Consider going west to play & Great job Lasers 10U

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First, a quick congratulations to the 10U Lady Lasers Red team for winning
the Monster Mash in Indianapolis this past weekend (6-1 record) against some
real stiff competition.

All Ohio teams should consider a trip west and play in Indiana, especially
the younger age brackets. Many Indiana organizations start at 8U making for
a very experienced competitive teams at 10U. Both Indy and Ft. Wayne have
indoor facilities and have multiple tourneys over the winter season. In
fact, the 10U Lasers plan to go to the Ft. Wayne Dome November 21 - 23 and
again, many good teams have signed up. I am told there are a handful of
spots still open. If you are looking for good competition to sharpen your
team's skills you may want to consider a trip west.

Good Luck Laser at the Dome!!!
But no more chanting OH...IO! I want to return to Ohio alive.

 

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Congrats to the lasers 10U! Thanks for the tip on playing west of Ohio. I will pass this to our 10U teams for future reference. We have a very commited group of players, coaches and parents at our 10U level that are always looking to be challenged.

thanks again and good luck in 2009.

 

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TRB....I have been accused in my last post not being up to par and "boring" so I put a bit more thought into this one...First TRB, congrats on the win in Hoosier town.

Couple of considerations and my personal perceptions on my last visit to Indy:

Competition...powerhouse teams are/were in the mix. As you noted above, it is evident they start the girls in softball fundamentals early out there! Bring your "A" game or don't go! In addition to powerhouse teams, it always makes for good drama when you mix in a potential "Danny Almonte" type of controversy:

http://wcbstv.com/classic/danny.almonte.little.2.246994.html

Is that a 12U or 14U team we are playing today??


Scheduling....Rough. For you out of towners....don't look for any favors from the scheduling committee as your team may have to play Friday with turnaround game Sat morning......one of those be at the park before sunrise on Sat morning.

If lucky enough to get to a championship game on Sunday...plan on stopping early during the trek back home for coffee. Note to self....remember to mix in that Monday vacation day in addition to the Friday already taken off...arriving home after 1:00am and answering the bell at 6am for work makes for a long Monday.


Facilities....at least where I was at, the facilities were very nice. I have not been to any other ball parks where beer was actually served!

In addition, unlike some of the typical tournament threads I have seen, it appears all restrooms did have adequate supplies of toilet paper....guess the $12 entry fee per adult for the entire weekend buys one access to bathrooms with paper.

Beer at concession stand and toilet paper in the bathrooms.....people will come!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__X7ybW9Ljg&feature=related


Community/People....community restaurants and staff were very helpful and accommodating. Even went to a sports bar one evening and was welcomed with open arms in spite of clearly being "not-from around here - huh?"

Drive.....long. Something to think about/ponder as you drive....where else could you be going to as opposed to driving to suburban Indianapolis? A five hour drive puts me more than half way to Hilton Head. Enough said.


Pride - As far as you noting the OH...IO chant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFipJiQiw1k

unfortunately I am not sure this can really be avoided. Given some of the adversity you faced, I reckon it is OK to have some Ohio pride burst out.

Was it inappropriate to yell "U" "S" "A" as the hockey team fought the Russians?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTev5pSuYLk

I think not!


Good day

 

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Hey TRB - Sent ya a PM there buddy!

 

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Hillbilly - Sent you a PM


JC70 - Regarding your Danny Almonte comment;
If I understand the "national bid" method correctly this is crazy...
How can a team qualify for next years 09 national event this fall with 2008 players, thus some kids would be ineligible for 09 at that age bracket? Change to 2009 players (correct ages for 2009) and qualify for the national event.

Can someone set me straight or am I just crazy?

 

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TRB Dude,

Not sure on how that bid process works to the big dance!!!

Since you asked about your mental state and since we are talking about Indiana, I could not resist.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anvq9r0m5EM

That Dude is CRAZY!!! My guess is you are fine in comparison!!

Good day!!

 

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Hillbilly - Sent you a PM


JC70 - Regarding your Danny Almonte comment;
If I understand the "national bid" method correctly this is crazy...
How can a team qualify for next years 09 national event this fall with 2008 players, thus some kids would be ineligible for 09 at that age bracket? Change to 2009 players (correct ages for 2009) and qualify for the national event.

Can someone set me straight or am I just crazy?

Love the Hockey reference..... I have the movie (miracle on Ice), maybe I will show it to the team some rainy Saturday.... As for the national bid issue.... still waiting on a rational explanation!

 

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[countdown=11/21/2008 6:00 PM]The Ft. Wayne Dome Tourney![/countdown]
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Doesn't all associations 2009 seasons start on August 1st, 2008.

 

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Doesn't all associations 2009 seasons start on August 1st, 2008.

I naively thought so... I would like to clearly know the rules if someone could help.

But the specific situation was clear:
A team was playing with 2008 players in an October tourney(thus many would have to move up to 11U for the 2009 season) and they were playing in a 2009 National qualifier for 10U.

It was said (not verified) that they were allowed to pass the bid down to next years 10u team...