? the need to travel around the country for tourneys

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Running from the Ohio competition, eh dumbbucket? Hiding out in other states?

Kidding of course. Good luck in your travels, for all the good you do, and all the noise you make, it just turns the lights on a little brighter back in Ohio for the rest of us. Good luck to all Ohio teams, and individuals moving outside and beyond the local boundaries to be all you can be .... we will be doing some of that also.

Take the battle to the rest of the country! Softball messengers from Ohio are coming to your state, and you may not like the news we bring ...

Seriously, if these were boys teams, or individual boys joining these types of hard core travel teams they would be lauded and praised. It still amazes me how differently we look at and treat the "girls" ....

Herewegoagain .... well, thereyougoagain .... best to your family!

 

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I recently started a thread for fun. Just wanted to see who made some good improvements for next season. Instead I get two people on there arguing.One of them brings up some young lady who travels all over the country to face the nations best. I would like to say that there are plenty of outstanding players here in OHIO. There is no need to travel like that. I thought that is what nationals is all about. Playing teams that qualify. Travel like that is just to showcase the financial abilities to do so more than to show off the talent. I am sure the talent is there though. I would not want to do that travel money or not if they are not that good. What I am saying here Ohio is a good place to prove your worth.

When you look at the nation wide scope of talent I really don't think there's any outstanding players in OHIO! there is some good talent but how many people except a few have really been out west and down south to see 18 year old outstanding talent!

 

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I think MORE 18u and 16u teams should commit themselves to Winter tournaments down South personally and a little less summer ball... but that takes commitment of players not playing another sports as well.

Teams able to do fundraising all year long... players committed to ONLY playing softball and softball only. I don't see that in Ohio so far... very, very few ... if any.

 

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I think MORE 18u and 16u teams should commit themselves to Winter tournaments down South personally and a little less summer ball... but that takes commitment of players not playing another sports as well.

Teams able to do fundraising all year long... players committed to ONLY playing softball and softball only. I don't see that in Ohio so far... very, very few ... if any.

Quaker,

Interesting point. Some states have advantages over Ohio due to population, and especially weather. Weather has a secodary effect also though, aside from allowing longer seasons and more outdoor ball .... it creates "basketball" players, and other multi-sport athletes. Makes it doubly hard to commit to getting to the next level when you have developed other strong commitments and "loves" .....

If somebody falls in love with softball or sokker in Cali they can just keep playing it all year, no "need" to change focuses .... in Ohio it is like "okay, that was fun, we did well, oh wait it is basketball season now ... see you next spring ... "

Yours Truly,
Jack ... (of all trades, master of none)

 

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A team would have to develope a schedule during the summer complete with some "friendlies".. to save money for the Fall and winter showcases. I know coaches in VA and NY who do that.

Obviously hit, the Stingrays, the GAPPS , Lasers (now) and Sharks and play friendlies against one another so all teams can save some money. Shoot for the Nationals of your choice. Come back out in the Fall.. hit the Best of the Best. And if you don't get into the Nationals..oh well. Just money saved to hit an important College Showcase down south or out west to financially be able to attend. Same team - same players. Find 14 committed girls to softball and go with it.

 

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If I was an org... I do the above... hold some "pay the umpires on the field" type of tournaments in the 18u and 16u division... during those "non college showcase events" weekends to save money ... and hold a full fledged 10u, 11u, 12u, 14u tournament at the same time to raise money.

But, I try to think outside the box ... which has gotten me into more trouble with sanctioning bodies....lol

 

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If you can stick to 8 huge tournies a year and mix it up where your home (or at least in Ohio) for a week then travel for a week. Hit the ones like Music city hits in Nashville then come home for ASA states, go to sparks or orlin park, then home to Stingray, you get the idea......... just get the kids in front of the coaches in what part of the country they want to go to. You dont have to break the bank to get exposure. In the fall and winter if teams dont want to travel, There are plenty of teams down south looking for fill in players. again go to hey bucket and just post youll get a response, where theres a will theres a way if you want to play the best you can do it,,,,,,, just depends on how bad you want it

 

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I agree Tim... I just think more TEAMS should look to the South in the Winter to stay sharp and totally agree on heybucket for individuals who want to keep their game sharp and be seen by jumping on a team and going to an area where they are interested in being seen.

