Fusion>>>WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE FUSION TEAMS?

[DAVE D]

Alright your stupid...You need to really take a look at our Gold Roster last year and see what background these girls had. My number is 817-690-9553 be happy to discuss it with you. Or are you still going to be stupid and assume you know everything. Thank you for making my point.

3B Snag do you really think this is fun??? Gossip hurts people and I will assure you I care for all these people this guy is running down.

[shutup&playball]

Its all in the interpition of what make"s a good coach
and they have had alot of them in the last year.
I think its up to 10

[macattack]

Although this thread is very entertaining, I have to put my two cents in here. I'm not clear on the whole reasoning for this to begin with. Who are you trying to convince? I think that any parent who has a daughter that plays ball at this level probably knows how to make the appropriate decisions for their own family. My daughter does play on one of the Fusion teams, and although we don't have a long history with Slade and the rest of the people who built this organization, I feel like we have gotten exactly what we expected to get. I'm not saying that the organization hasn't had it's hiccups, and I'm not saying that it's for everyone. I AM saying that we were told EXACTLY what to expect, and EXACTLY what was expected of our daughter. As long as Fusion holds up their end of the bargain, or when things get a little hectic, show us that they have our daughter's best interest at heart, that's all we can ask for. At the end of each season, we have the opportunity to evaluate our situation and decide if we feel like these guys (and girls) can take her to the next level. If the answer is still yes, then why look elsewhere? As far as the rumors go, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I personally don't really give any softball rumors a second thought.....no matter who it comes from. We all know that we can't base our daughter's futures on rumors. When and if a change is made, we'll take it in stride, and once again evaluate our own personal situation.

She loves where she is and we like what we've seen from her since she's been a part of this group. I can honestly say that I feel like Max, Slade, Stephanie, and even Mork are concerned for each and every one of the girls and their success in this sport. It's not just another group of coaches trying to get recognition for themselves at the expense of the players.


Mac's Mom

[Fusion Gold]

When we first starting watching what has become this nightmare we felt that Fusion was going to be a great place for a lot of people. After going through the fall and realizing that things were not as they seemed our feelings began to change. Fast forward to all of the drama of the past month and things have really become crazy. We can't be fans of this stuff any longer.

I am a softball lover and not a member of any organization. I have taken exception with Batbusters, Glory and Elite so I am not just picking on Fusion. Just be who you say you are and be honest with the softball public about your true intent. Don't pretend to be some great new place to go for kids when your game is the same as some of the other guys. Maybe I am just a purist and live in the "old school" ways of doing business.

It sickens me to see guys like Slade Maloney, Ed Naudin, Kevin shelton and Stephanie that charge kids for lessons week after week and have never played (except Steph) and whose own kids have learned from others. Then we want to pay our coaches...get real, there is not a single coach in the area deserving to be paid a dime from any athlete. Dan Devine is throwing good money after bad paying Slade a salary to coach, Just because you can manage a game or a team does not make you an instructor or qualified to take money from others while you teach what you don't know. Ken Graves has success story after story with his girls pitching in major D1 ball. I am completely off topic this morning at this point but come on guys.

So if you are an umpire, as you "claim" to be. Then I have 2 questions,

#1 - with all of your expertise and great advice, why are you so afraid to reveal your identity?

#2 - Do you get paid to umpire games? The obvious answer is yes. So if we all do this for the pure love of the game, why don't you not accept the $30 a game that we pay at the plate or sometimes $35?

I can promise you that if you think coaching and teaching kids is so easy, you should try it sometime. You have no idea how many hours I spend working with kids every week, how my own kids suffer from me spending so much time at the fields, at the cages or developing relationships that can benefit our players.

The short answer is that obviously you are a coward who can throw names around on a message board, but don't have any real concerns or validity. You can just as easily call me or send me an email if calling is something that you are afraid to do, if you have something that you would really care to discuss.

Qualifying for Nationals is what it is, a great accomplishment. The players on our teams work hard to meet those goals. You have continualy beat them up and tried to find ways to deminish that great accomplishment. We are all proud of what our teams have acomplished, and while there is a possibility that we may never do it again, but it wont be from a lack of effort. My players and my students believe in me and they are getting better every day. It is not easy putting in the hard work to become the best that you can be, but I guess if they didn't feel like this was a good fit for them, then we wouldn't have a team and I wouldn't have a long list of students.

By the way, its going to be hard to call in July if we don't have your number.

[Hmmm]

Well said macattack

I couldn't agree more. Especially about the expectations that are set, and what is communicated to the parents. It is not for everyone (and that's ok), but that doesn't diminish the good things that are being and have been done.

Slade, Steph - your hard work, dedication, and committment to helping our daughters become the best players they can be, AND the best people the can be -- is not lost on those of us in the organization (and MANY outside as well-I know first hand). It's obvious the amount of time that you spend trying to give the girls all the tools they need to reach their goals, and to manage an organization.

Keep up the good work, enjoy your holidays and preparing for Dani's arrival - that will add that extra bit of joy to your lives.

Fusion parent

[QYDW]

NOT THAT IT MATTERS, BUT HERE IS MY OPINION. THE PLAYERS OF THIS WONDERFUL GAME ARE THE BEST COACHES. THEY TEACH US AND EACHOTHER MORE THAN WE CAN TEACH THEM. WHAT I MEAN BY THAT, IS THE PLAYERS LEARN MORE FROM EACHOTHER THAN WHAT ANY COACH OR COACHES CAN TEACH THEM. AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED THE COACH OR ORGANIZATION THAT TAKES HIS OR HER COMPETITIVE TEAMS AND COMBINES ITS TALENT,IS GOING TO END UP WITH A GOLD MINE. THAT IS WHAT COLLEGE COACHES EXPECT. THEY USE THE PLAYERS AS COACHING TOOLS. THERE ARE ALOT OF YOUNG PLAYERS THAT ARE AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER THAN SOME OF THE OLDER GIRLS. SO WHY NOT TAKE YOUR 14, 16, 18 TEAMS AND COMBINE THEM. BEST OF BOTH WORLDS. TALENT AND EXPERIENCE. NOW,THAT WOULD BE AWESOME. NOT TO MENTION ALL OF THE ATTENTION YOU COULD GIVE ONE SOLID TEAM. THE COACH OR ORGANIZATION THAT STEPS UP AND DOES THIS IS GOING TO MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE. JUST MY OPINION,OR GREAT IDEA. THE BEST COACHING TOOLS ARE RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF US.

[thetruth]

When Ed Naudin left So Cal all the batting averages went up
I'm just kidding here we gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ed's okay, Texas needed him to show them the California way.

Swimming Pools and movie stars, homosexuals, freaks, tree huggers, back stabbers, two faced liars and nipple piercing and those are just the Democrats you should see the list for the republicans.

[shutup&playball]

What that they are more etiquette in cal??

Texas needs better organization

Its all in the interpition
Gorly did very well before Ed
Slade did very well before fusion

We need more or better organization
DADDY BALL DRIVES ME CRAZY
Pay Coaches Yes
we need more Pay Coaches !!

[NumeroUno]

Have a couple JD's you'll understand, it worked for me.

[3Bsnag]

3B Snag do you really think this is fun??? Gossip hurts people and I will assure you I care for all these people this guy is running down.

No, and sorry I posted that too early in the thread. Mow 'em down.

IMO, A little gossip is ok, attacking is not.