Teams. What makes one elite?

[default]

All you had to do was look up the definition in a dictionary.

elite

noun (plural e?lites)

printing size of printing type: a 10-point type that has about 12 characters to the inch or just under 5 characters to the centimeter.

DOH

 

[default]

No kidding cgs! I'm with you on the Coke-n-Ice team from a few years back. Look up "elite" in the official softball dictionary and you'll see a picture of that team! They set the standard. Now, who in Ohio is capable of carrying that torch from where they left off?

P.S. eatsleep... Cincinnati already has that market name cornered...

 

[default]

The Coke On Ice team was excellent, but it never played Gold, which was a shame. We've only had the Miami Valley Xpress and Maddogs play Gold and I don't think either has done much there, and then a handful of teams over the last few years do well at 16-U, 14-U and 12-U ASA A Nationals.

I think it's the teams that played ASA Gold or did well at 16-U and on down that have set the standard. Coke On Ice might have been the best 18-U team we've had in awhile, but in my opinion you have to be an excellent team and be willing to play the top tournament in the country to set the standard. At 18-U, that's ASA Gold, and at 16-U on down, it's the ASA A Nationals.

 

[default]

joe, if that's the criteria then the slammers team from canton that came up here to willoughby and ran the table - they won most games on run rule - on a bunch of teams with high school freshmen to win the 14U starzz tourney championship in june and then finished fifth in the ASA 12U nationals would have to be the one. talking to parents of the team they played about half their games at 14U and won several 14 tournaments before the nationals.
has any team ever done that before?
we only saw them once, but went to several of the games after our dd's team was eliminated because they were a lot of fun to watch esepecially the little kids on the slammers

 

[default]

If memory serves me, I think a few years back - late 90s maybe - Ron Poole had a Maddog team in gold, and so did Jerry Goodpasture with Grand Slam.

 

[default]

catsbats: No doubt the Slammers are elite. They are elite not only on Ohio terms, but on national terms.

They are really the only Ohio team that is elite on a national level, which they proved with their ASA performance. For Ohio, we have some teams that are close to being elite on a national level and those teams have finished fairly high at ASA Nationals or in Fireworks or Boulder recently. There are a few others over the last couple of years who I would have liked to have seen at ASA Nationals that probably could have had a winning record.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that all of our good finishes at 16-U and 14-U Nationals are tempered somewhat by the fact that the West Coast teams have a ton of girls playing up from 14-U to 16-U and 16-U to Gold. When we were at 16-U ASA's in 2006, the runner-up team had an incoming freshman as its ace. I'm guessing she would have knocked all of the 14-U teams down one position had she played 14-U Nationals that year. And the Gold rosters are littered with girls who are still eligible at 16-U. Given that, I think the only team in Ohio that is truly an elite team on a national scale is the Slammers.

 

[default]

 

[default]

Shayne,

I saw this in the sports section of the paper today and thought it was just too funny! Thanks for throwing it on here. Probably the proper post to put it on too. Hahaha.


Marie

 

[default]

I think there have been elite teams in Ohio, unfortunately I think most were just a long time ago. Back about ten to 15 years ago, there were only 1 or 2 very good programs, which meant the best of the best migrated to them. Now, there are so many teams that all of them seem watered down. An example would be the 1994 Kevin Brooks Bandits...for those of you who remember them or ever coached or had a daughter play against them you remember the PLAYERS on that team....I mean every position had a kid that played division 1, and some at an amazingly high level...they only played like 2 weekends in state and they KILLED the other Ohio teams...they were really the pioneers of traveling to Colorado and doing good at the nationals (both places they were top 3 finishers as I recall)....THEY WERE LOADED...FROM PITCHERS TO HITTERS...some of their players are now coaches (jackie Beavers & shannon salsburg) and I always wonder if their players have any idea HOW GOOD their coaches were!!
ps- there was no GOLD back then but they could have easily played it in my mind...just my two cents....

 

[default]

I will go along with many of the people on this thread that have made the statement that elite is just a word. Whether you are part of an organization or an individual team, I feel that the dedication put forth by the players, families, and coaches is one of the ingredients that makes for a great team / organization. Most parents that I talk with are always looking for the same thing, what's best for their daughter. I think that most of you will agree, one of the greatest feelings in the world is to see your daughter make Varsity her freshman year.
As a 2nd year 12U team I have layed out a very competitive schedule for 2008, which will include quality tournaments, several @ the 14U level and a trip to Alabama for the 12U ASA "A" tournament. I think that this type of schedule helps maintain the caliber of players that want to compete at the best level possible. Please feel free to visit our tournament schedule at www.stingraysfastpitch.com

 

[default]

Not to stir the pot 12ustingrays, and I sure don't disagree with what you are saying about parents wanting what is best for their daughter. But what sane parent wouldn't? Also, what does that have to do with what defines an elite team?

