Bearable

Where in Fayetteville? At the High School at a park?

Where is this tournament being played?

July 15 - 17 Nashville Fastpitch Challenge, Only one slot left, that's in 18U. 8 teams in 12U, 12 teams in 14U and 12 teams in 16U, 11 teams in 18U (need one more). 18U: Cincy Storm, Nighthawks, Sting ELITE, Diamond Dodgers, Thunderbirds, Extreme Edge, Ohio Scorchers, TJ's, Wildcats, Memphis Fusion, Nashville Starz. 16U: Knox Lady Eagles, Louisville Lady Sluggers, Evansville Stealers, Cincy Storm, Germantown Lady Red Devils, Sliders, Thunderbolts, Sting ELITE, Cincinnatti Elite, Spoilers, Blitz, Alley Katz. 14U: Sting, Warriors, Madison Mayhem, Cyclones, Lady Patriots, Lindon Lady Lightning, Copperheads, Challengers Express, Thunderbolts, Dixie Slammers, Wildfire, Ballhawks. 12U: Heritage Allstars, Lady Smyrna Bulldogs, Germantown Red Devils, LGSA, Colonel Crushers, Diamond Fire, Wildfire, Lil Lady Warriors. Good luck to all!

Look at the quote at the bottom of my reply. There is your problem. When girls bond as a team, nobody will want to leave. Girls will only leave when they have to, ie. moving, family problems, etc.. Watch the movie "Coach Carter". One player leaves and wants to come back. When he trys to come back and falls short, the team helps him make his goal. It is very obvious that the players are becoming a team and want him in. That quote I use is a very powerful statement. I believe a "team" of good players will rise above the rest and produce a tremendous experience. I have coached and managed for many years and I believe that the hardest part of putting the team together is getting the right mix of personalities.

Watched USFA State 16UA last weekend. Didn't see Diamond Dodgers. Watched Nighthawks, Mt Juliet Diamonds, West TN Express, Extreme Edge, Philly's, Twisters, Vipers, Cruisers, Thunderbolts, and Sting Elite. Phillys from Chattanooga won, Cruisers second, Sting ELITE third. I think the Phillys are all 14's. They were very good. ASA and USSSA States will be the best action in TN this weekend. Where will everyone be?

Email me if you are still interested. Need A-ball pitcher for nationals. TNLTZ@aol.com

How about the other age groups any info?

Since HS ball is over we might want to find out how these young ladies do on other teams. Any info from the Chattanooga Memorial?

Go Hickman County! You guys are great ball players.

Hickman County is underrated. They looked really good in district 11. I think they will put up a fight in the region. I believe they go up against Hunters Lane. If their pitcher has the right ump, watch out!

Sting ELITE may have an opportunity for one ball player. In/outfielder with strong bat needed. Shoulder injury is sidelining one ball player. Go to http://hometown.aol.com/tnltz/sting.html and contact the manager. 16U is very strong with a couple of strong 14U teams.

Soddy is a great team. Anyone who beats them should be called the best!

How is the Hillwood Girl? I don't know her name but she got hurt when a line drive hit her right in the bridge of the nose and the lower forehead. She was down for quite awhile.

HEY HIXSON YOU GUYS LOOK GREAT! People are talking about you. The Sr to Fr pitching is very nice. Works well together or in a whole game. Also think your coaching looks good. Are you guys moving to AAA? LOL SEMgr.

We played Lincoln Co. three times. We beat them three times, but it wasn't easy any of those times. These girls just don't roll over and die, they play hard! Our games are always close and you know one mistake and they will beat you. If you play Lincoln County and discount their abilities you are toast. One more thing, they have beaten Soddy Daisy and we haven't! So, I consider Lincoln County one of the best teams in TN. Play hard Falcons! We look forward to playing you again.

