Mwalls14

All of the games on the Harpeth baseball page that have no score were never played, if you could erase them please. Thanks.

Looking for DH games on any of the following dates. Willing to do home/home with anyone within reasonable proximity. If interested send an e-mail to marc.walls@ccstn.org. Thanks. 5/31 - Home 6/6 - Home/Away 6/7 - Home 6/19 - Home/Away 6/21 - Home/Away 6/22 - Home Away

Harpeth needs opponents on the following dates due to some cancellations in their schedule. If you are interested in coming and playing at our place please e-mail me at marc.walls@ccstn.org. Thanks 5/30, 31 6/6

Dates we are looking for 3/12 JV only 3/19 JV only 3/20 JV, V 3/21 JV, V 3/28 JV only 4/18 JV only

Harpeth High School is looking to schedule games on two of the three following dates: 3/20, 3/21, 3/22. We are looking to schedule at least one as a home date. Willing to travel to play at your place during the summer in return for the home game. If you are interested, please sent an e-mail to marc.walls@cheathamschools.net. Thanks.

Clarksville beats Rossview 7-5 and Northwest 2-0

Tullahoma 6 Gallatin 5 Clarksville 6 Tullahoma 0 Clarksville 7 Gallatin 0

Clarksville High is at Gallatin 2/27 at 1:00 Also playing against Rossview at 2:30 and Northwest at 4:45 3/6 at Northeast

you're right....I wrote that wrong!! What I meant to say is that I believe it does far more good than harm to have your team together. woops

I don't know if you've been to east cobb, but I'll assume you have since you brought it up. But unless you're a top level team playing at the east cobb complex, you're probably not getting seen. There are simply too many teams playing at too many venues. Those tournaments are set up to bring the top level teams to a close proximity for scout's convenience. The rest of the teams are there to make a profit from. Second, the overwhelming majority of college level players in middle tennessee will attend some junior college or school in the area. My opinion is that it's much more beneficial to attend as many tournaments within the region where those college scouts will be at. The point is, a high school coach who wants to have complete control over his program will run some type of summer deal. It's just his choice. It doesn't mean you're going to be more successful, but it probably does more harm than good in most cases.

diamondhounds has some valid points but also a few I disagree with. you mentioned the coach having the players from October through the season. Actually, we don't. We have these periods where we can supervise workouts and let them throw. We can't teach, break down swings, throw bullpen sessions, or operate any type of fall team. On top of that, we only have participation from those that want to attend, and those that aren't playing other sports. We have a month before the season starts to make things mandatory, and that's it. That's why the summer is so critical...it's a chance to teach...football has a much larger window that it allows....why should baseball be any different? One final comment. I do understand why players would want to play for travel teams. Get to see the state/region. Get to choose who you play with. If you don't get along with teammates, you don't have to be around them. I get all of that. But you do have to understand that as coaches, our emphasis is on the team and improving the team. We balance that by recruiting our players and letting them know about showcases. Our job is to mold young men and ultimately, win. Working together gives us a better chance to accomplish that goal.

I would also like to make my comments because I think it's a great question to pose. I am now a high school coach and had always been opposed to high school summer teams for the reason that many brought up. There are pro's and con's to running a summer program but the opinion I've come to is that the pro's do outweigh the con's. I think our high school head coach summed it up best when he told our parents that summer is really our only time to teach the game. We have fall workouts right now where we can't teach, and really only about a month of practice time before the season begins. The summer is the ideal time for us to work with guys because of the lack of restrictions. For the success of our program, it's beneficial to have that time together. We have one successful travel program in town and we tell our players that if they make the 18U team, they are welcomed and encouraged to do that because we know that team is well coached. Now, good coaches do need to enhance the experience. Someone mentioned the lack of competition. There is good competition out there, a coach just needs to find it. You might mention the lack of exposure. The coaches should seek out reputable showcase opportunities and encourage players to attend those. It's part of creating a well rounded program. There's nothing stopping high school teams from entering elite tournaments. So you can't really blame the concept of high school summer ball on lack of competition. You play who you want. Someone also mentioned about Farragut not having a program. They've obviously an influx of talent like no other area in the state. I think it would be unfair to use that comparison. Just look at Bartlett and their success. They stay together. You could make the argument either way. The point I'm trying to make is, if you have a coach committed to the program, teaching the game, and creating a challenging and enriching experience in the summer, then high school baseball is the best option. If the high school program just throws the team together, gets someone else to coach it, or just schedules games without using the time to teach, then I think those teams probably should just take the summer off.

