Best Show Case Team

Ashley Bone

....with all due respect to my good buddy RT and the Blues, even they will say that many players play for them, (hey why not, they're a class org. with a strong foundation) but lots of the players honed their skills elsewhere. No slander what so ever, and WHEW! please....lets not go to the "she played for this team or that team"......uhhhh like I'm doing with respect to the Blues, but for a fact, I have known Ashley for a very long time and I know her folks as well. Great folks for sure. Ashley has worked hard, she has grown up and done so with class and smarts. She is an outstanding student. Another fact is many college coaches have watched her and have been interested in her being a part of their team. Ashley has never been without the best of opportunities softball and teaching stuff, and when Rodney took her to Col. with the Blues, she rocked!
Ya'll can express an opinion of the value of being in the right place at the right time or bitch about going or not going here or there, but in Ashleys case the Blues participation in a bigtime tourney worked out very well for a little kid from Nash County, NC !!!

Luv ya kiddo!

Go Pack!!!!, lol


Fishpal

 

The way it is

Fish, I'm in full agreement with the "honing skills" part. Nature of the beast.
My DD played with the Curve (Thanks Jason, Jeff, Jim, Randy, Bill, Mike (RIP) and Momma Curve AND BTW, Congrats ASA Southern National Champs!!! - YOU ROCK!) her whole TB career since age 5 until she was 16 - (and had been playing 18U for 2 years already) as with most players who move onto elite teams such as the Blues, etc. Why move then? Because certain teams will go places and get exposure that other teams will not. Now, I'm not starting the whole debate all over again about Colorado, etc., however, I will say that the numbers speak for themselves. THIS family thought it best that we give my DD every opportunity to play at the next level AND we were sick and tired of playing the same old teams every weekend. Rodney and the Blues provided the opportunity to play the best of the best, on a National Level . Plus the integrity of a fantastic bunch of people and great organization... It was "time".
This does not diminish the role that the Blues played, she did learn alot with taking the step up, practices became more intense, the mental side of the game and aggressiveness were taught, she was encouraged to practice and work on her game MORE on her own and with other individual coaches, and, she got to experience what being on a college team will be like due to the nature of the practices. Her softball "Knowledge" increased dramatically. We were truly blessed with a wonderful experience. And, I truly believe that my DD would not have had as many choices to play college ball as she had without being on that team.

So, what I'm saying here is that yes, they learn the fundamentals long before they move to the teams that they eventually commit with but, it's not like the team does nothing for them other than get them exposure.
Consider this..... Knowing many players that play for GOLD teams around the country (and my DD having the opportunity to do it also - but we got the best of both worlds with the Blues) - I asked the question - "how do you practice with a team from NJ, MO, TN or Virginia when you live in NC?" - the answer I received is, "once you get to that level, you had better (and are expected to) be practicing at home, and working with your local coaches (thanks Mike and Randy and for hitting those 1000 ground balls each week, thanks Rodney for teeing up and tossing hundreds of balls on YOUR time - THANKS TERRY! for keeping it simple and dedicating countless hours at the cage and on the field - "You da Man" Coaches) to be ready to play when you fly into town for the tournamnet". At that level, you are expected to know what to do and have the skills to back it up. Period.

Now folks please, lets not get started on THAT whole coaching and "who does what for who debate" - I'm simply stating the situation. The statement was made that the committed players learned what they know with other organizations and private coaches (Ashley and all the rest spent how many hours with Pitching and Hitting coaches) before the one they eventually committed to...and Fish, that should be "no new news" anyhow with the way some players change teams like they change their clothes - this was simply the explaination of that. It was said before in this thread - "It takes a Village"....

Also, please don't take anything I have stated here and start throwing mud on Rick - as seems to have been the case with so many threads this season -LOL - point is, keep it positive.

GO 49ers!!! - A10 Championship Coming soon!
GO HEELS!!! - Gonna Kick some LSU butt in a couple weeks!!!!

