Softballers To Watch, 04 Season

I beg to differ on the level NC players are at compared to the rest. I have seen NC girls compete against the best from all over in the ASA nationals which a team from NC finished 9th out of 120+ teams,seen them compete at BOULDER at the FIRECRACKER asa tournament in July and finish 9th out of 120+ teams. These teams were the best from all the states, CA,TX,AZ,CO saw all the coaches from UCLA,TX,AZ and 100 other colleges at these.The main thing is exposure to these coaches and some teams are beginng to do this. Probably one of the top recriuts from NC is on OFFICAL visits to NC STATE,UNC and then ALA.,MISS., OK STATE which finished 2nd to TEX in their conf. So with the teams from NC going to this showcases our girls will get recruited from the major colleges. But the main thing is I know we can compete and we have players will the same talent as other states I've seen it. We have to do a better job of getting them in front of the coaches.

 

Re: LBlues1 comment on Taylor and Emily

"making alot of HS teams better"....................

Point is they will make any university or college team they so choose and are indeed, as LBlue stated, two of the best players in NC class 04 out of prolly 50 or so........regionally i would say in the top 100!##
so please remember hs is just a stepping stone for all student/athletes so enjoy the ride. Who are some of your picks when just ranking local players(conf, travel) to Charlotte to asheville, winston-salem to wilmington. We want to hear about the talent from across the region and hope you will enjoy your time in TBR sharing it with us.

## note: softball4ever, you remember back when i mention this to you???

HSFAN: You gotta love a parent and supporter of NCFP Softball who knows first hand......thanks

 

Cf Comments

Thanks for your comments, I was not even going to comment to Coach as I know the girls read this site as much as we do. Those two kids and several other kids on the Cardinals, Blues, Wildcats, NC Challengers could all play at D-1 schools. It is not automatic that these schools Coach named will see or hear about all good players and it takes hours of work just to get coaches to come watch any of the NC teams play. Ray Chandler has worked for 15 years to get the following he has now and my hat is off to him for all those years of work. The WIldcats and Challengers have been around for many years also. The Blues are in their fourth year and maybe it is my fault Emily and Taylor are not being highly recruited by UNC, Florida State, etc. However, in Plantation Fla, there were coaches from all over watching those two play especially when Taylor went from first to third on a pass ball. Coach, I understand where U are coming from but sometimes it is just being in the right place at the right time to get signed. Some signees just have political connections, some do not get the looks, while others get lucky. However, NC does have some great softball players and several could play at the schools U name if given the opporunity. Of course, all we say on here is our opinions and everyone has a right to disagree as U did with me. Enjoy softball and the great young ladies we have playing all over the area. All of them are special in their own way.

 

i don't think any of us were saying that north carolina girls can't compete on the national level. on the contrary! there are several from across this state that will be impact players the moment they step onto the major D1 college softball scene. my point was that just because someone excells in their high school conference, or in these local summer tournamnets, doesn't mean they are ready for the majors or that they are two of the best in the state. however, ladyblues did rephase indicating the girls were in the top 50 or 100. but being on a team such as the cardinals requires a lot of dedication and desire to play at that next level. and you do have to perform EVERY time you take the field because you never do know who is watching. once you catch their eye, though, you still must perform over and over again. they watch you in many, many games to see what you do. it is important to play at those tourneys hsfan mentioned as the college coaches want to see the girls play at a level close to what the college competion will be like. it sounds like the cardinals were fortunate to have three make it this year.

 

Softball Chic

You make some good points. One last thing and I will end my comments on this subject. Many girls do not want to go over an hour from home to school or limit there school choices because of their degree pursuits which The Coach or anyone from outside an organization may not be aware. Also, the Blues tried to go to Colorado, etc but were not able to break into the mix. We did play two Va Showcases, Plantation Fla, Florence, Raleigh, and won our bracket in all but one of those tournaments. We also played the Cardinals to a 0-0 tie the only time we got to play. Some of the Cardinal girls are willing to go out of state and that is great for them. Most of my girls are not willing to leave NC and that can limit the d-1 opportunities. Again, we do have several great organizations in NC that have placed many young ladies in college. I am honored to be a part of this group and hope to continue to help our talented ball players. Softball Chic, good luck to U, your daughter, if she plays. and the Cardinals. Sure we will see U at some time next summer. Always enjoy playing the great teams and class organizations, they help us develop and hopefully improve our team.

