Youth Sports: Parents Suck (Part 2)

Crazy Youth Sports Parents and Coaches Series

In the last post, I suggested that parents should limit their role in youth sports to sperm and egg donors, check writers, schedulers and bus drivers. My rant was about the parent-led drama-filled story about my daughter's AAU spring / summer basketball season.

U15 Nations Baseball World Series Champ

Thanks to another group of parents, my son's spring / summer baseball team was a debacle too. Don't get me wrong, the action on the field was great. The boys all liked each other and played hard. They struggled to get wins early in the season, but came on very strong at the end of the season and won the Nations Baseball World Series in Pensacola, Florida.

The parents are the ones who made the season quite miserable. Parent coaches sparked discontent among many of the other parents. Youth sports parents with competing interests and goals often leads to no good.

The team was originally billed as a professionally coached team. They had a hitting coach, a pitching coach, an ex-minor league catcher to coach catching and all baseball fundamentals. The two parent coaches on the staff both had roles one the team too. They were tasked with the administration work and management of the games and practices when the professional coaches were not around.

One of the reasons my son picked the team was because he made an instant connection with the hitting coach at tryouts. Sadly, my son never saw that hitting coach again after the tryouts due to personal reasons and conflicts.

The pitching coach, a former minor league player and son of one of the dad coaches, was / is terrific. He could teach and had a great rapport with the kids. The only issue with him was that he was not a regular sideline coach. He was primarily available in the winter, but not very much during the regular season. This was not an issue for my son because he does not pitch, but the other very talented pitchers on the team could have benefited from more pitching instruction.

The "ex-minor league catcher" coach was terrific coach too. He's a young, energetic and credible. The kids loved him. The problem, he coached high school baseball and was not available until the later half of the first season. And by the second season, he was not available at all due to a work / grad school conflict.

That left two dad coaches. Another dad, also joined the staff to help out. So essentially, we had an elite team with three parent coaches. This is not unheard of, most of the teams had dad coaches too, but it did not seem to work in this case.

Many of the parents did not like how their kids were being played (positions, batting order, playing time, etc.) vis-a-vis the coaches kids, actually one of the kids in particular. The anger and resentment boiled up and up as the season went on. The bickering and complaining got louder and louder as the season went on. The calls to the coaches to complain became more and more frequent. I buried my head in the stats book and tried to steer clear of it as best I could, but it was pervasive among the dads and the moms. I have learned over the years that complaining does not work. It actually makes you feel worse about the situation and yourself.

In Pensacola, Florida, the the last pitch was thrown and the kids collected their championship trophies. Five minutes later, all of the families jumped in their cars for an 11 hour drive, and the majority of the team would never play together again. It didn't matter that the kids really enjoyed playing together.

The Main Point

If your son plays baseball at a high level, get him on a team with a professionally paid coach who calls the shots, makes the line up and assigns positions based on merit. And have your son work hard to earn his spot. And finally, during the season don't complain and make the season miserable for everyone else.

Trust me at the end of the day, talent will eventually win out. It always does.

The parents on this team were fun to be around when baseball was not the topic. I will actually miss hanging out with them. I have learned that many parents make a lot of emotionally based mistakes with their first young athletes. I was one of these complaining parents with my first kid and a little with my second kid earlier in his career. Overtime, I figured out that complaining was counter-productive and stressful. The parents from this baseball team will figure it out too. I wish them and their kids well.

Youth Baseball: Nations Baseball Gets an F

How did the Nations Baseball World Series held in Pensacola, FL rate compared to other national tournaments?

Here is my report card on Nations Baseball U14 World Series Championship held in Pensacola, FL during the week of July 11 - 15, 2012.

My son has competed in the CABA World Series (U10 - Indianapolis, Indiana), the AAU National Championships (U11 - ESPN Disney Wide World of Sports, Orlando, Florida), Cooperstown Dreams Park (U12 - Cooperstown, NY), the Nations Baseball Premier National Championship (U13 - Gulfport, MS) and Nations Baseball World Series (U14 - Pensacola, FL). It is from this broad base of experience that I feel qualified to grade these events in comparison to each other.

