With high school ball now finished, what are some of the are summer teams looking like? Colonels 18u 16u, Bluegrass, Bucs, ATY, etc...

Bluewave 17U team is looking good but has been bit by the injury bug.

6 players on the DL but still undefeated in SWOL and has had decent tourney showings so far including the first tournament of the year beating Florence Elite.

Campbell County Mustangs made up mostly of BBHS 16U players is 8 and 1 in AA east of Greater Cincinnati Knothole.

Campbell County Mustangs made up mostly of BBHS 16U players is 8 and 1 in AA east of Greater Cincinnati Knothole.

 

There is absolutely no reason high school baseball players should be playing knothole baseball

There is absolutely no reason high school baseball players should be playing knothole baseball

 

I have heard that before and I think it depends. If you think all good players come from and play select you would be wrong. If you say the competition is a bit higher in select you would be right. If the coaches are good, workouts and practices well thought out, and outside tourneys are played it can be very good. (Knothole that is)

I have heard that before and I think it depends. If you think all good players come from and play select you would be wrong. If you say the competition is a bit higher in select you would be right. If the coaches are good, workouts and practices well thought out, and outside tourneys are played it can be very good. (Knothole that is)

 

Spot on. There are plenty of "travel" & "select" teams out there that play at or below D1 Knothole level, especially at the middle & elementary school levels.

 

There are only so many kids playing baseball in the greater Cincinnati area. Of that body of kids, today as compared to 20 years ago a greater percentage of them play SWOL as compared to Knothole, but that doesn't mean that a greater percentage of them are truly select level players, they're just playing in a different league.

Spot on. There are plenty of "travel" & "select" teams out there that play at or below D1 Knothole level, especially at the middle & elementary school levels.

 

There are only so many kids playing baseball in the greater Cincinnati area. Of that body of kids, today as compared to 20 years ago a greater percentage of them play SWOL as compared to Knothole, but that doesn't mean that a greater percentage of them are truly select level players, they're just playing in a different league.

 

Totally agree with this sentiment. I know there were several starters of good high school teams this year that played knothole for a long time-some through A ball. Schools in the 9th region include Ryle (Region champion), St. Henry, Beechwood, and Boone County.

f.y.i the mustangs have very few kids who would play "select" ball. they have some solid kids,who need experience. that's all.weather these kids get better...or worse,only time will tell. they are playing UP as far as the competition!!! most the kids are freshman and 8th graders. not trying to rip knot hole, but.....lol!!! a lot of the teams are weak. player wise,and coaching.but i do know a lot of these kids just want to play.so cuddo's to all the coaches. it's suppose to be FUN guy's. let try to keep it that way!!!

P.S. ...sorry loogy,your totally wrong on this one. later gator!!!! ...lol!!

Bourbon beat Estill 5-0 the other night and played them against tonight (Wed June 12). Don't have a score

P.S. ...sorry loogy' date='your totally wrong on this one. later gator!!!! ...lol!![/quote']

 

Tell me where the best high school players in the region/area play? I will say you probably can get some good players in Knothole but the pitching is the big diference. AABC/USSA has the deepest pitching/talent and thats not even debatable. plus in knothole you may have one or two teams that are fairly good. In "select" you have dozens. It seems to me that SWOL lower divisions are becoming knothole baseball. Playing KNothole through 6-7th grade is OK. but by 8th and 9th they true high school caliber players should be playing AABC/USSA.

 

PS... I wasnt wrong, simply because I never am :walk:

LOL!!!.... point taken loogy. the whole "wrong" thing sounds like something my wife would say. take care.

Tell me where the best high school players in the region/area play? I will say you probably can get some good players in Knothole but the pitching is the big diference. AABC/USSA has the deepest pitching/talent and thats not even debatable. plus in knothole you may have one or two teams that are fairly good. In "select" you have dozens. It seems to me that SWOL lower divisions are becoming knothole baseball. Playing KNothole through 6-7th grade is OK. but by 8th and 9th they true high school caliber players should be playing AABC/USSA.

 

PS... I wasnt wrong, simply because I never am :walk:

 

Spot on about the swol. I would equate upper knothole to american division in the league. Once you get into the national, you are getting into true select teams picked from tryouts and geographical locations, although with some area elites opting out altogether that division has been watered down too. IMO stay unaffiliated and make your own schedule. Play a couple games vs some of the top tier teams. The occasional beatdown from stepping up in comp can be good in the long run.

I have heard that before and I think it depends. If you think all good players come from and play select you would be wrong. If you say the competition is a bit higher in select you would be right. If the coaches are good, workouts and practices well thought out, and outside tourneys are played it can be very good. (Knothole that is)

This brings up a good point. Can someone explain to me why knothole has gone down hill so much over the last decade or so?

I've seen it myself over the years. My boy has always played select baseball since 4th grade and I honestly never paid much attention to the talent level or the competitiveness that much while he was playing. He simply played on the teams he played on because his friends were also playing on these teams etc. To me it didn't really matter what league he played in because, well afterall he was in 4th grade.

 

With that said, when I was growing up there was really only knothole, so there wasn't "traveling teams" per say therefor there wasn't really another league to choose from. You played knothole through A ball (8th grade) then went to play on your high school team etc. These days knothole is so far behind for instance the SWOL etc. that it isn't even a fun game to watch if a knothole team and a SWOL team for instance meets in some tournament. There are plenty of knothole kids playing that could play for any select team, don't get me wrong, but I just wondered why the talent and competitiveness is that much different?

 

Seems to me that boys move from knothole all the time to other leagues and are successful, so I don't buy the argument that everyone in select ball are that much better individually, but as a whole team it always seems to be that way for some reason.

This brings up a good point. Can someone explain to me why knothole has gone down hill so much over the last decade or so?

 

Knothole has rules that trys to keep the teams somewhat even, you need to reside in the area where you play,drafts that are controlled etc. These rule have been heavily abuse by coaches who need to win at all cost. But none the less the honest teams are much more restricted then select teams.