Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
MD: Elite, AAAA, AAA, AA, A, B
LI: A, B, town
😂

Wow a lot more talent in MD

It’s embarrassing really. Some parents are so hard up for status that they create this crazy division structure. Seriously AA is not good enough? You have to create AAA and AAAA to stroke the ego of parents. Don’t get me started with ELITE that is even more obnoxious.

Tell me you have no idea how leagues are run, without telling me you have no idea how leagues are run.

Supply side: HoCo has a bounty of turf fields they want to lease out for youth lax from March 1 to May 30 every year. They want to get the maximum number of games played (fields rented) over the shortest amount of time. That is their (spring) business model. They do not want to operate a 5 month long, round robin league where there's an A and B league with 20 teams in each, and only 1-2 championship teams per age bracket. That's not good marketing for their league. They want to fill all the fields for a short season, cash the check, declare 3-6 champion teams for each age group, and move on to summer leases.

Demand side: This is what you are truly missing. In recruitment, club directors and coaches are making very specific pitches to parents and players about the trajectory of the team over 1-2-3 years. Much as most clubs have zero loyalty to the kids year-to-year (and in any year, that loyalty ends when a check doesn't clear), the parents have zero loyalty to the clubs. SO when HoCo League comes to the club and says "we're putting 3 of your teams in B league and 3 in A league," the club director - who is running a business/brand - says - the heck you are...."Our club will lose customers if you put us in a B league."

It's not like A-league parents are calling the league and complaining about having a B league. This is a business.

As for the AAA parents you're complaining about (I'm one), I guess I don't see the problem. My kid would be a fine 3rd string player on an elite team, or a standout stud on an A level team (which he has been). Instead he's a "starter" and "contributor" on an AAA team and it's a good experience for him. If your kid is having a similar experience from rec ball to Club-A to Club-AAA a "national team" then good for him, he is lucky to find a good fit.