batboy1

Hey just want to weigh in on the catcher discussion. I agree, positions are sometimes overlooked. I have not seen all the catchers that have been mentioned play, but have heard of alot of them. I also agree with all of them. A catcher I have seen play that plays at Jefferson County High School, and I think she plays for the Maryville Magic travel team, but not sure. Her name is Laura Dukes, and i think she is a junior this year. She is a clutch player, great kid, and can call a good ball game.

I agree with you sbfan10. I have seen the Dukes kid play off and on since her days in 10 and under with the Thunder. I was at a tournament in Chatt. last year with my daughter and was able to watch her catch a game with the Magic. I haven't seen very many travel ball coaches who trust their catcher to call their own game, but this girl called an outstanding game. Her and the pitcher kept the other team off balance with a nasty change up and one of the best curveballs I've ever seen.

Is there anyone that can slow this big train down? Just when you think your in the game, you start makin a couple of errors and BAM ! You Suckin Wind!

Maybe Maryville gonna be the "Beast from the East" ?

We'll know tommorrow.....

 

Go WC Wildcats !

Where are you at dubc..... Looks like mighty Riverdale not only derailed the Beech train, they left them at the station. Not only once, but beat them twice (with realitive ease I might add). Not a Riverdale fan, but was tired of hearing the West Tennessee papers already naming Beech the AAA winners on Monday prior to tournament starting and seeing all of the fans posting how unstoppable they were on Coach T. Just wondering where are all of the fans now?

That is why the game is played between the lines and why most teams play a tough schedule BEFORE they get into State. No cupcakes here.

If your gonna boast and brag when things are going well, you have to be willing to take your "hat" off to the teams that put you down. That is called having some class.

Any early scores yet?

Maryville beat Houston 1-0

I know that 2 games need to be played, but 6 teams are waiting to make travel plans... does anyone know.. do we have to wait until Monday to know???

AAA Bracket has been set. It is available out on the TSSAA website.

Knox Central at Morristown West-

A step up in competition from the Silver bracket at the MTSCA for Central......Morristown West wins going away.

 

 

Midway at Unaka

Should be a good game. Midway in a squeaker.

 

 

Stone Memorial at Unicoi

Stone scored a lot of runs last night. Should have saved them for tomorrow. Unicoi something to 0.

 

North Greene at Coalfield

Home field adavantage means less nerves usually so I'll go with Coalfield.

 

Grangier at Gibbs

Will definately be closer than most believe....Traditoin moves on and Gibbs wins.

 

Morristown East at Maryville

Probably the best game of them all. Broken finger for Maryville means Murfreesboro for East.

Sorry to disappoint you Softballfan07 but Morristown West fell to the mighty Central Bobcats 6-3 and Maryville beat Morristown East 3-1.

Yo "SenorFly"...look what I done.

 

It may be wrong so if it is...someone change it to make it right. This does make it easier to see the whole pix.

 

 

AAA Districts

 

1 Science Hill, Daniel Boone (decided?)

2 Morristowns (?)

3 Knox Central #1, Knox Powell #2

4 Maryville and ???

5 Cleveland, Walker Valley ???

6 Soddy #1, Ooltewah #2

7 Riverdale, Siegel (decided ?)

8 Coffee Cty and Lawrence Cty (undecided)

9 Beech and Wilson Central (undecided)

10 Dickson #1, Rossview #2

11 Ravenwood, Brentwood (decided?)

12 ?????

13 Hardin, Brighten (decided?)

14 Bolton, Bartlet (decided?)

15 Houston #1, Collierville #2

Maryville - Winner - Farragut - Runner Up

OK....let's get some good information on here.

 

Maryville League Fall '07:

 

9/8/07 Knoxville Thunder - Sams 16U (6) Maryville Magic - 18U (0)

9/29/07 Maryville Magic - 18U (2) Knoxville Thunder - Sams 16U (1)

 

Halloween Havoc Fall '07:

 

10/20/07 Maryville Magic 18U Defeated Knoxville Thunder - Sams 16U (score unknown)

 

Southeastern Exposure (Summer '08):

 

6/7/08 Knoxville Thunder - Sams 16U (2) Maryville Magic - 18U (1)

 

 

Not sure if Magic actually faced Thunder 18U during that time frame.

 

 

 

Thank you Statman3 for supplying the information.

