PIGLETox23

I think the MTSCA is a great organization. I know my players have felt very honored to be a part of any team that recognizes their hard work... Also, I was privileged enough to coach that team in 2008 and it was an awesome experience as well... So hats off to you, MTSCA...Keep on doing your thing!

Because of Marion County's graduation being tonight, the substate game against FCS will be on Saturday at FCS at 5:00 p.m.

There will be an open tryout for a 14U travel team this weekend at Friendship Christian School. The tryout will be on the high school softball field at noon. This team will play in approximately 7-8 tournaments (ASA). This team will be coached by a former Division I softball player and a current player. Neither coach will have a daughter on the team. Looking for 96's mostly, but will take some 95's or 97's. Email with questions. Thanks. edp2p@mtsu.edu

John is my assistant and he would never bash me or our players. I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but it is false...

Do you think the big man at Goodpasture is the real head coach? That just shows me you don't know alot about Goodpasture softball. Piggy, sometimes the truth hurt's. And exactly what truth is that? However you feel about that man, He has more championship rings than fingers, so he is doing something right. Secondly, the point of my post was not to debate the skills of any coach. I will not argue with you, but I will say this. Three consecutive district, region, and substate championships, plus three consecutive trips to the state tournament say something.

To PITCHING_TOE: I would really appreciate if you keep your insults directed at ME and not my players. It just so happens that I have a great team. We are young and trying to figure each other out. As the great coach at Goodpasture once told me, you spend the first third of your season "finding" your starting lineup, the middle third of your season "perfecting" that lineup, and the final third of your season "attaining" that success you've worked for. From a man who has won more state championships than fingers on his hands, I would say that is good advice. Don't count us out yet...we are still in the "finding" stage. Also, take a look at our schedule, it is pretty loaded with great teams. If you remember last year, everyone said we were weak and that we had 'no pitching' or whatever. Well guess what, we were back in Murfreesboro again with our 'terrible, weak team'. Having said this, you can insult me all you wish, but leave my players alone. They work hard and they don't deserve that... Sincerely, "THE BAD COACH"

The problem is...less than 1 percent of high school softball players go on to play in college...And the ones who DO, probably play 16 or 18 Gold where they pitch from 43 feet anyway...so...

As the person who originally started this post, I would like to respond. First of all, to the person who kept posting "IT IS ONLY THREE FEET," I can assure that it is definitely a difficult transition to make. It is not like backing up first or third and just making a longer throw. It is about mechanics and release and spin, and they are all different when you move back three feet. Your drop ball has to drop later, your change has to go further, your rise has to be released lower to break later, your curve has to be released earlier, and so on...I am a coach now (both high school team and pitching coach) and while I agree that the movement for high school should have been made to 43 feet, I don't believe so for middle school girls. I played Division I softball, and making the transition once I went to college was an adjustment. I don't care what anyone says, it DOES affect your speed. Maybe only 2-5 miles per hour, but regardless, it does. I went from throwing about 65-66 in high school to the low 60's in college, and I also had to learn to perfect my moving pitches, as they break differently from three feet back. This is a great idea for high school girls because it prepares them for college as well as makes the game more exciting. But asking a 12 year old to do that isn't fair. Some of them are just learning and have not developed the mechanics or strength to be a pitcher, let alone the confidence that being a pitcher requires. Basically what we are saying is that a girl will go from 35 to 43 feed with only spending one, at the most two (if you're lucky) at 40 feet. I have pitched or coached pitching for almost 20 years, and this is just my opinon...

I know the high school distance has been changed, but has the middle school distance been changed to 43 feet as well? Does anyone know this for sure? If so, I think this is just too far for girls who are 12, 13, 14...

This is a totally unfair statement to make. Public and private schools are not divided in Tennessee, therefore, the champion is the only team who ends their season on a win. That would be Trinity. Give credit where it is due. Sure, Forrest is a great team, and last year they WERE the champions. This year they were the runner-up, still an awesome accomplishment. As someone who played Trinity in the state tournament, they are definitely the best team in single A, and I would put them up against any other champion in any class to give them a run for their money. Don't take away what Forrest HAS earned by demeaning what Trinity EARNED...

I'd say this is a pretty good assessment of the SINGLE A bracket...

8 dollars per SESSION...They make the loser's bracket games at 10 in the morning, ending around 2, and the even session beginning at 5. They close the park down in between sessions so that if you want to come back you have to pay again. So if you only go to one session, then it is 8 dollars, but if you go to both, it is 16... It is supposed to be 5 dollars for parking, but for the past two years they have not charged for parking... They are making a killing, NO DOUBT...

Eight dollars for the morning session and eight dollars for the evening sessions...So a WHOPPING 16 dollars a day if you are like me and want to watch ALL the games! Thankfully, just as Mrnoitall has previously said, I guess we are lucky, even if we go two and out, that we made so that we get PASSES!!

