dore83

Two of the best catchers in the state probably won't see much (or any) time behind the plate in high school ball this year because their teams are in desperate need for their versatility and skills elsewhere on defense. Very talented pair. Both handle pitchers very well and call great games. Kendall Hooper - Junior, DCA Sarah Beth Roberts - Sophomore, Mt Juliet

I appreciate the kind words about our program and players. Not sure who you are, but I'm guessing maybe Jay Vincent?? If so, I noticed that Casey is about 8 feet tall now and flat bringing it. I remember her as a 10-12 year old at the clinics way back when, although she had really grown the last time I saw her a couple of years ago... they grow up way too fast don't they? I've also been told that she has developed into a very nice pitcher, but that doesn't surprise me. I was getting so many emails asking whether or not we were playing 16U this year that I knew we had to be popping up on a board somewhere, but my time is a little stretched right now and it took me a while to figure out that it was CoachT. To answer a few of the questions in this thread... we moved away from the straight 92 age group the past couple of years and have been playing a straight exposure schedule with about half of our players being 90 and 91. We played in the ASA State a couple of years ago (with no plans to advance to Nationals) but haven't played in any other ASA qualifiers the past two years. Now that those 2008 and 2009 graduates have moved on to college softball (or are on their way following graduation in May) we decided to return to the 92-93 age group around our long term core group and shoot for the 16U ASA Nationals because of the number of college coaches who regularly attend that event. Like every other 16U team in the state seeking a berth to Nationals, we hope to qualify early. Earning a berth early will allow us to spend the bulk of the summer participating in exposure tournaments instead of chasing the elusive berth every weekend. But, we certainly aren't counting on blowing everybody away in Hendersonville or Chattanooga at the Memorial Qualifier to get one of those early berths, and we certainly won't be playing with that attitude... and we aren't assuming any certainty of snagging a late berth either. We haven't even checked the price of air fare to Sioux Falls, and I don't even know if they have an airport there or not, although I assume they do. There are a lot of fine 16U teams in Tennessee and it is going to be a dog fight for those berths. I'm at a little bit of a disadvantage because it has been three years since I have seen any of the teams mentioned play a single game - Frost Falcons, Fury, Thunderbolts, Thunder, White Lightning, etc. I know that they all have outstanding teams which have had outstanding seasons for many years, but I couldn't even begin to estimate how we will match up with any of them. Players mature and change so much between 12 and 16 that trying to determine how good a team or player is now based upon what they were like at 12 or 13 is futile. We might be the best in the bunch. We might be the 10th best (or worse) in the bunch. Since we haven't played any of them in at least 3 years and half my team is new to me this year, there isn't any way to know or even speculate with any accuracy. We'll just have to wait until late May to see how we match up. I have no doubt that there are other teams out there who haven't been named in this thread who will show up with very nice teams and will compete very well. I've seen two predominately 93 teams in my facility (Tennessee Dream and Lady Maniax) who haven't been named but are very talented and will make some noise this year. If anyone is interested, I like this group of players as much as any group I've had over the past 30 years. They are serious about softball and their softball futures and they work very hard. Off season workouts have almost been mundane to me because they come in, stay focused, and do their work without any pushing or prodding... but they are a fun group as well. I think it is a very special group and I believe they will all eventually become NCAA Division I scholarship players (my opinion for whatever that's worth) - but that may or may not translate into wins or berths. In reality though, if these young women develop as players and receive scholarship offers, then wins and berths are pretty irrelevant anyway. As for our name, we will use Team Worth this year. Another team in our organization began using the 92 name when we moved up with older girls a couple of years ago, and I don't want to take it back from them. We won't use the Gold part of the name, except perhaps during Gold exposures if we get the chance to play any of those. I'll probably leave it as Gold on the web site simply to avoid confusing those college coaches who have known us by that name, but we are 16U and not 18 Gold. We have four 2010 players and six 2011. And as for Frost having a roster full of sub 3.0 home to first runners... I hope they do, and I hope there are a lot of other teams with more speed than we have as well. I thought we were pretty quick, but our team speed isn't anywhere near that so Frost and others with good speed will really make us step it up a notch. If my players have true aspirations to play college softball, they have to be able to field and throw out fast runners - and there is no better way to learn than to play teams that force them to learn. The same goes for flame throwers in the circle. I'd love to see gas every game and tons of 65 mph rise balls. That's the best way to get better. So now, we have to sit around and endure the endless and often futile high school season before we all get to step on the field together in May - without the chance to practice since Tennessee ASA decided to cram that qualifier right on the top of Spring Fling. My prediction? Some good softball in Tennessee ASA this summer... and if the four berths go to the Falcons, Thunderbolts, Thunder, and White Lightning, then they will have earned it on the field, and we'll get busy right away to get our program up to their levels. Other than that, I'll leave the prognosticating to everyone else. Best of luck to all of these teams. I look forward to seeing you in May! Michael Connell Team Worth Fastpitch

