Many league members are beginning to think of tournament teams for 2007. The SAMSBL has given tremendous support to national tournaments. The projection for this
year is another 13 teams will travel to Phoenix or Florida in October and November. Generally, a player's word has kept him from being recruited from one team to
another. In recent years, some teams have voluntarily swapped players among themselves to have a better mix of talent and personalities. As the SAMSBL gains more
experience and exposure on the national scene, more of our league members would like to participate in the efforts. Our league success over the last 5 years brings
us to the doorstep of a good problem to have--keeping our good players from being recruited to another local tournament team.
The solution is simple. Each tournament manager is to have a player sign a commitment statement:
I, (name of player), agree to play for tournament manager, (name), for the year 2007 wherever the tournament team decides to participate. The statement should be
signed each year, the earlier the better if you want to build a stout team.
Should a player sign such an agreement, then he must be released by the tournament manager to participate with another tournament team, including different age
brackets. In the absence of such a statement, that player can be recruited by any other tournament manager or player anytime during the year.
The SAMSBL encourages all its members to taste the sweetness of regional and national tournaments throughout the country. It does take time to build a competitive
group of like-minded personalities and talents. Some conflicts and hurt feelings do develop along the way. For 2007, all tournament managers need to be getting
the statement signed or at least ensuring his teammates will continue with him. The costs of these tournaments are high enough that no one wants to waste money
simply to go and not be able to compete. We have over 300 players who are experienced tournament players and understand the need to take a quality group to compete
with the rest of the nation. The SAMSBL is unique in that respect; we have enough talent to fill these 13 (or more) teams that will be very competitve. And that
is what makes it all fun--being able to compete against any opponent we face.
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