VALLEY BREEZE 12U going to Nationals

[Sftbll4ever]

If you play 'Travel" softball you should be prepared to travel This IMHO is one of the main problems with the diluted talent pools across the country. If you pony up to play a highly competitive level of any sport your goal should be to achieve the pinical of that sport not settle. If all you want is to be the best in your area play rec, make the allstar team , play "B" metro and "b" state and pat yourself on the back. If you run a $15,000- $25,000 a year team budget and all you want to do is stay local and win regionals save the money and play LL.

Maybe you should own the berth with the option to sell it to the highest bidder if you decide too. That would make for some interesting games. Or if a berth is declined the next two teams eligible should have a single playoff game to earn the spot putting the berth back in the hands of the best team that day not a RA,RF, lucky bye, or coin flip.

I'm not settling. As I see it, my GOAL is to allow my dd's to play at a higher level then rec. as THEY love playing. Part of THEIR goal is to use softball as a way to help them get into college which they would have NO chance of doing playing rec. My dd's can be seen going to college showcases. I know of at least one person on this board that has a dd that has NEVER been to nationals, but has a scholarship.

Just because your goal is to go to nationals, my dd's goals are not.

Our goals are the same. My kid never cared about Nationals. She even turned down chances to go. She couldn't care less and neither did we. She did go for the first time last year at the age of 17, because the team she played on went. Whoop De Doo. Nationals was a real difference maker softball-wise (NOT). She'll be attending a D1 in the fall on a full athletic scholarship. I wonder how many of the kids with experience at 10/12/14U Nationals will be getting full rides? I guess she should have stayed in rec. Thanx for the enlightenment.

John

And so speaks my example!!! Although, I did forget that you went last year.

[Sftbll4ever]

If you play 'Travel" softball you should be prepared to travel This IMHO is one of the main problems with the diluted talent pools across the country. If you pony up to play a highly competitive level of any sport your goal should be to achieve the pinical of that sport not settle. If all you want is to be the best in your area play rec, make the allstar team , play "B" metro and "b" state and pat yourself on the back. If you run a $15,000- $25,000 a year team budget and all you want to do is stay local and win regionals save the money and play LL.

Maybe you should own the berth with the option to sell it to the highest bidder if you decide too. That would make for some interesting games. Or if a berth is declined the next two teams eligible should have a single playoff game to earn the spot putting the berth back in the hands of the best team that day not a RA,RF, lucky bye, or coin flip.

I'm not settling. As I see it, my GOAL is to allow my dd's to play at a higher level then rec. as THEY love playing. Part of THEIR goal is to use softball as a way to help them get into college which they would have NO chance of doing playing rec. My dd's can be seen going to college showcases. I know of at least one person on this board that has a dd that has NEVER been to nationals, but has a scholarship.

Just because your goal is to go to nationals, my dd's goals are not.

Our goals are the same. My kid never cared about Nationals. She even turned down chances to go. She couldn't care less and neither did we. She did go for the first time last year at the age of 17, because the team she played on went. Whoop De Doo. Nationals was a real difference maker softball-wise (NOT). She'll be attending a D1 in the fall on a full athletic scholarship. I wonder how many of the kids with experience at 10/12/14U Nationals will be getting full rides? I guess she should have stayed in rec. Thanx for the enlightenment.

John

Congrats missed my point completely but congradulations

A. Not the first time I missed the point. What was the point?

B. I've been on these boards for more than 6 years. I believe I've mentioned my kid's accomplishments less than a handful of times. Never posted a single thing on any team she has played on. Patting myself on the back? Or simply using a stark, concrete example that argues against the cosmic importance people typically place on their kids going to Nationals. Perhaps you missed my point as well. Congrats.

John

You didn't miss the point. They were stating that the only reason to play travel is to reach the Pinical of that sport or play rec and also to them meaning Nationals. I went forward and stated that is not my dd's goals for playing travel.

[goodeye]

You didn't miss the point. They were stating that the only reason to play travel is to reach the Pinical of that sport or play rec and also to them meaning Nationals. I went forward and stated that is not my dd's goals for playing travel.

What is a Pinical?

[Sftbll4ever]

You didn't miss the point. They were stating that the only reason to play travel is to reach the Pinical of that sport or play rec and also to them meaning Nationals. I went forward and stated that is not my dd's goals for playing travel.