Monday could have been the day, but not necessarily. The actual rule states "Once a student's name is listed on the school eligibility report." The prohibition for playing a "scrimmage, practice game, or game" begins at the time that particular school has filed their eligibility report with the player names. The eligibility list has to be filed before the first contest. The date of the first legal contest is the Monday which falls 10 weeks prior to Spring Fling. This year the date of the first contest is March 9. Schools can file eligibility reports online or they may mail them in - postmarked at least one week before the first contest. It is entirely possible that a school does not file their eligibility report until March 2nd and their players could legally participate in independent team play (practices, scrimmages, games) and game-type situations legally the weekend before the 2nd. Monday was the legal beginning of practice, but not necessarily the beginning of the independent team participation prohibitions.

You should have seen the officiating at Siegel tonight. Absolutely horrible. It was like watching a rugby scrum with all three officials watching the ball all night instead of their areas of responsibly. When they let the muggings go uncalled, the players know they aren't going to call anything, and the hits just get worse and worse. As physical as the game was, with 1:18 left, they had only called 5 fouls in the 2nd half - 3 on SHS and 2 on OHS. They let them play... rugby anyway. When the ball went in the paint, there was very little resemblance to basketball. Somehow they seem to catch a few perimeter pushes and a few holds on bobbled and loose balls, but very little else. Oh, and they called a charge on a jump stop with visible air between the two players who never made contact, but then again, the whistle was blowing while the player was still in the process of making the jump stop. There will be at least 8 girls on the two teams who will wake up in the morning with bruises all over their arms from getting hammered every time they shot, but never made a trip to the foul line. Good way to get players hurt. They deserve much, much better. And no, the officiating did not determine the outcome. It was just horrible and dangerous. I had to leave before the boys game, but if they couldn't keep up with and control the girls game, I can only imagine how bad the boys game was officiated.

Michele Elliott OF/2B (LaVergne 2009) signed with Indiana University Southeast on Friday Caralisa Connell P/1B/OF (Siegel 2010) verbally committed to the University of Louisville last Monday

NO it is not Why "kid yourself." It is a legal, ethical part of the game. Always has been, always will be. There is a reason we all use our own set of "secret" signals and change them if we think the other team has figured them out. What teams are disrespected for this type of play? I've been doing travel ball for almost 3 decades and haven't seen one team "disrespected" for paying attention. Now, I've seen teams "disrespected" because they had lame signals or sat their butts on a bucket calling 1 for fastball and 2 for change up to the catcher and thought everybody in the park should turn their heads or close their eyes. We play teams every weekend who try to steal our signals. They can't figure them out, and if I think they do, like every other decent coach, I coach responsibly and change them. Well, no it isn't.

You are comparing apples to oranges. Stealing signs in softball and baseball "at the top level" IS NOT illegal. What several people insist on using as an example involves the NFL (football) and the METHOD of stealing signals. The Patriots were not busted for stealing signs. They were busted for stealing signs through the illegal use of video tape. If the Patriots figured out the signs coming in from the sideline or wherever during the game and used that to their advantage, it would have been perfectly legal. What they did, however, was illegally videotape those signals specifically over a number of games (often in games which did not involve the Patriots) and match them up to the plays and/or alignments being run. Softball rulebooks have a provision which also makes using video during the game illegal. Taking video of a coach giving signals and using that video to figure out signs is illegal. That is completely different than observing a coach and figuring out his or her signs and using that to an advantage (perfectly legal). I've seen coaches and parents sit with a notepad and write down every signal I've given during a game to try to figure out what my signals are. There isn't anything illegal about that. It's up to me to keep them from figuring it out. If my signals are too elementary, there are plenty of ways to make them more difficult to pick. If they still figure them out, all I have to do is change the indicator or sequence or go to a secondary set of signals. The people who seem to whine the most about "stealing" signals are those who give pitch signals while sitting on a bucket aimed toward home plate and sticking a 1 or 2 between their legs where the batter and everyone in the ball park can see the signal. To expect that everybody will turn their heads and ignore it is ridiculous. The same goes for coaches who only give signals from the 3rd base box when they are calling something. How many times has everyone seen a coach call a batter's name so she will turn around and then swipe their leg (or something equally unimaginative) and the batter bunts on the next pitch... or calls the runners name and "secretively" swipe their arm - with the runner stealing on the next pitch - and never giving any signals when there isn't a play on, much less using an indicator or sequence. Giving signals correctly in a manner where the other team cannot "steal" them and making a change when they do is part of coaching properly. I love it when the opposing players, coach, or parents think they've figured something out and start yelling out what is getting ready to happen, only to have the opposite occur.