Opening Ceremonies: The Nations Baseball World Series had an opening ceremony on Pensacola Beach the Wednesday before the start of action on Thursday. Our team did not participate for several reasons. 1) Many of the families stayed on Perdido Key far from Pensacola Beach. Few were motivated to get back into a car after recently driving 11 hours, 2) the 14 year old boys were not excited about the event, they wanted to stay on the beach instead and 3) There were only 4 teams in the tournament. What is festive and fun about that?

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade B
• CABA - Grade F (I don't remember any opening ceremonies)
• AAU Disney Fields - Grade A (Disney performers entertained the players, siblings, parents and coaches.)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park - Grade A (It was a bit long, but it was a festive start)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade NA

The Skills Competition: The Nations Baseball World Series had a skills challenge on the schedule when the team signed up for the tournament, but it was canceled. I believe that they canceled it because there were only 4 teams in the tournament. 

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade B
• CABA - Grade B
• AAU Disney Fields - Grade F (I do not remember any skills competitions)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park - Grade A (Exciting competitions played out in front of a packed stadium)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade F

The Fields: The Nations Baseball World Series was suppose to be held at University of West Florida, but was moved to Tate High School. We believe that the event was moved due to the lack of teams in the tournament. Only one field was needed for the entire tournament. 

Tate High School has a great field with a well manicured grass infield, a dirt mound, stadium seating and vast dimensions. The outfield grass was green, freshly cut and fast. The infield is made of a blood red dirt that looked great on the field, but terrible on soiled uniforms. The fences on the fields used for the U14 event were at least 9 feet high, 325 ft down the line and about 375 ft straight away. No home runs were hit during the tournament. 

We had a torrential rain Friday night and Saturday morning, the field was unable to recover quick enough to play any games on Saturday. This made Sunday was a long day of baseball. Fields at Cooperstown and Disney recover much more quickly. Luckily, our team was seeded #1 after pool play so we got bye on Sunday morning. 

Tate High School is where Don Sutton, Hall of Fame Pitcher, and Travis Fryman, Cleveland Indians third baseman, played ball. 

From a spectators standpoint, the Tate HS field had the qualities of a minor league stadium. There was ample seating behind home plate on concrete steps. The concrete was hard and absorbed the Florida sun, so it was hot. The stands did have a roof covering up some of the seats which did provide some protection after 11am.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS B+
• CABA - C+ multiple municipal fields of varying quality.
• AAU Disney Fields - A (Perfectly manicured fields configured identically. These fields can take on lots of rain and be playable in short order.)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park - A+ (20 perfectly manicured fields configured identically with reachable fences. These fields can take on more rain than the Disney fields and be playable faster.)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade B (One great field)

The Concession Stand: Tate High School had a typical HS concession stand. The food was ok, the drinks were cold, the service was friendly and the prices were very cheap.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade F
• CABA World Series - Grade B (Some venues were good, some not so good)
• AAU Disney Fields - Grade B - (Too expensive)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park  - Grade A+ (Good food, big variety, honest prices)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade B

Game Schedule: The games were not too early, nor too late. That was good. The tournament could create a schedule like this because there were only 4 teams in the tournament. Still, Nations Baseball gets an overwhelming F. The tournament started on Thursday and ended Sunday. Why? Why not start Wednesday or Tuesday. Most of the house / condo rentals in Pensacola were Saturday to Saturday. Most of the families came down on the Saturday before the tournament started a full 5 days before the games began. Many families had to check out of their condos on Saturday morning and find a hotel room for Saturday night. The tournament did not schedule a rain out contingency day, so the Saturday games and the scheduled Sunday games were played on Sunday. A lower seeded team could have played 5 games on Sunday if it played out that way. That is unacceptable because it puts young arms at risk.

Furthermore, the World Series happened to be on the biggest weekend of the year for Pensacola. The second weekend of July is the Blue Angels Air Show weekend. It is the most crowded weekend and therefore the most expensive weekend of the year. Nations Baseball missed a great opportunity to use the Blue Angles Air Show as a draw to the tournament. No the short sighted folks at Nations scheduled games during the Air Show each day, so our families paid the extra rent to go to Pensacola on the best weekend of the year, but could not enjoy the show. (NOTE: Folks that stayed on the Pensacola Beach side did get to see the Blue Angels practice. We stayed on the Perdido Key side of Pensacola so we did not see anything.) 