 

I wanted to reply to not only Ladyblue but everybody who has posted in this thread. I agree with you about the talent level that Emily and Taylor possess. I have gotten to see them play many times not only for their high school but for their traveling team. It takes a lot of time and energy to get the exposure you need to start getting college coaches to look inside NC for players. The recruiting that you have to do to get the right players together on a traveling team so that you can go to these "A" or even "Gold" tournaments for your players to be seen is time consuming in itself. But, thats just a part of the whole process. The emails to the coaches that you need to do to get them on their radar is as important as well. Out of sight...out of mind...right? But, one thing that I disagree with everybody on how much importance they place on playing for a D1 school. Or at least an upper D1 school. They are usually a large college with quite a few students. A lot of quality players in NC like the smaller school setting and most of those are D2. To play for a D2 is not saying you are not as good but maybe you just like the school, the size, and the coach. Our traveling team is heading to Charlotte this weekend and we play the lady blues on saturday. I look forward to seeing Emily, Taylor, and Meredith (I am assuming she still pitches for the lady blues). They don't know me but I do know them by their playing abilities and their work ethic that has gotten them this far.

 

Enkajet

Thanks for your comments, we look forward to playing U guys. Meredith will be at UNC-W this weekend so Ashton Ward will get most of the mound time. D-2 is very good softball and in fact if U look at most of the girls on the Blues, they want to go to smaller schools. My daughter did not even consider a large school, not that she could play softball there anyway. She decided to go to a school she wanted and if softball worked out, fine if not she was in a setting she enjoyed. Best of luck this weekend in Charlotte, looks like several schools will be there to check out the ladies.

 

I agree with LBUES1...you should watch what you say bout players on here for they do read this sight. I think NC has lot to offer D1 schools, but like some of you said, its all about getting in from of the coaches. Lots of GREAT players are coming out of NC...some OF THE best, not always saying whom IS THE BEST. One more thing to say is, I thank our coach for what he is doing and all he has done in the past to get his team and players recogonize. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK LBLUES!!!

 

CFBall you missed the whole point of my reply to LBlues1. If you look at it I said those 2 girls could play the game. As a matter of fact they can play the game really well. Seen them quite a bit in summer as well as St. Steph. If they read my original post I hope they didn't take it as a knock on them as I think you did. My point was that LBlues needs to watch his bias. Just think about it.....(your comment too)........take 10 teams in or area......JUST 10 and thats over 100 players,within 50 mi. radius. You all say top 100 in the southeast????? Both are wonderful players,probably top100 in the state. And that is a very very good compliment, considering the popularity and growth of our game. Just think about the players that only play HS. They want to end it and move on to college and concentrate on a degree. Know several that were offered money and turned it down. Someone else mentioned D-2....there are some great D-2 programs out there. The kids in those programs can flat play too. I coach girls and just think its wrong to boost them and tell them this and that, especially when its things you cant control. Thats just setting them up for major dissapointment. How about " I think you can play at the next level, lets make some contacts and see what happens" The kids in our area and state are getting better and better. If we keep going hopefully we can become a hot bed for players. Maybe some of these coaches will notice us and and get there core from NC. Then go out of state if need be for those selective "special" players to round out there programs. Good luck to all as February is just around the corner. Appologize if upset anyone originally.....especially Taylor and Emily

 

that coach has an opinion just as you do...........wouldnt you agree? Think alot of us will agree that Emily and Taylor are top notch...........considering both are ALL-STATE 2003.

Top 15 in NC, X6 States in Southeast region and we do see the point clearly! Work hard this offseason ladies!