We've been to both. We went to the Chattanooga Gold Diamond last year because we were a little disappointed in Hits the year before. Hits is more established so they drew 10-15 more coaches last year (Chattanooga was in their first year here, but have been running another in Florida for a while). The Gold Diamond was organized and run very well - one of the best run exposures we have been to over the years. Warner Park is beautiful with the renovations. We noticed that several coaches went to both. We had coaches watch us on Thursday and Friday who were at Hits over the weekend and vice versa. The biggest difference is that Gold Diamond is a 6 game format with no elimination round. Hits is a 5 game pool with single elimination. A lot of college coaches prefer the set schedule with pre-set game times. Hits might be a little harder to get into, but only because they have been around for a few years and more teams have been in the past. We are all somewhat creatures of habit and tend to return to where we have been if there weren't any problems, especially when there are precious few "real" exposure events in Tennessee. We also liked Chattanooga because they brought in a lot of Georgia and Florida teams that we don't see all the time. I wish they weren't in the same week so we could go to both. We haven't made up our mind which one to attend next summer. I prefer Gold Diamond, but we are traveling so much to out of state exposures that we will probably end up doing Hits to save a little money since we won't have to travel out of town. Hope this helps.

Team Worth has two openings for top level 1992 players for fall 2008 and summer 2009. We will play 18U/18Gold Showcase and Exposure tournaments and 16U A ASA National Qualifiers with the intent of playing at ASA A Nationals in Sioux Falls, SD. Prospective players should be legitimate college prospects, preferably Division I, with the desire to participate in off-season developmental work, and possess a high level of desire, intensity, focus, the ability to be coached, and parents who are willing to allow them to be coached. Priority will be given to outfielders and pitchers, but we are willing to consider any athlete with the desired mental approach to the game. Speed and aggressiveness is a bonus. Tentative schedule includes: Rising Stars Showcase, Ft Lauderdale Southeastern Showcase, Birmingham Music City Hits, Hendersonville Colorado Fireworks, Aurora, CO SluggerFest, Cincinnati ASA National Qualifiers ASA State and Nationals Please feel free to contact us at any time for more information or to schedule a tryout. We will coordinate fund raisers to defray expenses. Thank you. Michael Connell Team Worth worth@teamworthfastpitch.com 615-473-5314 Team Worth Fastpitch

For you TSSAA rules gurus... Jack City Softball is opening a new training facility in what used to be the Club K building on Old Hickory Blvd. They are building two indoor softball infields and are playing tournaments and games that will be infield only - 6 on 6. I was over there this week when they were hanging nets and bringing in dirt, and it's impressive. It might still be softball, but it is different than outdoor 9 on 9 softball, much the same as indoor 6 on 6 soccer is different than 11 on 11 full field soccer or perhaps like Arena League Football and the NFL. The question is: Since it is not the same game / sport as high school softball, does the 50% rule actually apply to 6 on 6 softball? Common sense says that it isn't the same game as what is played in the spring by high school teams. If that is the case, then the 50% rule wouldn't apply.

