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Yeah I know they are D1, so? What D1 School system are they bigger then? I bet they are one of if not the smallest D1 school system in NWO, yet they appear to have huge numbers in travel ball.
Yeah I know they are D1, so? What D1 School system are they bigger then? I bet they are one of if not the smallest D1 school system in NWO, yet they appear to have huge numbers in travel ball.
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My DD is a freshman this year so i thought I would give it a guess. I would think you go with proven Pitchers.
1) Bowling Green
2) Central Catholic
3) Notre Dame
4) Springfield
5) Anthony Wayne
6) Perrysburg
7) Clay
8) Southview
9) Elmwood
10) Archbold
1) Bowling Green
2) Central Catholic
3) Notre Dame
4) Springfield
5) Anthony Wayne
6) Perrysburg
7) Clay
8) Southview
9) Elmwood
10) Archbold
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one thing about coach gwozdz, he's deeply immersed in the community. he knows almost all of the 7th and 8th grade girls by name and even some 5th and 6th graders. it's not uncommon for him to show up at the local rec park to watch a 10U, or 8U game, just to watch. the best part of it though is that it's all very genuine...there's no alterior motive. the bi-product of all this, is a LOADED farm system because he's intentional about community interest in fastpitch.
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I agree 100%...and I'm from another County.
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All I was saying is it seemed like in the context of the comment that Springfield was this tiny community without a pool of girls to draw from. You are correct, they are one of the smaller DI schools (in the NLL only BG has fewer girls enrolled). Here are the figures of girls enrollment:
Perrysburg: 540
Anthony Wayne: 537
Northview: 476
Southview: 459
Springfield: 433
Bowling Green: 368 (BG is DI by 7 girls)
Figures from OHSAA website.
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To be clear, I meant no disrespect to Springfield or Coach Gwozdz. I have tremendous respect for him. I remember what the Springfield program was like before he took over...He has made a terrific impact for Springfield and for Northwest Ohio softball in general.
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Anyone hear anything about Findlay? I heard they have a couple young players coming in.
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Firefly- don't forget Maumee in the NLL- I believe it now has the smallest girl's enrollment in the NLL with a bit below 350 girls with Rossford gone.
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Also, don't forget about Napoleon in the NLL, which I believe they actually might have the smallest girls enrollment in the NLL with
under 300 girls.
under 300 girls.
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Yes I know the figures, now figure in Whitmer, Waite, Start and Clay and also consider Sylvania as a community not individual schools and there is the point. Springfield is producing a lot players for their size lol. Players per capita.
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Yep, I understand your point now. Earlier I was just thinking "the size of" like Elmwood, Delta, Maumee, etc....smaller communities that aren't division I. But I'm with you now
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I'm not forgetting them, it's just that my post was only dealing with DI schools in the NLL. Napoleon and Maumee are division II.
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Interesting picks and I like that you include your reasons. A little surprised you did not go with BG over Springfield. It seems to me Ackenberger is the top returning pitcher in the NLL. She did pitcher her team past Perrysburg and Anthony Wayne on her way to a district championship. Bre Buck is good, but I'm not sure where you get Freshman pitcher of the year, other than that I think her and the girl from Maumee were the only two freshmen pitching in the NLL last year, then I would give her the nod.
I'm not sure that Seiler has ever been the same since her arm injury...
Anthony Wayne will be interesting...when was the last time they were picked behind 3 other NLL teams?
Perrysburg has much to prove now that Rich and Bryson are no longer on the mound.
Notice I did not give my own picks
I agree, Ackenberger is the top pitcher returning....I picked Springfield because of the back-up support... very solid top to bottom. They lost a couple of seniors but replaced them with very good players. Yes, it was easy to pick Bre as the Freshman pitcher of the year. She is now varsity experienced and very tough emotionally.... saw some games last year that drove me crazy and she handled it well.
AW is always interesting.... can the "baby" George sister come through??? She has the talent, now we will see. Reminds me of when Woods did not pitch until her senior year and then led them to the State championship. (Not trying to compare, Woods is/was very special).
It's sometimes hard for teams to compete when they have not been there and experienced it..... BG has overcome that with Coach Cress and a host of very good players. It will be interesting to see if Maumee can. Let's hope that they can.
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I've noticed doing this poll for 5 or 6 years size of the school has been irrelevant. Archbold, Elmwood, Genoa and Evergreen consistently Recieve votes through out the year, Rossford, BG, Napoleon, woodmore, Start and New Regiel each had a few year run in the top 10.
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I'm hoping this is another year that New Riegel makes an appearance in the top 10. They have a very strong experienced core returning and a couple of freshman that will contribute right away. They will have good speed and should hit all the way through the line up. Last year had a freshman pitcher that is now stronger and more than ready to help lead this team to another winning season as a sophomore.
The way I see it (through my rose colored glasses) if our defense can improve just alittle this could be a very special season.
The way I see it (through my rose colored glasses) if our defense can improve just alittle this could be a very special season.
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In the risk of offending some...including HS coaches, I have come to the realization over the past ten years that good teams, regarless of the school size, are a direct result of the investment by parents.
I am from Elmwood and have organized the Lady Royals middleschool program for the last four years. We usually field three successful teams of 6-8th graders in the FAST spring league. As a DIII school I am annually astonished that our small rural school has a 38% participation rate for spring ball. Let's face it...they don't play because the weather is nice. We have terrific support from parents!
That support carries well beyond getting your child to practice. If you look at summer travel teams from around NW Ohio, you can't help but see ladies from the schools that appear regularly in the top 10. Even as I vote, I rank teams based on talent honed throughout the summer above who returns from last year's team. The dollars that families invest in their children pays tremendous dividends for many HS coaches. That willingness to invest, either derived from culture and tradition or hopes and dreams of the players, drives the success of the better HS programs. The ladies playing on the Elmwood Varsity team from last year represented Smack, Lasers, Ohio Wave, Buckeye Heat, Magic, Wizards and Lady Irish. Of the starting 9....eight played travel ball.
If I am to guess this year's roster, 13 of 14 play summer travel schedules. Time...money...hard work. Elmwood...Genoa...Archbold...they are smaller schools, but the investment of time and dollars will rival any program out there. Can money coupled with sacrificing sweat and ALL of the summer weekends translate into wins...my experience says yes. Or maybe it's me being naive ...we ain't got much else to do out here in the country.
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Even better is high level travel pitching. Syzpka, Kern, Pinkleman, Dauterman, Mattin, Natter, Michaelis etc., that level of pitching can even the playing field in a hurry lol
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I agree 110%! Which again points to time, travel, commitment and dollars. I can not even guess what raising a top level pitcher costs? I do, however, understand the sacrifice required.
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I could tell you, but then no one would let their daughters become pitchers! lol But it was what she wanted to do and we have had a blast watching her develop and realize her dreams of playing at the college, D1 level. Last summer she faced some amazing players/hitters/slappers from all over the country and held her own...so it definitely payed off for her. Maybe she will face Morgan again sometime in the future
Then you, Melissa, Jon and I will just sit back and enjoy the game!:yahoo:
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I could tell you, but then no one would let their daughters become pitchers! lol But it was what she wanted to do and we have had a blast watching her develop and realize her dreams of playing at the college, D1 level. Last summer she faced some amazing players/hitters/slappers from all over the country and held her own...so it definitely payed off for her. Maybe she will face Morgan again sometime in the future
Any time, my friends...any time...game or no game. By May, we are going to have alot to talk about. Enjoy the Senior year! I look forward to seeing you and your family. I would however prefer to see her pitch to Morgan...not against her.
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