Dont know exactly what kid left what team or who stole who be here is my 2 cents regarding poaching ,
kids switching teams ,guest players etc.
When teams have tryouts for spring there is nothing wrong with cutting existing players or adding to the roster. Many organizations advertise open tryouts and some say they are looking to add a player or 2. Travel baseball is made up of “select” teams. If your kid played 2nd base the year before and a better 2nd baseman tries out would it be
fair to the new kid to not put him on the team or make him switch positions?
The ethical thing for parents to do if you want your kid to switch teams is to do it during the summer (or fall for some teams) tryout period .
It gives the existing team the chance to replace your kid. Even if your kid is a stud and can’t really be replaced at least they can fill the roster so the rest of the team can continue to play.
Parents who pull their kids off teams over the winter or even later (unless extenuating circumstances) cause a domino effect.Their kid leaves the team his old team has to find a new kid
and a vicious cycle ensues. Have some decency parents- switch teams every year if you want just show some decency and leave during the tryout period.
Regarding guest players- if teams feel the need to do it need to be upfront with everyone beforehand. Since most teams are quite expensive not right for guest player to take time from current player. Now if a team wants to play in a PG and brings extra kids so no one gets worn out understandable long as coach is transparent.
In an ideal world coaches from the top teams should talk (maybe they do) and even work something out if so they could lend each other a player or two if one of them had big tournament( long as they both weren’t playing that weekend of course)
Youth (especially up to 12u maybe 13u)baseball in MD is very competitive. I will say this for those who have kids who are not in high school yet.
Your HS coach doesn’t care what you did in Cooperstown. He doesn’t care if your kid played on a top 5 team at 11u.He doesn’t care if your kid threw a 2 hit shutout or what his batting average was.
He doesn’t even care what his best position is - he has to take the kids he has and give them the best chance he has to win.
And you don’t need to play on a high level showcase team at 12-13 to be a excellent HS player.
Enjoy the nice weather everyone