Coaches Poll

North Carolina Softball Coaches Association -- Weekly Coaches Poll


Am I the only one who finds the 4A Weekly Coaches Poll a bit questionable?

 

I am not impressed with who ever is voting. Some reasons are:

4a Lake Norman is walking the dog on people.

3a Ledford is just honorable mention? Robinson should be moving up with a big win over Central Cabarrus

 

Polls are opinions.

Maybe each poster could post their own list and make comparisons as the season progresses.

What would your list look like?

 

I don't know everything about all the teams but in my opinion records and game scores, era's, batting averages need to be looked at when deciding this poll. according to Max Preps the top four teams in 4A have already lost a game or 2... Just Saying..

 

I think

I think you are correct about the polls. A lot of the polls are being based on last year too. Some schools had girls playing basketball and they are just getting them onto the team. Lets give the teams about 2 weeks to get into play. I think the top teams will then start to show the true colors and who the top teams are.

 

Just like these polls, MaxPreps is only as good as the input they get.

I agree that everything isn't looked at, also. For example, Holly Springs lost three top players, Erica Nunn, Kristen Krebs, Jenna Firestein. And their head coach, Jill Munchik. It would be very improbable that they would remain in the Top Ten under those circumstances.

Using that same reasoning, I believe schools that lost few, if any, players and went deep in the playoffs should be ranked higher.

There's no perfect way to do it, but one thing that helps is to join the Softball Coaches Association and give them your input. Or find out who does belong and give them some info to pass on.


PS: In case any of those association members are reading this, someone needs to consider East Wake HS. They are going to be a factor, for sure!

And Cleveland HS is looking good, also!!

 

The polls don't matter, what matters is if you make it to Raleigh come the end of May. Yes, it's nice to see your kids the get the recognition but don't put to much weight in a poll that will change all season. I no longer have a kid playing in High School any longer as she is now playing at the colligent level and have seen some teams at the D2 & D3 levels that started off their season on what they did the year prior but that changed once the season got going. The best teams always rise to the top come playoffs. Good luck to all the young ladies with their season. Parents, enjoy it as it goes by really fast

 

It is what it is.

I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that the polls are based strictly on the votes received from the association members that actually turn in a vote. I do not believe that it takes into account scores, head to head matchups, stats, etc. Further, it isn't really possible for coaches around the state to be fully informed on what is happening in all other areas of the state. I agree that it was strange last year for a team to win the conference championship, beat the second place team in the conference twice, and have the second place team end up ranked in the top 5 of the state while the conference champions didn't even get an honorable mention. However, why does it matter? IMO, the goal should be the conference championship, state playoffs, and a trip to Raleigh, not a high ranking in the poll. There is no need to bash the poll. It is what it is and is the best system that we have to generate interest in the sport at this time. At least the NC Fastpitch Coaches' Association cares enough to put out a weekly poll and that takes time and work from volunteers. It is a thankless job, but it is appeciated by many. Please keep posting the weekly polls!

 

A little off the subject, but I agree there should be a focus on the Conference championship. And there should be no tie for the Conference championship. If the leaders don't even care enough to have a playoff to determine a Conference champion at least have some clear cut tiebreaker rules in place so that only one team can clearly claim the championship.

 

I don't worry so much about the polls, I think if the coaches that are voting in the polls would take the time to enter their stats into MaxPreps everyone would be able to make better assessments as to who has played who and what the scores are. Keeping track of the teams win loss record is way easier when it is all listed in one place. MaxPreps is Free and easy but many of the teams don't even have their rosters listed. That takes about 5 minutes. With all the people now doing electronic scoring that would really help.
If the polls are there to generate interest in the games, I would suggest that actually posting your schedule on MaxPreps might help to know where and when you are playing. That might help too!