Nations Baseball should start the tournament on Monday and end it on Thursday. If it rains, Nations would have Friday to make up the games. Families than will have an opportunity to see the Air Show on Friday, Saturday and can then drive home on Sunday. News alert for Nations Baseball. People need to get back to work to pay for the rather vast expense of a baseball tournament. The championship game for this tournament ended on Sunday at 7pm. Many families had to drive through the night to get to work. 

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade C
• CABA World Series - Grade B
• AAU Disney Fields - Grade B - (Many doubleheaders had large gaps of time between them)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park  - Grade A+ (I am not sure how they coordinate all of the teams when it is not raining, but they manage the schedule beautifully when rain delays or cancels games too.)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade F

The Competition: Nations Baseball only attracted 4 total teams for the U14 tournament so they got an F. There were three very talented teams and one team that was rec level. Nations baseball was desperate for teams so they offered a local team a free entry. The local team had never played on 60/90 fields, so they took the free entry to prepare their kids for the upcoming season on the bigger fields.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade F
• CABA - Grade A (International teams from Puerto Rico and Panama made the event special)
• AAU Disney - Grade A  (Lots of quality teams competed in this event.)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park  - Grade A+ (Each week for 13 weeks every summer, 100 plus teams compete. There is a wide range of competitive levels competing in this event. The top teams typically prevail, but the mid-range teams can advance far.)
• Nations Baseball, Penacola, FL - Grade F

Click Read More for Umpire, Competition Format, Destination, Website, Tournament Committee grades

Gulf Coast Nations Baseball U14 World Series Review and Tips (Part 1)

When you are looking for a baseball tournament for your team you need to do your homework. Not all tournaments deliver the same experience or competition.

My son's travel baseball team was suppose to play in the CABA World Series in Nashville, Tennessee this week. Unfortunately, several of the players on the team had football conflicts, so the team decided to go to the Nations Baseball U14 Elite World Series in Penscola, Florida instead. The Nations tournament was scheduled one week earlier than the CABA World Series.

Last year the team competed in the U13 Nations Baseball Premiere World Series in Gulfport, Mississippi. I provided tips, tricks and commentary for that event in these posts called Youth Baseball: Nations Baseball National Championship. This was what I summarized about that 2011 tournament:

"The first ever Premier National Tournament was a great experience for my son, but it is not an premier event quite yet. I do have faith that Nations baseball will eventually get it right. This year (2011) they got the baseball facility right and the host city (Gulfport Mississippi) is great. They just need to attract more and better teams to justify the "National Championship" status."

So fast-forward to 2012. Did Nations Baseball listen?

The 2012 U14 CABA World Series, which dubs itself "the greatest show on dirt", attracted 31 teams from 15 States. In contrast, the Nations Baseball Tournament attracted 4 teams from 3 states. There were three very strong baseball teams competing in the event and one local team that got run ruled in every game. The local team had players on the team who had never played on a 90 foot diamond before. They were a nice bunch of kids, but they were totally out classed. I talked to one of the moms from that team who told me that Nations gave them a free spot so they took it for the experience of playing on the bigger fields.

The so called "World Series" was literally a round robin tournament between 3 teams. Not three teams from US, Japan and the Dominican Republic - no - three teams from Florida, Texas and Ohio. It turned out to be fantastic baseball with some outstanding pitching on a really cool field, but it did not live up to World Series or National Championship status again.

The Main Point

Last year, I had faith that Nations Baseball would eventually get it right. I lost that faith after hearing what the Nations Baseball Tournament Director had to say.

Here are the details of my conversation:

Ten families from Ohio each spent about $1700 on lodging, $500 in food and $340 in gas to participate in a tournament. The team paid a $700 tournament fee. The team spent about $26,000 in total to participate in the event. This is a lot of money for strapped families in this economy.

