rtyree1121

I believe that most college atheletes are a lot happier playing than sitting on Tn. or Ga.'s bench for for years.  Look at the number of freshmen and sophomores who have big signing parties and transfer a year or two later. How many sure fire 1st string softball players capable of starting at Tn., Ga., or Alabama are there in Chattanooga High Schools at the moment. I say one.  There could be one more if those three and others like them put a premium on getting faster.  I believe speed will be dominant in the future in college ball. Look at how many good pitchers there are in Chattanooga and compare the number to how many blazing fast players that we have in Chattanooga. I would say the odds are 5 to 1. If you say size and speed then 10 to 1. The pool of these girls that play softball if very small.

Name the kids over 5'8" in Chattanooga that have explosive speed.  Most are playing basketball or running track.

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I know from first hand experience that if a girl sits on the bench for one year at Georgia, she will be gone the next year and replaced by a new recruiting class. Arizona started the idea of having speed in softball, and other teams are just now seeing how valuable it has been, not just in scoring runs, but in improving the overall defense also. The Nashville area has very few speedy people also. If you watch some of the national ASA tourneys, you will see that most of the powerhouses all have 3 key ingredients.....great pitching, team speed, and great defense.

We could sure use some good ups in Chattanooga.

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after having daughters play in the old Snyder-oliver tourney for 16 years, I can give a big AMEN to that!

Bless your heart you may have withdrawal symptoms this summer. College is a whole new ballgame and I don't think unless you have been through the recruiting process you really don't understand it. My daughter chose not to play but did not have "big time" offers. She did have some D1 offers but fell in love and didn't play. I have continued to follow Ooltewah softball and helped coach in middle school maybe you can find some other way to be involved. You really will miss it. I have followed softball since the early 70's. a lot of the local high schools here in chattanooga did not have fast pitch until the late 70's so it was all travel ball back then. That is how I know a lot of the local high school coaches they also coached summer teams back then.

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The recruiting process was fun at the very beginning, but toward the end it was very frustrating to listen to the coaches say one thing and do another. There is alot of dishonesty going on that wasnt much fun to be a part of.

I'm gonna try to catch up on alot of golf that I missed out on over the years this summer. After that, I may try to help out some in coaching somewhere, or maybe even do some umpiring since they are so pathetic around here...I think even i could do better than them.

My other daughter also elected to not pursue softball in college, although she is good enough to play at some smaller level. She got more money for academics than she would of gotten for softball, so its better this way. I'll just miss watching college softball especially...It was another higher level of play in the SEC which was fun to watch.

Hey Picker you hit the nail on the head. The college coach does not go by the team he goes by the individual and a girl who performs well in difficult situations may get a higher rating than one who had a perfect defense behind her all the time. They like to see how a pitcher handles all sorts of situations. Can she keep it together when things aren't going well? They do not look at a teams win and loss they look at individual performances. I think you really don't know about the recruiting process until you have been through it. They will also promise you the moon and hang you out to dry! If you can't handle Clifford Kirk at Soddy you better be careful what type of college coach you choose because you are bought and paid for!!!

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Katfo, exactly.....colleges coaches look for certain qualities in a player....not so much their statistics, but their individual talents, desire, and grades....Clifford Kirk is Mary Poppins compared to most big time coaches. It becomes a business at the college level, so you have to perform the way they want you to, or you will be out the door in a hurry, or they will be out the door.

Honestly I do not expect anyone from chattanooga to get an offer from UCLA or Michigan anywhere in the near future. SEC schools maybe but they better be prepared to red shirt or do some sitting. That is why you must weigh a lot of factors before you choose. If you are fortunate enough to get an offer make sure it is what you really want to do and where you want to be. Superstars in high school have to start all over there freshman year in college. It is a whole new ballgame!!!!

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Although it is very flattering to get an offer to play at a big school like the SEC, most girls would be better off going to a smaller school unless they are guaranteed to be a starter. With scholarship limitations the way they are, there is not much redshirting done unless there is an injury. Those that dont play much run the risk of not having their scholarships re-newed. Just look at Tennessee...they have 17 girls on their team now, with no seniors....they have signed 5 girls for next years class, which will bring the total to 22 girls. With the limit of girls who can travel with the team being 18, guess what will probably happen to 4 of those girls?

It could have been before 1997. I really don't remember the year and she may have looked taller by keeping her hair all piled up. I just remember one weekend at Warner Park in Chattanooga watching her and she was impressive. I am going to keep on and give up my age and I don't want to do that. I remember watching Rocky pitch high school ball. Didn't she go to Georgia also?

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The coach for the Eagles daughter was tall, her last name was Lockridge...she pitched in the early 90's, I guess it could of been her....Rocky went to Georgia also, but when the new coach came in after their Freshman year, she told all the freshmen(5 of them) except my daughter that their scholarships would not be renewed, so they left school. Three of the girls were from the Chattanooga area. Unfortunately my last daughter to play softball finished up her last year at Brentwood this year and is not playing anymore, so I dont get to follow it as much as I would like now. My first summer in over 16 years without having travel ball.

