12u 00/01 Winter Watchlist by Louie UPDATED

[Chango15]

JimineyCricket,
You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but who are you to tell parents (who are footing the bill to all this softball stuff - let us not forget) what they should think, say, or do?

Parents, not coaches, nor you, decide what is best for their daughters.

I believe parents should be able to speak freely, if they are not happy, and voice their opinions. Since when did this become forbidden? Oh yeah, probably when egotistical coaches became involved.

The Heat-Cota and Breeze break-up was not good for Sacramento area softball. You had one team that represented the Sacramento area at Nationals as a first year team and a second strong team at PGF, but now you have an okay team that is lesser than the other two teams. Why? Because the new team does not share the unity the other two teams had put together. As parents, we often forget that team chemisty overcomes talent. We see this in professional sports all the time. For some reason, everyone thinks it's all about raw talent.

Does Team California come to mind??

[homerunhitter]

Good teams need good coaching to get good parents. If you sit back and stay on a team when you don’t agree with the coaching philosophies or your child is not being challenged then as a parent you are not doing your job.
There is not many competitive teams in NorCal because of the lack of coaching abilities and “Daddy Ball” instead of “A” competitive ball.
Playing up maybe best for some if it challenges and develops their daughters skills.
Many “A” teams with the exception of a few teams are comprised of players straight from rec ball.
One on two “A” players on an “A” team does not mean it is better than all “B” teams.
That is why talented players tend to look for a better fit- less “Daddy Ball” and players closer to their caliber. A good team will have both chemistry and talent.
Congrats to all the teams that finished strong this weekend. Obviously, they are doing something right.

[skoufax]

Chango - not good for Sacramento softball how? Becasue we may (or may not) have a team that represents somewhere? Seriously, what is good for Sacramento softball is what is good for your daughter.... period! Honestly, having the "best" team at this age means nothing in the big picture, it really doesn't. Having a great coach, great teamates and fun means everything. Trust me, when your daughter gets older and starts playing softball that really means something for her future - college or whatever, this BS will seem so stupid.

AND, if you REALLY think that the first realy tourney of the year means anything at all -only means you haven't watched a lot of softball over the years, especially in 12's. But to get back to my point, I promise you that when your daughter is a couple of years older, she will never say to you -"remember when Cota and the Breeze broke up? Wow that really impacted my life because....." the only ones talking about any of that are the parents and hopefully when you get to watch your kids play at the older ages you will realize that it really meant very little.

[Iluvblue]

Parents can do whatever they want, and I have no problems with parents discussing what is happening behind the fence. But if they are so unhappy with whatever team/coach/situation, just move on when season ends. Not a big deal and it happens all the time.

But when a parent constantly is complaining to the point of me not wanting to be around said parent, one of us is going bye bye, and that will never be me going away. Fortunately, I have NEVER had to push a parent away mid season.

We recently had a kid leave one of our teams. That is ok, it is never personal(for me at least). I understand that all teams are not the perfect fit for all players, and all players are not the perfect fit for all teams. There is nothing wrong to accept that and move on. But to sit around and whine all season wont help either side.

By the way, I run the Monarchs, so I have final say so over EVERYTHING involving my teams. I answer to nobody (except my wife:) so when I make a decision it has nothing to do with being an egotistical coach. As GW once stated, I am the decider..... period. Not mom, not dad, not grandma. So when a parent doesnt like a decision I make, I dont really care. I am the one that is ultimately responsible for my organization, not the parent. So when the parent is responsible for decisions, then they can make them. Until then, enjoy the games, enjoy your kid, and if I make you unhappy, go somewhere else when the season ends. It is not complicated.

If out of 76 players we lose 2-8 kids, Id say that is extremely successful. If we are losing 20, then we better look in the mirror and figure out what WE ARE DOING wrong, because if we are losing that many, it isnt the parents, it is us.

[JimineyCricket]

Chango, yours is the perfect example of the "I paid for my ticket so I get to act like a total jerk if I want to" mentality that most people outgrow before high school. While people like you complain to anyone and everyone, the rest of us that have to watch and listen will just roll our eyes and bite out tongues and hope the jerk's DD is wearing a different uniform sooner rather than later (which is kind of too bad, because the kids in these situations are usually pretty nice kids, despite their parents).

[Iluvblue]

jimney... when you started something, when you run something, when you own something.... only one person making decisions, it is aint the other guy. Pretty simple.

Ive been doing this for 15 years, you think im taking cues from a 12u parent that hasnt even WATCHED 200 games??? lolololahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. I dont think so.

[JimineyCricket]

Blue - I couldn't agree with you more! I was just poking fun at you with a song I heard on the radio last week - I thought better of it and pulled the post, but apparently not before you read it. You have to admit, it was a pretty funny song

http://m.soundcloud.com/seanmorey/its-a ... sean-morey

[newASAparent]

How did the rankings hold up this weekend? Any updates Louie? My DDs team was out early so I didn't catch much of the action on Sunday. Saturday there was some good action out there. Going to be a fun season!

[Bob Uecker]

Well, I will say based upon the previous posting regarding rankings I would say that atleast 3 of the top teams were there in the end: Grapettes-Kahwaty, Storm & Hype. I didn't witness the Hype vs Storm game but heard that it was a poorly umpired game. Championship game was no better! Those umpires need a new occupation. Wow, is all I can say. It was a great game anyways just to bad that they umpires had to have the game be about them.

I will say that there was some extremely exciting games and amazing talent out there this weekend. Let us not forget that the season is young and full of promise. Play ball!

[uncle]

It will be interesting to see the rankings . Regardless of the magic haters! Nothing wrong with magic. They have a good team! As long as they can have their players compete, and represent NorCal its good for softball in our area.

Umpires were defiantly SORRY on field 1 at foskett on Sunday for all games.
Lots of competitive games... Lots of talent and there are good coaches out there.. The final four teams have their teams dialed in. The girls play for their coaches and the parents are always emotional and as competitive.

But, experience plays a factor! The final 4 probably has had the most experience as a team. They all have a core and it worked to their advantage. When parents and player agree with coaching the core stays together. That is what makes a good team! Congrats! Grapettes-K, Storm 2000, Hype Fastpitch, KG Hitters-F