When we got to the stadium where the event was being held, Nations Baseball wanted another $25 per person for an entry fee ($7 per day per person or $25 for a 4 day event pass). My wife, my daughter and I went to the stadium to watch the action, so we were charged $75 to watch this four team - poor excuse for a tournament.

Gate fees are common at these tournaments, but you would think that because it was so poorly run they would give us a break. Many complained, so Nations made 8 and under free. My daughter is 11, so I paid the $75.

Several parents from our team approached the Nations Tournament Director to express their disappointment regarding the entry fee and the quality of the tournament that was promoted as a "World Series". First of all, the team felt lied to. One week prior to the event, Nations communicated that 6 teams were paid and two more would be confirmed before the event. Eight teams does not make a "World Series, but it is better than three elite teams and a rec team. He told the group that he could not help it that two teams backed out at the last minute to play in the USSSA tournament 16 miles away in Orange Beach Alabama. Upon hearing that, one of the parents concluded that it makes even more sense that Nations not charge us to get into this event since Nations collected money from teams not here and umpire expenses with fewer games played would be lower. The Nations representative said that he refunded the money to the teams that backed out.

What $#!@$#? - there is no penalty for pulling out of a tournament at the last minute. That is a big problem.

The Tournament Director then whined to the group that he has to charge the entry fee because the tournament has lots of expenses. The tournament consisted 5 age groups. There were tournaments for 6U (4 teams), 10U (6 teams), 11U (4 teams), 13U (6 teams) and 14U (4 teams) in the event. Each tournament had 12 slots available, so each and every age group had trouble attracting teams. This clearly suggests that Nations Baseball is having trouble competing in a very competitive category against CABA, USSSA and Ripken, etc.

I paid entry fee money and went into the stadium. Several of the parents refused to pay and just watched through the outfield fence.

I was up close to the action when my son's team won the event. It was not a hollow victory because the two other strong teams made the tournament very competitive, but we are not running around calling ourselves World Champs or even National Champs.

Finally, Pensacola is a great place for a tournament. In the next couple of posts, I will provide tips for baseball families regarding lodging, eating and having fun in the Pensacola area.

Youth Sports Injuries: Consider the Big Picture

When your kid gets an injury that sidelines him or her, do you look at the big picture? 

Do you talk toughness - playing through pain like Ripken and Gehrig? 

Or do you take a more cautious approach? 

When your kid is sidelined, does he or she understand the big picture?

On June 17th, my son hit a long line drive to right centerfield. (My wife captured the at-bat on her camera below). I watched the hard hit ball with delight. When I heard the ping of the bat, I was thinking double or triple easy. The fast centerfielder got a great jump on the ball, tracked the ball well and at the last split second reached as high as possible while running full speed to snatched the ball out of the air. I looked toward 2B to see my son's face, but he was not there. He barely made it to first base. I caught a glimpse of him as he limped toward the dugout. He found a team mom who is a trainer to stretch him out to relieve the pain. He was hoping that he could get back in the game. He never made it back in.

On June 18th, my son hit the waiting room at the orthopedic doctor and was diagnosed with a hip flexor strain. The combination of baseball and golf and growing led to the problem.

He has been on the disabled list since. He missed 4 games last weekend when the team played in a big local tournament. He missed a game played at Marge Schott Stadium on the University of Cincinnati. And it looks like he will miss a big tournament in Columbus this weekend. 

He has been going to physical therapy, taking his anti-inflammatory drugs, heating, icing and stretching as prescribed. The doctor said that he would be out 1 to 2 weeks. 

He is almost ready to come back, but we are being cautious for three reasons. We do not want him to come back early and re-injure the hip and

1) miss out on the Nations Baseball World Series in Florida. 

2) jeopardized tryouts for the high school golf team.

3) jeopardized tryouts the 2013 club baseball season. (There is a chance our team is going to breakup.)

At dinner the other night, we asked him what the physical therapist said about the timetable to get back on the field. He said with a big smile, "Another week, but I am going to give it a try tomorrow night." We said, "Really."

Still smiling, he said, "You guys are not looking at the short picture here. You are constantly looking at the big picture."

