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NorCal

Can NorCal pull it off?

by slice » Tue Aug 26, 2014 3:11 pm

Wow!!, that was a mouthful or handful. However it was just too much to embrace or digest. It kinda reminds me of how the Bucket used to be....

There has been some valid points on the subject or thread. Some too many to discuss.

Now this Onlooker vs RBI matchup is great. However this is new school vs OLD SCHOOL Believe me while RBI is quite capable of handling his own business, I will just interject a little.

Onlooker, my fellow bucketeer, the education of NorCal TB didn’t just start in 2011. RBI really was coming from a place of reality & true knowledge. He has been around for a awhile, matter of fact a lonnnngggg while, so he has seen the evolution of this concept of “The Super Team”.

The reality as far as 18G level play, there are only 4-5 Org teams that can carry the Nor Cal area flag when going to these showcase events. Just look on the Lower 4 fields each week at Surf City.

So it’s cool to say you don’t know someone. However to comment and say “you haven’t been around a while or just don’t get how it really works”……well is just wrong.

Believe me, I know who he is and who his DD is as well. From 12-U to Gold she was on nothing but the “REAL TOP TEAMS” in Nor Cal, amongst invited to many of the TOP Camps in the country. Oh yeah the college she attends now is pretty famous for softball in California and the Nation as well. How do I know, I lived the same journey to a degree.

No big deal Onlooker, you do a great job with your posts. Again RBI can handle his own biz-ness. Just wanted to clarify who’s really been around.

RBI you're really a nice person now……… :lol:
slice
 
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by gobblygoop » Wed Aug 27, 2014 11:42 am

slice wrote:
gobblygoop wrote:I don't see it happening up here for a while. But of would be easy to do at the 12 and 14 levels, especially for an org that has multiple teams in the same age group. I'm going to use the Grapettes for an example, not that I'm a grape honk, but because the have four 14U's. The could practice together, play desperate and merge down to one super team for qualifiers. But, too many egos involved, it would take a strong org/leader to get it done.


Unfortunately it would NOT be easy to do this at the 12 & 14 levels. There is a reason why we have “200 +” teams in these age groups. We have a unlimited supply of girls and a lot of quality coaches up in the area. :o

Why pick out the Grapettes (for your example) .....not that I’m a honk or anything. They have 4 teams for reason. Just as any other Org up here can do, because they can. For the most part, each team “practices differently” on “different days” in “different areas”.

Play desperate????........I need a vowel (help). :?

Merge to one team.....If that was the case then they wouldn’t have 4. However I do know a couple of Orgs that do that and they still don’t qualify. :P

There are egos everywhere.....along with concepts, style, expectations, image etc., etc., another reason why it can’t work in 12s & 14s.

As for ”STRONG ORG LEADERSHIP”.....I think the GUY in charge there knows his stuff, has vision and certainly understands his product.

Now as a side note please “re-vhue and use sphell check” before submi.......oh nevermind!!! ;)

Again I’m not a Grape honk. :lol:


First off, no one was disparaging the Grapettes org or their leadership. They are a top notch org and ran by a top notch guy. I’ve had two DD’s play for the Grapes and love the purple. But, as an outsider now, I see how things could change for the better.

All I was trying to say is that it would be possible for an organization like the Grapettes to form a super team. I used their four 14U teams as an example because three of them practice within 15 mins of each other (Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if you and Brooks practiced on fields next to each other at McNair). If they so choose, two of the three coaches could come together for practices, work outs and friendlies. That way the girls would get used to playing with each other. They could play separately for local tournaments and even share girls in off weekends. Then, when it comes time for qualifiers and national events they could come together. You would need two coaches that were committed to not just their team, but to betterment of both teams and the organization as a whole. That is where it would take strong leadership, because both coaches would need to check their egos at the door and work for the greater good.

It’s a lot like good football programs. You have the junior league that feeds the high school, along with the Freshman and JV feeding the Varsity. The coach on the lowest level of the junior league needs to have the same philosophy as the varsity coach. The younger kids run the same offense and defense, just a simplified version. Year by year you add more plays to the play book. By the time they get to Varsity they’ve been practicing and playing the game the same way in the same system for 8 years. However, unlike football, softball is team driven, not program. Coaches get the berths and jump from org to org, age group to age group. The only consistency is at the 18 Gold level.

To build a successful program, like anything you need a strong foundation and have to build from the bottom up, not the top down. Each team should carry the same philosophy and practice plans as the 18 Golds. If the Gold’s coach likes pitcher that have sick riseballs and drops that fall of the table, then that’s what the 12’s coach should be looking for and developing. If the Gold coach wants to live by the long ball, then so should every other team in the org. If the Gold’s coach wants a shit ton of speed and slappers, then so should everyone else. Group trainings with the whole org should happen monthly to create buy in and build a culture. To me it appears that the only person that’s attempting to run a program and not manage a bunch of teams is Debbie and what she’s trying to create with the whole Future Stars thing.
gobblygoop
 
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by noncrazynorcal » Fri Aug 29, 2014 5:06 pm

slice wrote:The reality as far as 18G level play, there are only 4-5 Org teams that can carry the Nor Cal area flag when going to these showcase events. Just look on the Lower 4 fields each week at Surf City.

From 12-U to Gold she was on nothing but the “REAL TOP TEAMS” in Nor Cal,


What about the players coming up now? There were only a couple of exceptional teams when we came out of 12s and it was much the same in 14s.
noncrazynorcal
 
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by Oufan22 » Tue Sep 02, 2014 6:45 pm

Well here is my 2 cents,
I think the difference between the "super team" and any other is the mind set.
The "super team" is 3 deep at every position and the players and parents know that going in. No different than it will be in college right? Competition in practice isn't a bad thing. Having to look at the lineup card to see if your in or not isn't bad either believe it or not. Lol
Could it be that simple?
"Super team" players and parents want the most competitive situation to be prepared for the next level.
Most everyone else wants their dd to be the star so they find a team where that can happen.
Oufan22
 
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by Oufan22 » Tue Sep 02, 2014 8:10 pm

I hope the next thread isn't why your dd shouldn't play for a top 25 super team in college. Therefore trying to make an argument for staying local instead of buying into the AP top 25 super team! ! :) :lol:
Oufan22
 
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