Boy, have times changed (see editors update)

This debate was inspired by a parent's call for help. It's a decision we all faced when first getting little Johnny into organized ball. Which league/association is best? And why? The results seem contradictory - house leagues are the preference among voters, but competition is important. Perhaps some of the comments received make the issues clearer.

[By the way, do not take this as a statistical representation of all of WebBall's visitors - the vote count wasn't that high. Nor do we have an explanation for the high number of Canadian votes given WebBall reaches into 2 dozen countries but our visitor traffic is 90%+ US.]

LEAGUE CHOICES	All Replies	Younger Ages	Older Ages
HOME OR AWAY....
Traveling Team	23%	13%	40%
House League Team	77%	88%	60%
WHICH LEAGUE...
Little League	46%	75%	0%
Canadian Minor	23%	0%	60%
Babe Ruth	8%	0%	20%
AAU	8%	13%	0%
PONY	8%	0%	20%
Other Choices	8%	13%	0%
MAIN INFLUENCES...
Level of competition	69%	75%	60%
Coaches well trained	54%	63%	40%
Safety record	38%	50%	20%
Reputation	38%	38%	40%
Where friends play	38%	25%	60%
Future prospects	38%	25%	60%
Good equipment	23%	25%	20%
Good fields and facilities	23%	13%	40%
Close to home	15%	13%	20%
Price	15%	0%	40%
Newspaper ads	0%	0%	0%

When we first entered our league (son was 6), the reputation was the key. The league had a tradition of excellence and we wanted that for our son. (Later we needed) the opportunity for my son to compete with and against players of top calibre on a daily basis. This is not the case with "house" leagues, where a team's talent base varies so much.
- Jeff Taylor

After playing and coaching in so called Rep Leagues, I found that the level of sportsmanship and nuturing for the adult was better in our local Little League. The competition in all-stars was a lot higher for their age group than on the travel team. We had good competitive ball close to home.
- Walter S. Kiriaka

Attitude of players and parents. As a coach, I look for kids that are not superstars but rather have a bad attitude or a good one towards playing only 1 position. I also look at parents attitude towards the child. If they are hard on them because they did not have a good practice, there's a good chance I won't draft that child.
- Art Craffey

There is a sidebar: the problems and work involved by executives to try to put together these teams and the perspective of coaches who have been there. I have coached Bantam AA (age 13-14) for three years. Two years I had teams that were undefeated; this last year I could not win a game. I have been the summer AA Allstar coach twice and the quality of coaching and players has changed so much over this short time I don't see how you can make choices of where to play based on historical information. People each year need to look at their peers and decide each time.
- Robin McCabe

What influenced our choice for my children's baseball league (and ultimately my involvement as a coach) was the reputation of the league as fullfilling more than just the competetive need of the parents.
- Hubert Wieland