GHS2012

unicoi69 Lets get this straight. You goto Seymoure, your on Unicois team and you know everything about Gibbs and Centrals teams.....Interesting and humorous! You "know from personal experience" that Carol says no or doesnt return calls from teams that want to play them? Maybe your coach should be doing the calling instead of you. Theres not many out there she doesnt know. Thanks for the comic relief. Here I was thinking this was going to be a dull boring season on coachT.

Its still early in the season and for most of these teams this was the first or second time on the field together. Some coaches like to use playdays and scrimmages to play players out of position or underclassmen to see what they have and who will step it up. William Blunt looked promising. Tuck and Campbell will give more than 1 team some trouble this season. 20+ runs or a blanking doesnt really mean anything this time of year.....its still too early to decide who will be the cream of the crop. I for one am preying for dry weather this season so these teams can get in some much need field time.

I will make sure to tell AE and Fulton you said hello. As for your comments that "Carol" dont play anyone and that is why they goto state every year.....that comment just shows your intelligence or lack of. The last time I checked Carol had no choice what district Gibbs was in. Has something changed? Gibbs may be in a weak district but they do not shy away from the competition. I believe last season they played more than 1 of the top team in the state at tournaments threw the season. Scoobydoo25: Thanks! The feeling is mutual. Best of luck this season and I hope we see each other at the big dance again this year.

I belive the Nashville Cruisers will gain a berth in the 16u as they beat three of the teams on your list (Force, Thunder, and Lady Aces) this fall. Unless my memory is failing me in my old age I dont believe that The Cruisers and Thunder 93 played one another in the fall or spring for that matter. What I have seen out of both teams it should be a good game to watch when it happens.

Emilie Hensley Morristown East * Knoxville Thunder 93 Strong Arm, great head for the game and has a strong bat.

OK. Call it what ever. We had our fastest runner on 3rd and our best contact hitter at the plate. Batter had hit a hard ground ball the 3 previous times at bat. So..... we made the decision to Swing at the next pitch & have our runner breaking on the pitch. (Hit and Run sign given) Had the batter not made contact our runner would have been out by a mile or cought in a rundown. At that point in the game we had nothing to loose so an aggresive play was called. Sometimes you have got to take a chance & hope things go your way.

In our game & the other 2 games I watched, Team Synergy played well & there coach Jose' conducted himself respectfully & with class the entire time. He seemed to be very good at his job. Your statement "The Synergy/Thunder semi-game could have gone either way with a heck of a international tiebreaker coming, had it not been for the Synergy third base, who absolutely choked when a ball came to her with a runner on third and 1 out. DO NOT CONCEDE THE RUN! well, she scooped it, ignoring the runner whose head was down barrelling home for the out at the plate, instead tradeing an out for a run with less that 2 minutes to go, then acted like she had made the correct play" insinuates that our runner was doing something wrong. She was not. Its called a hit and run. She attempted to steal home in the first or second inning when she was taged out attempting a hook-slide to avoid the pitcher who she thought had the ball when actually the catcher kept it. Smart play by Synergys catcher. If she had of slid stright in she would have been safe. Did there third base woman make a mental mistake? Maybe, but she is still a 15-16yo child & those things happen. Show some class & please dont call out a child on a message board.

Wow, this thread has blew up in the past few days. I see this becoming an ASA v/s USFA Chattanooga v/s Nashville @#$%^ fest. Each have there place. There is alot of good points by many people on here. ASA Defender had a valid point, if you look at sheer numbers of ASA registered teams than Chatt is carrying the state. And with the number of berths per state depending on teams registered (Rec, A, B, or any level) than she has a right to call out Nashville since there numbers are much greater. As far as saying Nashville doesnt deserve to host a qualifier that is not fair for the teams out there. I think Knoxville should be able to host one as well as Nashville but that will never happen. One director in Nashville got his ducks in a row a few years back & has cornered the market in that area. He drove out all fly by night tournament directors by holding a decent tournament at a fair price with decent umpires. I personally think people are playing in them for the venue / competition not the sanctioning. Atleast thats why we do. I was thrilled when I learned TN got 4 berth this year. (up from 3 last year) For that I thank Chattaooga, SE TN, Nashville an anyone else who had a hand in getting them. Now lets just get that fifth one for 2010!!! We are a registered ASA team & have been for the past 3 years. But we also registered USFA & NSA because we want to play the best competition ALL OVER the state & South East. You cant do that just registering ASA or USFA etc... ASA is far behind the times. Mandatory Insurance & worthless coaching certificates whats next? I am still waiting on my ASA rule book to arrive that I was supposed to get when I registered my team in Jan. Not to mention they cant even get the State Champions right befor they print them in the rule book. Heaven forbid you need a change to your insurance certificate, it takes nothing short of an act of god to get it dun & you better not need it very quickly. ASA is still the place to be for the higher age groups 14u-18u Gold. But they are taking a hit on the National level. There is alot of unhappy people in the 18 Gold division & from what I hear 18 A is watered down. If something dont change we may be witnessing the demise of ASA.... All its gonna take is for a few of the larger west coast organizations to get fed up with it & move on then the rest will follow. Believe it or not coaches will go wherever the largest number of highly skilled recruitable players are at, whether that be at an ASA National event or Panama City Beach. Good Luck To All!!!

