NWLL baseball scandal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think that emailing it to all parents was the smartest move. But I am personally familiar with some of what was in that letter and believe the parts I’m familiar with to be accurate.

Summary: Lots of boundary cheating to stack the 12U team, which is coached by the president of the board each year (he doesn’t have kids who play), and the team that would compete to go to the Little league World Series. The NWLL team won the dc championship again this year and competed in regionals. But they did not make it to the World Series.

Other stuff too about how umps are paid for not showing up, and other board members looking the other way bc they want their kids to be chosen for the president’s team when they get to 12u. But 90% of the document is about boundary cheating.

I’m having a hard time believing these allegations. The DC baseball world is pretty small. All these kids/families know each other and have played against each at the 10U and 11U all star levels as well. Someone would have noticed before the DC tournament even started. There is more to the story here.

Folks have been noticing Davenport and NWLL cheating for years. These two are the first to actually have the fortitude to now make sure the entire community (and Little League International) know it too. Good for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a baseball player here (not NWLL), who encountered the NW all star team during my child’s brief stint in our neighborhood LL all star team a few years ago. Those games were CRAZY. The parents and coaches were on 10 and out of their damn minds. I mean it’s a 10 year olds baseball game ffs, get a grip.
Also for what? To go spend one summer playing in the LLWS- for what? Honestly the kids who are really going somewhere in baseball at 12/13 are not playing little league anymore so this cracks me up. Affluent entitled parents losing their shit over something that doesn’t even matter.

Your kids’ team never got to the regionals, right? Truly it’s a once on a lifetime experience

Ha! So passive-aggressive. Sounds very Northwest-y

Cap City parent here. Proud to say my son's team beat NW's ass at 10U and 12u (to go to Bristol.) Especially now that the long-known, but never proven, NW cheating accusations are being dragged rightfully into the light. You should be so proud, bless your heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why no one plays baseball anymore. Too many corrupt loser dads trying to be the king of something out there. Go play soccer or some other sport. Baseball has been in the decline for decades.

Alllll the sports are ruined by parents. At a sports training facility near me the owner started a for- fun dodgeball league with just a few teams. He wanted it to be fun with no real score keeping. He dropped it all because he got pressure from the parents about a real league. teams, rankings, and a tournament after

[Anonymous]

Not in DC, but skimmed the report. All the boundary cheating, waiver cheating, try-out rigging sounds exactly like our experience with my son in little league.

It was great, including being selected as an 11 year old all-star, until 12s. Then we saw the dark side. Four boys (there were only 60 in majors) showed up having always played in other little leagues. They hadn’t moved and didn’t attend in boundary schools, so we never could figure out why, except of course they played travel the 12u Allstars coach. We did learn that one (who lived 30 miles outside the boundary) homeschooled and attended a “homeschool group” once a week in boundary.

Needless to say, my son and 3 others who had always played in that LL and were 11s all stars were cut for the 4. The most obnoxious part is the 12s team did exactly how they always do, dominate area/districts (big town competing against smaller towns) and then go 1-2 at state (lopsided loss to suburban program, beat small town, lopsided loss to suburban program). So all that shadiness for the same result you would have had with your own kids.

Next year in jrs, the tryouts were rigged in a similar fashion of “private tryouts.” With friends still involved in the younger ages, I watched similar stacking of teams happen there. And once again multiple new kids showed up after playing other little leagues for years.

[Anonymous]

I'm glad to see NWLL get called out on this. The cheating has been going on for years.
In spring 2020 (Covid year) the Summer All-star team practiced together in secret all fall, winter and spring. This is clearly not allowed by Little League International as the roster is not supposed to even be determined until after the spring season occurs and tryouts are held. I was highly amused when this group of dads didn't even get to compete for a trip to Bristol as the entire summer was canceled. My son was on the team several years prior and one of our best players was a total boundary fraud. He claimed to have previously lived in upper NW but it was all a lie. NWLL knew but they didn't care because he was a strong player.

So glad to be long done with little league. High school baseball was incredibly sane in comparison.