Yes I do know who your daughter is and she was a great athlete. I had the pleasure of watching the Nashville Eagles play and they were one heck of a team. There was a very tall girl with brown hair and she kept it piled on top of her head all the time she pitched for the Eagles and I have always wanted to know her name. She was really good do you know who I am talking about?

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The year they won it all in 1997, their two pitchers were not very tall...Brook Siebel and kim Dunlap....the next year they had mostly Rocky Castillo, and she wasnt tall either, and then her last year, they had a tall girl...Crystal Bobo..which would of been in 1999...could it have been her?...I wouldnt know anyone on the Eagles before 1997.

I know it is not an easy thing to get a full ride. I have been through this with my daughter and I get asked my advice a lot and I hope I have been helpful. You don't want to jump on the first thing but I think Herb said Brittany was so excited she was ready to sign. She loves the game of softball and really wants to play at the college level.

It is hard to get a full ride offer especially if the school is out of state and this early in the season. Regardless of who, or where it is it's a compliment  for a girl to get the offer. And exactly most of the "full rides" come to pitchers and catchers. Your daughter must have been one heck of a ball player. Did she have an enjoyable experience with college ball?

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She was a very good athlete, but then again, I am her dad so I have to think that way. Since we are from middle tennessee, you probably didnt know much about her, but her summer team (Nashville Eagles) won the national ASA 18-u title in 1997. She was lucky to be on a great team, and although she was only 16 at the time, she got lots of attention that year.

Her college experience at Georgia saw a lot of ups and downs, but for the most part, she loved the college ball-playing experience. It was a lot of hard work though. Not much time was left for anything other than ball and school, so alot of sacrifices had to be made she didnt get to be involved in that normal college kids got to do. It was all worth it, after being a not so good team her Freshman year, they fired the coach, and hired the current coach that is very tough. She brought them to another level and national prominance...as they won the SEC her senior year(2003) and they were ranked in the top 10 in the country, got to play in the NCAA tourney, and even got to play against the 2000 Olympic team.

Ellis from Bledsoe has a offer to UTC full ride.......

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congrats to her...getting full rides for girls in TN that go to colleges within TN has been made much easier with them getting the Hope scholarship which helps offset some of the scholarship costs...its much tougher to get a full ride to a school outside the state.

I totally agree with everything you are saying. Most of the recruiting is done from the summer teams anyway and there is no award or honor going to say as much as a coach watching you perform.  As for Rice I think that is a good thing because her school team is not as successful as some ot the others. I also heard that Ooltewah's second baseman Casey Saunders has had some attention this summer and will get offers and I think maybe already has had 2. She is another really good player that does not get the attention she deserves. She really hit the ball well for Ooltewah this year and has continued on with her summer team. What does it matter where the offer is from? There are some girls that would love to go on and play at the next level that are probably good enough but for whatever reason don't get the opportunity. The Michigan, UCLA thing was in response to Wilson 25 being cute and saying the offer for Britt  was from Michigan because Rhonda did not tell me where the offer came from. She just said it was a really exciting thing for Britt to open the email and the offer to be there. I am sure it would be for any girl. I think you need to weigh in the factor too how important is playing time. If you go to a "big" school you better be ready to sit a while as a freshman. And, it's all about the education anyway. I just think it is great the opportunities that are out there for the girls that play fastpitch to be able to go and get that education because of ball! I will find out where it came from and if it is that big of a deal and anyone wants to know just say so and I will find out and post it later. I am sure thay will tell me it was just presented as Hey, she got her first full ride offer and it was just an exciting time for that family. Too bad some people can't just be happy for them. I know Herb Rice thinks it is a wonderful thing when a girl gets a softball scholarship. He does not care who they are or where the offer is from he loves to hear about it and so do I!!! By the way my daughter did not go on to play college ball and she wishes she had.

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Katfo, you are right about a girl going to a "big school". My daughter was fortunate to get a full ride to a 'big" school, and it was a big thrill to get that offer, especially since she was not a pitcher or a catcher. People will be surprised to find out how few full rides are given out to players that dont play those two positions. Its more important that the girl picks the school that is right for her, instead of picking a school for the coach. More than likely, whoever coaches her will not be at that school by the time she graduates.

Katy Blevins, Nikki Waters, and Ashley Ellis all play for the Chattanooga Eagles.....So I'm pretty sure they won't have any problems going somewhere big,only if they won't to go somewhere big,some of these girls might wanna play for UTC.........Not sure who Tiffany Baker plays for......

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You're right, they will get offers from some big schools, such as UT or some of the other SEC schools. But, their offer is based on their good performances in summer leagues, not their high school careers.

When college scholarships are awarded people may be surprised at who gets what.

I know for a fact that top SEC teams are looking at kids who did not make !st team Best of Preps.  At least one on honorable mention. Sometimes high school awards and publicty are not given to the best players for various reasons. I have seen seniors promoted by there coaches because of constant pressue from parents even though there were younger players a lot better.  A lot of coaches think that younger players have to wait their turn.

