Sparkler review $$$

[LEsoftballdad]

Yes, Yes, and Yes couldn't agree more, and my DD's not a pitcher. Couldn't believe the number of check swing and mishit HR's I saw in our years there.

The one thing I would add is the thin dry air also makes movement pitches much flatter. Never understood more why Mike Hampton was so bad for the Rockies till I saw how little the pitchers on DD's team could get their balls to break.

Having been in charge of Gamechanger and streaming for many years I watched these kids pitch literally hundreds of games from directly behind the back stop. Never saw them look so bad. Nothing moved.

TNJ, the week before, saw her team play nine games on fields with 220' fences that were at least 8 feet tall. In that week of games, we hit one out and had none hit against us. In the IDT, we had 19 and gave up 19.

 

[Northball]

If your team doesn't do it very often, an cross-country trip is a welcome escape for a lot of people whether college coaches are there or not. At the beginning of the season meeting, the girls were most attentive when the found out where they get to go. Didn't matter if it was Cali, Colorado, Florida, Vegas, etc. Just so they got to go somewhere other than another complex in the suburban Minneapolis area. They looked like they just won the prize puzzle on Wheel of Fortune.

 

[El Oso]

But if we are talking about Sparkler and the other few tournaments that are on or about the same level. Isn't the fact that college coaches from all the big schools attending these events the big selling point. The way they are talked about in general terms that is the reason they exist and were created and the reason teams from all over the country attend. I have never attended so this may be way off that is just the way I hear them talked about. If all the college coaches quit showing up would these teams still participate?

From who? Who is using that as a selling point?

 

[El Oso]

TNJ, the week before, saw her team play nine games on fields with 220' fences that were at least 8 feet tall. In that week of games, we hit one out and had none hit against us. In the IDT, we had 19 and gave up 19.

My DD gave up back to back HR's in front of 35 coaches including Karen Weekly, Heather Tarr and Beth Torina........ among many others. Came back next game and pitched 4 scoreless. Colorado definitely ain't for the weak minded pitcher. You better be able to shrug and say "next pitch" to yourself and mean it.

And the coaches know all this. They know that checked swing HR is a can of corn at their home park. They are more interested in how the pitcher reacts to giving up the HR than the actual HR being hit.

 

[benjey]

TNJ, the week before, saw her team play nine games on fields with 220' fences that were at least 8 feet tall. In that week of games, we hit one out and had none hit against us. In the IDT, we had 19 and gave up 19.

I never looked before but your post inspired me. In DD's last year of travel in 2022 they gave up 10 HR's in 6 games in Colorado and only gave up 4 in 12 games at PGF Premier 18u a few weeks later and those fields were also 200' with temporary fences. Because of how far they advanced at PGF I would say that was also against better competition.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

I never looked before but your post inspired me. In DD's last year of travel in 2022 they gave up 10 HR's in 6 games in Colorado and only gave up 4 in 12 games at PGF Premier 18u a few weeks later and those fields were also 200' with temporary fences. Because of how far they advanced at PGF I would say that was also against better competition.

There were also a ton of complaints that the balls used at PGF this year were all duds with no pop.

 

[lostcreek1]

From who? Who is using that as a selling point?

Literally everything you read, and most of the people you talk to. This is the first paragraph from an article softball America web site.

For one week in July, thousands of softball players arrive in the greater Denver area in hopes of catching the eyes of one of hundreds of college coaches.

 

[lostcreek1]

If your team doesn't do it very often, a cross-country trip is a welcome escape for a lot of people whether college coaches are there or not. At the beginning of the season meeting, the girls were most attentive when the found out where they get to go. Didn't matter if it was Cali, Colorado, Florida, Vegas, etc. Just so they got to go somewhere other than another complex in the suburban Minneapolis area. They looked like they just won the prize puzzle on Wheel of Fortune.

I understand that, same for our young girls when we tell them we are going to play an out of state tournament.

 

[DryHeat]

There were also a ton of complaints that the balls used at PGF this year were all duds with no pop.

True. Although I still saw some real shots, so I thought of them as Honest balls. They really had to square one up to get it out, just like the old days. No cheapies.

CO on the other hand...

I think TCS put Flubber on the balls, plus thin air, plus most games were called with really tight zones all added up to Bombs.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

True. Although I still saw some real shots, so I thought of them as Honest balls. They really had to square one up to get it out, just like the old days. No cheapies.

CO on the other hand...

I think TCS put Flubber on the balls, plus thin air, plus most games were called with really tight zones all added up to Bombs.

Or as I like to call it, a strike zone the size of a Ritz cracker box. I'm glad we're not going there anymore.