Finding the best fit for your DD on a team is doing what is best for her, whether it's a rec. team or getting her a tryout for the O.C. Batbusters. As a matter of fact, finding a team where all the parents, players and coaches ALL have the same objectives will make everyone's life easier - and make for a rewarding experience for everyone, especially your DD - rec. or elite.

Making varsity freshman year is an accomplishment, and should make any parent proud. But there are a few caveats here. First, much to my dismay, there are some high school coaches who will not put any incoming freshman on varsity - REGARDLESS of ability. There are a LOT of basketball programs that have this rule, but of course it all depends on the size of the school. Some small schools may only have enough girls to make up a varsity team! So, like the "top __% of graduating class", this statistic is is just a number that is skewed, because there is no standard benchmark for comparison. Most colleges don't put much weight on the "top % of class" figure anymore because of that. The SAT/ACT is a much better indicator.

I applaud you on your tourney schedule. Very competitive and should challenge your team. It's those challenges - regardless of of wins/losses - that makes a team better.

Sorry to get a little O.T...

 

[default]

Sammy is correct on what College coaches are now looking at. SAT/ACT is the first conversation they have with the high school coach. I keep hearing this from many college coaches. Keep in mind only pitchers and catchers are getting the $$$, Too many parents don't understand what college coaches are looking for and what money is out there. It is easier to get money based on grades. I suggest any parent looking or thinking the dd is going to play college go to a college camp and talk to the head coach. I have found out they will give you very good FREE advice.

 

[default]

SBFAMILY writes:
Keep in mind only pitchers and catchers are getting the $$$,
figure you have three pitchers and two catchers, that's five full rides if each are given 100 percent. that's certainly not out of the question, probably more the norm. but then where do the other seven full scholarships go? the ncaa allows 12 per school

 

[default]

there are a bunch of parents of infielders and outfielders not very happy today , but I bet 100% of that pie is'nt going to 2 positions They just have'nt seen MY kid yet LOL : : MD

 

[default]

Many schools in different divisions don't get 12 full scholarships, some 8 some more.... If you look at Ivy league and there are no scholarships for playing or grades.... That's a big hole in the pocket..... Caching $$$$

The coaches want a full commitment for four years at those schools and have a hard time because of costs to the kids who end up going one year and can't afford it...

 

[default]

SBFAMILY writes:
Keep in mind only pitchers and catchers are getting the $$$,
figure you have three pitchers and two catchers, that's five full rides if each are given 100 percent. that's certainly not out of the question, probably more the norm. but then where do the other seven full scholarships go? the ncaa allows 12 per school

If they are fully funded - many are not. (Note that a D2 only gets 7.2 , again assuming that they are fully funded.) Figure 18-24 players per team (minus the 5 in your scenario) to spread the rest to. Assuming equality, which probably isn't the case, you'd end up with .39 - .29 for D1 or .12 - .09 for D2.

 

[default]

Huh....maybe my money is better spent on tutors rather than pitching/hitting coaches. :-?

 

[default]

Ringer you are right on. ?A player will probably get more money for a high ACT score that a high batting average. ? In my limited experience with the college recruiting game I found that most schools are not fully funded and athletic full rides do not exist for most schools. ? I have two dd's one plays softball and has done well enough to sign with a D1 school as a pitcher, ? the other has extremely high grades. ? The colleges are seeking the second one out as a sophmore. ? The one thing I found interesting in talking to coaches that were generous enough to come to my dd's games is that most of them were on a mission, ?by that I mean they had specific players, ?players who had contacted them, ?to see play. ? Most were not just on a fishing expedition with a hope of seeing a great player. ? Of course a coach may see a special player while on their mission but it didn't seem that the odds were in the players favor. ? The bottom line is that players need to take the initative and let the schools you want to play for know it, ?as in everything else in life people are interested in people who are intersted in them, ?stalkers not included. ? Remember playing on a so called "elite" team may help but it does not guarentee anything, ?winning tournaments does not get you recruited. ?You the player will determine your softball future much more than the team you play for. ?

 

[default]

There is similar topic on a volleyball forum that had this link. This is good information to start researching the scholarship issue.

http://sssoftball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=722638

 

[default]

Timac Hit the Home Run with their response....