16's & 18's...does anyone care in NorCal?

[bring'nheat]

I have to say that the HONEST point made is that as our DD's get older, we get softball wiser. I've had too many conversations with college coaches where they comment on the "crazy" parents. If a coach knows more about DD's crazy parents than DD, you're in trouble.

Once DD gets to HS and older travel ball teams, it isn't about "daddy ball" conflict, how many additional at bats "Suzy" got, or how many innings in the circle.....it's about what college coaches came out and asked to see your kid. Yes you need to be on the "right" team and on the "right" fields. But if your DD is doing her homework; calling, emailing, sending out schedules, etc.. the coaches will come. Do not expect every TB coach to do this for you. Be proactive.

So, YES we care about the 16's & 18's but the focus is different than what it was when they were playing 12's.

[ICMTM]

If you need help ICMTM with 6-4-3 let me know.....you know where to reach me. I hit em high and you hit em low. haha

He puts performance enhancing "stuff" in his Rockstar! I will need the assistance!!! I know you and 643 care!

And to Bring'nheat and CheckWriter I'm well aware that the focus is different. Why does that focus make people silent is the real question? You kind of know where your kid fits and such (I knew before 12U even started. I think the kid is finally seeing the light) but you have to know that there is a culture that is far different than the younger kids. I'm not on the internet to talk about daddy ball, conflict, or to mix it up with anyone. We just have different things to talk about (recruiting, traveling, Colorado, and for some Nationals) and we don't.

I do follow certain people who post. People like jonriv, watchaton, ILB, etc have a knowledge base that really can be helpful when their talking about their experiences. I've been through 12U briefly and 14U (kid only played 2 months of 12U). I know the kids in GameTime's rankings as well as he does. We really kind of lucked out as a family into playing with 643 and cccomet5. However it's just nice to talk about what you're doing versus where you have been. I'm not old enough to talk about walking uphill in the snow both ways.

I just don't see how you guys feel that the bucket is solely for trash talk and sounding off? I'm not here to degrade anyone or thump my own chest. I just like to talk with the community. That happens to be 16U/18U.

[CheckWriter]

Recruiting used to be discussed regularly in that section, looking at it now, it seems to be more of a classified add for recruiting camps and services.

With one set to graduate (college) in June - boy, does THAT make me feel young - it will be interesting to see if / how long I hang out here.

The other is a soph on the east coast so I can definitely gripe about travel. It sucks when you pretty much have to dedicate two days to get there and back. Oh well.

Colorado? Which tourney is best and TC taking over the softball world has been discussed ad nauseam.

I guess "what's up with 16s?" isn't enough of a prompt for this age group. Need to post a specific question or topic.

JMO

[ICMTM]

You're right...I was expecting too much.

[Iluvblue]

The real problem is that in 16 and 18s everyone wants to say well.... we were pitching our Rf for a few innings, and our LF was catching for 3 innings and it was JUST AN EXPOSURE tourney, so we arent really keeping track.

Winning goes out the window, which is the opposite of the way we will ever play in my program. I dont care what tourney, or who is there to watch, we are playing to win every game we play. I want my kids to hate losing and have competitive desire to win every time we step on the field. if winning and losing doesnt matter, then why the hell play the games. College coaches blah blah blah. You should be able to play the game and get kids seen and still play to win... at least we do. The day we stop doing that is the day Im done coaching.

The other thing we simply wont do, is play kids out of position. If a kid is a 2nd baseman, she is playing 2nd base. But I also dont struggle to get kids in the game, because we dont have a 20 person roster, which makes playing kids in their proper position easy.

This is my only real problem with the olders. exposure tourneys SUCK... even though I understand the reason. But 5 game guarantees could be done in a better way, IMO.

[NumeroUno]

Blue I don't like showcases either but tell us a better way to do it. I do see a lot more tourneys now for the olders than I saw before which I really like.

[Iluvblue]

I still say you can have saturday games count,, and then let teams that were 3-0 play other teams that were 3-0 and so on.

Problem is people will say, well we need to let coaches know when and where we play.... Well coaches that want to see kids can easily get a text after Saturday and be told where the kids are playing on Sunday.

or how bout keeping track from tourney to tourney on how teams did. We went 5-0 in socal and outscore teams like 90-10 and then the next tourney still ended up in the same sorry fields.

So track how a team did, then put all the teams that were 0-5 and 1-4 at one location, 2-3 ans 3-2 at one location, and 4-1 and 5-0 at one location. This makes games matter, and gets rid of the good old boy network at the same time.

Problem is is the good ol boys would say that is BS as they dont play to win because they need to get kids signed. Well cant you play to win and still get kids signed? Cant you pitch your number 3 and still win games? or must it be the number 1 every game?


Im just talking off the top of my head, but there MUST be a better way than what we are currently doing.

[rbi]

In Showcase format, teams and the girls themselves have got to take it upon themsleves no matter what the situation (gazillion variables i could describe), TO COMPETE!. It doenst matter if your on a shit field in middle of no where playing a terrible team (with not a sole in sight), or Field #2 at Huntington Beach against the A's (with 25 coachs watching). This comes with the desire and buy in, If you do not have your kids buying into competing then wins and losses mean nothing. They have to want to compete, every inning, every at bat, every out, every pitch, every play, every game, every weekend, its that simple.

[NumeroUno]

Blue I like that

[Iluvblue]

You preaching to the quire RBI.. The players ALWAYS do their best... but it is the coaches that use the excuse that it doesnt matter, and I pitched so and so, and we put such and such behind plate because it doesnt matter... blah blah blah. At some point, those girls hear all of that crap, and after hearing parents, coaches, and anyone else around saying it doesnt matter if we win or lose this game, because it is only about exposure, it is only human nature for that stuff to rub off on the girls.

You telling me that an exposure format game where the entire team is switched out after inning 2 has the same intensity as a game at nationals? Or the last game on Sunday where you know it doesnt matter if you win or lose, you just pack it up and go home? or in a real tourney where one of the teams says we are gonna pack it in and go home because it has been a long day and we are tired?????? Like I said, I hope if I ever get to that point where I dont care if we play or go home because it "Doesnt matter," I hope someone just shoots me so I quit and dont do the kids a disservice.

It is just in my competitive nature to want to beat your a.. no matter what we play. I can remember playing Madden on Sega back in the day.... youd think I was in the super bowl:) I guess what Im saying is I dont EVER want the 18u division to take that desire to compete away from me... like it has for so many teams and coaches I see.