Don't know who you talked to at TSSAA, but if they did write you back, it wasn't someone with knowledge of the softball rules. There isn't anything in TSSAA rules, by-laws, supplementals, etc. which convers anything like this or which would replace FED or ASA rules. This is often debated in school and travel ball and one can occasionally find an umpire who will tell them that it is illegal or will try to prevent it during a game. A select few decide that they don't like something and will then maintain there is a rule that doesn't exist and if that doesn't work to stop the behavior that upsets them, they cite an umpire or official who supposedly once told them it was illegal. In reality, there is absolutely no rule which prevents a pitcher or catcher or any other player from getting a signal of any type from someone in the bleachers, nor is there any rule which limits signal calling of any type to coaches, players or bench personnel. In addition, there are several "rules" quoted elsewhere in this thread which are not rules either. The pitcher does NOT have to be on the pitching plate or even in the circle to receive a signal. She can legally take a signal whenever and wherever she wants to take a signal and she can take a signal from anyone she wants to. There are no softball rules which prohibit doing so. What the rule does say is that once the pitcher steps on the pitching plate, she must then "take a signal or simulate taking a signal." (Incidentally, the rule book doesn't say who she has to take the signal from or simulate taking the signal from while on the pitching plate.)The primary purpose for the rule is to prevent quick pitches. The catcher doesn't have to give a signal at all. The pitcher has to pause long enough while looking into the batter to avoid a quick pitch by stepping on the pitcher's plate and beginning a pitch all in one motion. It might not be a great idea to have a non-coach calling pitches from the bleachers, but it simply isn't illegal. And as far as the catcher not knowing what pitch is coming, a lot of the top pitchers decide what they want to throw on each pitch and communicate that pitch to the catcher simply by shaking off her signals. Perhaps I'm wrong, but from experience and the tenor of this post, I'm guessing that this is a bluff aimed at a particular pitcher on a rival team with the hopes that her father/pitching coach will believe all this "against the rules" and "a lot to loose [sic]" stuff and quit calling pitches. Somehow, in a few minds somewhere, there is the belief that if they can take away a weapon or advantage, the pitcher who is doing just fine will crumble without that tool. I've lost count of all the "rules" over the years that get made up, spread, and believed because some parent has their nose out of joint over a rival they can't beat and want to attribute the loses to some activity or strategy utilized by the competition that their team doesn't use, understand, or like. Ultimately, there isn't anything to lose (or loose) for the team in question. They aren't violating any rule, nor is there any consequence for that behavior. Even if they get an uniformed umpire who tries to stop it, there isn't any penalty in any rule book. (BTW, that's usually a pretty good way to know if a rule exists or not - for every behavior prohibited in every rule book, there is a corresponding resulting consequence. If there isn't a specific penalty outlined for a specific behavior, there isn't a rule against it.)

I wasn't actually bashing high school coaches. And, although it has been twisted a bit from what I wrote and twisted a lot from what I intended to communicate, I didn't indicate that any high school coach wants to lose. And how you turned all that into me somehow being upset about my daughter's high school coach and not being helpful or encouraging (and even worse spending my time complaining) when not of that is accurate. In the real world, I actually think my daughter's high school coach is pretty good. I haven't seen enough of this particular coach enough to know for sure, but so far, I haven't seen anything to make me form a negative opinion. The clown prince listed a bunch of coaches as "great" and "best" with the criteria for his list being trips to the state tournament. I've known and seen many of those coaches for years. There are a couple in particular receiving high praise from the clown prince who are absolutely horrible. Neither has coached my daughter. They win because of the travel ball talent. But they demean kids, grind their confidence to shreds, and do very little teaching of the game. A lot of what they do "teach" is actually detrimental to their game. Their lineups and positioning are determined by whatever parent bends their ear the most or has the most perceived power. At least they are earning a lot of money for individual instructors who are paid to correct the damage, and earning a lot of cudos for travel coaches who spend the first month of the summer getting their head turned back around right after the disaster that was high school softball. I'm appreciative that a teacher/coach would be willing to spend a lot of time with our kids. That is commendable. But there are plenty of ways for them to accomplish that. They can teach Sunday School or volunteer with their church youth group. They can serve as a club sponsor/advisor. They can volunteer at a local youth center. Wonder how your school chorus parents would react if a tone deaf teacher took the chorus coach position. Or band director. Or drama teacher. They would be furious. They'd appreciate the willingness to work with kids, but they certainly not appreciate the lack of training and development of their students coming from the teacher's lack of ability, knowledge, skill, or experience. Spending time with them, ordering uniforms, raising money, coordinating schedules, etc. are all great things and are a required part of the job, but none of those things qualify an individual as a coach. It qualifies them as a coordinator or a supervisor, or an Athletic Director perhaps, but not as a coach. Teaching the game and training athletes is the primary qualifier. Even worse is that some, not all, but some, of these kids actually do have a shot at college softball and maintain that goal. Stick a tone deaf "time spender, fund raiser" no knowledge band instructor in with a talented solo trumpet player with college band and professional musician potential for 4 years and write back to tell me how much that kid benefitted from teaching himself and paying tons for additional instruction - and how enjoyable or beneficial those 4 years were to him/her and the rest of a completely disgusted band. It is no different. I'm sure some of the people on this board will dispute the claim, but I am 100% convinced that high school ball for a lot of kids at a lot of schools - some of which are directed by the Top NoKnowNothing list actually step BACKWARD, both from a skills and mental aspect during the high school season under these time spenders. There is a big difference between a coach "wanting" to lose, and being a detriment to their team. Why don't I stop the quote a bit earlier to take out the confusion. Several of the coaches on this list have teams that win in spite of them. Some coaches really don't need to be working with kids at all. Some simply don't need to be coaching softball. Might be a great teacher or a counselor, or fund raiser, or organizer, but they aren't coaches.

