Early Bird-Its Friday Check in 11/20/15

[SoCal_Dad]

Up 11-1 in second inning. I'm guessing they put us in the wrong pool. Disappointing.

You're right about guessing... I expect the next 2 teams will be better than the last one.

Placing 170 18U teams in 29 pools for competitive games is not trivial since teams' rosters change from year to year. Your DD's team is new - what have they done to warrant special treatment and how would Surf City know about it/them?

 

[29dad]

New team? Check out their results last year at IDT and PGF Premier.

Also, Flo Softball seems to have heard of us. Here's a blurb from their article discussing the Surf City tournament:

Many of the top organizations in club ball, including the OC Batbusters, Corona Angels, Explosion, Firecrackers, All American Sports Academy, Jersey Intensity, So Cal A’s, So Cal Choppers, Lady Lightning and dozens more, will take the fields including the Huntington Beach Complex where the PGF Nationals are held.

Okay - time to eat some humble pie. We lost our final game of the day 3-1.

 

[4 girl's dad]

3-1 today in wind so strong, I saw a ball hit to the outfield that landed in the infield. Play again tomorrow in projected 30-35 temps! Woohoo!

 

[SoCal_Dad]

New team? Check out their results last year at IDT and PGF Premier.

I don't see an 18U LL team in the IDT results, so I presume it was the 16U team. One-year-old team moving up from 16U = new 18U team. 9th place (1-1) at IDT and 25th (2-2) at PGF are commendable, but not nearly enough to draw attention and be treated as a top 18U team.

Also, Flo Softball seems to have heard of us. Here's a blurb from their article discussing the Surf City tournament:

Many of the top organizations in club ball, including the OC Batbusters, Corona Angels, Explosion, Firecrackers, All American Sports Academy, Jersey Intensity, So Cal A’s, So Cal Choppers, Lady Lightning and dozens more, will take the fields including the Huntington Beach Complex where the PGF Nationals are held.

The LL org is highly regarded based on the accomplishments of the NC teams. Your org should have vouched for your team if they're that good.

Okay - time to eat some humble pie. We lost our final game of the day 3-1.

They finished 33rd in the Super 64 Pool last summer, however it's odd they announced this year's team on July 14 and apparently didn't play in a national. Their roster doesn't seem particularly strong based on the 4 commits (1 Ivy, 1 D-II, 2 NAIA) for 9 2016s, 5 2017s and 3 2018s.

 

[JAD]

You're right about guessing... I expect the next 2 teams will be better than the last one.

Placing 170 18U teams in 29 pools for competitive games is not trivial since teams' rosters change from year to year. Your DD's team is new - what have they done to warrant special treatment and how would Surf City know about it/them?

As showcases have grown into HUGE money making opportunities for organizers they have added teams as fast as they can find fields and have diluted the talent level required for teams to be admitted. It has also created a "good ole boy" network of organizations who get marquee opponents, field locations and time slots.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

As showcases have grown into HUGE money making opportunities for organizers they have added teams as fast as they can find fields and have diluted the talent level required for teams to be admitted. It has also created a "good ole boy" network of organizations who get marquee opponents, field locations and time slots.

I generally agree, however the other side of the story is organizers have two unpopular options - limiting the number of teams or accommodating more by getting more fields. This event has been huge (300+ teams) for at least 7 years and there was still a substantial list of teams (75-90) that didn't get in. Haning says teams beg them to get in and aren't scared off when he warns them they'll be playing at a remote field. I suspect some TB coaches are desperate to save face since they had the event on their schedule since tryouts.

 

[JAD]

I generally agree, however the other side of the story is organizers have two unpopular options - limiting the number of teams or accommodating more by getting more fields. This event has been huge (300+ teams) for at least 7 years and there was still a substantial list of teams (75-90) that didn't get in. Haning says teams beg them to get in and aren't scared off when he warns them they'll be playing at a remote field. I suspect some TB coaches are desperate to save face since they had the event on their schedule since tryouts.

There are a lot of TB coaches who will hang their hat on the fact their team got into a marquee showcase....they just fail to mention that they played other no-name teams, on obscure fields, with no college coaches watching....and they paid big $$$ for the privileged!

 

[cuzmail]

There are a lot of TB coaches who will hang their hat on the fact their team got into a marquee showcase....they just fail to mention that they played other no-name teams, on obscure fields, with no college coaches watching....and they paid big $$$ for the privileged!

There is a lot of that going on these days.

I hear things like this: "We went to XYZ showcase with a gazillion college coaches there." They forget to say their team played on the community fields an hour away without a coach in sight.

Happened to us at the Sparkler Jr. Last year we played in the "regular" Jr. in northern Colorado without any college coaches to speak of. This year we played in the Jr. Power Pools. You couldn't walk 10 feet without bumping into a college coach. Now, I have to be honest and say the coaches weren't there to see our team.

 

[InsidePitch]

Back from Cali. Not as good as I'd hoped. Lost 3 by 5 runs in the late innings to west coast teams. We played HB and Fountain Valley with lots of coaches around. Lots of smaller CA schools but plenty of D1s. Played some good teams and one very good team, Ohana Tigers. DD said it might be the best team she's ever played.

 

[JAD]

Back from Cali. Not as good as I'd hoped. Lost 3 by 5 runs in the late innings to west coast teams. We played HB and Fountain Valley with lots of coaches around. Lots of smaller CA schools but plenty of D1s. Played some good teams and one very good team, Ohana Tigers. DD said it might be the best team she's ever played.

Ohana Tigers are the old Southern Cal Athletics - Quarles team. Lots of girls going to major D1 schools. DD has pitched against them before. Very good team and they will attract a lot of top coaches. When DD pitched against them Tim Walton watched the entire game. Pretty sure they have one or two girls going to UF.