 

never a better example of what exposure and being in the right place at the right time can do for you than Ashley Bone. I saw it firsthand materialize. It was like a seed that sprouted and grew and bloomed all in the span of a week a year ago last summer in Boulder. It couldnt have happened anywhere else... it needed that soil.

I sat with her dad and mom many times out there and watched the joy and the angst with every pitch and every AB as she was "auditioning" for many top D1 programs. I even had a coach from I dont know where ask me about Ashley as we sat and watched the pre all star game the day before the tournament started.

Couldnt have happened to two nicer people than Ashley's parents.. good luck at Chapel Hill kiddo.... dreams do come true.

 

Just a minor correction

Not trying to ruffle any feathers but Hannah Alexander had committed to Coach Hawkins and Upstate during her junior year (2009) at ND. At the time, she was playing travel ball with the Carolina Attitude (McDowell) team. She joined the Lady Blues this past year and had a great time meeting new folks and traveling to Boulder. (Incidentally, she was one of the few who first 'got looked at' during the high school season and they continued to look during travel ball.)

As we get ready for her to move on to the next level, I would like to say thanks to all who worked with Hannah over the years (Damon, Thomas, Ronnie Plemmons, Ric McDowell, Angela Tressel, Jason, Coach Lambros, Chief, and everyone else). I apologize if I left anyone out - was not intentional.

 

I'm really happy for Ashley and her family (including their artist). They are very good people. I've never seen more dedicated parents and I've never seen a kid more determined than Ashley.

Reading some of the previous posts, (Chilidawg, for one), sheds a little more light on the benefits of playing on teams like the Blues. TBR is great this way--for helping folks understand the whole picture.

In Ashley's case, let's give Coach Papa a little credit here. Coach Papa has has had many occasions to watch Ashley play. She doesn't miss much!

Ashley has worked long and hard over the years. She prepared herself well and when opportunity came knocking she was ready!

Same thing with Jordan Scarboro. Jordan has worked long and hard. She prepared herself and now she has a great opportunity. She's a great young lady. I'm proud of her even though I had absolutely nothing to do with her success. She is a joy to watch play. Again, Coach Papa doesn't miss much!

Thanks to ALL the people (that includes families) for helping the kids! Where would they be without you?

 

Congratulations to Hannah; she is awesome!

That's a good point about HS. I've seen a few top notch college coaches at HS events.

HS, for one thing, really gives a standout player a chance to shine. I remember a couple years ago at the State Games in Greensboro several athletes putting on spectacular performances.

There were more than the two I'm mentioning here but these two played an awesome tournament. Jordan Scarboro and Caitlin Sandy were absolutely awesome. I mentioned it in a post or two back then on TBR. They are both signed at D1 schools now. Jordan at UNC and Caitlin at James Madison.

College coach I saw in the stands? Coach Papa! HS event! She doesn't miss much!

 

a good one not signed yet...

Dont forget Tara Hajer ~ (an honorary old time Cobra) (LADY BLUES, SUNDEVILS & CARDINALS)
See, you can play for all the big teams, but she never quit any of them. Just changed after summer season ended on some cases.
She gave up her scholorship to Meredith.. (it was a bad fit) and transferred to App State last January.
Although she is trying hard to play for Appalachian State, where she is attending school... with the coaching change who knows. But, she definately has taken it to the next level, playing 23U all summer & training all those AC girls as much as she can. Wish her luck this fall ~ who knows what's gonna happen!

 

you are correct

you are right the Cobras HAVE been around THAT long!

 

Never ceases to amaze me. Right next to Hannah's name it says that she was committed already when she joined the blues....Sorry, but I didn't know with who she had played or history. Didn't mean to offend, as with most of this softball stuff, you always get someones ...... in a wad.
Great and talented kid though, and had fun hanging out with you guys this year. Learned alot from talking to you.

 

Check out the Wildcats tournament that will be held at UNC-CH sometime in September. It is slated to filled with the best in NC.