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Online now: 3 members: TABLE SETTER 11, cecil, rfireman44; 127 anonymousDiscussion: BREAK UP MAJOR PLUS TEAMS.
| Posted | Discussion |
| Dec. 28, 2008 THE HI-JACKER 118 posts | BREAK UP MAJOR PLUS TEAMS. I just got an e-mail, that could help solve the Major Plus dilemma? The Major Plus players & sponsors will not like this solution. 1) At the end of each year, any 50, 55, or 60 Major Plus team, that wins a World Ring event my break up. 2) If, the roster is 15 players & 12 players are full time players; half, in this case 6 of the starts must find another Major plus team. 3) Even if a team has a roster of 20 players & 11 are full time players, than 10 players must move. 6 out of that 10 players must be starters. If, only one team wins all the Worlds, that team still must split. If, 2-4 teams win Worlds, these teams still split. What this will hopefully do, make / cause 4 to 8 more Major Plus teams. No sponsor team will be able to domain, year after years, after year. THi-J |
| Dec. 29, 2008 wagon487 Men's 55 578 posts | that has to be the one most stupid thing I've ever read on this web site. In so many ways....... |
| Dec. 29, 2008 THE HI-JACKER 118 posts | WARWAGON: I just posted the e-mail that I was sent. SS-USA, can do something or nothing. Hopefully, any idea may get others to think; start conversation etc; & a meaningful solution does arrise, It appears that over the past 10 to 15 years, the same 2 to 4 teams have been winning the Worlds. The now 60 Ol' 'A's, won more 50 Major Plus than any other team(s). Then the Ol' "A's, moved to 55 Major Plus & again won most of the Worlds. The Ol' 'A's, are still doing well. This is just one example. There are many more? What do you think Bob? What can be done or needs to be done inorder to insure that the 50, 55, & 60 Major Plus field grows? Many players are tired of year after year, going to a tournament & playing against the same 3 to 6 teams. This has been a on going problem that the 60's went thru in the 50 & 55 age groups. Same can be said for the 55's players, that went thru this as 50's players. Year after year; 50's, 55's, & 60's Major Plus team have had to endure; fewer & fewer teams. Anyone... THi-J |
| Dec. 29, 2008 the wood Men's 65 1123 posts | 'What do you think, Bob?'... there are several Bobs that post on here and I'm really not sure which one this means. In the event that it's referring to me, I'd say that whomever originated this email must have 'thoroughly thought it out'. Other than displeasing the players and sponsors, who does it benefit? To be brief, this is no solution. A lot has been written about 'M+ solutions' and most of it has come from folks that are not really involved with M+... I'm not sure what to think about this (in general). There are several senior assns that offer M+ events. Most of them have a set of rules that works for us... no need to lobby for them, they're already in place. The only place that we consistently see new 'M+ BS' is on this web site. I know that SSUSA has the largest number of enrollees and that many of them solely play in SSUSA. There is a world outside of SSUSA and it might surprise many of you to know that we play in M+ events every year with minimal fanfare. I have become disillusioned with this message board because of the many childish controversies that are on here week after week. I also recognize that I am part of the problem. SSUSa has been very generous to offer this privilege to us and we abuse it. As adults, we should all be very disappointed. BW |
| Dec. 29, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | BW: I think we all have had occasion to backslide as it were. Here's hoping some reasonable solutions are found soon, so as not to do any more harm than has been done up & down the food chain, (teams\players). Have a great '09. |
| Dec. 29, 2008 diehard Men's 55 246 posts | I do not believe eliminating major plus would solve anything. Maybe at our age ( 50 and older) there is only a very small percentage of men, across the U.S. that still play softball at a competitive level. That is compared to the percentage that played when we were in our 20's, 30's and 40's. Now out of that small percentage of available players, it is only a very few that still possess the skills that it takes to compete at the major plus level. Now, sponsorship also plays a large part in this, as the top sponsors want to get the better players. And the better players want someone to pay their way, for the most part, but not always. Once a team is successful at one level and is bumped up, the sponsor in turn looks to find better players more suited to the next level of play, In order to compete at the major plus level, that sponsor, in order to stay competitive, will constantly be searching for new players. Once a team can no longer compete competitivley in major plus, they fold. The released players will filter back down to the major level, or find other Major plus teams to play for. This is what I see happening. And I believe, the reason that major plus has less teams, is just simply because the percentage of players at this age, that still have the skills to compete at the highest level, is very small. The two middle groups, AAA and major seem to have the highest level of participants and seem to field larger tournament groups than major plus. But to eliminate major plus would an injustice to those men that can still play this wonderful game of Senior Softball at the highest level. |