The Main Point

My son misses baseball and golf but he sees the big picture. If he returns too early and tears the hip flexor from the bone, he will be out a long, long time. He does not want to risk the Florida trip or the tryouts.

I am not as patient. I cannot wait for him to start playing again.

Youth Baseball: Nations Baseball National Tournament (Part 7)

Nations Baseball Premier National Championship - Gulfport, Mississippi - What to do besides play baseball

We had a good time in Gulfport, Mississippi watching our team compete in 7 games at the Nations Baseball Premier National Championship. That is a lot of games in 5 days, but we still had time to do some other things - besides eat that is.

Swim / Beach - Gulfport, MS is right on the Gulf of Mexico. The kids had a good time wading in the warm waters of the gulf. The kids could actually walk out about 1/4 of a mile and the water would still be waist high. From the beach it made me nervous, but it was really nothing to worry about. The kids enjoyed the swimming pool and the condos better.

Putt - Putt (Mini golf) - There is a family fun center on border of Biloxi and Gulfport on Beach Boulevard called Big Play. They had two 18 hole mini-golf courses.

Big Play Mini-Golf

Golf - There are lots of golf courses in the area, the players dads played on two. One was perhaps, no it was, the worst golf course I have ever played on, yet we had a blast. The first course we picked we chose alphabetically. This is not a recommended way to choose a golf course, but we were calling at 7pm on Monday night for a 8am Tuesday morning tee time. We were concerned that we waited too long. Googled "Golf Gulfport" and the first listing was Bayou Vista. I called and much to my surprise I secured two tee time 8:30 and 8:40. When we arrived we found out why it was so easy to get a tee time. The golf course is situated between the runway of the Gulfport - Biloxi International Airport and a sewage treatment plant. The club house is a trailer that is falling apart. Many of the greens were not green at all. I would not recommend this course, but we all have entertaining stories to tell about the worst golf course in America.

One story - Hole 6 (I think it was hole 6) is a dog leg right. You need a decent drive to turn the corner to have a look at the green. Unfortunately,  I teed my ball too high and popped up my drive. I had a choice to make pitch the ball down the fairway past the corner, or cut the corner over a huge sewage tank. How could you not take that golfing challenge. I needed a club to get the elevate the ball quickly, yet long enough to reach the fairway. I chose the 6 iron. That was the wrong club, the ball did not get high enough quick enough and hit the tank with a thunderous bang. Luckily, the ball did caromed into the fairway. If I did hit it in the tank, I was told I could lift clean and place it.

We also played at The Oaks. The Oaks is a really great course especially for the money $49 (Summer rate, greens fee and cart.)  The Oaks name is a apropos.  Lots of trees line each lush green fairway. The greens are tricky.

Go Karts - Big Play also has a really fun Go Kart track. We had a blast racing against each other.

Big Play Go-Karts

The Main Point

There are fun things to do besides eating and playing baseball in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Youth Baseball: Nations Baseball National Championship (Part 6)

How did the Nations Baseball Premier National Championship held in Gulfport, MS rate compared to other National tournaments?

Here is my report card on Nations Baseball Premier Level National Championship held in Gulfport, MS during the week of July 10 - 16, 2011.

My son has competed in the CABA World Series (U10 - Indianapolis, Indiana), the AAU National Championships (U11 - ESPN Disney Wide World of Sports, Orlando, Florida), Cooperstown Dreams Park (U12 - Cooperstown, NY) and Nations Baseball Premier National Championship (U13 - Gulfport, MS). It is from this broad base of experience that I feel qualified to grade these events in comparison to each other.

Opening Ceremonies: The Nations Baseball Premier National Championship started with a parade in downtown Gulfport. It could have been a great event, but very few teams participated. Our team participated to the delight of the younger siblings. I think that this will be a great opening ceremony with the proper planning, promotion and participation.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS B
• CABA - F (I don't remember any opening ceremonies)
• AAU Disney Fields - A (Disney performers entertained the players, siblings, parents and coaches.)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park - A (It was a bit long, but it was a festive start)

