6-Man Schools Playing Baseball

[Shad Kline]

Went nosing around the UIL baseball brackets for 1A, counted six or seven sixman size schools in the playoffs. This included Gorman and Baird evan though they play the crowded field. Ira, May, Milford and High Island are in the playoffs. Ft. Hancock is in the playoffs, they play sixman but are too large to be in a district. District 9 had all three places as TBA, could have a couple more there. Could have missed one or two. Seems like a small percentage for the total number of sixman schools playing baseball.

That makes sense.
Six man schools have at most, 100 students, 1A (2A next year) has up to 200. So twice the talent pool. And, just as in football, the winning programs get more kids to play, therefore they get better. The smaller schools, who struggle to win against the schools twice their size, get fewer and fewer kids, and therefore get worse until there aren't enough to play.
It's almost like the UIL is discouraging smaller schools to play baseball.
Wonder what it would take for the UIL to make a 1A (next year) division in baseball? Surely the added division means more playoff games, which means more money for the UIL. UIL is all about money right? Should be a no brainer.

 

[Old Bearkat]

Went nosing around the UIL baseball brackets for 1A, counted six or seven sixman size schools in the playoffs. This included Gorman and Baird evan though they play the crowded field. Ira, May, Milford and High Island are in the playoffs. Ft. Hancock is in the playoffs, they play sixman but are too large to be in a district. District 9 had all three places as TBA, could have a couple more there. Could have missed one or two. Seems like a small percentage for the total number of sixman schools playing baseball.

That makes sense.
Six man schools have at most, 100 students, 1A (2A next year) has up to 200. So twice the talent pool. And, just as in football, the winning programs get more kids to play, therefore they get better. The smaller schools, who struggle to win against the schools twice their size, get fewer and fewer kids, and therefore get worse until there aren't enough to play.
It's almost like the UIL is discouraging smaller schools to play baseball.
Wonder what it would take for the UIL to make a 1A (next year) division in baseball? Surely the added division means more playoff games, which means more money for the UIL. UIL is all about money right? Should be a no brainer.

What little money it would make would be chump change compared to the bigger divisions. They probably will not think it is worth their time.

 

[Caprock kid]

Agreed UIL could care less if six man size schools play baseball or not. It is a sad thing to see, but what if they did make a 1A division next year and come up with new districs how much traveling would schools have to do?

 

[wths]

unless someone was left off that list Follett was the last six-man school to make the state tournament in 2004 where they lost in the finals

 

[wths]

Most districts are relatively close now but I really don't think they'll make a Div 1 and Div 2 there just isn't enough schools. I'd say the average drive time for that would be probably 2 hrs plus per game and in Nazareth, Follett, Valley and Kress' case once they got deep in the playoffs they'd be looking at probably 6 hrs plus per game. Most schools just won't be able to afford it.

 

[Shad Kline]

These are the 1A schools (1A next year) that are on the UIL alignment list. I broke them down by possible districts. It's almost 80 schools, i don't see how that isn't enough. How many do we have in football? Less than 80 per division. Nothing saying that a team that has to travel pretty far can't do a double header. You could do a home/home double header with a team and the next year do it at their place, or vice versa. It can be done, and I would bet the majority of the coaches would rather travel a little further to be able to compete in district. And, I'm a bettin that there would be a substantial growth in baseball from schools who don't play because they know they can't compete in 2A.


Follett
Kress
Nazareth
Turkey Valley
Crosbyton
___
O'Donnell
Whiteface
Marfa
Westbrook
Gail Borden
___
Hermleigh
Ira
Loraine
Roby
Rotan
___
Vernon Northside
Chillicothe
Knox City
Bryson
___
Perrin-Whitt
Graford
Gordon
Gorman
Lipan
___
Cross Plains
May
Sidney
Baird
Clyde Eula
___
Tioga
Savoy
Ector
Dodd City
Ladonia Fannindel
___
Roxton
Sulphur Bluff
Campbell
Cumby Miller Grove
Saltillo
___
Bloomburg
Gilmer Union Hill
Yantis
Fruitvale
Leverett's Chapel
___
Waxahachie Faith
Avalon
Blum
Covington
Milford
___
Iredell
Abbott
Coolidge
Mount Calm
Trinidad
___
Gary
Mount Enterprise
Douglass
Chireno
Wells
___
Burkeville
Spurger
Chester
Leggett
High Island
___
North Zulch
Oakwood
Apple Springs
Groveton Centerville
Kennard
___
Burton
Dime Box
Round Top-Carmine
Buckholts
Fayetteville
___
Moulton
Menard
D’Hanis
Medina
Runge

 

[wths]

Yes when you put it down and look at it it looks pretty feasible if only the powers that be would go for it.

 

[Shad Kline]

If there was enough push, they would go for it.

That's how everything else has happened so far, the coaches/supt's pushed for it. If not for the pushing, we would still be competing against schools twice our size in basketball and track. Now we just need them to follow suit in baseball.

 

[Dogface]

If there was enough push, they would go for it.

That's how everything else has happened so far, the coaches/supt's pushed for it. If not for the pushing, we would still be competing against schools twice our size in basketball and track. Now we just need them to follow suit in baseball.

Good Point!!

 

[Caprock kid]

But is there that much support for the baseball programs in the small schools? There are some towns like Garden city that will say they will never play baseball because it takes away from Track. And some times it's left up to the parents and kids to push for a baseball program.

 

[ryry]

W3 Ira vs R2 Miles
Game 1 Thursday, May 8 @ Foster Field (San Angelo), 5:30 PM
Game 2 Saturday, May 10 @ Brownwood, 6:30 PM
Game 3 30 Minutes after Game 2



W15 Muenster vs R14 Milford
Game 1 Thursday, May 8 @ Joshua HS, 7:30 PM
Game 2 Saturday, May 10 @ Kennedale, 5:00 PM
Game 3 30 Minutes after Game 2


Good luck to our SIXMAN TEAMS!!!