[Anonymous]

The spring season cheating is crazy. Ricky's spring league teams were 25-5 for the last two spring seasons (check GameChanger -- the Grays). They are dominant because the other coaches in the league allow Ricky to stack his spring team with the best talent. They allow him to do that because these other coaches have sons who they want to play on the 12U summer team, and Ricky controls the 12U team. So these coaches intentionally allow Ricky to have a dominant team. The other families on the league -- the ones that didn't choose to allow the league president to stack his team -- never know why this one team is dominant. It's not just Ricky's fault, it's his parent enablers who want him to let their son play 12U. 

[Anonymous]

My son went to Bristol (not this year). It was a unique/special experience but it was also highly unpleasant and stressful. Lots of infighting and jostling for playing time which was also not based on merit.
I and other parents I know have very mixed memories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a baseball player here (not NWLL), who encountered the NW all star team during my child’s brief stint in our neighborhood LL all star team a few years ago. Those games were CRAZY. The parents and coaches were on 10 and out of their damn minds. I mean it’s a 10 year olds baseball game ffs, get a grip.
Also for what? To go spend one summer playing in the LLWS- for what? Honestly the kids who are really going somewhere in baseball at 12/13 are not playing little league anymore so this cracks me up. Affluent entitled parents losing their shit over something that doesn’t even matter.

Your kids’ team never got to the regionals, right? Truly it’s a once on a lifetime experience

Meh. My kid was on a team that went to LL regionals. He did not have that much fun- cramped lodging (kids sharing beds, 4 to a room), very little downtime or sleep, many strange rules, constant cameras in the kids’ faces. He has WAY more fun at travel tournaments with his club team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The spring season cheating is crazy. Ricky's spring league teams were 25-5 for the last two spring seasons (check GameChanger -- the Grays). They are dominant because the other coaches in the league allow Ricky to stack his spring team with the best talent. They allow him to do that because these other coaches have sons who they want to play on the 12U summer team, and Ricky controls the 12U team. So these coaches intentionally allow Ricky to have a dominant team. The other families on the league -- the ones that didn't choose to allow the league president to stack his team -- never know why this one team is dominant. It's not just Ricky's fault, it's his parent enablers who want him to let their son play 12U. 

Yep, very common. The 12U all star coach was anointed in our league 2 years ahead of time (when all the boys were 10U). The guy then had two years of getting away with absolute murder (in Little League, travel ball, and every other youth baseball related sphere)- no one dare challenge him, for fear he would leave their kid off THE team when the time came. To make matters worse the coach had other sons playing baseball, so his “reach” extended into other age groups..

Some of these dads are absolute TERRORS- and it is much worse in Little League because people cannot just leave (generally no choice in what league, or what coach a kid plays for).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think that emailing it to all parents was the smartest move. But I am personally familiar with some of what was in that letter and believe the parts I’m familiar with to be accurate.

Summary: Lots of boundary cheating to stack the 12U team, which is coached by the president of the board each year (he doesn’t have kids who play), and the team that would compete to go to the Little league World Series. The NWLL team won the dc championship again this year and competed in regionals. But they did not make it to the World Series.

Other stuff too about how umps are paid for not showing up, and other board members looking the other way bc they want their kids to be chosen for the president’s team when they get to 12u. But 90% of the document is about boundary cheating.

I’m having a hard time believing these allegations. The DC baseball world is pretty small. All these kids/families know each other and have played against each at the 10U and 11U all star levels as well. Someone would have noticed before the DC tournament even started. There is more to the story here.

Folks have been noticing Davenport and NWLL cheating for years. These two are the first to actually have the fortitude to now make sure the entire community (and Little League International) know it too. Good for them.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think that emailing it to all parents was the smartest move. But I am personally familiar with some of what was in that letter and believe the parts I’m familiar with to be accurate.

Summary: Lots of boundary cheating to stack the 12U team, which is coached by the president of the board each year (he doesn’t have kids who play), and the team that would compete to go to the Little league World Series. The NWLL team won the dc championship again this year and competed in regionals. But they did not make it to the World Series.

Other stuff too about how umps are paid for not showing up, and other board members looking the other way bc they want their kids to be chosen for the president’s team when they get to 12u. But 90% of the document is about boundary cheating.

I’m having a hard time believing these allegations. The DC baseball world is pretty small. All these kids/families know each other and have played against each at the 10U and 11U all star levels as well. Someone would have noticed before the DC tournament even started. There is more to the story here.