Yeah, good coaching. A lineup full of Cruiser, Worth, and Xplosion girls. MrNoItAll might even be able to win a game with 15 travel players on his roster.

Whatever.

Dude, get a clue. There are some absolutely terrible coaches on this list. Load up a high school team with a bunch of A level travel ball players, and my cocker spaniel could lead them to State. There are coaches on this list who have had some winning seasons IN SPITE of their best efforts to ruin those teams.

You were told correctly. TMSAA has the same participation rule as TSSAA. But not all Middle Schools are TMSAA members, and the rule only applies to TMSSA members. There is a list of TMSAA member schools on the TSSAA web site. In Middle Tennessee, Rutherford and Wilson County schools have been TMSAA members. Metro schools and privates haven't been. Obviously TMSAA rules don't apply to non-TMSAA schools.

This is a perfect example of the kind of garbage that causes so much confusion every single year. The misinformation creates horrible fears among parents who hear these false rules spouted. NO, PRACTICE WITH AN INDEPENDENT TEAM IS NOT PROHIBITED BY TSSAA. Period. There are no prohibitions on other "organized sports" either. A softball player can play AAU basketball games and tournaments without penalty during the high school softball season. There aren't any fine lines. TSSAA prohibits playing scrimmages, practice games, or games with an independent (rec or travel) team. The TSSAA By-Laws specifically say that practice outside of scrimmage, practice game, or game situations is perfectly fine. The actual passages from the TSSAA By-Laws has been pasted into 2-3 messages above. If you need a source, call Bernard Childress at TSSAA. He knows the By-Laws inside and out and has been the top By-Law compliance guy there for years. He'll tell you that travel team practice is fine as long as you don't have game situations such as scrimmages, practice games, or games. As much as TSSAA irritates me, they aren't the cause for the annual confusion on travel team activities. It's the myriad of idiots each year who ignore the written rule and TSSAA published interpretations and continue to perpetuate the misinformation.

