Queen of Diamonds North...

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A couple of comments about the pitching addressing softball4years, anothersmom, and sid, the stats of many are over inflated and thats what gets them in. Depends on the radar gun too! Why lie when you know they can gun you. Why over inflate be honest. Being honest you have to plead your case? SAD very sad. Maybe the selection process needs to be altered. I noticed there were several freshman pitchers selected and the ONE freshman was awesome A RARE HAPPENING at that age. Did they college coaches really look at the freshman pitchers NO. Pitching speed is only part of the package; pitching selction and refined pitching with movement and location is far more effective and successful as anothersmom noted. Equate the cost and the value. Truthfully the QDSN and S should be selective to juniors and seniors unless you are really outstanding and if so show me the goods first. Funny how 43 ft changes things, funny how many that were not selected for being honest would have made an impressive showing. I did speak to a coach and he did comment that he has some disappointment not seeing some girls there that for sure he expected them to be but had heard otherwise they were selected but declined. Just opinion, not raining on the parade.

 

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I agree, spike. It seems upperclassmen should be given preference over freshmen for this college showcase. Yes, the phenom freshman pitcher will get on the radar, and others will use this as a "practice" session. But I also know of very good junior pitchers who didn't get in for past years, when freshmen were taken. But it's tough to select based on paper (and, of course, it's not all paper - if the name/rep is known, that certainly helps).

If the numbers are to be believed, an incredible number of players don't make the cut for this showcase. And, of course, all cup players who want to come are in no matter what.

 

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Speed is definitely overrated, but I understand why it's such a big topic on here since from what I'm told it's what gets you in to the showcase. I saw 4 of the 6 pitchers mentioned above throw and will say that Chelsea Ponce threw hard but was very wild. Probably wild enough to be effective. I believe she was from MD. She was a freshman/sopohmore (pink tag), but once she gets her pitches under control, she should be a tough pitcher. Erin Gabriel and Megan Flenniken were the two pitchers that very much impressed me. Both had speed AND movement - one without the other doesn't do you much good once you get 16u (or 14u for that matter at top level tournaments). Erin and Megan are the real deal IMO. Several college coaches I had talked to were only looking at 2011 grads so I don't think limiting the showcase to just juniors and seniors would be a great solution either. On a sidenote, I saw a girl throwing about 48MPH (no kidding!) as a fastball and her change was about 35ish (neither registered on the gun since it was under 50). I looked up her profile and no speed was mentioned. Thought that was really interesting b/c there was no movement on the ball either.

But oh well - it was a really great weekend! I really commend Kirt for putting on such a big event that brings so many athletes and coaches together. There was some amazing talent and some big time college coaches all together in one place. It was awesome to speak to the coaches and a lot of fun to see the girls compete!

 

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For those considering attending that have D1 aspirations....

Save your money, get on a gold team! Event has turned into a big moneymaker. The players on the field teams averaged 5 ab for the weekend.

Two 50 min drop dead game times on the fields, what a joke!

It is a NAIA exposure tournament. I can count on 2 hands of D1 schools that attended. I saw 2 major conference schools.

 

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Travel-- You know how many kids are actually going to play D-1? not a big percentage 3-5% of all the girls playing. There were quite a few D-1 coaches and all others were and have been represented very well. You can't play gold for 225 dollars. It also is more about the tools they learn on how to market themselves, which is a bigger take away and the process works very well and gives the ladies confidence in how to talk and communicate with coaches.

Have done it with three DD's now and would recommend it to anyone who asks.

Just one's opinion

 

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I was impressed with the organization of the QDSN event, however, I won't participate in it again given the subjectivity of the selection process, the format of games and the limited number of at bats. That said, there were quite a few college coaches there, albeit more D2, D3, NAIA than D1.

I felt the Kent camp prior to the showcase had more coaches in attendance than the actual showcase did. It also allowed for some personal attention from coaches that I know my dd really liked.

After this experience, I felt if your dd has a workable "list" of schools she's serious about, then it would be better to go to the clinics those schools offer as opposed to this particular showcase event. JMO

But all in all, my dd learned a lot from it, met some great players, and had a good team experience. Kirt's heart and dedication certainly cannot be called into question. The guy works hard.

 

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For those considering attending that have D1 aspirations....

Save your money, get on a gold team! Event has turned into a big moneymaker. The players on the field teams averaged 5 ab for the weekend.

Two 50 min drop dead game times on the fields, what a joke!

It is a NAIA exposure tournament. I can count on 2 hands of D1 schools that attended. I saw 2 major conference schools.

