Stingrays Fall Showcase was great!! How did you do?

[luvthegame99]

I know teams don't actually post scores due to the showcase format but I'm still curious how everyone did anyway... I'm sure there are other's curious too!! It's ok to be proud of your team!! Also how did the 01's fair against the big girls, chime in!!

I gotta give props to Lasers Orange 00 for going 5-0 on the weekend!

 

[HITTER23]

 

[luvthegame99]

How did you do hitter?? Or did Judge Judy say it all lol??

 

[TheTruth99]

I'm not sure if it really matters if you win or lose at these events. It's about getting the kids exposure and that will show over time if it was a success not in win or a loss in a meaningless game. Remember it's about the girls in these events and not our ego's. Even though some coaches and parents make it about themselves which is truly a shame! JMHO

 

[brownsfan]

When it's a showcase who cares on how a team did. If Coach Pat wants to see little Suzi play 3rd and she's never played 3rd before....it's going to affect the game. Maybe Coach Pat wanted to put her in a position she wasn't comfortable in to see how she would react.

So you want to know how Hitter23's team did? My dd plays for him and apparently well enough to blow up our parent emails with college invites to camps. Why? Because he was working his tail off talking to those coaches instead of standing on 3rd base trying to win a game. Isn't that what a showcase is about?

 

[KillingMeSmalls]

Whether or not you win or lose in a true showcase format is really irrelevant. These events are all about exposure for the player and that usually means everyone bats, players move around in the field from inning to inning, and many pitchers rarely throw more than just a few innings. As somebody whose daughter has gone through these events previously, I love them for the reasons mentioned above. We have even played extra innings because a College Coach requested to see a more game situations for some players.

If you go 5-0, or 0-5, congrats either way; but the real winner are the players who get the chance to play in front of the Coaches

 

[luvthegame99]

Whoa!!! You guys take this serious... Last time I checked even the pro's don't make a whole lot of scratch playing this game... I think maybe you take it a lil more serious then you lead on folks... It's not the girls responding negatively to a question its some parents... Take a chill pill people.. You sound like the bully squad!! No wonder people are afraid to post anything on here in reference to there team or how well they played... They get attacked!!! And why??? When it comes down to it you seem to be making a big deal out of nothing... How about I give you a tip... Softball is for fun... Not egotistical dads or organization presidents who make a living off of those egotistical parents lmao!!! It's for fun, competition, and the girls on the field playing the game... I'm happy your email is blowing up with college coaches dude but I'll give you another "tip" or at least my view. My dd won't be choosing a school based on softball or a specific coach of a university... Keep this in mind my friend, your dd's better chose a school she likes for the school... If she choses a school and during her first week on campus she has a career ending injury or that softball coach you loved leaves for another program your dd is stuck at that school for the next 4 most important years of her life.... So you better make sure she likes the school for the school!!! This softball stuff is over before you know it!! I've been through it my friends... Your putting a little to much stock in softball and taking it a little to serious... My guess is most of our dd's will be in that 99% of NCAA athletes that go pro in something else besides softball... So chill'lax and enjoy the ride it flys by faster then you know my friends!! Let's keep it real, the real success comes in when our dd's are able to do what they want to do as a profession/career for the rest of their lives... Thats real success my friend... How many people get to wake up every day and love what they do for a living?? whether it be a schoolteacher, a scientist, an orthodontist, or whatever their chosen field is. whatever they do we want them to love what they do for the rest of their lives.. Not having to depend on no one but themselves.. Becoming a woman and a true professional spells success... And I will say it's probably not going to be in softball folks... So best of luck to ya and I hope your team does well I'll be rooting on ours!!

 

[CarMad]

Dang! Good one!

 

[LADY_KNIGHTS]

Winning should matter. If no one is "playing to win" but some teams are going 5-0 and others are going 0-5...might want to reevaluate the talent on your team and whether they should be showcasing...just saying.

 

[lewam3]

How did you do hitter?? Or did Judge Judy say it all lol??

Hitters team did actually very well. I think they lost one, tied one and won 3.

 

[DoubleTheFun]

I think everyone agrees that the college coaches don't care about the scores, but when you ask most players and parents "how'd you do this weekend?", the response is usually both Wins/ Losses AND college looks. It is not either-or, it is BOTH. The teams I have observed as the best have multidimensional players and can still win while moving players around if/as requested and don't need to have all the aces in their places to be competitive. Maybe that is a stretch for some teams to achieve but isn't the goal really to have fun, get looks, be challenged, and be competitive all in equal measures?

 

[Bink44]

I have to respectfully disagree with those coaches who say that "winning doesn't matter...we were showcasing", "we don't coach to win...we are showcasing" or who cares or keeps track of scores...it's all about the girls getting looks. OK sure...I nor my Team will ever coach or play that way.

