SoCal Beat the Heat

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The top SoCal contenders for ASA/USA Nats (Grade A), Firecrackers 98 Brashear and Victory USA 98, are playing up in 14u this weekend and none of the current B+ teams are entered.

Here is ranking info on the teams in their pool:

Interesting ranking system... how is this done out there? Where is the ranking maintained?

I have a question that may be too subjective - but what is the 'gap' between the 'B+, A' teams out there and the 'B' teams? How wide and due to mainly what? Pitching? Team size? give us your thoughts on that...

 

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SoCal Dad:

Much as we love you for the contributions you make to OFC, I'm afraid that 100's of thumbs will be rubbed against index fingers this morning as the Ohio fastpitch community serenades you with tiny violins playing "My Heart Bleeds for You". Lasers Red didn't bring anything out there this past weekend that compares to Ohio's weather for Friday through Sunday. For God's sake, you guys COMPLETED a full tournament. And given the forecast, damp, musty Ohio will only get worse this week.

Does make for nice mushroom hunting, however.

I know - my comments were tongue in cheek... I hope things improve out there so the high schools can play their league games.

BTW, it's clear and 56 this morning at 7am with a projected high of 74. Wednesday's forecast is 84!

 

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SoCal Dad, was that the 12U Batbusters that lost in the 14U finals to the Firecrackers?

That was a 14u team, OCBB McNee. The team was put together last summer with a bunch of players/coaches from a few top 12u teams including the ASA/USA 12u champs, OCBB Ray.

The 12u teams that played up in 14u were the top 2 - Firecrackers Brashear and Victory USA. FC won their pool and finished tied for 5th. Victory took 2nd in their pool and didn't play on Sunday.

 

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Great job Lasers!!!

 

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Interesting ranking system... how is this done out there? Where is the ranking maintained?

I have a question that may be too subjective - but what is the 'gap' between the 'B+, A' teams out there and the 'B' teams? How wide and due to mainly what? Pitching? Team size? give us your thoughts on that...

Bracketologist runs the rankings for 12u (2011 12u) and 14u (2011 14u). He ranks them during the Fall/Winter and then uses a coaches' poll during the Spring.

Bracky does the grades based on several key factors (e.g. pitching, defense, offense, depth) and it indicates the team's chances at nationals. Here is his explanation.

The important component is the Teams grade (A, B+ & B) and not their ranking. At this point rankings and grades are projections for Spring. However, in 14u the teams identified as A in fall are typically still A?s in spring. The hard fact of 14u is that in 2008, 2009 & 2010 the So Cal teams in the championship game at nationals were ranked in the top 3 in the last poll.

A?s ? Have the ability to win three consecutive games against other A or B+ rated teams at a major tournament (i.e., State, Nationals, Fresno etc). A?s are playing for the big prize ?ASA Nationals?. To be ranked as a solid A Team, a team must have the ability to beat all of the other A Teams - as demonstrated by wins in tournament bracket play and not friendlies. Not one but all!

B+ Teams ? Have the ability to win the big prize at ASA Nationals if a few things break their way (i.e., don?t have to beat two A teams in consecutive games). B+ teams will beat A teams in tournaments, they just lack the ability to beat all of the A teams! To be ranked a B+ team, a team must have the ability to beat all of the other B+ teams.

B Teams ? Can only win ASA Nationals if they get hot and they get lucky (i.e., a great draw)! Let's change this - a B Team has never placed in the top 4 at Nationals. They can beat A teams in friendlies but struggle beating them in tournaments. B teams can and will eliminate B+ Teams but they would be hard press to win a tournament that requires them to beat three B+ Teams in a row!

C+ Teams ? The goal is to qualify for ASA Nationals. These are usually top 10-20 teams that will play the B+ teams closely and beat B Teams in significant tournaments.

 

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It would be interesting to see his scale of teams here in Ohio.

 

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Would not be to bad if you started with Lasers Red as the starting point and go from there. I think the issue with teams here would depth more than anything.

 

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Posted by TeamRawlings98 on another board:

Thanks to So Cal's Finest for putting on a great tournament. We also want to thank the Lady Lasers for making the trip and giving us a hard fought 2-1 seven inning game. Great game!!!

On a side note, we lost a bucket of balls with a red and white Worth catchers mit on Saturday at the Winchester fields. If found please call coach Bart at 714-657-8460.

 

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Would not be to bad if you started with Lasers Red as the starting point and go from there. I think the issue with teams here would depth more than anything.

I agree about Lasers Red and the depth issue. You look at teams out west and in the south and a lot of them carry 12-16 players. And it doesn't matter what age group. If Red is the starting point, where do the teams fall in from there???

 

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Maybe grade them like USDA beef. Prime, Choice, Select, and Standard.

 

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Lasers Red to me would be an easy "B+", depth for a week long run at ASA would be the limiting factor. I think they have 11 girls now they have 13+ then could see them being an "A". The rest of the "top" teams in Ohio to me right now in the 12u age group would be "C" the main reason I say that again is depth and alot of those teams have a few new girls who do not have alot of dirt time together yet. I think a good goal for these teams would be to improve and go to ASA Nationals and do some damage and get that top flight game experience. Then some could be upgraded to "B" and build from there.

Also from what I hear Lasers Grey could be a "B" team have not seen them play yet but will get a chance to do so at the Dangerzone tournment in a month or so. Heard they did very well down in Georgia a few weeks ago.

 

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SoCal :: First off "thank you" for all the info and insight you give us about the west. Question : How many days a week do the teams out west practice together? A, B+ type squads. How many on these type teams have specialized training? weekly (excluding pitchers) 10 u , 12 u , 14 u

 

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SoCal :: ... Question : How many days a week do the teams out west practice together? A, B+ type squads. How many on these type teams have specialized training? weekly (excluding pitchers) 10 u , 12 u , 14 u

It obviously varies by team and it also changes as the girls get older. Generally speaking, the younger teams (10-12u) do more as a team and the older teams (12u-14u) do more individually because the girls are working more with specialists and they come from a wider area. When our team was 11-12u, they practiced together 2-3 days a week - Wed 3hr practice, Fri 2hr cages/conditioning and Sat 4hr practice. As 14u, they discontinued the cages/conditioning because the girls were working out with professional trainers and specialty instructors. Some teams with a lot of players from out of the area only practice on Saturday and spend most of it working on defense.

It is extremely competitive to first make it onto a top team and then to get playing time with the larger rosters, so the girls do a lot on their own. I'd say all of the girls are doing some sort of weekly specialized training (hitting or pitching) and most are doing multiple (catching, fielding, speed/strength).

The players on the better teams spend a lot more time preparing to play than actually playing.