Congrats To Denver Dazzle 14U

Congrats to the Denver Dazzle 14U went undefeated in the NSA "Hampton Inn Invitational" in Gastonia over the weekend. Hitting with power Casey Carpenter with (2) H/R's giving her(4) H/R's over the last (2) tournaments. Also contributting Lorna Duncan, DC, and the rest of the Denver Dazzle girls all contributing from top to bottom with key hits.In the Championship game against a strong Piedmont Storm team, Dazzle put (3) runs on the the board during the international tie break to clinch the win and the title of first place..again Congrats to Rick Duncan, Raymond Barrineau, Mike Barfield,and Doug, and all the Dazzle girls for their hard work and perseverance to win their first 2008 NSA title.

Guru

 

correction

Congrats to the Dazzle and the Storm. It was not an undefeated weekend though the Storm did beat the Dazzle on Saturday by a score of 8 to 3. It was a good weekend of softball. Also congrats to Jasmyn Lindsay on her two Hrs for the weekend.

 

Congrats

Congrats to the Dazzle, Casey is a great player! The Storm is also a very tough team.

 

while im not trying to take anthing away from the dazzle, they did not go undefeated. i play for the piedmont storm and we beat the dazzle saturday 8-3. the dazzle is a good team and i hope to see them again.

 

How old are the girls on this 14U team? Most of the 14U girls around here are at least playing middle school ball. The school coaches don't have an issue with the girls playing on an outside team during the school season?

 

As a middle school coach, I don't have a problem with the girls playing TB during our season. We only practice and play games during the week so as long as their TB schedule doesn't interfere with our practices and games, it is all good.

The way I see it, they can never have enough practice so if they are playing TB, it can only help our team.

 

Okay, Let Me Correct Myself !!!

The Dazzle was defeated by the Piedmont Storm on Saturday in Pool Play,but they beat them twice on Sunday to win the championship !! We hope much success to both teams in 2008 !!!!

Guru

 

There are three major areas where I see a problem could arise (outside of the obvious "can't be in two places at one time" issue.)

1) Added chance for injury that may impact their playing time (two girls got injured playing rec/church basketball just before tryouts. One had an ACL tear and won't be playing softball again until July).

2) Wear and tear, mainly on pitchers (who may occasionally need a rest after throwing 5-6 games in a weekend tournament).

3) Coaching conflicts. Travel coach wants pitcher to backup throws from outfield from behind opposite foul line. High School coach wants pitcher in the infield to cutoff throws. Rec coach wants pitcher to cover 1st on bunts (okay, it was his first year as a softball coach and he had to unlearn baseball. We fixed him). In short, it can cause on-field schizophrenia which isn't good. And I'm not even talking signs!

Our local rec leagues that sport older divisions wait for middle school/JV ball to end before starting play. Most travel teams of 14U and above don't start playing until May. Some 10U/12U start in Jan/Feb.

 

Agreed but...

It is hard to say as a middle school coach but the only thing you can get out of middle school (at least in Wake County) is a conference championship. There are no playoffs, seeding, rankings, playing outside of your conference (even scrimmages), etc. While a conference championship is a great accomplishment, in my mind middle school ball is all about teaching the girls (the rules, the game, love for the game, to have fun), figuring out their 'true' position, getting their mechanics right, etc. so they are ready to explode when they get to HS. I love the game and teaching the girls and there is no better feeling than seeing the girls you coached at middle school succeed in HS and/or TB.

I will also say that we do our best not to contradict something other 'coaches' have taught them or are making them do. I don't know everything and don't claim to so am open to hearing/learning what other coaches are teaching them.

JMHO