Johnson County to start a new Cal Ripken league

[STRIKE3]

As long as they don't try and pit County against City, then the Cal Ripkin L. will do well. But I still would rather see a combined effort for a single , great league.

Was Little League already not a single great league,with players and parents that went to both schools.9 state championships is not bad in 52 years.

[Czar]

It was not really a Mickey Mantle League. It was for 16 and under kids. It consisted of one single team that basicly amounted to being basicly a travel team, that played similar aged teams around the eastern part of the state. The Mickey Mantle affiliation allowed them to play in an organized Mickey Mantle state tournament and World Series.Later on the same concept became a team that was eligible to play in the Connie Mack tournaments.

Yeah I knew that just had one team but I couldn't remember for sure what they were called. Thanks Firebird.

[firebird]

That is rediculous. Let em, they have tried before and were not succesful, and I dont think this would be any different. Although last time the Johnson County Leauge wasn't under any national control.

Whole new era cianni. Try coming to some of the new 3rd and 4th grade football league games that just started this year and watch about (120) 9/10 year olds have a blast. I am expecting a massive turnout.

[ace in the hole]

The league is not all about all stars. Its about getting kids playing baseball, not just the good ones, all the kids. JUst think about this league is going to run into July and right up to all star selections are made.

[STRIKE3]

Paintsville Little League let's all the kids that sign up play too.We start in March with tyrouts, practice and play games first of April.Season ends and allstars play around first of July.

Paintsville has over 450 players every year and from those the coaches and players vote on allstars.I am sure cal ripken will have them also.We have t-ball (5-6), rookie (7-8), minor (9-12), major (9-12), junior (13-14), senior (15-16), girls softball (9-12 & 13-14).All the good ones play too and since we have won 9 state titles, 11 runner-ups there must be some good coaching of all the kids over the last 52 years.Didn't most of the principals and people who are starting this league, coach or have sons who played in Little League over the years.

[RNCSportsaholic]

The league is not all about all stars. Its about getting kids playing baseball, not just the good ones, all the kids. JUst think about this league is going to run into July and right up to all star selections are made.

 

There is a reason why our all-stars do so well. They play agianst greta competition all year in the regular season. Dividing the league will hurt all the players the good and the bad.

[Sidelines]

Was Little League already not a single great league,with players and parents that went to both schools.9 state championships is not bad in 52 years.

Did I say it wasn't???

I believe I had posted earlier that PLL was one of the most respected leagues in the state.

But if Johnson Co. ends up with 2 leagues vying for the same kids, a split will be made and the leagues will suffer.

[Sidelines]

I may be wrong Sidelines but wasn't you a part of the Bambino league during the mid to late 80's?

Yes I was, as both Manager and Board member.

[Sidelines]

Whole new era cianni. Try coming to some of the new 3rd and 4th grade football league games that just started this year and watch about (120) 9/10 year olds have a blast. I am expecting a massive turnout.

I think you are correct on this!!!

[firebird]

There is a reason why our all-stars do so well. They play agianst greta competition all year in the regular season. Dividing the league will hurt all the players the good and the bad.

Johnson Central went to the final 4 a year ago with a roster full of players that saw very little all star time in little league.There were actually a few key players that never even made the Paintsville Little League All Star squads. Mike Walters,Zane Burt,Travis Montgomery and Corey Conley never made an All Star team. Steve Burgess, Adam Blanton,Drew Trimble,Shane Sturgill and Justin Blanton only made it when they were 12. Only Matt Fyffe and Jeremy VanHoose were players that played on multiple All Star teams in LL. The key to developing players is to keep them playing and playing and playing. You never know which player could be the next standout that gets discouraged and quits because they felt they were not good enough to continue playing after failing to make an All Star team. There are just so many 10-12 year old All Star studs in LL that never get much better as they grow older because they matured much quicker than some of the others. Big, fat, slow kids can dominate at the Little League level but,athleticism takes over the game after these players get to the big fields when they turn 13. Unfortunately many never see that big field because they have become so discouraged waiting on their little bodies to develope. These are the kids that you have to keep playing the game. All Star competition is fine, and has been fun, but it is a fair statement to say that the current LL system is obsessed with who (and only who) will make the All Star Team from the very first pitch on opening day.