The Skills Competition: The Nations Baseball Premier National Championship started with a skills competition. You can read about it here. It was good, but not great. The Home Run fences were too far to make it exciting. The tournament committee did not make a big real about celebrating the winners or even announcing the winners on the website.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS B
• CABA - B
• AAU Disney Fields - F (I do not remember any skills competitions)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park - A (Exciting competitions played out in front of a packed stadium)

The Fields: I give the fields at the Gulfport Sportsplex a B+. The grass was green, freshly cut and fast. The infield is made of crushed crimson stone that looked beautiful, dried very quickly and did not tear up skin like some crushed brick fields. The fences on the fields used for the U13 event were 8 feet high, 280 ft down the line and 300 ft straight away. This is a much more challenging distance for U13 players compared to the U12 experience in Cooperstown. Portable 3.5 foot fences were put in for the younger age groups and set at 275 feet. Portable mounds were used. I prefer dirt mounds, but I understand why portable mounds are used on fields that accommodate multiple age levels. The portable mounds used at the Gulfport Sportsplex were good. Finally, the drainage system is very good. We had a torrential rain one morning and we were able to play all the games with a minimal delay.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS B+
• CABA - C+ multiple municipal fields of varying quality.
• AAU Disney Fields - A (Perfectly manicured fields configured identically. These fields can take on lots of rain and be playable in short order.)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park - A+ (20 perfectly manicured fields configured identically with reachable fences. These fields can take on more rain than the Disney fields and be playable faster.)

Gulfport Sportsplex

The Concession Stand: I give the concession stand at the Gulfport Sportsplex a F. They had a very limited menu. There were two concession stands and a snowcone truck, but the concession stand near the group of fields where we were playing was not open for all games. We played one full game on field #7 in intense heat with the stand closed up. We had to walk all the way over to field #2 to get much needed water and sports drinks. This was particularly frustrating because the tournament committee made it very clear that no outside coolers were allowed. (The team coach could bring in one specially marked cooler for team use.) Halfway through particularly hot game, the concession stand employee started to close the stand. We had to get the tournament director to remedy the situation. He was able to get the women to stay for the duration of our game. This situation was so indicative of the poor planning of this event.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade F
• CABA World Series - Grade B (Some venues were good, some not so good)
• AAU Disney Fields - Grade B - (Too expensive)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park  - Grade A+ (Good food, big variety, honest prices)

Game Schedule: I give the game schedule a C. Most of the games were played later in the day 5:30 or 8:00. Perhaps this was done to avoid the heat. It does cool off at 8:00pm, but most of the games were played at 5:30 when it was still very hot. I would rather have games in the morning, so the kids can swim and have fun in the afternoon without worrying about getting tired out. Plus the parents can go out to and enjoy dinner at a reasonable hour. We were told that the tournament could not secure enough umpires for day games. I guess that makes sense.

Another reason for the C rating, the original schedule was wrong and a few game times were changed at the last minute. This made planning difficult. We were originally scheduled to play our one Wednesday game at 8pm, so many families headed to New Orleans for the day. That trip was cut short when the game time was changed to 5:30. Despite all of these issues,  most of the games were started on time and the umpires managed the games to the 2 hour time limit.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade C
• CABA World Series - Grade B
• AAU Disney Fields - Grade B - (Many doubleheaders had large gaps of time between them)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park  - Grade A+ (I am not sure how they coordinate all of the teams when it is not raining, but they manage the schedule beautifully when rain delays or cancels games too.)

The Competition: Nations Baseball only attracted 7 total teams for the U13 tournament so they got an F. This 2011 inaugrial premier level tournament only attracted 7 teams and two of teams were U12 teams who had to compete at the U13 level. The tournament committee had an even tougher time attracting U12 teams. Go figure, the best U12 teams are spending their time and money in Cooperstown. The U13 teams were all talented and competitive teams, but not top level super regional teams that one would expect to see in a National Championship. The Cooperstown, CABA and the AAU National Tournaments attract a lot of high quality teams and thus these events crown worthy champions.

• Nations Baseball Gulfport, MS - Grade F
• CABA - Grade A (International teams from Puerto Rico and Panama made the event special)
• AAU Disney - Grade A  (Lots of quality teams competed in this event.)
• Cooperstown Dreams Park  - Grade A+ (Each week for 13 weeks every summer, 100 plus teams compete. There is a wide range of competitive levels competing in this event. The top teams typically prevail, but the mid-range teams can advance far.)

