more evenly matched than in past years. No child should feel that they are in way over their head or conversely, that they are so good that they are way ahead of everyone else in the league or on their team. Competitive leagues where no team dominates the competition and where games are close are fun and exciting for everyone!

I hope you enjoy the baseball season and let your league Commissioner know how things are going!

Let's Play Ball!

Neil Bonner
HOYB President & Commissioner
 

 


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