[RNCSportsaholic]

Johnson Central went to the final 4 a year ago with a roster full of players that saw very little all star time in little league.There were actually a few key players that never even made the Paintsville Little League All Star squads. Mike Walters,Zane Burt,Travis Montgomery and Corey Conley never made an All Star team. Steve Burgess, Adam Blanton,Drew Trimble,Shane Sturgill and Justin Blanton only made it when they were 12. Only Matt Fyffe and Jeremy VanHoose were players that played on multiple All Star teams in LL. The key to developing players is to keep them playing and playing and playing. You never know which player could be the next standout that gets discouraged and quits because they felt they were not good enough to continue playing after failing to make an All Star team. There are just so many 10-12 year old All Star studs in LL that never get much better as they grow older because they matured much quicker than some of the others. Big, fat, slow kids can dominate at the Little League level but,athleticism takes over the game after these players get to the big fields when they turn 13. Unfortunately many never see that big field because they have become so discouraged waiting on their little bodies to develope. These are the kids that you have to keep playing the game. All Star competition is fine, and has been fun, but it is a fair statement to say that the current LL system is obsessed with who (and only who) will make the All Star Team from the very first pitch on opening day.

 

I didn't make an All star team until I was 12 and never saw the field then either. I think I turned out ok. Also Jeremy Slone, who is pitching for Marshall, never made an All Star team until he was in junior league. My point is even though many players do not make an All Star team they still face the top players and that helps them in the long run. If we split up the players, they will not face good competition, or at least not as good as they face right now, until they reach the high school level. Many will say that politics plays a major role in who is chosen and who is not, that may be somewhat truthful but the results speak for themselves. I know that Central was a great team that year but they didn't have a great record. They just won when they needed to. I can not speak for JCHS but Paintsville has a great number turn out for baseball year after year. This will, IMHO, hurt both Paintsville and JCHS in the long run.

[firebird]

I didn't make an All star team until I was 12 and never saw the field then either. I think I turned out ok. Also Jeremy Slone, who is pitching for Marshall, never made an All Star team until he was in junior league. My point is even though many players do not make an All Star team they still face the top players and that helps them in the long run. If we split up the players, they will not face good competition, or at least not as good as they face right now, until they reach the high school level. Many will say that politics plays a major role in who is chosen and who is not, that may be somewhat truthful but the results speak for themselves. I know that Central was a great team that year but they didn't have a great record. They just won when they needed to. I can not speak for JCHS but Paintsville has a great number turn out for baseball year after year. This will, IMHO, hurt both Paintsville and JCHS in the long run.

First off Paintsville High School did not have a great record when they won the state basketball title in '96 either. Regular season records mean exactly zero, if the ultimate goal is post season success.

 

I know you turned out a lot better than just OK, but you had encourgement from home and from within your own school system. The point I am making is the fact that many wont stick it out because they either get discouraged or are not encouraged enough. If the current JC roster does not change they will have 3 seniors this year, 3 next year, and only 3 again the following year. That is just not acceptable numbers. JC has to do a better job develping their own resources and a massive all out effort is under way to do so.The response to the football efforts with the very young kids is nothing short of amazing.It is being done on a large scale and is being done right.The benefits of these youth programs will ensure that Central will be able to maintain competetive status year after year in football.

 

It takes a bigger effort to get kids out of the hollows and the remote areas of the county to participate in many school programs.City schools are not faced with those logistical problems that challenge the county systems.As a school system you just cannot sit back and hope that a single summer youth program is the sole developing agent for your current and future teams.You have to have the fortitude to help yourselves. I know that Central has had some good teams over the years, but with the facilities and resources that the school system has they should be the most dominating power east of Lexington year after year after year. Even with whatever success Central has had in the past, it is still not the acheived level of success that is obtainable given the variables I have mentioned.

