To All Grosse Pointe Little League Softball Parents:

It has come to the GPLL Softball Board’s attention that there may be some confusion about the Tournament Team setup and selection process, and that may be leading to some rumblings and dissatisfaction in our League.  We would like to clear up this issue.

One major misconception that seems to be out there is that the 10U Tournament Team is actually a “Minors” Tournament Team.  This is not true, and never has been.  Little League sets up their postseason tournaments based on age, not on division that the girls may have participated in.  This has been the case for as long as any of us can remember, and is also true in Little League’s baseball divisions.  In our League, if there are 10 year olds that have been deemed capable of competing in Majors during the regular season, they will certainly be considered for the 10U team.  Our internal League playoffs are division based, so the 10 year olds from Majors would clearly not be allowed to rejoin Minors for the playoffs.  But their abilities and advancement should not be held against them when the 10U Tournament Team is selected.

The process for forming the team involves two separate steps.  The first is the selection of the manager.  The second is the selection of the team.

Manager Selection

Any coach in GPLL is allowed to throw their hat in the ring to be a tournament team manager.  If a coach is interested, they simply need to let a GPLL Board member know of their interest. The list of candidates is not made public.  Once interest has been expressed, a questionnaire is given to the candidate.  Once all questionnaires have been received, they are reviewed and a committee made up of the Player Agents and Commissioners chooses who will manage each team.  If a member of that selection committee has put in for the position, they are not allowed to participate in the selection committee’s discussions.

Clearly, in some years, we have very good candidates that ultimately are not chosen.  How they handle this disappointment is ultimately out of the league’s control but goes a long way towards determining our health and happiness as a league community.

Team Selection

Once the managers have been selected, the team selection process begins.  All Minors and Majors managers are solicited for their input on which of their team members should be considered for the tournament team.  Their input establishes a “consideration list” that is then reviewed by the GPLL Board.  The Board then establishes a “unanimous 9”, meaning 9 players are selected by the Board for the tournament team, without Manager input.  This is to eliminate the chances that a quality player could be kept off the tournament team for personal reasons or conflicts with the manager.  Once the 9 have been selected, the Manager is then given discretion to pick 3, 4, or 5 additional players for the team.  The number picked has strategic implications, and is typically 4.  The manager has complete discretion over these picks, as long as they are players from the ‘consideration list”.

Just like the managers, clearly, in some years, we have very good players that ultimately are not chosen.  How they (or their parents) handle this disappointment is ultimately out of the league’s control but goes a long way towards determining our health and happiness as a league community.

Team Announcement

Once the selection has been completed, the manager must confirm tournament availability with the selected players.  Once this is done, the team is announced, and no changes can be made without exigent circumstances, such as an injury or family emergency.

Summary

Obviously, there is no perfect process for selecting a group of young All-Stars, or the person that will lead them.  The Board has taken great pains to try to develop and adhere to a process that we feel is as fair as we can make it.  If there are suggestions about how to improve that process, we are very happy to field those suggestions.  We are always looking to improve our young league.  If you hear of someone who is unhappy with the process, or results, we would hope that rather than indulging their criticisms, you would encourage them to contact a Board Member directly to voice their concerns/comments.

We are also extremely interested in expanding our GPLL Board.  We need more people that will put the league first, and are willing to donate their time and efforts towards making the league run smoothly.  If you are interested, please contact an existing Board Member.

Thanks, and GO GPLL!!!!

GPLL Softball Board of Directors