 

I think there are 5-10 SEC caliber players in high school in our area. Most are rising juniors. Very few are seniors. Some may play to stay at home (UTC ?)

because of travel.  The cream will rise to the top>

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Coaches from the top teams (SEC, Big 10, ACC, etc) could care less what a player does in high school, so they dont look at the all-star teams. All they care about is how well the girls do in the competitive summer leagues, where the competition is much better. Some coaches wont even recruit a girl unless she plays in the Gold division in the ASA.

Ok......No offence or nothing but the only girls around the Chattanooga area that would get those kind of offers is Nikki Waters and Katy Blevins of Soddy and Tiffany Baker of East Ridge and Ashley Ellis of Bledsoe........

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Not even those girls will get offers from UCLA....if you look at UCLA's roster for the last 15 years, very few girls ever play for that school unless they are from California, and Arizona. I doubt the UCLA coach even knows where Chattanooga is.

Not really sure but some of the college girls I have talked to in the past cant be paid either...

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college girls get paid working at summer camps put on by their coach....my daughter played in college and was paid for working at the camps.

? Can Highschool girls get paid for helping in a softball Camp?

 

?Can College Players get paid for helping in a softball Camp?

What is the rule?

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I dont think high school players can get paid for working at a softball camp...but college players can, and do it all the time...but I think there is a limit on how much they are allowed to earn.

According to the speeds at the World Series, most of the college pitchers are in the upper 50's to lower 60's with a few exceptions, like Monica Abbott, who was in the mid to upper 60's.

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Every starting pitcher that pitched in the world series threw it consistantly in the low to mid 60's, and a few threw it in the high 60's. Jennifer Wright was the slowest of any of the starting pitchers, and she threw it 60-61 mostly. The only pitcher that I saw that threw it in the 50's is the backup for Michigan. The only time they threw it lower than 60, it was a changup. Even their curveballs and other offspeed pitchers were in the 60's...thats why they were in the world series.

How do you know.... Have you ever seen any East TN  teams play....

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yes I have...and I have to admit that I'm not too impressed with many of them. Gibbs always has a strong team, and lately maryville has had a good team, but outside of those two, the others are not that strong. The knox area always sends teams to the state tourney, and usually, except for Gibbs, are some of the first to get eliminated. Just look what Maryville did this year in the state tourney...Lost badly their first two games and were out..If the state tourney were to truly take the top eight teams in the state, instead of having to take some from each of the four regions, the upper east tennessee area would have few teams ever competing. Usually when a team from that area plays a team from middle tenn or chattanooga, they get shutout because they arent used to facing pitching that throws it 60-plus mph.

Dobyns-Bennett pitcher Kelli Depew was 50-18 in two seasons making it to the substate game both years (losing to Maryville both games) and could not break 50 mph.  She had pinpoint control and had enough change in speed to keep batters off balance.  Everyone in East Tennessee called her fastball and changeup slow and slower

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upper east tennessee teams dont come close to being as good as the teams in the nashville and chattanooga area....she wouldnt survive in those areas.

Is there a venue that can handle the spring fling tournament?

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they've got plenty of fields...but no field of dreams like chattanooga....however, the fields that they will probably play at are better than the fields at Warner park...and anything is better than playing in mississippi

I have seen in some pitchers where her change up is just as good as her fast ball....

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I've seen a pitcher throw a perfect game (no hits, no walks, no errors) and lose too, but that doesnt mean its something that happens very much! Most pitchers that have to rely on a changeup to get the batters out wont last very long against a quality team.

what happened to Kristi Cunningham from Davidson did she have a bad year??

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She had a very good year...maybe she elected not to play.

I have seen a great hitting team be shut out by a slow pitcher because it isn't seen that much, and especially if they aren't used to it.  Some fast pitchers will also only throw change ups to some teams because they know thats a weakness

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It happens once in a blue moon...but normally a great hitting team will destroy a slow pitcher. I've never seen a fast pitcher afraid to throw a fastball and only throw changeups..very few pitchers have a good changeup. if thats the case, her fastball isnt very fast.

next year the state tournamentt will be marshall co, david lipscomb,goodpasture,ezell harding,gibbs,east ridge and 2 from west tn

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Better study up on the new re-districting, because Ezell, Lipscomb, and Marshall County are all in the same region...so only 2 of those teams could possibly go to the State tourney.

Wrong. Good pitchers can throw 40, 50, 60 or 65. What makes a good pitcher is excellent control , pitches that Really work as opposed to those that kinda sorta work,  and being  able to consistantly change speeds! A top speed of 58 is not batting practice if she can do these things.

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You show me a pitcher in high school that throws it 40 or 50 mph, and she and her 3rd basemen had better be wearing protective gear from head to toe because the ball will be hit back at them twice as hard as they are throwing.

Oakdale has been underated. They have a rough season with losin their pitcher in a car accident. She is now back to pitching again and will return to the 2006 season I can promise you they will upset a lot of teams this season with her coming back a sophomore pitcher who pitches close to 58 mph. Oh yeah!

 

Give the Oakdale Lady Eagles some creidt!

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Gibson, glad your pitcher is back healthy again...however, maybe from where you are from, 58 mph is fast, but from where I'm from, thats good batting practice speed. The top pitchers throw it in the low to middle 60's.