RVerde

In regards to Bonds I would agree that his swing is a great swing to teach with. I use it all the time. It seems to me to be obvious that his ability to still hit homers later in his career had something to do with his drug use. I agree that he was a great player with lots of talent but to say the drugs didn't effect the stats he compiled is to me avoiding the obvious. I found a site that compares his stats through his career. [Hidden Content] (I hope I did that right but if I didn't its easy enough to google) Again I agree that it shouldn't take away how great a player and talent he is but it does in my mind minimize how much he accomplished. The other point is we shouldn't have to get a testosterone rush in defending our positions. It may appear you are on the juice and that it has enhanced you posting.

Hitting the best pitchers in the world would in my mind require the best swings in the world. There are some exceptions but for the most part MLB hitters would have to have the most efficient swings. There are some plane adjustments necessary because of release point but the plate is the same size. (the zone however is bigger or smaller at times because of umpire differences)

Manny and Pujols but conceptually most of them.

I like the swing those MLB guys use. Whatever you call that.

The only way we are going to get more coaches to come here is to get the better teams to come. The only way we will get the better teams to come is to have a good group of teams from our area that are more competitive. They can play better teams and not travel. Craig did a good job a couple of years ago when he got some of the Houston teams come and play but that is hard to do.

Sports Reporter, I understand your point but respectfully disagree that it's one sided that you get attacked if you disagree with a programs philosophy. Those programs have been attacked for having a philosophy different from others. Does the sensitivity on these topics come from people defending their position or being defensive about it. There seems to be a lot of emotion involved from all concerned when being defensive and that's where the feeling of attack comes from. Lets lose the emotion and have some quality discussions. I have read some quality post defending the Nederland program and its decisions, but have also heard a lot that have been nothing more than people being defensive. I am close to Trout and Jess and have a lot of respect for what they are doing but don't always agree. I believe sometimes Trout's responses have seemed defensive and just like others on here I believe that comes from frustration. People make assumptions about what programs do and don't do. The post was intended to stimulate some conversation about what people expected and give the teams a chance to correct any misconceptions about their programs. I don't believe most on here have any bad intentions but if we can't get past some of these emotions we will never grow softball in this area. Taking from a quote by Colin Powell I would say the disagreement and discussion stimulates me. It's how I learn. Ask a question on this board and you get very little response. Answer the question and as you say you get attacked. What I try to do is not take it personally because when I do it seems that I become defensive. The list of people involved in softball in this area is long. The amount of time and effort is incredible. The question is are we getting the most of that time and effort for the benefit of our kids. I don't think so and don't believe it is even close. If we have 10 programs around here and everyone does their own thing this is what you get. An occasional National Championship or tournament win. By the way I think the first one was by CC. I am in no way making light of those Championships but after the good job that is given we need to ask if those championships bring respect and a reputation to us that brings in college coaches and gets us in quality tournaments. Is it the result of our area's philosophy or just a team that got put together. Is it benefiting a lot or just a few. What is my agenda. Nothing more than sharing with people my knowledge and experiences and hearing theirs. Discussing the differences and learning or developing better ways to help the girls in our area live their dream, whatever that is.(I got an email from someone wanting to do what we are talking about on the boys side). I recently got a call from a young lady that I used to coach and she asked me for some help with her team. She is coaching to give back to the community that had given to her. I know that is all Trout and Jess want too and believe most on here feel the same way. All we have to do is get past the emotion of it. By the way not only to we want to hear your answers but we need to hear them and discuss them.

I hope no one sees the beginning of this being thread being a witch hunt from me. I am however challenging us to be critical of what we are doing. My words were program not team. One great team for the area would only benefit a few. A program could help and develop many. There doesn't need to be just one choice but the program should have common goals and common standards. Do you believe that the overall coaching in our area meets the standards to compete at a national level. Are we educated enough, do we know how to? That's not to be critical its so we can be aware and make adjustments. Our kids deserve that. If I don't recognize my failures and weakness then won't tomorrow just be ground hog day.