Every time my Lasers Green Team crosses that line into battle..."We are playing to win"!!! It doesn't matter if it is a Friendly, Showcase, pool play or bracket...we are trained to give 100% effort and execution by both players and coaches. You put us and our biggest rival (Storm 01 now Beverly Bandits 01) at an elementary school in the middle of nowhere with 3 college coaches watching...and for 7 innings not a single player on either team is thinking of the coaches...they are trained to win and are not satisfied until they finish the task.

Now we always bat our lineup, players play multiple positions and 2 pitchers are always warmed up and expected to pitch. But this is the same as we do it in pool play of a qualifying tournament. My point on this is, the pregame warm up and the actual approach to the game for my players stay the same...and that is they are trained to COMPETE at all times!!! Also, as the head coach I will go into the stands and talk with as many college coaches as I see. I also have designated parents who write down and tell me any coaches that I missed, and then I will seek them out after our game...so yes I am working very hard for my kids!!!

I will give one more illustrated example on how competing at all times is a very high priority for me and my players. 14 months ago we entered our first 6 game Friendly at 14U. It was our first time at 43 feet. We finished the weekend 3-3 which included getting beat down by our friends...Classics 00 12-4. You better believe we were trying to win and those 3 losses were INCLUDED in our 17 losses at the end of our 13U year. All those individual player stats were included in their end of year stats. Bottom line...we don't give excuses for losing...we learn from the games we lose and move forward

BTW... I will give you one of our scores from this past weekend at the Stingrays Showcase...

Louisville Stunners 99 5
Ohio Lasers Green 01 0

We gave 100% effort and execution and we played a really solid game...bottom line though...they were just that much better then us...no excuses

 

[DanMaz]

I am very glad Lee chimed in because I was starting to wonder if I was the only one feeling this way!! lol

I agree with Lee on this one... doesn't it matter if it is a friendly or pool play or elimination play or a showcase.... the game should always be played to win and played as hard and focused as possible. Girls should not play any less or different in any of these examples IMO. You play the game to win. YES, you still rotate pitchers every 2 innings and play all players in their primary and secondary positions and play them to win! Sure, let a batter bat twice if a coach wants to see her... but you still play to win. Never let them (your team) create bad habits by playing any less than they would in a championship game. Coaches want to see how you play in those close nail bighting battles that go back and forth or are 1 run games... they want to see how you play with pressure and they want to see who can handle it and step up and be a leader. They want to see how you react when you fail... they want to see how you are as a real player in real games. These are all real games!! When (if) they play in college they will play every game to win. Such is life!

Sounds like a lot of people think a showcase is just showcasing your talents and let the defense sit on their heels or something... let the pitcher throw a fat one over the plate so the college coach can see how far Sally can hit the ball. We don't do that and I don't think anyone should. Nobody we have played does this... but I also think a huge part of your talent that you should be showcasing is your SOFTBALL IQ --- showing how you play in many different situations and different positions. which means playing to win in every situation that comes cross your path - showcase or no showcase. I believe part of the thing the coaches are looking for is how good is your softball IQ and how good are you in real games. Showcases are in sense real games just manipulated by coaches that want to see specific things or situations BUT you still give 110% and play to win. We teach the girls to know the score at all times... to know the outs at all times... to know the situations at all times and to perform and play out those situations to the best of their ability... and to know what they can and cant do based on those details. (EXAMPLE) IS the score close? do you look back the runner on 3rd because she is the tying run or do you get the out at 1st because you are up by three or four runs and that runner on 3rd doesn't really matter..... it is all part of the game, knowing the game the situation and your softball IQ. The girls need to learn how to play in all situations and play at their absolute best at all times; it is part of the game and part of what the coaches want to see. scores do matter to a degree... other teams want to see what everyone else is doing and how they compare to each other and that is just human nature.

We played at the Top 100 showcase in Indiana last weekend and I have to say that we are very proud of our weekend going 4-1 especially being able to face a team that beat us a couple weeks ago and we were able to put a beat down on them by using 2 pitchers and playing everyone in their primary and secondary positions and YES, we played to win! The girls know it is a real game and they always play to win and always will. Good luck to everyone this season!!

 

[DoubleTheFun]

I have to respectfully disagree with those coaches who say that "winning doesn't matter...we were showcasing", "we don't coach to win...we are showcasing" or who cares or keeps track of scores...it's all about the girls getting looks. OK sure...I nor my Team will ever coach or play that way.

Every time my Lasers Green Team crosses that line into battle..."We are playing to win"!!! It doesn't matter if it is a Friendly, Showcase, pool play or bracket...we are trained to give 100% effort and execution by both players and coaches. You put us and our biggest rival (Storm 01 now Beverly Bandits 01) at an elementary school in the middle of nowhere with 3 college coaches watching...and for 7 innings not a single player on either team is thinking of the coaches...they are trained to win and are not satisfied until they finish the task.

