We tried our best to make it possible to field a Warriors' team in the Cooperstown tournament. Every family carefully considered whether the trip made sense given its circumstances. Through no fault of anyone's, the team simply did not have enough players who were able to make the trip. I respect the decision that each and every family made regarding this.
Additionally, the Warriors were missing some of its most productive players. I was concerned that our scaled back roster would not be competitive enough to make the trip a rewarding enough experience.
In an attempt to salvage the situation, we moved towards adding a few full-time travel players (particularly pitchers). Adding players to the roster allowed us to secure a spot for the August 23rd tournament in Cooperstown.
These moves to make the team more "competitive" became a slippery slope, however. Making the team more competitive also involves limiting playing time or eliminating roster spots for the Warriors' players who were not as "productive" as others. Personally, I realized that I had no interest in managing our Warriors' players through such a process.
As a result, I turned the Cooperstown team over to Coach Scott Trokey. Scott has offered a Cooperstown roster spot to any full-time 12 (or 13) year old player now on the Warriors. The remaining spots will be filled based upon a tryout process. This process offers our players the opportunity play in Cooperstown before it's too late (as Cooperstown does not run any tournament for players over 12U). It also provides them the opportunity to develop their baseball skills, have a lot of fun, and to play on a more competitive team during that tournament. Hopefully, this is a solution that will make everyone happy.
My entire focus remains with our Warriors team. We have three more July tournaments and expect to have a great experience playing all the way through the Orland Park tournament. For those Warriors' players who elect to continue playing through Cooperstown, the Cooperstown team practices will not begin until after the final pitch of our Orland Park tournament. That way, all of us can enjoy these last three weeks as a team without any distractions.
Please call me at 708-349-1467 with any questions or comments.
Thanks,
Glenn Nagel
2011 Chicagoland Tournament Champions & 2011 Lombard Tournament Champions!
