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There are two types of tournaments in the Stars of Tomorrow — the classic and the closed. But what, exactly, is the difference?
Let’s let Rick Czeczok, tournament director, explain.
“The closed tournaments are teams who have played each other all summer, then they come once again to the closed,” Czeczok said.
“The classics are the smaller of the two. You have higher teams. They’re built up, all-star teams. They usually draw a few less.”
A few years ago, the classic tournaments were referred to as open tournaments. But Czeczok said the terminology turned people away, and the change was to eliminate the stigma of an open tournament.
“The level of playing is the key difference,” Czeczok said. “In the 14-and-under classic, because kids have gotten so big, we have actually taken it to high school rules now. That’s the caliber of teams you get in those tournaments.”
Teams entering the classic tournaments can recruit kids from other teams and cities to build up what Czeczok refers to as “all star teams.” On the other end of the spectrum, many other teams keep the lineup they’ve had all season entering in both the closed and classic tournaments.
While the caliber is commonly accepted as the major difference, Czeczok thinks it’s actually much closer than what most people think. For while teams entering the classic may be stacked with a variety of high-quality players from different teams or cities, it’s hard to be a uniformed team if you haven’t played together, Czeczok said.
But in the end, the tournaments may be more similar than different after all.
“I really don’t think of it as that significant of a difference. Local teams take both closed and classic tournaments. I’ve seen out of town teams come and take both of them,” Czeczok said. “I’ve seen teams come in where they’ll come into the closed and burn out, but come into the classic and do great.
“Everybody has a chance in taking it, it’s just who has the heart and the soul to go out and do it.”