Actually the homerun only tied the game... The game was 1-0 until the 7th and Jessi did tie the game up, and she is awesome and definitely was the hero. But my next batter actually got a hit to get on base, pinch runner stole second, was bunted to third, and the next two batters walked. We scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball. So yes, having Hailey and Jessi as players was awesome, but I had other good players too, and I have some good players now too. Don't run us down because we are a different team than we have been in the past...One thing you can't argue with...we are still here, still playing, still alive, so don't count US out yet either...

I would hardly say that pitchingtoe had us accepting the trophy already...in fact, he said Grace Baptist would probably beat us! In my opinion, as the coach of these amazing young ladies, no one thought we would even get to the state tournament. We have had to fight for every game that we have won all season long and NOTHING has been easy for us. I am so proud of these girls for making it the state tournament, and even if we lose the first two games and go home, we can say that we MADE it to the ELITE EIGHT... I love these girls and they deserve to be playing this week in the 'Boro. No doubt, the competition in single A is amazing with Trinity, Forrest, Huntingdon, Cornersville, Grace, Coalfield, and Midway. At this point everyone is a champion and each team is great... It comes down to who plays the best in a particular game, and gets the lucky falls and calls... Maybe us, maybe not, but either way, I say let's ENJOY THE RIDE!!!

They will give us, TCA, Huntingdon, Forrest, and anyone else they play a nice run...They are awesome...

I actually went to scout them on Tuesday in their game against CSAS, and I gave the scouting report to Gordonsville's coach. He is also giving me scouting reports on Whitwell so we are helping each other out!!

No doubt, Gordonsville is a great team...They are well-coached and they never give up. I fully expect to see them play a good game against Grace Baptist on Friday and we are pulling for them to get to the state tournament!

I think "RABID FANS" is slightly overstating...and for the record, I would love to beat Trinity, they are a HUGE rival of ours, and I am the coach at FCS, NOT a fan of Trinity. I am just saying that I like their program just fine...

I would be very careful of bragging to Trinity...Something has to be said for a team who has remained in the number one spot ALL season and has NEVER (did you see that, NEVER) lost a game... My prediction is that YES, they will be there, YES, they are a great team, and NO, I am not brave enough to claim that they won't be there or we will run all over them... And I said this before and I will say it again, Trinity has really good fans, players, and coaches... We played them first round of the state tournament and they beat us by ONE run and the fans were fine. If you ask my opinion, it seems that it is always FORREST'S fans who are the ones with the bad attitude. Not so much the players (most of them are good kids who work really hard and have always been very respectful to me and our team in the past) but the fans have always been terrible when we have played them... Trinity, on the other hand, has good fans, players, and coaches. And, they are an amazing softball team as well... Be careful of what you say because sometimes that can come back to haunt you...

As a coach, I agree with you, Cascade. I have been on both ends of the beating stick and either way it is not a fun game in which to be. There were a few games that we won by between 10 and 15 runs and once we were ten runs ahead we had a signal to leave the base early. I would never ask my players to strike out or do something to affect their stats (which don't really matter to me anyway) but I did stop stealing bases, I didn't send runners on passed balls, I didn't take an extra base on a hit, and I had my girls leave the base early after a hit. I also let the umpires know what I was doing (discretely) so that the call would be made. I agree, ending your softball CAREER being embarrassed like that is not necessary. But, I also know Trinity's players and coaches from the past three years in the state tournament, and they are a classy bunch of players, coaches, and fans, so if the score was 22-0 I don't feel that Trinity was running a team into the ground... Our season ended last year on a KILLING by Cornersville (who put us out of state 13-1) and it STILL makes me upset, but they didn't run us into the ground, we played badly and didn't hit so what can you do....

REGION 4A Gordonsville defeats Red Boiling Springs 3-2 in TEN INNINGS!! Looks like GHS will face FCS for the FIFTH time this season for the region 4A championship!!

REGION 4A Friendship Christian is playing Clay County at FCS at 5:00 p.m. Gordonsville is playing Red Boiling Springs at RBS (not sure what time)

Going to scout them today!!!

As an English teacher, I can tell you that it is, in fact, NOT a word. Just because something has become widely used does not make it a word. There are plenty of words in the dictionary now simply because their usage is widely spread. To prove my point (as someone who is 21 hours into my Ph.D. in Literacy) here is the definition: irregardless--an erroneous word that, etymologically, means the exact opposite of what it is used to express, attested in non-standard writing from 1912, probably a blend of irrespective and regardless. Perhaps inspired by the double negative used as an emphatic. NOW< CAN WE GET BACK TO SOFTBALL?