 

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When you look at the nation wide scope of talent I really don't think there's any outstanding players in OHIO! there is some good talent but how many people except a few have really been out west and down south to see 18 year old outstanding talent!

Look at the Talent we saw in Chattanooga...was there honestly a team that we shouldent have beaten? Everyone gets so uptight over talent down south and out west........ do yourselves a favor , go play there for a bit and youll see that our girls as individual talent arnt that far off......alot of the southern coaches were like whoa where did this team of horses come from and the kids we had on that team were pretty good but were they the best that ohio had?........ some were some wernt on the whole probably average and we held our own or in some cases down right embarassed one of the gold teams from Ga. want to know the secret to playing the elite teams in the elite tournaments?................ the secret is there is no secret, no good old boy network, no rich boy club keepin kids down, its parents, kids and coaches that dont want to make the sacrifices necessary to do it,plain and simple. Any one that tells you you cant afford it is making excuses to hide their own insecurities or lack of whatever thats kept them from doing it. Play ball folks your time is growing shorter and pretty soon it will be gone and youll be wondering where did it go...never let your kids have to look at you and ask what if.....................

Tim

 

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I got this "additional" idea for the "Circuit of Champions" that I KNOW, ABSOLUTELY KNOW.. that people will be led to believe that I am off my rocker. But, I'm gonna do it... I know I am. I know me. Mark my word... people gonna think I'm insane when I come out with this thought.

But, I like the idea actually... and that is all that matters.

Stay tuned.

 

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Yep, I think Musty nailed it this time. And I love Tangy-Mike's analogy. Would any of us on this board REALLY tell a talented rec ball player to stay with rec ball if she can afford the expense of travel ball and she has the commitment and energy to play TB?

And Klump is right. Playing a whole year with CONSISTENT exposure to nationally recognized TB teams gives the players time to grow their confidence and their skills. Have a bad nationals without having shown to yourself in prior tournaments that you do have the skills to really compete and your season ends on a more sour note. Of course, for teams like the New Jersey Intensity, the season never ends and that's part of the point of joining such a team. Who among us doesn't fret when these cold winter days come and you can't even practice off the tee without at least a heated garage, let alone play real games?

 

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Wouldn't it just be easier to move to 'Zona or SoCal?

 

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It really bothers the heck out of me when, someone says there is no outstanding talent in Ohio. Out west is better. I watch the college world series. I watch the olympic games. Have seen alot of travel ball. Teams from out of state and a darn lot of Ohio teams. If a player is really good then they are really good. There is so much that can be done on a ballfield. Some teams just have a few more outstanding players and or a fantastic pitcher. If its because that is were the recruits are that is there fault not the Ohio players. We can play ball here. I will defend Ohio players till the end.

 

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Playing the nations best once a year and possibly getting a glimpse by a scout or coach is vary small percentage. Playing against Nations best week in and out certainly changes the landscape of opportunity and your potential.

And like MD stated, it all depends on what your GOAL is. For some it wouldn't ever make sense. For others, they can't afford not to go that route.

I don't believe anyone is stating that playing on an ELITE GOLD team that travels every week is something for everyone. However, the loftier the goals, the loftier the commitment. Not to mention, there's a ton of fun and relationships, and experiences to be had(NOT ALL GOOD either), but how many parents put their kids on a plane to Europe every year in the name of Foreign Exchange or once in a lifetime experience. Again, it's all about what Parents/Kids dreams/goals are.

Believe me, it's all too obvious that ELITE NATIONAL TRAVEL doesn't make sense for many. I was just simply advising where one of the Laser94 girls went to and showed much respect, appreciation, and admiration for that family pursuing their dreams/goals and realizing them right before our eyes.