Chattanooga Fury & Coach Moyer is a good choice for Exposure Tournaments. However there 18u/16u teams are usually made up of athletes that are already on the fast track to being signed or have committed already. Other teams you might want to look into are Knoxville Thunder & Fred Fekete's Magic team. The Thunder has contacts with many collage coaches & they have been attending higher level Exposure tournaments these past few years. Fred's last name alone gets his Magic team into most any Exposure tournament he wants but the quality of his teams has diminished some over the past few years. TN Xplosion is another team / organization that has a good feel for the recruiting process.

 

Good luck in your search!

Sounds like a little jealousy towards Fred Fekete's Magic team.

You are correct that his name does get him into most exposure tournaments, but that has more to do with his longevity in going to these types of tournaments and the class that he and his team conducts themselves with. The other thing Fekete has is a pipeline to many, many college coaches. Just go to any exposure tournament and see how many college coaches come up to him just to say "hello". College coaches could care less about the winners and loosers in exposure tournaments. They want to see individual kids and how they compete against other players at the elite level.

Coach Fekete and Coach Moyer understand that and that is why they are successful in getting their players to the next level.

Before you ask, YES, I have had a daughter to play on the Magic team in the past. It just pains me when people make posts on ASSumptions and not for personal experience.

The Knoxville Thunder 18 under teams did noy play either White Lighting or Maryville Majic teams this Summer.Doug Jones coached the 18 under and all but one of his kids signed. Some to UTC and ETSU just to name a few. Thunder Sams 16 under team played both Lighting and Maryville Majic 18under teams.Thunder 16 won both of though games from what I understand. Thunder-Sams 17Gold played 18 Fury Gold at UT Stadium and played to a 0-0 tie after 7 innings.

Not sure where you got your information, but I can only guess that it was from Leonard's "Jethro Bodine math", but the Magic beat the Thunder 2 out of 3 times that they played in the '07 fall league at Eagleton. They did not play each other during the summer or fall of '08.

I think Final Chapter is someone who has been around the game and knows what he is speaking about, but I do have to question his ability to comment that a kid is not ready for "Gold Ball.??? Watched several girls myself over the years and was impressed by the Monday kid from Maryville at the Gibbs tournament this year. This was the first time I had seen her pitch and was impressed with her command of speed and movement pitches. Watched her hold Ooltewah to four hits and one earned run and then turn around and no hit Brentwood Academy. Talked to her travel ball coach (Fred Fekete Maryville Magic) and he informed me that she does indeed play "Gold Ball.??? She played Birmingham, Columbia S.C, Ft. Lauderdale, and Denver Colorado last year and will be playing the same this year. Mr. Fekete stated that she still has a ways to go, but stated that she definitely has the tools to hold her own at an elite level. He would be one that I would think could judge some true talent considering the levels he has coached at and the fact that his daughter competed and succeeded at the highest of highest levels. Have not really seen any of the others mentioned besides Hosfield, Renfro, and Holly Thomas, so I cannot comment on them. I do not think that one can make such a blanket statement without seeing any of these kids pitch at the "Gold Level.??? Moreover, Mr. Fekete told me that his daughter Sarah was told by several coaches and individuals that she could not compete at an elite level either. I think she turned out o.k. at the next level. My point to all of this is to give the kids a chance before you tell them that they are not capable of something.

batboy1,

 

I agree totally that Fred would be a good judge of a girls talent. However, the fact that he stated that she still has a way to go....and that she can "hold her own" only emphasizes my previous statement. Just because you play against "Gold" Teams doesn't make you a Gold team, just like signing up as "Gold" doesn't mean you are competive at the Gold level. Fred plays at the tournaments you mentioned to give his girls an opportuntiy to improve and to be seen, as any good coach should. Limiting where you play so that you can have a winning record does no good for the players. You should play the best to be the best. However, the tournaments you spoke about are exposure tournaments with 18A and even 16A teams, NOT Gold qualifiers. There is a difference, plain and simple. I believe even Fred would say he is not taking his Magic team to compete at Gold quailiers, because the girls playing at that level are the best out there and his team is just not ready YET. That is not trashing anyone, only giving the ones who are at that level the well deserved reverence.

