JohnnyT60

I think softball only got 2 votes on it's best round. Rugby was also recommended. www.spysoftball.com has more details. Remember this all started when Mr. Easton who was on the committee abstained from voting, when he could have put SB in 2012 Olympics.

No Softball in the 2016 Olympics. Do you still buy Easton products? [Hidden Content]

I think we all agree a few teams snuck in because of the number of teams in tournaments, though I don't think many. That should be easily resolved by adding another level or two of tournaments to get in the regional or teritorial or by just seeding the tournaments. I am still a little concerned about someone choosing who belongs, because we know politics wil eventually get in the way. The next thing, will everyone who is invited forsake Gold for the Premier. This next year should be interesting.

An Escalade is only a clunker on the west end!

Agreed. I have seen all kinds of tournaments where one side was loaded and another was comparatively weak. The teams that are spearheading this are the ones who would usually go to 3-4 qualifiers to qualify, so I don't know that it is an argument for them. In Texas it really go out of hand this year. I remember the field used to be controlled at least number wise. Mc the rule used to be once you played up, you could not play back down, but I am not sure what the rule is now. I just hate to see it change, Gold was always something special, and I don't think this will last long and then it will change to something else. You might not see it now, but this will put your girls at a serious disadvantage when competing with the big programs for attention and scholarships. What happened for The Blast Gold girls would almost be impossible under this scenario. I hope the biggest development that comes from this is a tweaking of ASA Gold and the resumption of rotating the tournament from east to west.

The Nationals are not that watered down, qualifiers maybe, but not nationals. I think Haning's team was gone in 3 or 4 games.

Apparently not. I sure like to watch Bob Stool in the interview room after the game. The more the media presses him the more he bows up, ends up looking like one of those lizards with the blown up throat.

We used to have a family BBQ that weekend.

Sounds like they are hedging their bets. Can't lose if your betting both horses. This sounds like the Wal-Mart syndrome. If this goes through all of the small clubs and clubs from rural areas will be left out, leaving them only the choice of going Gold (still not bad). What I see is the large D1 schools who basically recruit a few clubs will love Hanings Tourney, smaller D1's and some who still recruit the old fashioned way will continue to be drawn to Gold and 16U. Haning's way is not bad if you are one of the big clubs but the small clubs will be at a disadvantage. I just don't think you can take an invitation only tourney that serious. It sounds as if they are looking for another exposure (there are plenty already available) and no real NC tourney. On the other hand they could be putting on a power play to force ASA to change it's SOP. They probably do need to add a layer or two of qualifying tournaments. In Texas you could have 4-5 tournaments to qualify 32 teams for regional, and only non-qualifiers from the regional would be qualified for the territorial. BTW did the Northern territory get a sweetheart deal. In the Southern Territory you have Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Miss, Alabama and Tenn. In the Northern territory you have powerhouses Minn, both Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iwoa, kentucky to go along with Mich and Illinois. Btw here are the qualifying procedures: [Hidden Content]

He's not that smart!

Been out of pocket for a few days, so just getting around to posting. It is hard to give up control, especially if you have guided your child through travel ball and feel as if you have done a pretty good job, but you have to be able to admit that there are people who can help bring her to a even higher level. Cody going to BG was tough, had seen RV from across the field a few times and wasn't sure. Went to a few practices and saw how intense, thorough, and attentive to detail it was and encouraged Cody that this was the right move for her. I thought this team could help her achieve more than maybe she thought she could, so it was a big step for her. She got to know the girls and they accepted her right of way. The thing that has been missing from this conversation is trust. After watching how hard Robert worked for the girls that were not superstars you got a true appreciation for how much he cares. We talked about a few situations over the years, but I really never questioned any of his moves because I TRUSTED him. I am not saying I always agreed, but one thing is I never doubted that he was doing what he thought was best for the TEAM. Becky did question the changeup call, though. The thing you need is Talent Commitment from the player Commitment from the parents Trust Without all of these you are doomed for failure.

Very Good! I see not only is it a large list, but an impressive one.

I'm so proud of you LB!

Have you already been accepted into the RM.

It would be nice if they could strike a happy medium. I personally thought there were too many teams in the SA qualifier. So maybe some kind of tiered qualification is a good idea. But I still like the idea of everyone having a chance. We'll just have to wait and see. I am not sure how much local ASA orgs can dictate the process. I do know nothing happens in Texas without Stoney's blessing. So maybe what will end up is several region champions and no Nat'l champions.

It's so sad when you have to get someone else to fight your battles. ;D

No one hijacked this thread, they just disagreed with you. Imagine that! I think Nederland has some very good ball players, some are even great, but they are not the best 9 players in the GT. Name kids who don't belong, not a chance, and no one else is either. Nice Try! No one is saying that the Nederland Girls are not very talented, what they are saying is that no school not even BC has all of the best players in the GT. You seemed to indicate they won because they were from the same school and had played together. The fact is that they are the first team I have seen do this. 99.99% of the time the Champion of any tournament comes from many different schools. I know you think HS ball is the end all, but it isn't. My kid won a State Championship and it is one of the best memories I have. Winning for your community with people you have grown up is special, but I also know that the teams we played getting there and then in the tournament were not as good as the ones we faced at the Gold Nationals the three times we went there.

It probably will happen. Haning and ASA could come to some kind of agreement as well. He seems to have some serious leverage right now. By reading the ASA rule on Jr Olympics, it almost seems as if they wanted this. Not sure what to make of their actions.

They both have advantages and disadvantages. The problem I see with the new is that it will be a good ole boys club, and nearly impossible for a new yet talented team to get in. The positive is that it will weed out some of the teams that are in a little over their head. The problem with ASA is that currently they let anyone in a Gold tournament, the positive is, if you are good enough, you can get in. I hope there is some way to balance the two. It sounds as if ASA is actually aiding this action to me. I had heard about this time last year, and I also heard Haning was even more vocal this year.

This will concentrate even more of the softball power in California. Not sure that is a good thing.

I couldn't disagree more with this whole post. No problem we are allowed to disagree. ;D My daughter played on two very good teams at the Gold level. Neither team had more than a couple of girls from one HS and they were very good. They did have chemistry though, but that came more from their character than history. She also played on a 12U team that was very good that had kids from several different schools. The reason they won was talent and that's the same reason the Nederland girls won. To read into it that they won because they were all from the same HS is an error. Talent has always been and will always be the difference.

No you don't understand, they had a great team, but they didn't have all of the best players. What could be done with the best 12-15 kids from the area, this was just the tip of the iceberg. I'll agree we didn't have all the best individual players on this team. But as a TEAM they are the best playing together in the area. You can have 12 - 15 of the BEST players talent wise but if they can't play as a TEAM it doesn't matter. Intensity is a sisterhood of girls that believe in each other, stand behind each other and love each other. Also this group of players are the biggest bunch of cut-ups and goof-offs that you'll ever see. They have fun and they are fun to be around. But when they hit the field, its like turning on a switch. It's show time and they truly believe that they are capable of beating any opponent they face. One thing I learned is sometimes we can try and control or over coach these kids when infact they probably know more about this game than we do. Ask anyone these kid basically coach themselves. No one could argue, and I certainly would not want to take away from what they have accomplished. The point is, if we could do more to get the very best on one team, we would see girls accomplish more than they ever dreamed any year, not just this year. Congrats on a great run.

No you don't understand, they had a great team, but they didn't have all of the best players. What could be done with the best 12-15 kids from the area, this was just the tip of the iceberg.

How did a thread to celebrate a great accomplishment end up like this? Let it go! Congrats girls, way to play and good luck in the future.

Are they going hunting or fishing? ;D