In response to travelcoach11...I have to disagree! You buy concentrated detergent because you can get more loads out of it right? Events like the QDSS and QDSN offer an opportunity to get a concentrated amount of coaches and elite players at one venue. These coaches can pinpoint talent very quickly so the 50 minute games achieves two things 1) it allows for more girls to participate in the event 2) it allows colleges to see more games (players). Our team played in mainly "college exposure" tournaments last year...big ones! I can tell you that Kirts events draw ALOT more collegiate interest...schools that actually take alot of players from this area. The 2009 QDSN was the first one we have applied for so I do not know how many D1 schools were in attendance...too busy watching my DD play to count them. You say you could count the D1's on two hands...where else are you going to get so many D1, D2, D3 and NAIA schools in one building? My daughter is a Junior and we have received correspondence from schools in all divisions expressing interest in her after seeing her play there...isnt that why we want to attend these things? You say this has turned into a "moneymaker"? Do you see how much time, effort and energy must go into making this thing happen? We are fotunate to have someone like Kirt doing this...someone who does this for the sake of creating OPPORTUNITY for the GIRLS!!!

Coach Sonny

 

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travelcoach11, I have to disagree as well. I know we live in western pa, thus we have no true gold teams there. Plus just because someone is on a "gold" team, that doesn't mean they should be there. I saw a lot of schools at a lot of different levels. I know for a fact I saw more schools there than I thought I would. Sure its no Pennsbury, it terms of coaches, but it was a lot better than a lot of your so called "showcase" tournaments.

As for D1's there where some there, plenty of DII's. It was a great event overall, where else can you get that many people together on the first of January.

 

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Comment on speed over the weekend:

I was just wondering how many pitchers participated in the Kent State Showcase and how many sessions did they participate in.

Below was the schedule for the two pitchers that I knew that participated in both showcases.

Pitching session was 1 hour long then took a 15 minute break and then participated in the hitting session for 1 hour and 30 minutes and then another 15 minute break and then participated in another 1 hour and 30 minutes of fielding before getting a small break to participate in the Queen of Diamond showcase.
I would believe that after working hard for four hours that if I was a pitcher my speed might have been affected (no legs = no speed).

Also there were three of the four pitchers in the last game (Team 2 vs Team 6) on Sunday on field 2 that was throwing in the range of 57 to 61 with the left hander on team 2 topping out at 62 mph. Every pitch is not a fast ball.

Below are all four pitchers that were involved in the game:

Team #2
Jordyn Fisherback
Geena Badolato (lefty)

Team #6
Britt Koshofer
Stacey Ladd

 

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Heat man...

I heard the same thing from a couple of others. One girl had pitched two games Friday at CSU before going to the camp session and showcase. The other said the camp hour and a half was pretty intense. She also did the hitting and defensive sessions.

I think they both felt the camp session was more important than the actual Queen of Diamonds games on Saturday because of who was watching and how it was structured. Needless to say, they were tired. They both bounced back pretty well Sunday.

 

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Every pitch is not a fast ball.

Best comment on this thread lol, couldnt agree more

 

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Just my take on the pitching speed. I was suprised with the lack of speed. My DD pitches and has been clock as high as 62mph at 40ft. With that being said I personally have never clock my DD with a reliable gun. That seed I quoted you was given to me by some guy that clocked her with a Jugs gun at one of her HS games. I think it was against our rival. I do believe many speeds were inflated- even at 40ft. I had one dad whos DD pitched on another team (out of state)that faced my DD in a field game tell me his DD pitches 61-65mph. In our game I never saw her throw 1 pitch over 55mph. He felt the gun was off ( he felt it could be off 10mph). If thats the case my DD would have been throwing 68mph that game. :lmao:

Last weekend she had to pitch from 43ft and consistantly threw 56-59. With that being said speed is nice but you have to have movement. In her 2 field games she allowed 0ER and struck out 9 in 5 innings. In her cage game she sruck out 7 of the 12 batters she faced. There was a D1 coach that watched her cage game and my DD received a nice email from the coach on Monday. In a weekend where offence was supreme, my daughter felt she handled herself very well.

I'm sure the speeds that were stated by the field of pitchers were at 40ft not 43ft. It does make a difference. My DD did not like the turf at all felt if she was in dirt would have even did better. But she made it work this weekend. She liked the cage better when it came to her foot work. Which is qute funny because she hates pitching in cages yet she did great in it over the weekend.

We had a great time and would highly recomend this to any player looking to get seen.

 

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They defiinitely worked them hard at the Kent State Camp on Saturday...and it's no kidding about the hour pitching session, with only a five minute break...they pitched their buns off. Many of the kids went on to participate in the outfield, infield, and/or hitting sessions right after, and those sessions ran a solid hour and a half with no break. Watched many DDs stuffing down a quick snack between sessions. During both the infield and outfield sessions the girls moved from drill to drill for the entire time....I know these old bones would have dropped dead after 20 minutes :lmao:.

