#12fan

You're an expert? Obviously N. Greene IS a good team or they wouldn't have beaten a powerhouse like Unicoi. Are they consistently as good as Unicoi? No way. Few teams are & so there's no shame in that, but show some respect for a team that went to the state tournament last year and may very well get back there this year if they continue to play well. As we all know, anything can happen in one game to anyone, including your ladies from GP. Unicoi is a powerhouse and it will blow me away if they don't make it back to the boro and mount a strong challenge for anyone.

Just heard a nasty rumor that N. Greene beat Unicoi Co. yesterday at the Morristown tourney. This is a shocker! Anyone care to tell what happened?

Congratulations to Unicoi Co. and my friends at Unaka for winning their conference as well. Not sure how many this is for Coach Ronnie Hicks but I know it's been a long time since Unaka hasn't had at least a share of the conference crown. Keep going upper east TN!

Wow! I must immediately correct myself. There is an exception at the end of rule 8-7 that says a fake throw is considered a play and the runners should not be called out if that happens. That's what I get for not reading the entire rule before posting! Everyone disregard my last post!!!!!

From the TSSAA rule book (which is the only one that matters if we're talking about a high school game) Rule #8-7 article 1: (look back rule) The look back rule will be in effect when the ball is live, the batter-runner has touched first base or has been declared out, and the pitcher has possession of the ball within the circle. Article 2: The runners may stop once, but then must immediately return to the base or attempt to advance to the next base. In other words, no matter what the pitcher does with the ball (within the circle) the runner on third cannot advance. If the pitcher actually threw the ball toward first base to try to "pick off the runner", she would no longer have control of the ball within the circle and the runner on third would be able to advance. Hope this helps.

I've been out of town for a couple of days & didin't get to read Coach T or the newspapers. How did Unicoi Co. fare in the Azalea Inv. tournament? Also, how did Unaka come out? Any news would be appreciated.

The original post on this thread, if I understand it correctly, was not understanding why high school coaches do certain things, especially small ball. Just my opinion but I think a lot of it has to do with high school coaches not understanding the game completely. I've seen many times when football or basketball coaches or teachers were made to coach softball by the school administration & so the coaches are only there because they're made to be there. Some of these coaches give their very best effort but unfortunately, some don't. (especially at the middle school level where basic fundamentals should be taught) Their hearts were not in it to say the least because deep down, they really don't have a love for the game. What a shame because the girls are the ones that suffer for this half hearted effort by their coach. My daughter was truly blessed because I feel like she's had good coaching by coaches who gave their best & really cared about the girls. The good news is, again this is my opinion only, that this is beginning to change. As the girls that are graduating college now & have played softball during their high school & college careers begin to filter out into the school systems in TN as teachers & coaches, they will be there because they want to be there & will pass along some of the good coaching they've experienced over the years. My hope is that this will lead to better softball at all ages in TN.

Best, My last post may have been misunderstood. I was trying to inject a little toung in cheek humor and maybe that wasn't the right place. As I've said before, I don't really think it's going to change the course of fate for anyone on Coach T no matter where the Renfroes wind up going to school or work. People will continue on with their lives no matter what. But the only reason anyone here is talking about any of this is because it's softball related. To suggest people shouldn't get on Coach T (or any other forum for that matter) and talk about "ANYONE" or softball related things is a little ridiculous. People are always going to talk about things that other people don't like & you or I either one are not going to change that. That's life. Get over it & move on. And for the record, my daughter & I have both been talked about on & off of Coach T by plenty of folks. It didn't kill us & it's probably not going to kill the Renfroes either. JVaughn, you're probably right. This thread has gone somewhere besides where it started. Being from E. TN, I don't have a horse in this race & so I'll just end my part on this thread by saying that I wish the Renfroes good luck & Godspeed wherever they end up. I love softball & I love to watch talented people play the sport. I know they'll make all of TN proud when they get to UT.

Ok, no more talking about ANYONE on Coach T. /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" /> Just curious Best, what color is the sky in your world?

YOU were talking about the law when you said they had a RIGHT to privacy. A right is something that is guaranteed by law. Learn what you're talking about before you start telling others what they should be talking about. We don't need the morality police on coach t either. Most of us are quite capable of discussing softball & softball related things without someone else telling us we're not morally correct for doing it. Just like the others said, if you don't like talking about this, don't read it!

People (including the Renfroes) have certain RIGHTS guaranteed by the constitution of the U.S.. But nowhere in the constitution does anyone have the right to keep others from talking about them. Especially when others find someone interesting, talented, good looking, etc., etc.. No one on this board really cares deeply wether the Renfroes or anyone else returns to this school or that one, but for crying out loud, this is a softball forum. People here on this forum are going to talk about softball and people who play softball. No one is trying to harm the Renfroes so CALM DOWN! Good grief.

Are you really suggesting that private school domination of single A softball has ended now that a public school has won a state title for the first time in 27 YEARS! Let's see, privates 27 - publics 1. Get real. You might be able to come back here & try to float that idea if publics win single A for the next 5-7 years but not now. You guys have never wanted to go to school with us, so don't take it personal if we don't want to play ball with you. Although I will admit it was fun watching Forrest dominate a private school for a change. Thanks Forrest for making all of us public school alums. feel better for a little while!

