Question about the depth of softball in Ohio

[DoubleTheFun]

I know there was a girl out of Avon from the Outlaws (Belvy I think is her name) but thought she was an infielder - Not sure who the pitcher was

Maybe the reference was to Erin Gabriel, 2012 grad from Poland Seminary HS, 2016 grad from Tennessee.

BTW, here is a link to a nice article on Erin:

http://www.vindy.com/news/2016/jun/16/last-ball/?print

 

[cobb_of_fury]

Maybe the reference was to Erin Gabriel, 2012 grad from Poland Seminary HS, 2016 grad from Tennessee.

BTW, here is a link to a nice article on Erin:

http://www.vindy.com/news/2016/jun/16/last-ball/?print

Did not realize Gabriel was from Poland - Saw her play a few times did not realize - Very Cool

 

[DoubleTheFun]

Sure our Travel Teams are watered down but we are now placing pitchers at Tennessee. I contend that we are providing more opportunities to these kids with vastly better coaching, instruction and facilities than even a decade ago. The base of good players is much broader and deeper just spread over more travel teams and we are producing extraordinary players on a regular basis.

I agree Fairman...the overall quantity (travel teams, organizations, coaches, private instructors, facilities) seems to have increased which IMO is good for the sport. It is also good that there are multiple levels and choices from rec on up to the highest level of competition. There really should be an option for everyone that wants to play regardless of the competition level. As far as the travel scene being watered down, it seems as though there always has been and always will be a sorting process for teams to figure out where they fit and players to figure out where they stack up compared to where they want to be.

I see increased quantity as a good thing, and with quality instruction, hard work, a good parental support structure, and all the other intangibles, the cream will rise to the top and those are the extraordinary players.

 

[manitoudan]

I thought the guy meant someone new .

 

[Laserleader]

Someone mentioned Autumn Belviy. I thought it might be helpful to add some information. Autumn Belviy started playing for the Ohio Lasers White 02 team in August of 2014. She went to a University of Tennessee camp in the summer of 2015. They liked her and asked her to come back to another camp. She attended one in December of 2015. That is when they made her an offer. She accepted it. She played well for our team, she came to my batting cage at times, she went to Gary Saunders (who coaches our 16+U Lasers Orange) for batting lessons, I gave her suggestions at various times and before the camp when Tennessee made her an offer. I think one of the main keys to Tennessee being interested in her is her athleticism. She is tall, fast, can bunt for a hit, slap, and hit for power. She mostly played Third base and Outfield for us. She has played about every position for travel ball or for school. I was not surprised when Tennessee made her an offer. Her family left our team in about March of 2016 and shortly after that they moved to Tennessee (they had told us that they were going to be moving there).

 

[kelbot]

There are more roster spots than quality players. But I think that is a positive. They need reps. This scenario plays to that. It's hard to reach maximum potential with minimum reps. More teams, more games, more reps. It might be harder to put together a great bottom end of a roster, but if the end game is player development, it's a positive.

It reminds me a little of college football. There will be a star quarterback at a lesser program. The announcers will explain that this kid had offers from all the big schools but they wanted him to play defensive back and he thought of himself as a quarterback. He went to the program where he got the most/best opportunity. Just replace quarterback with pitcher, ha.

 

[coachtomv]

Someone mentioned Autumn Belviy. I thought it might be helpful to add some information. Autumn Belviy started playing for the Ohio Lasers White 02 team in August of 2014. She went to a University of Tennessee camp in the summer of 2015. They liked her and asked her to come back to another camp. She attended one in December of 2015. That is when they made her an offer. She accepted it. She played well for our team, she came to my batting cage at times, she went to Gary Saunders (who coaches our 16+U Lasers Orange) for batting lessons, I gave her suggestions at various times and before the camp when Tennessee made her an offer. I think one of the main keys to Tennessee being interested in her is her athleticism. She is tall, fast, can bunt for a hit, slap, and hit for power. She mostly played Third base and Outfield for us. She has played about every position for travel ball or for school. I was not surprised when Tennessee made her an offer. Her family left our team in about March of 2016 and shortly after that they moved to Tennessee (they had told us that they were going to be moving there).

Autumn, (we call her "Cali" as she came from California to Ohio), is a unique talent. She is an 02 that recently played on the Outlaws Premier 16u team, played for us on Outlaws Silver at 12u from California, before going to Lasers and looks/plays like she is much older. She is definitely not just an above avg player, an advanced athlete for sure, with an infectious personality and great Military family. Once you meet her and her mom, they leave a lasting positive impression.

As far as the subject of this thread, here is an example of why its good to have opportunities. This player was very good at 12u, but was on a team with several eventual D1 early verbals and maybe did not get the reps she could have on such a deep older team and by moving to another competitive Lasers team, was able to spread her wings and get seen. The more opportunities for girls to grow and be seen, the better. There are definitely levels, but the more teams, the more players, the more development can be had, the more you play the more you are seen, the better for all levels.

 

[311road]

This player was very good at 12u, but was on a team with several eventual D1 early verbals and maybe did not get the reps she could have on such a deep older team and by moving to another competitive Lasers team, was able to spread her wings and get seen. The more opportunities for girls to grow and be seen, the better. There are definitely levels, but the more teams, the more players, the more development can be had, the more you play the more you are seen, the better for all levels.

Along those same lines, a player may adjust better with one style of coaching than with another. Also, one coach may notice potential that another may not. Both coaches could be equally talented but one may help her in a certain situation because that is something specific they watch, while another may be looking at something completely different.

 

[Fairman]

Has anyone looked at the tournament master list posted on this website?

Check it out
http://www.thesoftballzone.com/tournaments/OFCTournament.php

There are so many more tournaments than there were in the good old days. That many tournaments has mean that there is a ton more teams; meaning that there is tremendous opportunities to get those reps in and to get better and better all year long.... .

However it also means that instead of all the studs on a few great teams being in one location this week and another next week there are hundreds of places they might be on any given weekend throughout the entire year. This is really awesome, the number of opportunities that our players have to compete is rather mind-blowing. Where did all those tournaments come from and all year round, who would have thought?