Yes, but.... :))

If you have followed this board for any significant time, you would know I am the first one to ADVOCATE players must EARN their playing time. But yet they also have to be given a chance...

If kids don't come to practice or just goofs off then they don't deserve to play... the problem is when coaches rotate(or lack there of) players for either of 1 of two reasons.... 1) to just develop his child or his coaches child.... or for the pure purpose of winning a game.

Last year in our league there was one coach who played the same kid at SS 95% of the time (actually I never saw anyone else play the position)(guess who???) (mgr son) He also played his coach's son at 1B 95% of the time. and there was 3rd child that played 2b 95% of the time. There were 4 kids that never played infield other than catcher!.... and this was in a MACHINE pitch league!!! No steals Cs just get up and chase missed ball....

Now when you have BOZOs like that you have to install rules to protect the interests of the average kids.... When I coach most of the time every kid plays at least 4 innings... I can only recall a couple times when a kid only played 3 innings...and that was for missing practices without prior notification to the mgr... the kids that worked hard and showed up all the time got at least 5 and lots of time 6 innnings of work... At ages below 10 yo I think that instills quite enough motivation to try to excell, especially when most teams have a wide variety to talent levels and talent and desire doesn't always match .

As we all know 12 years old is a major cliff as far as baseball careers go... Very few players that don't have a real love of the game or has achieved some success in the game...continue on...and it is a shame... But look at how many return to softball 10-15 years later...

If you ask me my opinion, little league minors has to be called developmental because it is the only game in town....Most kids cannot get up and go to another league because of the restrictive LL rules....(and there is no other organized game in town)( although that is changing in San Diego) After 10 yo in our area, travel teams become an opinion and after 12 Pony, and more travel teams take a number of LL kids away from the program..(to the point where two leagueas that each start with 14 T-ball teams (14 or 15 palyers per team) end up with one league of 13 yos with maybe 4 or 5 teamsof 12 ) that's an 80% drop out rate....

I'm involved because I think I can have a positive influence and I'm not going to allow my son to be affected by one of the so-called BOZOs... I'm going to do everyting I can to see that his league provides EQUAL OPPORTUNITY to every child!.

The shame is with very few changes LL could easily service most kids. (Establish a Select team (for each age group) that plays other leagues teams in the district all season long)(Soccer does this quite successfully) and then have the REC leagues instill the 50% minimum play time.... players in the rec leagues could either aspire to make the "Select team" or to just have fun.

Soccer has a minimum 50% play rule, basketball has a minimum 50%play rule, I don't know about Softball..but almost every other youth organization requires a 50% play.... (only exception I'm aware of is Pop Warner)