Awfully Quiet Softball Posters: HS Teams to watch in 07

Hmmm

My first actual group of girls are finally seniors. My number one goal at the middle school is to prepare my girls for the next level. As SP improves each and every year, it will only get better. SP is going to be strong for the next several years. I know what kind of players I have produced over the past six years. Many high school coaches don't realize how important it is to have a good feeder program. SP's other feeder school hasn't produced more than one or two good ball players in 4 years, since Scism left. It makes life a lot easier as a high school coach to have a good feeder program. I'm lucky to have a high school coach that appreciates me. We make a great team. She knows a year in advance what we're getting and what we need to be working on. I told her 3 years ago, last year was going to be an awesome year. It's not very often you get to start 3 freshman as infielders. Pretty amazing, huh? Our pitcher and 3rd baseman will be missed, both awesome ball players. Neither were mine, but I have produced replacements. Their replacements will grow to be great ballplayers like the ones we lost.

 

good insight Coach. thanks for sharing and i think more are in the direction you mentioned......working hard at the MS level to feed their respective HSs.

 

OK

steelergal, our HS in 2005 had 5 freshmen varsity starters; 1 in OF and 4 on the infield.....and lost just 1 game short of making the final 4 in 4A at Walnut Creek; but it's just an unusually strong class of female athletes in all sports at our HS.
Question on MS softball:
at the MS level, do you ever face having to develop pitchers from scratch or do they seem to come to that grade level already with pitching skills from TB / rec ball / pitching instruction?

I agree it is important to have a good working relationship with the HS coach.
I think I would prefer to coach MS players to other age groups. I actually have thought about looking into teaching/coaching (the lateral entry thing) at the MS level as a post-retirement gig. I will be about age 55 at that time, so who knows.....maybe, maybe not. any suggestions pro or con?
thanks.

 

ms

God has special rewards for those who want to work at the middle grades level!!!!! Those who do are rare finds!
ERMS

 

Thanks to a great MS / HS coach

Thanks for all the support you have given our girls, especially mine. But more than that you took a group and brought them up to the level needed to compete with the best. Your freshmen group were aweshome and exactly what SP has needed for three years.

The broken School sports system around here needs more people like you. One that care about the improving the program, and more so care about developing the girls to the maximum ability. ( Title IX needs to come visit the High School system and make these Football and Baseball fanatics realize there is more than football and baseball in the schools.)

I give very little credit the system developing girls at the MS level. They should come talk to you about what it takes to make it work.

You are different, you coach, you develop, not just take advantage of what you have for the year. You and take them to the next level. (p.s. Cramerton coaches back then do not get credit for the team that was laid in his hands "Carolina Thunder travel team" but I will give them credit for filling the few gaps)

Your techniques as a coach and the other coaches at SP took the girls (freshmen to senoirs) to where they needed to be last year. KM was very concerned walking into SP last year, rightfully so. Thanks for supporting our girls and maybe SP can muster up a surprise for the rest of them this year.

Keep it going woman.

p.s Guess who is signing as a catcher and middle infielder for LR next week!!!!

 

Well thank you!! That means alot to me. You have me blushing. I have been blessed with such great girls. They need the right attitude before I perform my magic. Well I hope all goes well with the siging. That's my girl, she can play any position on the field.............I've told her that from day one when she stepped on my field. Sorry, I didn't make that college jump, so I could coach her for four more years. Then I would make her my assistant coach, once she graduated.

My favorite quote, "You can't make chicken soup out of chicken shit."

 

I have been at my middle school for six years. Last year was the first time I didn't have to really make someone pitch. My pitcher from last year got hurt, but I was blessed with another outstanding pitcher. My first year, I had an awesome athlete that could play any position, she had to work at a pitcher. From that point on I forced girls into just getting it across the plate. I had to create solid defenses and I knew that. Of my created pitchers only one is still pitching today. She did a good job in middle school and now is working hard and could easily pitch at varsity as a tenth grader.
I firmly believe that every coach needs to experience middle school. It tells you whether your really a coach or not. Some schools are lucky to get experienced players (travel ball), I have only had 4 travel ball players in the past six years. There's truly a big difference from when you have 25 girls trying out for you middle school team and 25 girls trying out for your high school team. In middle school it's easy to pick out at least 8 or 9 girls that are decent. You get 2 or 3 that you know can play ball.......at that point you have to develop the rest of them.

I've learned over the years at middle school, you have to make it fun.....win or lose. That's what happens to some of the girls that get burned out so early. It's not fun to them anymore. No one likes to lose, but my ultimate goal is to develop my girls for the next level. You have to make it fun, because when they get to college they will realize it is WAY different than high school and WAY, WAY, WAY different than middle school.

What a lot of coaches forget to do at the high school level, is they forget that they are preparing their players for the next level. That's why many high school players quit in college after their first year. College softball becomes a job, it's no longer fun and games. They are paying you for your talent because they want to win!!! Bottom line. :taliban:

 

New Team to Beat

You guys better watch out for the New School on the block !
That's right...Central Lincolnton "Knoggan Knockers" are loaded !
They have the Cameachy twins from NY ( Just moved in ) Jersey Girls Gold . One runs a 2.50 & the other 2.55 to first. SS & 2nd
They also have the big gal from Miami Rosi Rodriquze 65-67 mph ( Mini Canes )These are the new dogs on the block !!!!! Look out for em.
I'd go ahead and start the engraving machine. Ya Hoo

 

Say what? Where's the scout?????

 

OK but

steelergal, thanks for your "testimony" about MS ball; it was great to read. Sounds like you have the right outlook on this. I was doing real good til I read the part quoted above. You make it sound like HS coaches should be focusing primarily on preparing their players for college ball?? I know this forum concentrates on the few players that do end up with college scholarships and that's great, but really the % of all HS players that end up playing in college is very low. Maybe your intent on this is to say that if the HS coach teaches & trains & coaches in such a way that would "prepare" & expose ALL the players (college-bound and the others) to a college-type regimen then it would result in a better HS TEAM result more often than not?? I thought the HS coach's mission was to promote the best results for the HS TEAM??? please help me out on this / clarify.............thanks.