You are reading it correctly. There is a TON of incorrect and inaccurate information being doled out in this thread. An athletic record includes JV, and freshman, not just varsity level competition, and it is not limited to a particular sport. For example, if a girl plays JV softball her freshman year at one school and transfers without a "bona fide" change of residence into another public school zone (or outside a 20 mile perimeter of a private school), she is ineligible for participation in varsity volleyball, basketball, softball, and track for a period of one calendar year from her last participation at the first school. She can play JV at the new school, but she cannot play varsity. Personally, I have very little use for the TSSAA. My opinion, along with a lot of other people, is that the TSSAA is out of control. The seem to be more interested in control and their authority and their status and financial bottom line than they do for the good of the individual athletes and in many cases the individual schools. They also have very little consistency in their hardship decisions. Since there seems to be a lot of confusion about the transfer process, here are some details. If the parents of a public school athlete move completely out of a school zone boundaries, the athlete can transfer to a new school and s/he is immediately eligible. TSSAA calls that a bona fide move. The new residence is supposed to be a permanent residence where the family actually lives. If the student is at a private school, for the move to be bona fide and be eligible has to be 20 or more miles away from the private school campus. A student with divorced parents can legally move from one parent to another without losing eligibility one time during their high school career. A second move, according to TSSAA rules does not constitute a bona fide move. If you have a bona fide move, you can transfer with immediate eligibility if you transfer at that time, at the beginning of a new semester/term or at the beginning of the following school year. Not transferring by the beginning of the next school year basically erases the bona fide move. If there is no bona fide move, the school into which the student transfers can file for a hardship waiver. Ronnie Carter evaluates the application and makes a decision to grant or deny the hardship. If he denies a hardship, the school can appeal to the TSSAA Board of Control which meets once every few months. The school or whoever the school elects to speak is allowed to make a 15 minute presentation to argue their case for a harship. The BOC along with Carter and other TSSAA executives are at the table during the presentation. After the 15 minutes have expired, the school, parents, and student leave the room. At some point, the BOC makes a decision and notifies the school. There is a significant problem with the hardship process because of inconsistency. Over the last two years for example, one girl transfered from a private school to a public school at the beginning of her junior year and was granted a hardship. Her argument? She wasn't a very good student and couldn't make the grades to be eligible and eventually get into college. Another student was expelled from school for breaking and entering with theft of $50k + from his school. He enrolled in another school out of county, and was declared eligible by the TSSAA. A girl transferred from a private school to a public school in another county after a move to that county. Carter originally turned down the transfer saying it wasn't a bona fide move because the family moved to an apartment complex that was only 17.4 miles from the original private school and therefore short of the 20 mile minimum. They applied for a hardship waiver for financial reasons and was granted eligibility. On the other side of the coin, there was a kid who played for his father at a private school. At the end of the 2006-07 school year, the father was fired from his job at the private school. He transferred to the public school where he was zoned. The kid did not want to continue at a school that fired his father and the family did not want to pay tuition to a school that fired him. They also had a 50% tuition discount for faculty members and could not afford tuition at full rate. Carter denied his hardship request. The family of a female athlete at a private school in Nashville moved to Murfreesboro during her 7th grade year. As an 8th grader, she was moved up to the high school varsity to play softball. She played volleyball, basketball, and softball as a 9th grader. She commuted about 3 hours a day back and forth to school. It wasn't too bad with middle school schedules, but it was overwhelming with the demands and hours of 3 sports and academics as a high schooler. The athlete was completely worn out - mentally and physically. She couldn't take it any more, and all of her coaches and teachers were surprised that she had made it as long as she had. They provided supporting statements to TSSAA. Also, the father had 2 jobs up until right before the start of school her 10th grade year, and the second had run it's course and ended. Tuition was difficult with 2 jobs, and was no longer possible with one. She transferred to the school in Murfreesboro where she was zoned, some 45 miles from the original private school. Carter ruled that it wasn't a bona fide move because the time to transfer had expired. He then denied the hardship because he said the parents should have known that it would have been an inconvenience and transferred her before playing any high school sports. The BOC denied the appeal. The student then said "I guess I should have failed some classes or gotten arrested and then I would be eligible." It appears that there is a significant amount of truth in her observation. There are a ton of other incorrect contentions in this thread. Sitting out a year CAN and does often set a player back. I can provide literally dozens of examples over the years. Perhaps not for a marginal athlete or late bloomer who would be sitting on the bench in varsity ball if not ineligible. But for a college prospect, it can be extremely damaging. Many schools do not have JV basketball teams. Riverdale, Mt Juliet, among tons of others have a freshman team and a varsity, but no JV. A sophomore or junior sitting out has no games to play the entire year. Of course, a school can choose to play a sophomore on their freshman team, but if she is varsity caliber, that does little good to improve her game, and there are only a handful of games in the first place. That level of athlete playing JV isn't a much better option. At our school, 3 of 8 (total) scheduled JV games were cancelled, so that varsity caliber potential college prospect gets 5 whole games if she is ineligible for varsity. Softball is even worse. At many school, there is no JV. In many that do have JV teams, the JV "games" are 2-3 innings after the varsity game. Starters might get one at bat. There is a reason that better players elect to play AAU basketball and travel softball, and a reason why many of the better teams choose to play up in older age groups. There are three ways to truly improve your game to become a true college prospect - hard work, good coaching/training, and high levels of competition. It could be argued that playing on a team with