Gabby

Shannon was is early and constant foul trouble against THS. He played very few minutes, but did have an ally-oop dunk. The high point scorer for SH was Hunter LeVeau with 10, so the scoring was spread out through the team. Again, SH is young this year and very inconsistant. SH played a strong first quarter and led by 10 or 12, but fizzled in the second quarter leading by only 4 at half. SH extended the lead to 15 in the third quarter, only to see THS whiddle it down to 5 points. During the fourth quarter was about equal, with SH maintaining a precarious 7 point lead through most of the quarter. Because of their youth and inexperience, SH has a bunch of one-dimensional players this year. Some can shoot, some can rebound, and some can play defense, but there is no one player (like Josh Odem last year) that can do it all. There is no go-to player. I'm sure the coaches are frustrated, because of the inconsistencies. It's hard for them to even know who to play in crunch time much less who to go to. That is what happened in the South game. SH got a lead, but there was no one to go to in the crunch. But SH has a lot of talent and will get better!

Where is the jamboree on Thursday, and who is playing?

The Big 8 fans are holding their cards close to the vest this year. I don't know if everyone is uncertain, or what. Regardless, the season is quickly approaching. Science Hill scrimmages Knox Webb this weekend, I believe. Once football quites down, I bet you the talking will start.

Since everyone is talking AAA baseball, let me say that in my opinion the front runner in the Big 8 this spring will Davey Crockett. They are returning a talented group of seniors with some help from their sophmore class.

I haven't heard too much from the Big 8 lately. I guess everyone is involved with football. Congratulations to all the good teams, good coaches, and good players in the district this year. That said, I am looking forward to basketball. Only a couple of weeks until the jamboree.

Does anyone know the standings for the Big 8 conference?

There is still a while to go before the season starts and who knows what the coaches are thinking. With that said, I expect the team to have a 6'6" freshman post and a 6'3" sophmore post. The wings will be a 6'2"/6'3" sophmore and a 6'1" junior. The point guard will be a senior. I expect SH to run the other teams to death, since SH doesn't lose much when they go to the bench. They have a 6'3" senior and a 6'5" junior post that are probably second team on the depth chart. In addition, there are two sophmore 6'2"/6'3" posts that will see some playing time. They have a couple of junior wings, a couple of sophmore wings, and probably a couple of freshmen wings that will see playing time. I'm not sure who will give the senior point guard a break yet. SH is deep, but young. This year will be interesting, because you never know how young kids are going to react. I expect them to make some mistakes early, but look for them to become more confident as the year wears on.

How has the big 9 conference changed this year? Is East leaving the only change?

My understanding is that the league games start on Sept. 8 and will be coached by students from ETSU.

I know of a 15U traveling team in Johnson City looking for a few players. I also know of a 15U team in Lenoir, North Carolina (2 hours from Johnson City)looking for a player. You must 15 on April 31, 2010.

Although Bearden may not be as good as last year, they do seem to have a good crop coming from their JV/Freshman team. The JV team pretty much beat Science Hill's JV into submission.

Has anyone heard any news regarding the Fall High School League in the Tri-Cities area. I know they played at Science Hill last year.

Is there only one division? How do the TSSAA rules affect this tournament?

My son is looking for an elite 15U traveling team for the fall in East Tennessee. He will be 16 on May 5, 2010 so he will be able to play as a 15 until Aug. 2010. He's 6' 1" (still growing), throws and bats right and plays in the outfield. He is fundamentally sound and fast and athletic with a good sense about baseball. He is an experienced pitcher that tops out in the low 80s and throws consistently in the high 70s with two seam, four seam, sinker, slider, and curve ball. He will be glad to try out. He will also be glad to fill in when needed. He loves baseball!

I believe the coaching staff at Milligan College runs private lessons for pitchers and hitters. In the fall, the Edge has major league affiliated pitching coach that gives private lessons. I believe the Alpha-Omega and Paine's Baseball locations have pitching lessons. Good luck! Report any successes!