What is a Pinical?

Don't know, left it there as that is what Really said, Really!!!

[REALLY]

My point while not even involved with SoCal softball was that if you are playing in a tournament or qualifer which has implications that you will go to a national championship tournament through placing you should be prepared to go or don't play in that tournament at all. To Me the pinnacle would be my daughter achieveing what yours has, playing for a D1 school how she gets there over the years is anyones guess. 6 teams probably tied for 13th and because one had a bye they got into the losers bracket later in the day and got the berth. If the one team that passed on the berth had not played there would not have been a bye and the field would have played a diffferent schedule thus drastically changing the potential outcome. That one team potential changed the goals and dreams of a team. In this case Valley Breeze reaps the reward but somewhere there might be another team who coul dhave advanced but didn;t get the opportunity. My reference to Rec was a simple example not an ultimatium. I understand that showcases are more important then nationals experience towards reaching those goals.

[Sam]

...NoCal's have to do well at their association or metro to qualify for Western Nationals.....

Ummm... unless something has changed, I don't believe that is correct. At least in our NoRCal metros, you compete and you have an automatic berth to Westerns - you Win, you go to Nat's. Last year, our local association demanded we go to Nationals if we won in spite of our clear and vocal intentions of not being able to afford the trip. Westerns were driving distance and had we won, which was highly likely at the time, we would have been forced to fly to Alabama even though we did not have the funding to do so. Instead, we lost an early round Sunday game and a 1st-year team wound up winning. As it turned out, they did not go either, but rather went to Westerns. The 2nd and 3rd place teams also turned the bid down and when it got to the 4th and 5th place teams, it was not offered much to the vigorous arguments of those teams.

So Sam says you win, you go... What if you were mandated to play in Metros, made it clearly known that your intentions were to NOT go to Nationals for cost reasons, and you were then told if you won and declined the berth the local commissioner threatened to not sign the Westerns berth...???? What's the association going to do... pay for the team to go???

Play Triple Crown....or NSA for NoCals....

[ice_67]

Did I see Revenge 96 listed as going to TCS and ASA Natls?

[ocdad]

Did I see Revenge 96 listed as going to TCS and ASA Natls?

Chris has been posting that all season long...that he wants players that can afford & willing to support 2 National Tournaments. I think he wants it to help with the recruiting, as they have to be one of the favorites to take it if that is not the 96 Wildcats team on the list.

Is that OC Wildcats 96 that has been listed #1 under the TCS Utah list or the 97 team. I have always thought it was the 96 team, but not sure? Does anyone know?

[dittoz]

So you would advocate that a team who wants to play against better competition, have better coaching and afford young ladies the opportunity to develop, be relegated to a non-entity in NoRCal (TCS) or to what should be a non-entity (NSA) from a competitive level? If that's what you're suggesting on the basis of a lack of funding, then man, I know you're opinionated and live on being an instigator at times, but that's just wrong. These girls deserve just as much of an opportunity as your daughter did in the Amazonian Softball land of SorCal. Our ORG mandated that we play in Metros and ASA mandated that we go to Nat's if we won, which we did not. Deeply rooted, I'm sure the mandates were ego driven, to have the representation for our region and for our org, but unless someone was going to step up and cut a $20K check to fly everyone to Alabama, it just wasn't going to happen. There's much (MUCH!) more to the story, but that's the gist of it... and yes... we've since left that org.

YOU go play NSA and report back on the experience

[hotwheels]

So you would advocate that a team who wants to play against better competition, have better coaching and afford young ladies the opportunity to develop, be relegated to a non-entity in NoRCal (TCS) or to what should be a non-entity (NSA) from a competitive level? If that's what you're suggesting on the basis of a lack of funding, then man, I know you're opinionated and live on being an instigator at times, but that's just wrong. These girls deserve just as much of an opportunity as your daughter did in the Amazonian Softball land of SorCal. Our ORG mandated that we play in Metros and ASA mandated that we go to Nat's if we won, which we did not. Deeply rooted, I'm sure the mandates were ego driven, to have the representation for our region and for our org, but unless someone was going to step up and cut a $20K check to fly everyone to Alabama, it just wasn't going to happen. There's much (MUCH!) more to the story, but that's the gist of it... and yes... we've since left that org.

YOU go play NSA and report back on the experience

HUH?