Dang!! You beat me to posting it. Looks like some interesting pairings. It should be a good week to watch awsome softball teams play, lets just hope the weather holds out. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" /> I would wish yall good luck but looks like we will meet up in the first round. After our last meeting I know we will have our hands full. Have a safe trip & play hard!!! Go Lady Eagles !!!!!

This pains me to say as im from East TM as you say but the facts speak for themselves. I havent got the chance to see all these teams play this season but by info comming down the grapevine & 2008 results I woulnt hold my breath for there to be alot of East TN dominance at state. And the chance of them winning it are even less as long as perinnial power houses are there... IE: Goodpasture, Beech, etc... Last year there was 2 teams in each class A- AAA from Eastern TN. Single A had Midway who was 2 and dun & North Green who was either 2 or 3 & on the way home. In AA you had Unicoi who made a tremondus run threw the Buro only loosing to Goodpasture & Gibbs and finished 3rd. And Gibbs who only lost to Goodpasture twice and finished 2nd. In AAA you had Cherokee who finished 4th & Farragut who finished 3rd after loosing a close one to Beech 3-2. Its still eairly but I dont see much change from 09. 3A looks to have Beech & Soddy out front this year with NO East TN team challenging them. I hope I am wrong but I have seen Cherokee, Marryville, Powell & Knox Central all play & dont think they have what it takes to pull the upset. 2A Looks to have a 4peat as Goodpasture is the class of the field. East TN best chance will be Unicoi or Gibbs. Unicoi has the pitching to keep hem in it but do they have the bats to toppel Goodpastures amazing defence? Gibbs is young this year & with a Fr pitcher it will be tough to match there run threw the Buro in 09. I would like to come on here & say we will dominate but reality sets in & I cant do it. Im not ready to hand the State tital away just yet, I will allways pull for the E TN teams but sometimes the deck is just stacked against you. Best of luck to all especialy the East TN teams.... /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

Where to start... Lebanon does NOT have anyone throwing anywhere near 65. Saw them over the weekend & I might go as far to say there pitcher could hit the low 60s if the stars were aligned just right & a big gust of wind came just as she was releasing the ball. Hey Ref People making comments like yours are why people in Nashville, Mid TN & Chattanooga have the wrong impression about us from East TN. For the most part East TN has always been just a little behind Mid TN / Nashville & Chattanooga. But the gap is slowly closing as more and more players develop & play for quality teams. In 08 for the first time in 10+ years a East TN won the ASA State & sent a team to ASA National. (speaking 14u) I also think a 16u East TN team did fairly well in the 16u Nationals. Not as good as Stlbrd's team but they had a good showing. Stlbrd I started buying my Radar Guns from Mid TN years ago so they would be more reliable. That way when I tell people DD is throwing 45 they will believe me /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> Just poking some fun with you. Nothing drives crazy more than hearing all these rumors of pitchers throwing mid to high 60's. I retired my gun years ago, dont even know if it still works. I could care less how hard my pitchers are throwing, DD included. For the most part I can tell what they are throwing by watching them but as we all know it takes more than speed to make a pitcher a true force on the mound.

Pitch calling & the secquence could have a lot to do with it. But most pitshers have a stronger defence behing them during summer ball than they do in High School. Its a small world in Travel Ball, most coaches that has been in for a while knows most plyers in there area & what not to pitch to them. I know I study a batters form, swing & where they position thmselves in the box & try to have some kind of a plan how I want to pitch to her. It doesnt always work but most of the time we will do ok. Im not a highschool coach so I cant speak for them but sometimes I do wonder what there thought process is when calling a certin pitch.

Thats hilarious, I think I was there.... If I remember correctly it was in Morristown wasnt it?