Quite often, I have found kids are swinging too hard. They think the harder they swing, the further the ball will go. Swinging too hard actually slows the bat down, not to mention causing the head to come off. I learned a long time ago to take a real hard swing before I stepped in the batter's box and then back off just a little. My batting average soared. Like one of the other responders mentioned. Try bunting. Bunting forces you to keep your eye on the ball. Encourage the coach to let hit and run. That takes part of the mental out of the swing and forces to try to make contact. The other advice is to be patient and swing at those pitches you can pound. I watch a lot of kids swing at pitches that are 3 inches outside or in the dirt when they are up in the count. The only strike you've got swing at is the third strike. The object is to hit the ball on the sweet spot. It took me three years to convince my son of that. Then he hit over 0.800 in little league, 0.565 in the eight grade, and over 0.400 in the ninth grade. In traveling ball, he often goes 2 for 3 and 3 for 4. So be patient and tone your swing down a bit. I think you will be surprised at the results. Good luck!

Science Hill left today for post/perimeter camp in Lipscomb and will be going to UT Chattanooga Monday. They played Sullivan East and beat East (a close game), but lost to Cloudland by 2. Science Hill presently has an extremely young team with a starting team consisting of a freshman and sophmore at post, a junior and sophmore on the wings, and a senior point guard. The second team has a freshman at point guard, two juniors at the wings, and a junior and senior at the post. Two other sophmore posts will get some playing time along with a freshman point guard and freshman wing. Overall, the freshmen and sophmores have more talent and athleticism than the upper classmen, but the upper classmen posts are still a bit stronger and taller than the under classmen posts with the exception of the 6'5" freshman who looks really good. In my opinion (which really doesn't mean much), I would replace the first string junior wing with the first string sophmore post, and use one of the posts from the second string. The second string posts are stronger and more physical. The sophmore post is a good outside shooter and has the size to shoot over most defensive wings, but is not quite as strong and physical. I thought that SH became a better team last year when they moved Josh Odem to point guard and moved Zack ? to post. Odem could shoot over the smaller defenders, and Zack was physically stronger underneath than Odem. I look for SH to be competitive, but inconsistent at the beginning of the year. I look for the team to come on at the end of the year when Coach Cutlip figures out what he's got.

Baseball is probably the hardest sport to evaluate talent! In basketball and football, you can look at the athleticism of the kid and be pretty confindent about the player. Most number 1 draft choices in football and basketball have successful careers. In baseball, the number 1 draft choice often has a less than stellar career. Often it is some 4th round draft choice that becomes a superstar. If pro scouts can't pick the best talent, how do you expect coaches to. Being a parent and having seen many of the kids for years that my son competed against for a high school position, I was disappointed when other less talented players were chosen over my son. However, toward the middle of the school season, my son started playing more, and the less talented players started playing less. It is hard to discriminate baseball talent in several days or even several weeks. You've just got to see players play over an extended period. Unfortunately, most coaches and even scouts don't have the time. They tend to take players (often their own) that they have seen over an extended period of time.

SH will probably have several sophmores and freshmen getting a lot of playing time this fall! Two freshman and two sophmores will probably start. There was a lot of press about the freshman team last year, but the previous freshman team (this year's sophmores) was just as impressive. SH only has 2 returning seniors. One will start at point guard; the other will probably be 2nd team. There is handfull of juniors, mostly on the second and third squads. SH will be competitive early, but should come on strong at the end as the freshmen and sophmores become seasoned.

I noticed in the JC Press that the Edge is having a 17U tournament this weekend at Cardinal Park in Johnson City, Milligan in Elizabethton, and Boone in Grey.

I agree that Crockett looks good for next year. The question is how much will they miss Massey? SH looked great in 2008. They returned most of their players in 2009 with the exception of Lucas Anderson. But SH didn't look as good in 2009. Perhaps, the other teams got better, but I believe SH really missed Anderson. Crockett has a bevy of good players matriculating through their JV and Freshman teams. I agree that TH has a couple of good pitchers coming up, but I don't think that they overpowering yet. I was impressed with the DB Freshman/JV shortstop.

Now that the 2009 season is over, what are the predictions for 2010? What are the preliminary scouting reports for 2010? SH is losing 11 seniors. Starters returning are: McPhearson--ss Rising senior Thompson--2b Rising junior Norris--of/p Rising junior A few rising seniors will be stepping in: DelGeico--First base Ashburn--DH The SH JV was not overpowering. The freshman team had a good defensive outfield and good pitching. Freshman hitting was suspect. Nevertheless, SH will be competitive any time Norris pitches.

Science Hill beat David Crockett 16-4. Will play the loser of Farragut and Bearden. David Crockett plays the winner.

I thought I saw the all-conference team in the Johnson City Press within the past week. The only name I remember was that Daniel Norris was the conference MVP. I will check if there are no other responses.

Science Hill 11 Morristown East 2