 

There have been a few in the area capable of it, but because of egos, or other reasons, a full team has never become a reality. Obviously, Sarah Fekete could have played on any Gold team in the country. Irwin (Central) played in the Gold Nationals last year for the Blues out of NC and did very well. I saw Holifield (Alcoa) throw a 9 inning 2-1 loss against the Ga. Fire Gold (a competitive Gold team) last year in SC. Both of these pitchers had well over 1,000 K's in their HS career and were proven. There seems to be a lot of support for Kim, AND maybe she is ready, I have not seen her throw this season. And if you check the posts, I have yet to say any of the girls mentioned are not capable of playing Gold, only not ready. But if you have not seen true Gold Teams in a Qualifier environment, you may just not understand. Girls (or parents) who truely want to play at that level should go and just watch....just to get an idea what they really need to do to get there.

 

I was blessed with the opportunity to coach on aguably some of the best teams to come out of Knoxville, however, I could NEVER put together a true GOLD team. Even with my softball retirement, I, as much or more than anyone, would love to see a true Gold team come out of Knoxville, but the talent pool for a full team has not presented itself. If you don't believe me, ask Ralph Weekly. He encourages the girls he sees that are capable of playing at the elite level to play in Nashville or Chattanooga. The only way to change this is for the players and parents to make a unrelenting COMMITMENT and sacrifice to the sport here. Too few are willing to do so. Again, my OPINION, but it is well backed by personal experience.

Final Chapter:

Your comments are well put and I totally agree with your statements. The only correction that I will make is that Fred's Magic team beat out several "Gold" Teams in Colorado last year to finish 3rd in the tournament. Third out of over 100 teams in a tournament like Colorado is impressive no matter how you put it. Also, he will be taking his team back to Colorado to compete in the invitation only Gold Tournament.

I appreciate your comments and informative insight.

There are no "gold teams" in Knoxville or the surrounding area....and only a couple of real "gold" teams in the entire state. There was only one TN team in the field of 64 last year and the pitcher for that team went to Southern Illinois. She was one of the best to come out of TN. Kim is good...so is the Monday kid from Maryville....Thomas from Gibbs....Woods from Unicoi....but none are ready for real Gold ball.....this is not a slam....just a fact. True gold pitchers.....how about Holly Thomas from Ooltewah, Hosfield from Riverdale (injured though), or Renfro out west....maybe a few more. There were a couple of Gold level pitchers out of knoxville the past couple of years....one is playing at UTC right now. Please, don't reply and get ugly....there is a difference between good (even great) and the elite.....Knoxville has some good...even great pitching...but give the elite girls thier due!

 

I think Final Chapter is someone who has been around the game and knows what he is speaking about, but I do have to question his ability to comment that a kid is not ready for "Gold Ball.??? Watched several girls myself over the years and was impressed by the Monday kid from Maryville at the Gibbs tournament this year. This was the first time I had seen her pitch and was impressed with her command of speed and movement pitches. Watched her hold Ooltewah to four hits and one earned run and then turn around and no hit Brentwood Academy. Talked to her travel ball coach (Fred Fekete Maryville Magic) and he informed me that she does indeed play "Gold Ball.??? She played Birmingham, Columbia S.C, Ft. Lauderdale, and Denver Colorado last year and will be playing the same this year. Mr. Fekete stated that she still has a ways to go, but stated that she definitely has the tools to hold her own at an elite level. He would be one that I would think could judge some true talent considering the levels he has coached at and the fact that his daughter competed and succeeded at the highest of highest levels. Have not really seen any of the others mentioned besides Hosfield, Renfro, and Holly Thomas, so I cannot comment on them. I do not think that one can make such a blanket statement without seeing any of these kids pitch at the "Gold Level.??? Moreover, Mr. Fekete told me that his daughter Sarah was told by several coaches and individuals that she could not compete at an elite level either. I think she turned out o.k. at the next level. My point to all of this is to give the kids a chance before you tell them that they are not capable of something.

I thought I heard that Gibbs beat Maryville last night 3-2 on a 7th inning walk-off homerun by a freshman. Can anyone confirm this? Who was it that hit the homerun?

Gibbs did beat Maryville 4-2 on Friday night on a walk off 3 run homerun by the number 2 batter. Not sure the girls name, but she did hit a shot. It was a well played game by both teams. Do not know much about the pitcher from Maryville, but she pitched a great game. She is definetly one of the best pitchers in the state right now. She kept Gibbs off balance all night with alot of movement and speed changes. Looks like she missed a spot and the girl from Gibbs made her pay. The sad thing for Maryville was that all 4 runs were unearned due to an error by the third baseman that would have been the 3rd out. The girls from Gibbs never gave up and played their hearts out until the end.Congratulations Lady Eagles