thatsafact

Lisa Fernandaz, Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman, DeeDee Weiman, do these pitchers ring a bell? Younger pitchers include Donna Kerr, UCLA, Hilary Bach, ASU, Jordan Taylor , Michigan, Cat Hosfield and Ivy Renfroe, University of Tennessee among many, many others out of top 20 D-I programs. Ernie Parker. He lives in Memphis now and is the best in the country. He is flown all over the country as well as to other countries to speak and to teach pitchers. He is the former US Olympic team pitching coach. Take your daughter to him and stick with whatever he says. He is amazing.

Tennessee is good, and great points stlbrd,101 and blue but going back on topic, I am interested in Fagan , the pitcher that is going to Tennessee. I cant wait to watch her pitch this season. She must be good too as Tennessee usually goes after the best. What is she a sophomore? Junior?

Lets talk about Connell , Fagan, and Vincent. Besides the mental game, what do they throw that makes them an effective pitcher? You are very high on them so I know you have watched them throw a lot.

Did she run into problems with grades at Volstate or did she take a break? Why didnt she start with Motlow in the first place? Is she playing summer ball anywhere this summer?

I think Breeden hiring Falon, a pitching coach , was huge. She got him to really mix pitches and helped him see hitters weaknesses. Keeping the hitters off balance was huge. Also , I think the Beech girls were so positive they were going to win , they were over confident. Never underestimate a team full of seniors that are full of fire. I dont know all of the girls on the Beech or Riverdale team so I dont know why orange and white says they had more talent. I know Kat, from Beech and Ashia and Obrien from Riverdale are all going to play D-I. Does Beech have others that are D-I committed?

You could possibly say the best team didnt win the tournament if the score was 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 but the score was 9 to 1 ! Riverdale creamed Beech! At this point the Beech coach should be looking at himself trying to figure out WHY his team couldnt hit the ball off of Riverdales pitcher. She is not dominating. The Beech coach was out coached in all aspects of the game. The Riverdale players played well. Riverdale is the better team and Woods owes Breeden and the girls an apology for that "full of himself" remark

Toss the machine. Live batting practice and soft toss and hitting off the "T" is the way to go

who pitches for this team

Except a bunch of gossip........................ which makes him think he knows everything

I personally think parents stealing signs and tipping off batters is unethical however if the girl on second wants to lift one arm or give another signal indicating if the catcher is set up on inside or outside well I think it is fair game. If the catcher is lining up too early behind the plate that is her fault. She is being sloppy. It is letting the girls play the game. If the girls pick up sloppy signals between the pitcher and catcher ...well too bad. By the way Stinnett, while you are on line...how is your daughter doing after surgery?

What off-season surgery?

Tennessee has a girl pitching for them by the name of Ashton Ward, who was a two time All American and Cat Hosfield who was also an All American. Ashton, a sophomore this year at Tennessee, had about a 1.8 ERA last year , which is excellent in SEC ball. I think Ivy is an excellent athlete with wonderful potential. She will have time to learn before she has to " carry" the team. I think the Tennessee coaches are very skilled at seeking out players with top potential and I think they see potential in the Renfroe sisters.

Wow, jealous much? Well, I think Ellen, Anna, and Ivy are all really good players. They will survive in Knoxville. A pitcher does not totally make a team. If St. Benedict is made up of almost all Gold players it is no wonder Trinity cant beat them. Trinity is filled with girls who probably dont play much travel ball at all. Good luck to Trinity and the Renfroes. They are good kids.

Wh are the pitchers that leading these gold teams? What high schools do they play for and have any pitched gold ball before? Isnt this a first ? 4 + TRUE gold teams out of Tennessee? Georgia wont know what hit them.

I was referring to the Fury 16U team. A team like that is an excellent place for this kid ,at her age, to play. The cruisers coached by Pruitt also, since they won 16U A nationals , has the opportunity to get into a lot of "exclusive" tournaments too. Of course they would have to play 18U this year as they all were older.

well I didnt get the link to work correctly but just type in the address...they are good

You want to get on a team that can play other top players. Coaches want to see you get a hit off a top pitcher or steal off of a catcher who has excellent pop times. They want to see you perform against others who are playing at the highest level. That is why the Fury or the Cruisers ( coached by Pruitt) may be a good choice. They can get their teams into the top two colorado tournaments ( fireworks or sparkler) , Champions cup , Batbuster and/or other top ones. Here are links to the top tournaments you will want to attend: http://www. surfcitytourneys.com www.ocbatbusters.com www.teamnjsoftball.com www.ronaldmcdonaldtournament.com http://www. risingstarsevents.com/risefall www.eliteshowcase.com http://www.championscup.org/

So you think Xplosion Gold is going to kick butt at 18U gold nationals? It is hard to even get close to qualifing. Gold is a whole other planet.

Who is on this team to make you think so? Who is coaching this team? I heard Ken Crook was not.