Click Read More for Umpire, Competition Format, Destination, Website, Tournament Committee grades

Youth Baseball: Nations Baseball National Championship (Part 5)

Nations Baseball National Championship - Gulfport, MS - Where to Eat.

The food in southern mississippi is awesome. I can certainly understand why Mississippi is ranked #1 as the fattest state in the country. (Source Chartsbin.com)

Here is a list of team friendly restaurants.

Hog Heaven has great BBQ served either inside or outside and good music. Our entire team showed up at 8:00 or so after our game and the staff seated and served us quickly. The band was suppose to wrap up their night at 9:00, but they stayed another hour to entertain our large group. That was a smart move by the owner of the restaurant. Several of our group liked the restaurant so much they went back for lunch.

On two different nights after the games ended, our entire team showed up at the Back Bay Seafood Restaurant. This restaurant was able to accommodate a large crowd very quickly and efficiently too. The food is pretty good and very affordable. You have to eat seafood at least once while on the gulf coast and this is a family friendly place to go.

Between games of a doubleheader, my wife and two kids and I ventured down 49 toward the water looking for a cool local restaurant. We stumbled upon Big Mike's Speakeasy nestled next to the abandoned Gulfport library devastated by Katrina. The building had a New Orleans flair to it with a nice deck so we went it and we were glad that we did. The Big Mike's (Grilled Shrimp with caribbean jerk sauce was great. We enjoyed the food here so much that we returned with a big group two days later.

Click Read More - for recommendations for a great burger place and two pizza places.

Youth Baseball: Nations Baseball National Championship (Part 4)

Nations Baseball National Championship in Gulfport, Mississippi - Where to Stay.

We have 10 families (44 people) visiting the Gulf Coast for the Nations Baseball Premier National Championship. This area, which has been devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the BP oil spill, Obama's foolhardy moratorium on offshore drilling and the struggling economy, is showing some signs of life. The landscape is dotted with foundations and parking lots without buildings, but the people here are wonderful and the southern food is amazing. If baseball did not send us this way, my family would not have chosen to come to Southern Mississippi for our summer vacation but we have enjoyed our stay.

Our 10 Families stayed in 3 different places.

1. Sienna by the Coast (3 families)
2. Sea Breeze Condominiums (4 families)
3. Courtyard by Marriott (1 family)
4. Inland condo / house (2 families)

Sienna by the Coast - Gulfport, MS

This is where we stayed. We rented a really nice three bedroom condo on the top floor of the Sienna by the Coast. The 12 story building is a well appointed luxury condo building, that sits across the street from the beach. The building has some nice pools (one inside and one out), a sauna, a whirlpool, a small gym, and a golf putting surface. Each unit has a great view of the gulf. It should be noted that it is the only significant structure for blocks in either direction (See pictures below). I was concerned about its isolated location when we first drove up, but I have been very happy with our choice. If you are looking for a quite place away from the action, then the Sienna is your place.

Other notes:

The 3 bedroom condo is huge and can easily accommodate 8 with the pull out sofa bed.

The only complaint we have about the Sienna by the Coast is that the pool closes at 10pm sharp. The full time residence don't like having loud vacationing renters splashing in the pool or talking in the poolside gazebo after 10pm. One night after we got kick off the pool deck by the security guard, we sent the kids up to the unit and a few of the parents took coolers to the beach .

Bring chairs - The Sienna by the Coast has a nice pool and pool deck but only has 12 lounge chairs. We used our baseball fold-out chairs and the two beach chairs provided by the unit.

The ball fields are only 11 miles and 17 minutes away heading north on Cowan and west on 10 Google will send you west along the beach and north on 49, but Cowan is the faster route.

The cost of the 3 bedroom / 3 full bathroom unit was $200 per night without management fees.

Sienna by the Coast

Sienna by the Sea - Looking East

Sienna by the Sea - Looking West

Click Read more to see comments on The Sea Breeze, the Marriott and general tips and tricks.