Agreed, without any results its going to be hard but ill take a stab at it.... AAA in no particular order. Cherokee Knox Central Powell Maryville Farragut Ooltewah Soddy-Daisy AA in no particular order. Elizabethton Unicoi County Gibbs Hixson Chattanooga Christian Divsion II in no particular order. Knoxville Webb GPS Baylor If I have to take it any further it would purley be a guess. I have only got to see a hand full of the teams play so far this season & my opnion is on reputation & past seasons. Go easy on me but here is my Top 5 out of them all... 1. GPS 2. Ooltewah 3. Gibbs 4. Unicoi County 5. Soddy-Daisy

You cant be serious. If you actually think any player is going to play at he next level only playing for her High School team you need to call any collage coach & talk to them. They will tell you themselves that they do not attend HS games. On the rare occasion when or if they do, 9 times out of 10 it is to watch a player they have allready contacted or seen in travel ball. Why would they spend a recruiting date going to a HS tournament or game ( even if it is a "quality team") to see 1-2 players when they could go to an exposure tournament or ASA Nats & see 100's? At younger levels you are probably correct, most summerball coaches could be clasified as "daddy ball" coaches. But once these young ladies reach a certin level in ability and age they move on to the better coached teams. Now these teams may still have a dad coaching but with the amount of time and money it takes to play competitive summer ball & be seen by collages, NO player or parent that is serious is going to hang around a "daddy ball" coach. I am afraid you are confusing ego with pride / confidene... No coach that cares about there players is going to have a team take the field that he / she doesnt think can compete. Thats the mentality it takes to compete in the real world. And thats not just true for sports.

While im not completely dissagreeing with your statement I do have my doughts. I was so looking forward to Thursdays games of the Commando Classic, last years runner-up Gibbs just might give them a run for there money this year. I've not got the chance to watch Goodpasture play yet this season but if tradition accounts for anything if should be a good game between these two teams.

Well said!!!

Hold on there... The 50% rule is the only thing thats saving alot of the young ladies from being stuck with their HS coach all year... They should have inacted it for Summer and not fall. We lost one of our best players last year because her HS coach "demanded" that she play summerball with her. Well, that & she really wanted to play for her HS insted of telling the coach where to stick her summer team.

How about some scores & highlights from around the distric? Gibbs downed Seymour 10-0 in 6 innings. Fr. Samantha Smith pitched the shutout & wound up with 10K allowing only 1 hit, I think it was. So. Emilee Solomon went 4 for 4 at the plate. A few too many runners stranded but a good start to distric play. The real test will come Thursday as Gibbs will face defending State Champs Goodpasture in Hendersonville. Way to go Girls!

Speed never goes into a slump I remember a certin coach making this statment only to watch his team (with 2 of the fastest players in the country) go something like 2/12 in the WCWS...... /blush.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blush:" border="0" alt="blush.gif" /> Watley & Lowe didnt burn the bases up in the Gold Medal game in Beijing now did they? /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" /> Interesting topic tho..... /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

batboy1 You may be making ASSumptions or speaking from personal experiences but so am I. Take the chip off your shoulder. I have the upmost respect for Fred but the facts are there in plain sight.

where did you get the info on the Hendersonville Tournament? I dont think High School ball will be over for all team then. Will it? I sure would hate to have to decide between a HS State appearance or ASA National Qualifier.

Here is the info for 2009 ASA berths in Chattanooga. April 4-6 -- 1 berth (10u & 12u only) at Warner Park May 29-31 -- 1 berth (all age groups) at Warner Park June 26-28 -- 1 berth (14u, 16u & 18u) at Warner Park or the new Summit of Softball Complex July 10-12 -- 1 berth (all age groups) ASA "A" State Tournament at the new Summit of Softball Complex July 17-19 -- 1 berth (14u only) Hendersonville will award one berth in all age groups as well. Location & dates are yet to be released. Other notes of interest.... Steal Cleats & 43' did NOT pass for 16u Teams participating in Championship play must have at least one coach that is ACE Certified Coaches of teams participating in Championship play must have Background checks All teams participating in any "A" qualifying tournament must have the ASA ID Cards.

I am going off memory here, but will poast the dates later when I get to my home pc... Chattanooga will award 3 berths (including 1 at the State Tournament) at 3 different tournaments in 2009 at the new park near Hamiltonplace Mall and Hendersonville will award 1 berth (date and complex yet to be released) Chattanooga will award a 16 and 18 berth May 29-30. 1 berth in each age group over Memorial weekend. Another berth for each geoup will be awarded at the State Tournament in mid July. 14u only will recieve a berth at a seperate tournament the following weekend. Im not sure about the date on the other 10 and 12u berth.... Dates may be off some but I will correct and poast the exzact dates later.

Yes. Fred is a great coach but the quality of his team last summer & fall wasn't what i am accustom to seeing him put on the field. I meant no disrespect to him or his players.