WOW, Thanks for all the support, and discussions. I never new there would be so much help out there. I'm am accustomed to just someone saying good luck, Thank you all for everything, and to the comment earlier, about playing for fun, that's what a lot of people has told me, and I plan on staying away from those tournaments, I really need to focus on my career and education. Not bragging none, but just to throw out there, the UK Lady Coach sent our school an e-mail stating she was very interested in me which was totally shocking to me. After our H.S. Team finished third in the state. Unfortunately I broke my thumb right after that and she never got to see me play any more. Take Care all and Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Kara Woods#25 Congrats On UK's interest in you. You need to know that SEC coaches have a very wide list for students of your age. They ID quite a few and put them on their "watch" list. The fact that you are on their watch list tells you that you are talented. You still need to market yourself to all schools you are interested in. Schools in the SEC can act like you are their number one recruit all the way to the end and then they offer one kid and drop the twenty others they have been talking to. Be prepared. Have several schools in your pocket too. Screwball is right , this web site is EXCELLENT http://www.eteamz.com/RECRUITINGTIPS/

In response to this comment: Since we're discussing top notch exposure tournaments I've got a question. In my 9 years of watching girls fastpitch in this area I've noticed that the vast majority of girls stay in the southeast for college. I actually can't think of any who have gone on to play at schools out west, or even west of the Mississippi. I do know a few who have headed a slightly north of TN. That being said, is it really worth all the money to head to Colorado to be 'seen' by coaches who either apparently don't want TN girls, or don't offer them anything. Has anyone from around here got a story to tell about a midwest, southwest, or west coast college being interested in them? It seems like putting all your effort into exposures in the southeast would be better. Music City Hits for example draws coaches from a wide radius but a radius that most TN girls end up at. The Florida exposure, or even SC would be good choices. I don't know, I'm just asking because I'm not the smartest turnip on the truck but I'm just amazed that year after year people spend thousands to head out west to be 'seen' by coaches and the only ones showing interest are pretty much in their back yard. One other thought, at an exposure tournament this fall, a Div l coach told me that she wasn't going to have as big of a budget for recruiting travel this year so she was focusing on local tournaments more. On OVC recruiter said that most universities were limiting the travel money for coaches. I dont think these girls are traveling to Colorado just to try to get scholarships out west, they are traveling to play against the top players and teams in the nation. This not only helps develop skills more readily than playing in local tournaments, it develops interest and creates scholarship offers by other college coaches which in turn helps the player get A LOT MORE money in scholarships where ever she decides to play...even if it is in the southeast. If a team like "Alabama" knows Oklahoma, Oregon, Cal, ect...are after a player...guess what ...their offer goes up. Full rides are hard to get. Playing and suceeding against the best is how you get them. The more that people "want" your daughter, the better deal she gets. You want your daughter to be a "blue chip recruit" . Not to put down Music City Hits but IT IS NOT A TRUE "GOLD" tournament. You are not playing the best. So if you get tons of strikeouts or homeruns does it really mean anything in terms of scholarship dollars to SEC schools?? Rising stars is good IF you can get Syd Cooper, , the tournament director to let you play blue chip teams. The Carolina tournaments are fine but the best are not there to play against.

That would be correct . Assuming your graduation year is 2011, 16U is a great place for you ONLY if the team is competing in the ASA A 16U Nationals and has a shot at staying in the national tournament more than just 2 games. 18UA is going to be better this year at attracting coaches, as the competition will be tougher, but the coaches that attend 18UA nationals are a little different than the ones at 18U GOLD and 16UA. Usually , NAIA, lower end D-I, D-II, and D-III coaches attend these events in greater numbers. Nothing is wrong with these schools, and many, many offer great oportunities for a great education. You should focus on chosing your school on obtaining an education in your choice of study not just who have the best softball programs. Also , another point of emphasis, if you do choose to play 16UA this year, dont do so as a rising senior, if you are after a scholarship. Coaches want to see how you compete against the best of your age , and older, not against those younger than you. One more point, unless you are just planning to compete for fun, avoid teams that focus on USSSA, NSA, USFA and other lower end tournaments. The coaches are not there. ASA "A" at the national level is the way to go. Teams that travel to be in the Boulder colorado tournament around the 4th of July , or can GET IN TO the top exposure tournaments across the nation are good too.

The Fury team has the most trained coaches by far in the Tennessee area. That isnt to say other Tennessee coaches are bad but the Fury coaches keep abreast of how the top college teams teach and are very "skills" focused. A step above the rest!

Amen

I forgot to ask about Katie Ayers- Ryan and Devon Smidt -Goodpasture on the 18U Xplosion and Kenzie Roark- Mt Juliet / Ryley mashburn - Ryan and Pruitt- Ravenwood on the Cruisers 18U gold. Did these girls qualify their teams this weekend?