Youth Baseball: Nations Baseball National Championship (Part 3)

The Nations Baseball Premier National Championship Skills Competition

There were three skills competitions: Team speed base running, Team speed throwing around the horn and a Home Run Derby. This post gives you an idea of what to expect from the skills competition.

Team speed base running

Team Speed - Base running

Each team was allowed to enter as many teams of four players as they wanted. We have 10 players at the tournament so we entered 2 teams. The 4 players line up at home plate. An umpire officiates the event. The first player runs around the bases when the umpire says go. The next runner goes after runner number 1 crosses home plate. When the final runner of the four crosses home plate the umpire announces and records the time.

Tip One: Make sure all of the participating players bring cleats to this event. Our team came in second in the event by less than a second because one of our players ran in running shoes and needed to slow up on turns to avoid slipping. Our player was not the only participant to forget his cleats.

Tip Two: Your team needs to complete the circuit in under 59 seconds. 57.9 seconds won.

(Click read more for the Throwing and Home Run Derby)

Youth Baseball: Nations Baseball National Championship (Part 2)

The first day of the tournament started on Sunday, but there were no games. The teams had three things to do on this first day, registration, opening ceremonies / parade and the skills competition (Skills competition is covered in the next post). The following provides tips and tricks to make the most of this first day.

Registration

Team registration was from 10am to 1pm. Our team showed up at 11:45. Unlike the Cooperstown Dreams Park events with over 100 teams competing, there were only 15 premier level teams competing in this tournament across three age levels. (4 - U11, 7 - U13 and 4 - U14), so the registration process was very fast. The select level tournament that will compete next week at the same venue has attracted 66 teams across six age levels (U8 - U13), so the registration process might take longer. 

Tip One: Check the Nations website and see how many teams are competing. If the number is low registration will take 15 minutes.

Tip Two: A team picture is taken after the registration, so the team should go to registration in full uniform. Some teams wore uniform tops and allowed their kids to wear shorts for their team picture. It is up to the coach.

Opening Ceremonies and Parade

Nations holds a opening ceremony and parade in downtown Gulfport, Mississippi, not at the Nations Baseball Complex. The idea is a good one, especially for the younger teams, but with so few teams participating, it was a 10 minute parade. 

Nations Baseball Parade - Gulfport MS

Youth Baseball: Nations Baseball National Championship (Part 1)

Last summer, my son enjoyed an unbelievably positive youth baseball experience at Cooperstown Dreams Park. It was a memory of a lifetime. I blogged about Tips and Tricks for players, coaches and parents. That series of posts attracts 10,000 plus page views on my site each month and is my most popular content. This year my son is playing in the Nations Baseball Premier National Championship in Gulfport, Mississippi. The following posts will cover the event and offer helpful tips and tricks.

It should be noted that there is a link between Nations Baseball and Cooperstown Dreams Park. In 1996, the founder of Cooperstown Dreams Park, Lou Presutti started Nations Baseball, with its various leagues and tournaments, to compete against USSSA Baseball. They have had Nation Championships for the select and elite levels, but this is the first Premier Level National Championship.

Nations Baseball Offers 4 divisions of play:

• Metro - This division is your recreational league play teams. These teams are typically teams full of players who register individually and are drafted by a local league.
• Select - This division is the entry level to select baseball. These teams typically will play 25-50 games a year and are competitive with All-Star type teams.
• Elite - This division is a more competitive brand of baseball. Most of these players have been playing select baseball for several years and are becoming very fundamentally sound and will play 50-100 games a year.
• Premier - This division is the highest level of competition. Most of these players are joined by being the top players in your area. These teams will tend to play 75-125 games a year.

Nations also has tournament and league classes called Open, these events are open to all divisions of play.

The Main Point

Over the last couple of weeks I have heard lots of stories about the politics of Nations Baseball and USSSA Baseball. I do not have enough knowledge about either organization to make any opinions. The first ever Premier National Tournament will be a great experience for my son, but it is not an premier event quite yet. I do have faith that Nations baseball will eventually get it right. This year they got the baseball facility right and the host city is great. They just need to attract more and better teams to justify the "National Championship" status.