Most talented 18U teams in 2006 ???

Blues going out west

Good Luck on your trip to Colorado, We need more NC teams to try to compete
at those events. From the little I have seen , alot of the NC teams can compete
with the west coast teams. We just need the chance. What is the name of the event you are going to play in ?Thanks for your input

 

Either the Blues or the Cardinals finished in the top 10 in the Nationals in 2005 and the other was Top 15. From what I hear, NC could place a few more teams in the top 20 if only they could get in the tournament. Where are the Nationals being held in 2006 and 2007?

 

Anyone have an update on the Cardinals?

 

Colorado

It is a 32 team tournament called the Louisville tourney. It is basically an extension of Boulder and is five miles away from the complex. We were willing to do this to make sure we at least got a chance at the big dance in 2007. I think many of the NC teams can compete with western teams, at least at the A class of ASA. I do think the west coast teams hit better from top to bottom than most NC teams and may have a few more HR hitters. I am just basing it on what the Blues have seen nothing scientific.

 

The ASA nationals require a bid and your team has to win or place in a Qualifer in order to enter. The last two years I beleive the NC ASA state didn't carry a bid to the Nationals and the Blues and Cardinals had to travel to Ga. and enter a Qualifer.The teams that want to play in the ASA Nationals will need to enter one of these type tournaments. The competion is outstanding and usually have around 14-20 teams in a qualifer.Usually these are regional,Ga,NC,SC,TN.Fla.NC teams are a little behind due to the fact we play HS in the Spring and a lot of states play in the Fall,which makes sense.Maybe LB1 can add some things to this.The Boulder Tournament is the BEST,Cardinals didn't win a pool game last year(In a very tough Pool)but went 3 rounds in the single elimnation.The west coast teams seem to as LB1 Said hit better from top to bottom and seem to make less mistakes on defense.I believe this due to them playing in tough ASA tournaments year round and some skip HS ball all together.

 

ASA

Ray and I worked together last year to get ASA to give a National bid for ASA State. Tony Laws worked hard with us and was able to get the berth. However, we did go to Ga prior to the states to qualify. U are right most states have an advantage over NC as they play HS in fall if they play HS at all. Many western players have given up HS ball all together. We struggle early on but by mid-summer can compete pretty well. I think overall NC can match the west in pitching. We only saw one or two teams with superior pitching and one of those was from Ga. Hitting, maybe defense of the slap etc., and HR pop seperates the west right now. Gold teams, the Blues are 6-2 against them. We seem to really put on our game face for them and our pitching really stepped it up when we faced these teams. NC is on the rise, we just got to continue to impress the coaches, still quite a few that feel western is better!

 

NC on a whole is still 5-10 years behind 'west coast' softball if you want to use that as your verbage. High school softball in the spring has a lot to do with that in many respects. Plus, high school ball is in no way comparative to good and better travel ball. There is just not enough caliber players on high school teams, plus strength of schedule. All players in NC that play high school ball in the spring and then roll into JO ball/travel ball, take a good month (June) to adjust. High school game is all around slower in NC. The biggest adjustment is the mental, not as much the physical. Best thing for NC on a whole to accelerate the growth and education process would be to play high school softball in the fall or for the competitive JO/travel players is not to play high school softball. Elite level softball or 'west coast' is better hitting wise, but it's because the pitching is much better across the board. The hitters start to see much faster pitching earlier on starting at the 14u and especially 16u. For the most part, unless there is a very dominating pitcher on the mound, everybody is going to hit; top to bottom in the order. The elite level of the game or 'west coast' game occurs much faster. Typically lots of offense, lots of defense. And another major factor is the amount of game and how much they play. The elite teams play year round. There's very little time off. Softball is the same game wherever you go. Athletes are all the same no matter where you go. A lot of people/teams/whatever put way to much emphasis on winning, stats, etc... Elite level/'west coast' they're not worried about winning except in two types of events. ASA National Qualifiers and ASA Nationals. Most teams out there don't keep score and don't keep stats, especially in the fall. Until June/July rolls around, it's all about exposure. The tournaments are set up as exposure, no single elim., no double, just games. And if it's not a showcase, they still do round robin. The exposure tourneys/showcases in the region, a lot of teams play like it's the World Series, got to win. When more people figure that out in this area/region, it will improve too. One of the best showcases in VA/NC/SC/GA in the fall still does single elimination play on Sunday. Shouldn't be that what. College coaches don't want it to be that way either. It's not about how many games you win, it's all about who you play. Strength of schedule and how often you play that strength of schedule. That's all the college coaches care about when it comes to recruting players. Specifically DI/top 25 DI. When this area/region of the country learns that and believes that. A lot of growth will take place.

 

Good Post. A lot of things you stated here is exactly what needs to happen. Hard to change mindsets in this region.

 

ASA Qualifiers

As far as sites for ASA Qualifiers for '06 here is the list:

National Qualifiers (includes teams from anywhere)

18u - TN
16u - SC
14u & 12u - GA
10u - NC

Regional Qualifiers (only teams from SC/NC/GA/TN)
18u Gold - GA
18u A - GA
18u B - GA
16u - NC
14u - TN

Hall of Fame Qualifiers (winners qualify for Oklahoma where top 8 teams get bid to Nationals)
18u - NC
16u - GA
14u - GA
12u - SC

 

Dates

What about the dates for these qualifers,last year some were in May before we finished HS,another reason to move HS to the FALL.