The add on would be for some of the girls that have realized their dreams to come and share their experiences like Jess did in the other post. Instead of hearing from just us old people.

By the way there doesn't have to be just 1 great team here. I think the mission is to get the best out of our all of our area. We have to provide great instruction and guidance no matter what the ability is and that needs to be for all that want it. We have to have a better system and better prepared coaches and more commitment from kids and family. It needs to be a system for most not just a few.

I am in how about you JT.

If you could describe the perfect program what would it consist of and how would it be run. Please be constructive and coaches don't take it personal. The next question I have is would you try out for the Impact Gold if they moved to the Golden Triangle and why or why not. I would appreciate getting answers to these questions and not responses to others answers.

Which tryouts are you going to and what questions are you asking the coaches. Picking the right team is very important. Its the set up to help your kid achieve their dreams. When you try out are you asking the coaches the questions you should ask to make sure your child is in the right spot. Do you make sure their answers parallel their history or is it something new. How do you practice How much do you practice What do you teach ( get specific and see if they can answer ) What tournaments are you playing in What are you doing to get kids recruited What are you doing to further your education Do you have or does someone on your staff have good knowledge in all phases of thegame (who helps the pitcher in the middle of the game) Where have the kids in your program signed Make sure their answers match the needs of you child. Some may want to much and some expect to little. Don't be afraid to go to a place you have heard bad things about and find out for yourself and remember just because some people love it doesn't mean its for you.

I appreciate that, but we tried that and it hasn't worked yet. To much resentment or maybe we are to arrogant. Just like all the other coaches we have confidence in what we do. We have put the egos aside and come together to be stronger as a group. If you get enough of the strongest coaches together it would work if you came up with a program that those coaches agreed to.

Getting the best players on the same team has always been a problem. I think a major part of that would be less about who coaches it and a lot more about how much time is needed to accomplish how much. Balancing the 2 is the trick. I think the kids in our area are divided more based on time and commitment rather than what they want to accomplish. I believe all or most want to play at a high level and win. Do they have a good enough chance of achieving the top to justify putting more in. Before I get mauled over this one there is nothing wrong with whatever balance a family chooses. All of us have limits and have to figure what works best. The question is do we have a system in place in our area to help our kids live whatever dream they have. That could be just learning the game and having fun to playing for the Olympic Team. We had some that got good enough to star on their school team and didn't want to go further. The time commitment didn't match what our teams requirement was. No problem and no hard feelings. I have coached and have watched a lot of kids from our area play and can only think of one that, had she chosen to, could have not worked as hard as the rest and she could have competed with the top in the country. What are we doing to give as many as possible the opportunity to reach their potential. We need a organization with a large enough group of coaches and teams, doesn't have to be all, that demands a certain standard.(this is hard to do and why we separated from Blast). If you coach a team your are required to meet the standard. That includes all aspects of the game and the mental that helps these kids as they enter their adult life. How do you practice How much do you practice What do you teach(and no I don't just teach rotational ask Cody and Lauren) What tournaments are you playing in What are you doing to get kids recruited What are you doing to further your education Do you have or does someone on your staff have good knowledge in all phases of thegame (who helps the pitcher in the middle of the game) Etc, etc My experience has been kids will commit to a lot if they are getting better every day. They put up with me and Trout. If you want them to chase a dream show them how to catch it.

I think part of the answer of why they won't play for some coaches is reputation of the coach or program. I would say generally the reputation giving to the coach is in part by people that have never played or worked with them yet they have a loud opinion of who they are or how they do it. I know we had players and parents that had a different perspective after they came and played for Blast Gold. Hated us before, but once they saw from the inside they liked what we did. Same thing went the other way with kids getting bad reputations, heard some of that on this board, and when you get to know them the reputation didn't match. Sometimes there are just personality conflicts that can't be resolved.