players at or above a players ability is also a 4th key factor. Being relegated to JV with varsity level skills doesn't provide that athlete with either a sufficient level of competition or the opportunity to be surrounded by teammates at their level. In all candor, while I'm sure that there are some exceptions, the quality of JV and freshman coaching at most schools leaves a lot to be desired... and even if it were great, they get precious few practice sessions per season. Many will even argue that players coming from top caliber AAU or travel softball teams step backward during the high school seasons precisely because of competition, personnel surrounding them, and in many circumstances coaching. I don't have a strong opinion on that in basketball, but I can guarantee that is the case in softball. Just pick out a dozen softball beasts and watch 3-4 games during the school season. Then come watch them play a few games at Music City Hits with their A or Gold level travel team in June. The performance level and ability level of that player will be scary different. Of course you have the opposite that can be true. There are a handful of players who are all-district in high school softball, but have a hard time earning field time in top level travel. Those are rarely if ever college prospects. For marginal high school athletes, and many who have the potential but haven't yet become dominant, a year of varsity ineligibility at the sophomore or junior level can be the kiss of death for their athletic careers. I can name dozens who have simply dropped out. They fall behind. They fall off the coach's radar. They lose a lot of drive to keep working through the off season. They lose confidence. They become disconnected. Other activities take new importance and prominence which would have never taken hold without the ineligibility. They hang up their sneakers or cleats. And sure, colleges have rules about transferring and eligibility. Not in all sports mind you, and not between divisions. A girl can play at Trevecca her freshman year, transfer and be eligible at Motlow or Vol State her sophomore year, transfer and be eligible at Vanderbilt her junior year, transfer and take a red shirt at Tennessee her senior year, and be eligible to play at Tennessee in her 5th year. Even within the same division, a girl can play at Belmont her freshman and sophomore years, transfer to MTSU as a junior and take a red shirt year, and play two more years at MTSU. That's exactly what the Clark girl from Mt Juliet is doing right now. In some sports, and in some sports with releases, they don't even have to take a year off. You get 4 years of high school... not 5 years to play 4 years of ball as you do in college, or sometimes 6 with a medical red shirt. Stealing a year from a kid with a legitimate reason to transfer who was honest about the transfer is way over the top in punishment. There is even one person on this board who apparently doesn't even want to toss them the JV bone and ban them from that too. That mentality is so foreign and bizarre to me that I'm sure my mouth immediately fell open when reading that. Screw the kid. What is that? High school comes once, and for most, especially for girls, there is no athletic afterlife following high school. There are plenty of good reasons to transfer. It doesn't make sense that TSSAA rules are more punishing and restrictive than college transfer rules. There is also the concept of "if you are good enough to play college ball they will find you" being bandied about in this thread, and through almost 30 years of coaching, I have heard that idea more than enough, and even as wrong as it was 10 years ago, it is exponentially more wrong in today's environment. I'd concede that if you are Candice Parker or Miss Basketball, or a 6'8" freshman with skills, that statement is true. But the truth ends there. Okay, over all those years I can give you a small handful of anecdotal instances of exception, but those are abnormalities. There is a better opportunity to be "discovered" in basketball than in other girls sports, but there are tons of quality athletes with college level ability who graduate every year without the first nibble from a college coach. There are just as many who have Division I ability but wind up at a NAIA school or a JUCO because nobody "found them." And for the most part, college coaches don't scout high school games like they once did, especially in softball, and basketball has quickly moved in that direction. You'll find them lining the backstops at major exposure tournaments and Nationals and swarming the bleachers at basketball showcase events and AAU Nationals. It is a rare event to see a college coach at a high school game unless that coach is already recruiting that player. They already found them at AAU or ASA or a camp or at an exposure/showcase tournament... and then often because the player took the initiative to contact the coach and provide them with player profiles and skills videos. They dropped by to protect their prospect or to gain upper hand in the recruiting process which is well into the deep stages. On occasion, one might drop because they have 2 scholarships remaining and a list of 8 prospects and they want to make a in person evaluation before vote the 6 extras off the island. Summit or Balcomb or Landers or Insell don't wake up in the morning and say, "hey, I've got tonight free, I think I'll run over to Ezell tonight and watch them play CPA just in case I might see something I like." Nor do they pick up the Tennessean and see that a player is averaging 17 ppg and decide to make a road trip to LaVergne or Cookeville or Macon County for a high school game. Oh yeah, as for the concept that sitting out as a sophomore or maybe even as a junior isn't relevant because nobody is evaluated and recruited until they are a senior or perhaps some as a junior is somewhat accurate only because college coaches simply don't spend much time recruiting school ball any more. But it is completely inaccurate in terms of when players are evaluated and recruited. Three decades ago when I was in high school, coaches didn't look further down the line than rising seniors for recruiting with the exception of the occasional underclass superstar, and for the most part, that was still pretty much the case in the mid 90's. Huge white boards in college coach's offices are filled with the names of 10th, 9th, and even 8th grade girls. Although it is softball, ASA 16U "A" Nationals had more than 350 college coaches in attendance. More than half the players on the 140ish teams in attendance were in the classes of 2009, 2010, and 2011. At the ASA 18U "A" Nationals with the majority of girls in the class of 2008, there were approximately 1/3 of the number of coaches. Why? Because many schools, in the summer of 2007 not only already had their 2007 class booked, but had enough commitments to book their 2008 class, and in many cases their 2009 recruiting class was booked or very close. The only teams looking for a 07 or 08 were ones who unexpectedly lost one who changed their verbal commitment or unexpectedly lost a returning player during the summer because of grades or discipline or transfer. The recruiting world has changed tremendously. I could go on forever, but only about 3 people have read this far anyway.