Coaching is like parenting, address the behavior, not the child. She shouldn't be made to feel evil, but she should be corrected for her totally unacceptable behavior. I really like the term "sports death". She may need sports in her life. Many of us learned social skills while playing on a team. Let's afford this girl a break and make sure she understands how badly her behavior is viewed. If her behavior is effecting the team then some discipline program needs to be put in place with consequences that may lead to "sports death" if she is unable to respect authority. Of course that implies authority is in place! This is a tough situation, I hope the parents from Blackman work together to get that authority in place. It will effect all the girls if they don't.

To all the folks who worked so hard on this weekend's tournament, THANKS! It was just what we needed. When we arrived at the park and saw the fields up front, one of which was a lake, I was really disapointed that we were going home. Then I saw you guys out there working on the back two. Next thing I knew we were playing. If you guys made more money because of less games, you deserve it. About the "whose better" commentary, here is how I see it. Soddy is in a class by themselves and Baylor is in the top five or six (we thought a little ahead of Goodpasture). But that order changes with injuries, mood, situation, etc.. Now Lincoln County beats Soddy, go figure, we beat Lincoln Co three times, Riverdale once, and Goodpasture once, are we better than Soddy? No way, Lincoln county just has Soddies number. Wish we did. Oh, I failed to mention, Riverdale beat us later, and Goodpasture was pitching Devon, she's very good but not their best. This is as much about situation, luck, development and injuries as it is about skill. Do our coaches put best team out every time? Heck no, they are trying to develop ball players. That's often what happens when teams like Goodpasture get beat. Good coaches get beat in order to do better in the long run. Now in the state we should see everybody's "A" team! That is going to be fun!

I'm not from Chattanooga, have no vested interest in saying this. Soddy is the best we've seen. We played well against them and still lost. Some of the girls play at college level already. My daughter plays D1 and I think Soddy might beat them. Very very good team. I expect them to win the State in AAA! The question is who will be second?

I see it now, pitching depth allows you to play the TSSAA maximum games and not over-pitch one or two girls. Example, Brentwood has four pitchers. In fact they pitched two perfect games back-to-back in KY using all four pitchers, two pitchers in in each game. They beat Goodpasture, Riverdale once (lost once), and are undefeated in their district. I keep hearing about injuries and I now see the advantage to pitching depth. Good point.

What teams have the most good pitchers? I've seen teams with 1 good pitcher, even two, but what about the ones with more? Does it matter in school ball?

Who pitched for both teams? Who hit? Tell us more.

I also believe some schools drive the kids out. Lack of support for athletics, gangs, and not so good academics are all good reasons to be unhappy. So once they are shopping they start thinking about a better softball program. Why not? If the TSSAA let's you do it and the county let's you do it, then go for it!

We played Lincoln County in the MTSCA. I think they are very good! They have a couple of good bats and a strong pitcher. They are the "real deal". Will they go all the way? Only time will tell. They were one of our toughest opponents.

Lindsay Cavarra is a candidate for sure. Lindsay was presented the MVP award at the MTSCA tournament as well as All Tournament Team at the Comando Classic. Last weekend (MTSCA) she belted a three run double against a difficult Camden team and tallied an impressive 6 RBI’s, two doubles and one triple for the weekend. What I've noticed about Lindsay is, the better the team, the harder she works! She will go on to play ball at Wash-U in St. Louis. That means she's a smart girl too!

I watch a lot of ball and I saw this game. Actually Brentwood doesn't normally crowd the plate. But, in that game Blue was being liberal with the outside pitch. And like any good pitcher you were taking advantage of it. So Brentwood made the adjustment. You then tried to brush them back just like you were taught. The result, three batters on and a unfair accusation. That's the reason every pitcher hates the batter who crowds. If you hate this, don't play in college because some teams literally stand on the line inside and Blue just ignores it. My daughter plays Div 1 ball in the SOCON and she told me "Dad, if I can't hit her she's going to hit me!" Those girls play to win! All you can do is work on more control on the inside. Then you can brush them off without putting them on. Just a thought to umpires, all this can be avoided if you will take note of what is happening and adjust. This blue was liberal and invited this situation (injury and accusations).