 

Neither school system should suffer. All residents of this county and residents of surrounding counties that are not currently offering Cal Ripken or Babe Ruth options are welcome to play in this league, and I expect many kids of those areas to participate. Kids that live within the city limits are more than welcome to join in.You feel that the talent level will suffer for both school systems. I greatly disagee with that. It wont take long to develope kids that are just now starting their baseball careers regardless of where they are playing because they are all just starting from scratch anyways. I think you will vastly see the talent level rise to a much greater point than where it currently is with much greater numbers, and it wont take long to do so.There are just too many great athletes sitting by the TV's in this county.This is nothing but a positive move by all involved to elevate the level of play to all participants within Johnson County.

 

This is not a city vs. county situation. This is just promoting baseball to all that are interested in playing, and promoting it, and promoting it, and promoting it. The Johnson County School System should be nothing more than praised for attempting to promote an activity on such a large scale to the whole general youth cenus of this county. You saw what happened when the Johnson County School Board decided that they were going to be a state power in academics. You are now seeing a powerhouse football program on the rise that just 2 years ago was ridiculed by many. What you are now seeing is the beginning of a baseball program that I feel will be the envy of most of the state by doing nothing more than just developing the resources that they have walking the hallways of their schools every day.The Johnson County school sysyem is only trying to maximize the abilities of its own. How can anything negative come out of working hard to be the best that you can possibly be?

[STRIKE3]

Coaches and players vote for allstars in Little League,not board people or those who run the league.I believe Justin Blanton also played when he was 14 and 15 didn't he.A lot of those other names, Montgomery, Blanton and others played on Centrals summer school team, which is why they didn't play in Little League and not because they were not voted on.I don't think the Little League system is obseessed with allstars from the first pitch.The players talk about who might make it and how good they can be again, just like a high school does in baseball,football and basketball.So do players parents.

[firebird]

Coaches and players vote for allstars in Little League,not board people or those who run the league.I believe Justin Blanton also played when he was 14 and 15 didn't he.A lot of those other names, Montgomery, Blanton and others played on Centrals summer school team, which is why they didn't play in Little League and not because they were not voted on.I don't think the Little League system is obseessed with allstars from the first pitch.The players talk about who might make it and how good they can be again, just like a high school does in baseball,football and basketball.So do players parents.

Yes, all of the players that you mentioned did play later on in various things after their major league careers. I was referring to the times of their careers in the major league divisions of little league. That is the ages when all star concerns are at their greatest. You can see it was a good thing that they did not, as many do, get discouraged and quit. They were also fortunate enough to be encouraged to keep on keeping on. Many kids in the outlying rural regions are not always afforded those concerns. Many have to overcome apathetic home enviroments.Hopefully this will be a positive way to convince many kids and parents to partake of a worthwhile activity.

[wintergreen]

Johnson Central went to the final 4 a year ago with a roster full of players that saw very little all star time in little league.There were actually a few key players that never even made the Paintsville Little League All Star squads. Mike Walters,Zane Burt,Travis Montgomery and Corey Conley never made an All Star team. Steve Burgess, Adam Blanton,Drew Trimble,Shane Sturgill and Justin Blanton only made it when they were 12. Only Matt Fyffe and Jeremy VanHoose were players that played on multiple All Star teams in LL. The key to developing players is to keep them playing and playing and playing. You never know which player could be the next standout that gets discouraged and quits because they felt they were not good enough to continue playing after failing to make an All Star team. There are just so many 10-12 year old All Star studs in LL that never get much better as they grow older because they matured much quicker than some of the others. Big, fat, slow kids can dominate at the Little League level but,athleticism takes over the game after these players get to the big fields when they turn 13. Unfortunately many never see that big field because they have become so discouraged waiting on their little bodies to develope. These are the kids that you have to keep playing the game. All Star competition is fine, and has been fun, but it is a fair statement to say that the current LL system is obsessed with who (and only who) will make the All Star Team from the very first pitch on opening day.

Burgess, Sturgill and Trimble were on more than one All-star team.