Fantastic post.
Do kids HAVE to play a national type schedule to go division one in Ohio?..No. But not all kids want to play college ball in Ohio and not all kids want to play in the MAC or Horizon. Being seen by OSU, while playing and having a reputation in Ohio is very different than wanting to play at a university in a far away state. The method required, for the most part, is very different. It requires more exposure, and that means playing at the best tournaments in the country. While the local Ohio tournaments are very well run tournaments, they pale in comparison to the big exposure tournaments that the big time coaches (and others) attend.
Case in point. Pitcher Corey Rubright played on an Indiana gold team which played at all the best exposures tournaments. She played well, beating some of the best west coast teams infront of a lot of coaches. The result is a scholarship worth over 130,000 dollars to a college she absolutey loved when she visited. That would not have happened for her playing mostly in Ohio.
Sure there may be cases where kids got a scholarship out of Ohio playing mostly in Ohio, but that is pretty rare.

 

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It really bothers the heck out of me when, someone says there is no outstanding talent in Ohio. Out west is better. I watch the college world series. I watch the olympic games. Have seen alot of travel ball. Teams from out of state and a darn lot of Ohio teams. If a player is really good then they are really good. There is so much that can be done on a ballfield. Some teams just have a few more outstanding players and or a fantastic pitcher. If its because that is were the recruits are that is there fault not the Ohio players. We can play ball here. I will defend Ohio players till the end.
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Yes Ohio does have "some" outstanding talent, just not near as many as the west coast has. West coast kids seem to be better hitters and the biggest reasons are better training and they face much better pitching at an earlier age. They are ready to face college pitching as freshmen. I read somewhere California has about as many people in Orange County as the entire state of Ohio has. That alone is a big factor. I see the biggest difference as being the hitting and pitching.

 

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I still have to say some are crazy to think that Ohio players have great talent. I stand behind my statment that most Ohio talent is average at best. I think some get false visions when and Ohio team travels a little bit and wins a few games and hangs with other tams when they travel Midwest and slightly South. Its one thing to go to Tennessee and Chicago and play but I would have to guess the hot bed states like California Texas Arizona and Alabama the talent is far superior.

I think we can take this one step farther and say that the coaching in this state is far less superior than in the above mentioned states as well. I'm sure you'll find a few good ones but as a whole most coaches are just putting on the coaches shirt and playing the roll. (Meee - Owwww):lmao:

 

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Orange county population... July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,010,759,

 

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I still have to say some are crazy to think that Ohio players have great talent. I stand behind my statment that most Ohio talent is average at best. I think some get false visions when and Ohio team travels a little bit and wins a few games and hangs with other tams when they travel Midwest and slightly South. Its one thing to go to Tennessee and Chicago and play but I would have to guess the hot bed states like California Texas Arizona and Alabama the talent is far superior.

I think we can take this one step farther and say that the coaching in this state is far less superior than in the above mentioned states as well. I'm sure you'll find a few good ones but as a whole most coaches are just putting on the coaches shirt and playing the roll. (Mey - Oww):lmao:

Scott , the teams we played were from Ga. How much further south do you need to go Brother......... Cuba? :lmao:

 

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One huge difference in the West is Junior College Ball, and how it assists so many girls getting to Div 1. I've not heard anything in Ohio about Jr. College Ball? As I've been in Az now for 6 months and playing in 7 14U A tournaments, I dont see Arizona being ahead of Ohio, I'd probably say the pitching in the Ohio is ahead of Arizona's. The biggest difference I notice is 3 kids will pitch in one game as where my experience in Ohio is ride the horse that you rode in on and let it ride. The top teams out here want 3 above average pitchers, as compared to one stud. I cant speak for Ca, as we've not played there yet, but I feel Ohio and Az really have a lot of similarities.

 

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Orange county population... July 2008 estimate placed the population at 3,010,759,

You are right, I meant LA county, population 9,864,049...Add Orange county to that and those two counties alone have almost 14 million people..................Ohio has a little over 11 million in the entire state.



http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06037.html