Let's Start a New Team!!!!!

It makes sense what the D1 coach told you about hs. There is definitely not enough time or freedom under school association rules to develop the skills needed to play D1 ball. Duh!!! If it wasn't for tb in any state we would definitely be playing at a much lower level. We wouldn't be very competitive internationally, either. But it is well known that there are some high-level hs coaches, also.

 

Marlin, Braves gave you the run down on Impact so I'll just add a couple more bits of information. AP holds not only tournaments, but also pro style showcases for individual players. These have a pro style tryout format and the players are divided up into teams so the recruiters/scouts can evaluate players in game situations. This past fall the combined unsigned senior - underclassman showcase was held at the USA Baseball complex in Cary NC. There were around 300 players (some from as far away as Ohio and NY, but most from the Carolinas and Va.) and a whole bunch of recruiters/pro scouts in attendance. As a matter of fact, I mentioned to some of my baseball friends that it sure would be awesome if the same type event was going on over at the Brooks Park softball complex next door for the softball players and college coaches in our area!
Anyway, you can google Impact Baseball and look around the site to see what it's all about. Some of the stuff requires membership (and fee) to view, but there is still plenty of free stuff so that you can get an idea of what Impact is.

The second thing I'll mention is the showcase teams that AP puts together each year. There is a link to these teams on the Impact website, "The Dirtbags"... and it's worth a look. Andy has a great coaching staff and will field two to three teams each year. These include a 17u team, a 16u team and sometimes a third team within these age groups. It depends on the talent level available that year. He will not have a team that can't hold their own at the Perfect Game/World Wood Bat tournaments in East Cobb, Ga. in the summer and in Ft. Meyers (16u) and Jupiter (17u) Fla. in the fall. There is a 15u team being formed this year also. His goal, with the Dirtbags, is to not just be competitive at these National Showcase tournaments, but to win them! And one other piece of info... the Dirtbags don't have team practices! A kid better be working on his own and come ready to play at each tournament, if he wants to keep wearing the Dirtbag jersey. If he doesn't, AP will send him down the road... now that's true showcase ball.
Does it work? On the Dirtgags site, look at the top of the home page and click on "alumni". I'm proud that my son is listed with the '07's and there are some names there that, if you watch any baseball, you just might recognize... or soon will. What really stands out is the number of former DB's that have gone on to play college or pro ball (about ALL of them!). It is pretty amazing! There are a few other "showcase" organizations based here in NC, the South Charlotte Panthers and the Hurricanes to name a couple, that are the same caliber as the Dirtbags. These are all elite organizations with elite players, most of whom are "homegrown".
This is what softball in NC needs to be striving for!

 

....thanks Gbuddy. Fishman

 

i have coached girls softball when it wasnt fast pitch in n.c. i have coached tournament teams and high school softball. dont know where you got your info, but the high school coaches i am associated with have forgotten more softball that most coaches will ever know. now in stating that yes some are just teachers pulled out there, but i or other experenced coaches can see that and it shows in the scores. take butler for example, in my opinion they would make a good showing at any tournament. may be the coach or may not be, yes those girls loved the game and played on club teams. the problem with some teams with or without daddy ball is KNOWING THE GAME AND HOW TO PLAY IT. some just dont get it, its for the girls 100% and nothing more..

 

...Easy there scowall, you and I both know that Butler as well as the other prominent HS teams up your way are player driven by pure talent and it damn sure helps to have the folks coaching who know the game be it HS or TB.
When you add talented players and a perpetual feeder system of players with a bunch of knowledgable coaches, ( employees of the school or not ) it sums up to very good programs. What Butler, Alex, CC, ND , and others have is interested parents, coaches, parents, and their siblings that are building a future by winning.
"ol fishman is wrong alot, but I don't think I'm wrong in this post.

 

Two things about high school coaches...
First, they have to play with the players available to them, in other words, the kids at that school, at that time. The talent they get can vary greatly year to year, especially at the smaller schools (2-A and 1-A). A good coach at a high school can do more to help a girl improve her game simply because he/she has more "on field" time to work with her (practice and games five days a week for about three months). So though he/she may not get to pick the best players like a travel coach, he/she can have more influence in teaching the basics, as well as the finer points of both individual and team play.
Secondly, when it comes to the players that will be moving on to play college ball, the college coaches, at some point, will talk to the high school coach to find out more about the player. This is part of the recruiting process where the college folks find out about what kind of girl they are recruiting. Academics, team chemistry influence, social factors, responsibility are all things that a high school coach should be more aware of.
The travel coaches and the high school coaches should be on the same side... the player's! They should be in communication with each other and work together to teach, encourage and promote the player they both can help.