Folks have been noticing Davenport and NWLL cheating for years. These two are the first to actually have the fortitude to now make sure the entire community (and Little League International) know it too. Good for them.

When will DCLL and LLI engage and respond to the allegations?

[Anonymous]

Anyone find the presumed retaliation details a little bizarre? Not enough baseballs delivered until someone else brought pizza? Is anyone making money on this?

[Anonymous]

+1. Even the teams from states in the old Mid Atlantic region know all about NWLL and their coach. They hate seeing those car magnets roll into Bristol.

NWLL has car magnets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Agreed.

So much scheming and focus on 12-14 kids for 2 weeks when the vast majority of kids will never play on a tournament team.

Agree- but

By the time these boys get to be 11 or 12 years old they are ready for more serious competition than the “everyone plays” model. The ones who make the all star team have been working harder than other kids for years, so why shouldn’t they see the rewards of competing at the next level?

This is the age that starts to separate the more serious athletes from the kids who are not interested in or capable of playing at the next level. Presumably they have other talents and go on to do other things. Often it is parents who are the most disappointed, not the kids themselves.

IMO: that is what travel ball/club ball is. Little League should be for all, without the obsessive focus on all stars, to the detriment of the rest of the players in the league. No sour grapes- my boys did make all stars the years they deserved to.

Our LL district has a mid season spring tournament (most leagues participate) among all the regular season LL teams (for Majors). This includes ALL kids- and they bat a continuous roster and minimum play at least 2 defensive innings. Every kid gets a taste of tournament competition. It is great. I’d rather see LL do something like that in the summers (draft and form teams of ALL kids who want to play), than all-stars for just a few. Some coaches would still attempt to stack rosters but there would be nowhere near the level of corruption and BS that all stars brings…and ALL kids who want to play would be included.

Again, any family wanting a higher level of competition has the option of travel ball. My sons did both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ Agreed.

So much scheming and focus on 12-14 kids for 2 weeks when the vast majority of kids will never play on a tournament team.

Agree- but

By the time these boys get to be 11 or 12 years old they are ready for more serious competition than the “everyone plays” model. The ones who make the all star team have been working harder than other kids for years, so why shouldn’t they see the rewards of competing at the next level?

This is the age that starts to separate the more serious athletes from the kids who are not interested in or capable of playing at the next level. Presumably they have other talents and go on to do other things. Often it is parents who are the most disappointed, not the kids themselves.

IMO: that is what travel ball/club ball is. Little League should be for all, without the obsessive focus on all stars, to the detriment of the rest of the players in the league. No sour grapes- my boys did make all stars the years they deserved to.

Our LL district has a mid season spring tournament (most leagues participate) among all the regular season LL teams (for Majors). This includes ALL kids- and they bat a continuous roster and minimum play at least 2 defensive innings. Every kid gets a taste of tournament competition. It is great. I’d rather see LL do something like that in the summers (draft and form teams of ALL kids who want to play), than all-stars for just a few. Some coaches would still attempt to stack rosters but there would be nowhere near the level of corruption and BS that all stars brings…and ALL kids who want to play would be included.

Again, any family wanting a higher level of competition has the option of travel ball. My sons did both.

While I agree the focus on all stars is a detriment to most kids and experiences, LLI will not change it due to the amount of money that is made. They changed the age eligibility rule to age as of 9/1 making it so there are three months of birthdays that never play at their league age (June, July and August), unless they make all stars. This was done so there weren’t 13 year olds at Williamsport.

Locally, our 2 city little leagues hold an end of season “city tourny” for AAA and Majors. My son’s AAA (precovid) was great. It was a 2 week double elimination tournament that all teams got to play in. Rolling lineup and I think 2 innings of play required in the field. His first time playing in that type of tournament and it was so fun for all the kids.

First year post covid, the numbers were down and majors only had 6 teams total. Modified tourny set up but still fun and double elimination. His 12s year, the numbers were back to hold the traditional 2 week double elimination tournament, but the powers that be decided to shorten it to have more time to practice for all stars. Not nearly as much fun and a disappointing end. Of course, the coaches (especially those on the board) completely try to stack their teams and manipulate the structure to fit their team.