As for being a QDSN first timer, I was totally impressed with how smoothly things ran. As Hitter said, you certainly can not question Kirt's heart and dedication when it comes to promoting the girls. Sure, people will always have their opinions about "how things should have been or could be better", but bottomline, there was a ton of talent, a ton of coaches (regardless of division), and lots of smiles.... everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. For those who feel it isn't worth the money, you certainly have a right to your opinion...we all see value in different things.....for those that feel the selection process is subjective, well it is, and I'm not sure there's truly anyway around that as long as humans are doing the selecting (and filling out the applications). It's like anything else in life, sometimes it's "being in the right place at the right time", "who you know", or "just dumb luck", but regardless, the QDSN serves a positive purpose and for those who chose to participate, a weekend of fond memories.

 

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Well stated Lon. I didn't even think about the camp portion fatigue setting in and I even talked to one of my one DD's dad about that who was there specifically for the camp only. I thought she was there for pitching and was talking with him about how hard they work the pitchers in the camp portion, until he said she wasn't there as a pitcher that day. But those poor girls do throw almost non stop during it and could affect speed some I am sure.

I can't complain about the selection process as our three have been in each time they have applied, but the process in itself cannot be easy.

But there is no one person in the state of Ohio doing more to get girls seen in the numbers that Kirt and his crew do Bar none...

 

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Had had two pitchers go to just the camp portion while an addtional two participated in all events. On Sunday at our team practice both pitchers said they were very tired on Saturday morning from all of the pitching at the camp. However, they also both felt it was beneficial.

My two girls that played in the Queen of Diamonds both came away having preformed very well. For my first time of having attended the event and only as a summer coach observing my players, I was pleased with the event and the exposure it is providing the players.

 

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This event is about exposure and absolutely no one can deny that there was planty of that. There were college coaches everywhere. All divisions and levels. Coaches can tell if a player will "fit" into their program just by watching a few at bats. You have to grab their attention, then they come and watch again, maybe at a tournament in the summer. THat is how you get on the proverbial "radar."

I thought there were planty of coaches at the Kent State camp as well as the showcase.

Here is a very incomplete list of coaches that we saw during the weekend:

Toledo, Akron, Butler, Ohio U, Dayton, Wright State, Cleveland State, Youngstown state, IUPUI, Eastern Michigan, BGSU, George Mason, Virginia Tech, Ohio Weslyan, Wittenburg, Urbana University, Western Michigan, Muskingum, Thomas More, Bethany, Adrian, U california, Pennsylvania, Hiram, ODU, MVNC, Morehead State, Bluffton, Mount Saint Joseph, Tiffin, Heidleberg, Defiance, Malone, Kent State (obviously..), ..These are just the ones that we noticed or were pointed out.

The only 2 Division I schools from Ohio that were missing ......Miami U and OSU.

You defiantely get what you pay for...and I can honestly tell you that we would do it again and again. The exposure was worth EVERY penny!

 

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DD heard back from coach at Miami U. She would rather her go to her camp and clinic where she could evaluate her skills better than at QDSN. We were going to her camp anyway. I agree the Queen of Diamonds is excellent to put someone on their radar. DD has gotten emails from coaches expressing interest already though from the QDSN. I think it was well worth the money and time spent. She had a young lady from Canada on her team who gave everyone on her team a note and a magnet with the Canadian flag on it. The note just was a small way of encouragement. Very nice gesture.

 

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Speed is definitely overrated, but I understand why it's such a big topic on here since from what I'm told it's what gets you in to the showcase. I saw 4 of the 6 pitchers mentioned above throw and will say that Chelsea Ponce threw hard but was very wild. Probably wild enough to be effective. I believe she was from MD. She was a freshman/sopohmore (pink tag), but once she gets her pitches under control, she should be a tough pitcher. Erin Gabriel and Megan Flenniken were the two pitchers that very much impressed me. Both had speed AND movement - one without the other doesn't do you much good once you get 16u (or 14u for that matter at top level tournaments). Erin and Megan are the real deal IMO. Several college coaches I had talked to were only looking at 2011 grads so I don't think limiting the showcase to just juniors and seniors would be a great solution either. On a sidenote, I saw a girl throwing about 48MPH (no kidding!) as a fastball and her change was about 35ish (neither registered on the gun since it was under 50). I looked up her profile and no speed was mentioned. Thought that was really interesting b/c there was no movement on the ball either.

But oh well - it was a really great weekend! I really commend Kirt for putting on such a big event that brings so many athletes and coaches together. There was some amazing talent and some big time college coaches all together in one place. It was awesome to speak to the coaches and a lot of fun to see the girls compete!

Chelsea Ponce is a junior. The girls inflate their stats because that is what the selection process encourages.

 

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Well worth the $. Tons of exposure. I felt like I had met some real fastpitch junkies, but Kirt tops 'em all. The energy he puts into educating the QDSN participants & their parents/coaches is unmatched. You can tell he loves the game & is dedicated to the players' cause to use softball to improve themselves & get a great education.

Thank you Kirt.

Kirk Lowery, President
Central Ohio Ice

 

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I heard the problem was falsification on applicants vs. actual pitching speeds and pitches that could hit the marks. This has created alot of mixed feelings for those than do it and those who wish they could.