Yes, Absolutely, Affirmative, Without question, By all means, Positively, Undeniably. Did I make myself clear on this one?

Unaka wins Dist. 1A. A very exciting pair of games. North Greene won the first game 12-5 and Unaka won the second 1-0 on a base hit in the bottom of the 7th. Congratulations to both teams. They both left it all on the field.

EHS Faithful, Where on earth did you get the idea that I have an ill feeling toward Coach Hardin? I've probably known him a lot longer than you have and I consider him a friend. I hope he considers me one of his. I was born & raised a cyclone and I graduated from EHS in 1980. Go back & read my previous posts and you will see that I support the Cyclones and the Rangers & other Carter Co. schools whole heartedly. What I said was that it's obvious that he dosen't have control of the program and he has little respect from the parents. All one has to do is go to one of the games and sit & listen to almost every parent talk about him like a dog. (behind his back of course) They complain about how he dosen't know what he's doing and they call him every name there is. The parents have long been the problem at EHS-that's exactly why one of the most respected softball men in upper east TN didn't take that job when it was offered to him and it's exactly why my daughter chose to go to another school with a BETTER program. We both knew if she didn't get pitching time at EHS it wouldn't be because she didn't deserve it, it would be because of all the cry baby parents at EHS that would go to the principal or school board complaining that their kid was better. What coach Hardin needs to do is to put some of those people in their place and I've encouraged him to do that on more than one occasion. This will be my last post on this particular thread because I don't want to offend Coach T and turn this into something personal as you have tried to do. Feel free to disagree with me as much as you want. It's obvious that you know who I am and I'm fine with that. I'll wait for you to approach me in person and tell me who you are at any time and we can continue to discuss this if you would like.

A few posts ago, someone hit the nail on the head. The original post under this thread was from a fan (or parent) from one school whose team was beaten by a rival school. I'm famaliar with the two schools and the original poster is correct when he says that a parent from outside the fence (for the other team) calls the pitches for his daughter. I've read from my NFHS rulebook from section 6 about pitching and there is nothing that makes calling the pitch from someone other than the catcher or coaches illegal. Being famaliar with the school in question, I don't think there's much doubt that the coach dosen't have the greatest control of the team nor the respect of the parents, but that's another thread. I don't believe that it's smart for the coach or the parent to allow a parent to give the signal to the catcher and that signal then passed on to the pitcher (that's how it works in this case - someone asked earlier how the pitcher got the signal & how the catcher knew what pitch was coming) but as far as I can tell, it's not illegal.

As a parent who also raised a pitcher, tell your daughter (and her coach if they'll listen) what to look for when batters swing, what you see as a batters strengths & weaknesses, how the umpire is calling/not calling the strike zone, etc. It's also a good idea to bring your daughters catcher in on the conversation since they'll have to communicate a lot during the game. In short, educate your daughter and the catcher so that they will be able to call their own pitches and hopefully they'll learn a little something. The biggest difference between really good pitchers and the ones who just throw pitches is in the mental game. Great pitches think. Average pitchers just throw.

Outstanding win for Unaka! Congratulations to the Rangers for knocking off the in-county rival Cyclones. Elizabethton has a really good team and Unaka is talented but very young. This one has to be a confidence builder for the young Rangers. I expect great things out of this team in the next couple of years. Congratulations again to the Creekers!

Does anyone have any scores from the Unicoi Co. tournament?

A classic game between Unicoi & Elizabethton today. A shame either team had to lose this one. Elizabethton wins 2-1 in 11 innings on a Unicoi error. Both teams played great and it was a classic pitchers duel between Mason & Bellisa. I'll have to give Bellisa the credit. I honestly thought Unicoi had stronger pitching but Bellisa pitched the game of her career so far and matched Mason pitch for pitch. Way to go Cyclones!

A classic game between Unicoi & Elizabethton today. A shame either team had to lose this one. Elizabethton wins 2-1 in 11 innings on a Unicoi error. Both teams played great and it was a classic pitchers duel between Mason & Bellisa. I'll have to give Bellisa the credit. I honestly thought Unicoi had stronger pitching but Bellisa pitched the game of her career so far and matched Mason pitch for pitch. Way to go Cyclones!

Elizabethton vs. Unicoi will be the game to watch this week in upper east TN. Both teams are strong & each have some advantages over the other in different areas. I would love to see the Cyclones come away with the victory & take control of the conference but I'm convinced that the Cyclones will have to play their best game of the year by far to get it done. I expect a bluedevil victory but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Cyclones!

Somebody will correct me if I'm wrong I'm sure but I believe in TN the pitcher has 10 seconds to start her motion after she steps on the pitchers mound. Not from the moment she takes possession of the ball. The batter has 10 seconds to get in the box from the time the pitcher has the ball in her possession.

Hey Dawg22, What happened at N. Greene yesterday. My beloved Lady Rangers took it on the chin it looks like. No disrespect intended to the Lady Huskies, I know there's a lot of talent coming back from last year on that team, but I thought with Unaka's offense this year, they would own the conference. A lot of freshmen on Unaka this year. Maybe this season will be the learning curve for them after all.

I agree w/spojo. Don't know much about the west but two very prominent teams from the east will be Unicoi Co. in AA and Unaka in A. I may eat my words later on but I can't concieve of any way that Unicoi won't get back to Murfreesboro.