You left out Caralisa Connell - DCA

How? I'm not 100% certain. Unfortunately, I think it would have to come from a group of individuals with a passion for sports who have become completely disenchanted with the antics of TSSAA and have the time and ability to create something new from scratch. The problem is that those who are truly passionate about youth sports are already overbooked with their involvement and don't really have the time to coordinate a new or competing organization. Also, unfortunately, many who would fall in this category have already moved into avenues they view as being much more productive and worthwhile (such as AAU basketball and travel softball). Taking on the gorilla is such a huge task and would take a tremendous amount of time - and the resilliancy to take the bashing and combativeness that TSSAA would unleash. In my view at this point, if there is a movement, it would probably have to start from those involved in the private school ranks. With recent TSSAA rulings such as the multiplier and the new calendar and 50% rules, there is a great deal of disenchantment amoung a lot of private school people. I would also think that the private school would have more latitude and flexibility to consider an alternative than public schools would, in the beginning at least. I agree that there would be problems with any governing body, complete with new and different problems. Those things are true in collegiate ball, travel ball, and in business in general. But, competition and new startups tend to correct the problems from top heavy, overbearing monoliths. TSSAA has lost touch with reality in a lot of areas and know that they have the ability to do whatever they want and not be challenged in any meaningful way. If nothing else a new governing body, or even a serious threat of a new governing body could be enough to bring them back in line and cause them to make some significant changes in the way they now do business. Competition normally brings changes that are beneficial to the consumer. Without getting into the travel world too deeply, and while acknowledging that there are too far many "alphabet" governing bodies, the competition of start up organizations has produced positive changes. In a previous life that involved baseball, I watched the Babe Ruth organization go from being the gorilla on the block to being an average, mid-tier organization because they were much like TSSAA is today - bloated, out of control, and somewhat monopolistic. The same process has happened in other travel sports as well. In softball, ASA has been in the same gorilla position, but continues to show signs that they have no ability to learn from history. They were probably in a better position of strength at the start of the process than Babe Ruth was, but travel softball as we know it today is still a relatively new animal. They continue to hold the perception of being the top dog, but the competition from startups and ASA's lack ability or willingness to listen and be appropriately flexible is beginning to produce cracks and signs of potential breakage. I'm rambling now... but I've been a proponent of a TSSAA alternative for years, so it is impossible to outline a plan in a short forum post in a way that makes much sense. There are, however, a lot of like minded people out there who have the same thoughts... and after this last ruling, are becoming much more vocal. I've personally heard more "it's time to do something" comments over the past year and specifically the past two weeks, than I've ever heard before. Of course, one of us has to get off our butt and start the ball rolling. Sure there will be new challenges, problems, and criticism, but there is no indication that TSSAA has any real concern or interest in the student-athlete or high school athletics. To many of us, it seems as if they are nothing more than a powerful bureaucracy with an overwhelming interest in the bottom line and maintaining their control.

No it doesn't make any sense for TSSAA to try to control things outside of TSSAA, but they apparently have the power to do so and they don't hesitate to flex their muscles. The rule creates a provision for penalizing players by declaring some ineligible by limiting the number who would be eligible. For example, if 7 girls from one school played together in the fall, that school would only be allowed to place 5 of them on the roster in the spring. In the end, that probably wouldn't be a horrible penalty for a lot of schools as with quite a few, losing the 6th and 7th best players (assuming that the top 7 were the ones actually playing together) wouldn't cripple the HS team... but the school and coach would still be penalized for something completely out of their control and perhaps even knowledge. I personally think that it is time for a competitive organization, say TennHigh, to be formed as an alternative to an out of control TSSAA.

Oh yeah, they swarm the place.

What mess??? did they (AAU Basketball) start? You lost me here. The only mess I see is the TSSAA making a mess by trying to make parental decisions that should be left to parents.

The TSSAA rule doesn't have any impact at all over Georgia teams because it is a Tennessee rule. Georgia teams are not regulated in any way by T(ennessee)SSAA. I have some mixed feelings about the "50% rule." One thing it does eliminate is the ability of overbearing coaches to demand that all his/her players play on the same team during the off season as some are known to do. That practice punishes the better players as it prevents them from playing with stronger travel teams that would play a higher level of ball and competition. I don't believe, however, that this benefit is what TSSAA had in mind when they came up with the rule. I think they thought they would be killing off a lot of travel teams but travel programs will adjust just fine. The top teams rarely have more than a few players from the same school anyway.

Wow... calling a tremendous young athlete that has carried her team all year a ball hog - twice no less and once in all caps - is a bit over the top don't you think I'm not a Goodpasture parent, nor am I a fan of the school by any stretch of the imagination, but Cartwright: Is a JR that first sport is SOFTBALL [sic] that scored well and shut down top opposing players all year long and put a very weak Goodpasture team on her shoulders on a regular basis all year long and did the job on both ends of the floor. There are very few young women in the district (perhaps none) who are better athletes than she is. Goodpasture only received one All District spot this year due to their last place finish. Nothing wrong with Lamberth and she had a fine season (and an even better district tournament), but I don't know of anybody who saw Goodpasture play several times this year who would have given the lone All District slot to anybody other than Cartwright. Surely you could find a way to promote one player without torching an outstanding athlete in the process.