Now we always bat our lineup, players play multiple positions and 2 pitchers are always warmed up and expected to pitch. But this is the same as we do it in pool play of a qualifying tournament. My point on this is, the pregame warm up and the actual approach to the game for my players stay the same...and that is they are trained to COMPETE at all times!!! Also, as the head coach I will go into the stands and talk with as many college coaches as I see. I also have designated parents who write down and tell me any coaches that I missed, and then I will seek them out after our game...so yes I am working very hard for my kids!!!

I will give one more illustrated example on how competing at all times is a very high priority for me and my players. 14 months ago we entered our first 6 game Friendly at 14U. It was our first time at 43 feet. We finished the weekend 3-3 which included getting beat down by our friends...Classics 00 12-4. You better believe we were trying to win and those 3 losses were INCLUDED in our 17 losses at the end of our 13U year. All those individual player stats were included in their end of year stats. Bottom line...we don't give excuses for losing...we learn from the games we lose and move forward

BTW... I will give you one of our scores from this past weekend at the Stingrays Showcase...

Louisville Stunners 99 5
Ohio Lasers Green 01 0

We gave 100% effort and execution and we played a really solid game...bottom line though...they were just that much better then us...no excuses

Bink,
Appreciate the "peak under the hood"
Seems as though there are a lot of teams not built that way and if "Suzie" isn't pitching or "Mary" isn't at SS, and if they bat the roster, the competitiveness drops off very quickly. I guess I wouldn't consider that a true showcase caliber team. On the other hand, if you have a team with players equally strong in at least 2 positions...whoa!...look out. I wish we knew how the Stunners did in their other 4 match ups. That would be an interesting comparison....and yes while college coaches don't care about travel teams wins and losses, they're own jobs depend on winning and finding players that can help them "get it done".

One thing that skews the scores in showcases is the "drop dead" rule (hate it by the way).
It has been debated on the forum allot lately. I much prefer the timed game (regardless of the length) where the last inning becomes the 7th inning for both teams to "get it done". That way it provides the college coaches a chance to see tea

 

[DoubleTheFun]

Sorry...
...so the college coaches can see teams in real end of game situations.
I really despise the last batter intentional walk, the bases loaded stranded runners while times expires, and other situations created by the TD that take away from the quality of the game. There must be a better way!

 

[Hilliarddad3]

Lee, but would you really do an intentional walk at the end of the game so a batter wouldn't swing? But You should always want the girls going full throttle showcase or not. Attitude, hustle, desire, fun, determination are all aspects of the showcase event....

 

[wvanalmsick]

A showcase tournament really boils down to an unwritten agreement between 3 parties; the tournament staff/organization, the college coaches, and the teams. The tournament staff provides support facilities and tournament structure, the teams provide competitiveness, and the college coaches come and look at their prospects. When one of those tenets of a showcase are broken, then the other parties will suffer.

When a team competing in a timed showcase game uses delay tactics in the last inning or two in order to secure a win, they are violating their agreement with that tournament to provide a competitive environment. If that team has a history of such tactics, I would doubt that they would be invited back. A college coach doesn't want to see a prospect throw 4 pitches outside the strike zone. That coach wants to see that pitcher buckle down and battle the batter. Why would a coach take that opportunity away from any player?

A real showcase team has players that can be competitive at any position they are ask to play. These players are expected to compete to the best of their ability at all times during the games. Yes, a team will get ask to play Susy at a particular position but that doesn't give that team an excuse for not competing to the best of their ability.

If I had a team and I was playing Lee's team or the #1 ranked team in the state, I would expect, and demand, their A-game. This is the environment that college coaches want to see their prospects compete in. This also provides me with the best environment for my players.

Now, with that said, we will still get parents who are proud of their DD's team accomplishments for that weekend. That's ok. But before you post for a Showcase weekend, think back on the last inning of every game. Did your team use any delay tactics to reach the time limit? Did they intentionally walk any batters? Did they call time outs, make unnecessary substitutions? Or did they play competitive ball to the very end? If they played competitive ball to the very end, then post away. If your team used delay tactics, then you need to be asking the coach why did he break the precept of providing a competitive environment and not provide the girls of his team the opportunity to showcase their skills during that period.

Just my thoughts.

 

[manitoudan]

Lee- great post and losing 5-0 to that Stunners team isn't bad at all. That stunners team with several former L Sluggers players was LOADED .

 

[trainwrecker]

Hitters team did actually very well. I think they lost one, tied one and won 3.

Actually Very Well ......would not be my choice of words ! but Im a idiot !

lasers green coach makes a lot of sense....

 

[Stretch]

Popcorn w/ butter anyone ?