Another point, the comment about the travel ball coaches being the factor in a D-I coach being able to "find" players here in NC is a little off. It's the travel/showcase concept that makes players available for the recruiters. This is not a "put down" of the tb coaches, it's just that that statement seems to give more credit to the coaches than should be. Like the old political saying... "it's the economy stupid!" in this situation "it's the players, stupid!" that bring out the college recruiters. Also, I think there might have been a little smoke blowin' going on when that statement was made. The showcase tournaments make it easier and more cost effective for the college coaches to recruit players, but if that coach is dependent on travel ball coaches then that coach probably wouldn't be around very long. I'm sure that the reality is that coach, if he/she is a successful coach, knows about players from all corners of the state and region. A coach has to, their job depends on it. The travel/ showcase events just make it easier.

 

Just to add another note to this post, which by the way I agree with 100%, the reason for college coaches attending travel ball tournments is as stated, plus it is the only time they get to see that number of HS player at one locationn true if the college is local and happen to know a kid, then they may have time to come visit.
But let me also say, during the recruitment process, the college coach will contact the high school coach and get his/her input, let me also say that a hs school coach will give a honest assestment of the players ability, of all the hs coachs I know the one consistent fact is, if a player is or is not a college athletic and a recruiter ask them the question they will give a honest answer,

Which sometimes is not the same as Daddy's

Plus all of the above it is only about three weeks until softball practice starts..
HIGH SCOOL PRACTICE, that is

 

but my main point is dont slam hs coaches, some of them maybe. but thing with starting a team, mine or yours, whoever is that most just dont know the game and the proper way to teach it. Billy Graham once said a student will forget most of what they learned but will never forget a special teacher. thats whaat were her for to teach. i have been in travel ball a long time and have seen some unbelivable things coaches have done, i had my glory in hs and college playing ball, our school has won 3 state championships. i dont need any glory, my girls do its them playing and me teaching. my point being know the rules and the game and PLEASE DO IT FOR THE GIRLS..........its just a damn game that no one is going to get rich off of.

yep we have a great feeder system for the hs, i have often wondered why that is? but in the state we also are very talented and passionate about the game of softball.....

 

...I agree that theres no sense in bashing a HS coach or for that matter any coach. If a parent has a problem with a coach or, say a math teacher, then slinging snot about how that teacher/coach is "failing" won't help a kid whatsoever.
If a parent has some concerns, they should express them privately and with respect.

 

what a refeshing thought

Mike...you are the man! I just about fell over when I read this.

From my experience the big problem with Daddy Ball are usually the Dad's. If their girl makes a mistake they will usually work harder with them in practice then the other girls. Let them bat at the top of the line up all the time. They come first and everyone else is second. And these Dad's either do not realize how that affects the team overall, or they do not care as long as they can build a team around them. If a coaching Dad tells you they are into developing girls what they usually mean is that they are usually into developing their own girls. And if they have the kind of parent or girl who knows the difference they can tell by the types of practices they hold and how they treat the other girls during tournaments. I do not have a problem with a Dad coaching his daughter or a team, as long as he is fair about. But what is fair?

My daughter has been taking lessons for almost two years. She knows more about her hitting techniques than most of the coaches she has either played for or practiced for, and has to humor them when they tell her something she knows better. She is not a superstar talent, but her hard work and dedication, and instructor will get her where she wants to be faster than the travel ball coaching she gets.

Her instructor tells me all the time about FREE coaching clinics that teach the kinds of techniques taught by Mike Candrea of TEAM USA and Arizona, and others, and they never see any coaches from the Triangle area there. And what I find even more amazing is the parents who spend the money for their kids to play having no idea if the coach knows what the H#@l he is doing.

If people look hard enough to find a coach who knows how to develop girls and not just coach superstars, they will have found a coach. But if they do not know the difference let me know and I can indroduce them to a coach who can educate them.

It's amazing. The cost of travel ball and you'd think that parents would not just throw their money away just to be on a team. If your daughter is going to ride the bench her coach should be paying for it.