I agree with the comments about basketball, and I've never understood why baseball players can play 4-6 games a week but those precious basketball players need their breaks. Anyone ever seen a double header basketball game? But it's not just high school basketball. I mean, March madness is ending on April 6. The NBA playoffs last 6 months (sarcasm, but you get the point). The basketball season stretches too long, and I have always felt like baseball gets rushed, too. But I've come to the realization that baseball, at least in the state, is the whipping boy of high school sports. But if you look at the list of pro football, basketball and baseball players from this state, it tells a different story. Thank goodness for good coaches!

While I do agree with you, you may want to take that up with the TSSAA, because they are the ones who have the rules on innings and not pitches thrown. Innings thrown can be very misleading, I believe

Yeah, I wasn't attacking what you said. And I know you guys run your program the right way. There are just too many good pitchers that throw twice a week 7 innings. I just hate coaches that ride on players without taking the time to develop them. Coaches are there to work for them, not the other way around, you know?

As a summer coach who has dealt with alot of sore arms, I would have to disagree with a few of the earlier posts where people commented that high school coaches are not the problem. I'm not going to generalize, because there are plenty of coaches who handle things properly. But I have seen alot of coaches in the nashville area that ride their pitchers to death. They are committed to having that pitcher throw seven innings, doing whatever it takes to get the win. And I think that's really irresponsible. Professional pitchers aren't expected to throw 9 innings ever start. It's rare. In fact, throwing seven innings isn't always a given. That's why they have the stat "quality start". If professionals aren't expected to throw 7 innings every start, why do we expect that from our high school players? If professional pitchers don't regularly throw 120 pitches, why should a high schooler? This is my point. Too many high school coaches (it happens in the summer too), are so fixated on winning that they overthrow players. If you play in a district where you are the number 1, Monday starter, you don't need to start a game on Friday. Too many coaches, who have players with strong arms, have them go out there and throw and throw and throw. Instead of teaching how to pitch to contact and let the defense work, they coach for the strikeout. It's a bad philosophy and it gets players hurt. I have a loose philosophy. If in a good inning, a pitcher throws 15 pitches. Challenges the hitters, throws a few balls. That equates to 7 innings and 105 pitches. Had good stuff, everything went well. If you're under that, you had a fantastic game. If you're over, maybe you struggled hitting spots or locating the fastball. You get someone in there who is on that day. You don't fix problems on the mound. That's what bullpen sessions are for. Guys who throw hard seem to always have higher pitch counts. They challenge more, get more foul balls and throw more balls. You have to improve control with that pitcher, or limit his innings. To answer RDM's comment, there's no problem at all with a kid throwing seven innings. But it has to be a priviledge he earned by battling all game long. It should never be an expectancy. There's nothing in this game that bothers me more than idiot high school coaches that put winning a game ahead of player safety and longevity

that was a tough tournament....we were lucky to come away with the title

at age 11, i wouldn't throw more than 60 pitches. I'll put it this way. I coach 18's and we have them on a 80 pitch count

The problem is sometimes kids spend so much time developing their curveball that it becomes their money pitch; the best pitch they can spot. That's when they get into a situation where they feel like they have to rely on it. We had a kid last night who twice threw three curveballs in a row because he couldn't spot his fastball and we had to get on the pitch selection. Being a pitching coach, I feel like it's a reflection of me if my pitchers suffer some arm problems. That's why we have everyone on a strict pitch count, because high school coaches will let their aces throw 120-140 a game. As far as arm injuries...it can be attributed to overuse of a breaking ball, but mostly the ridiculous number of games that these 10-14 year old traveling teams play. There's no need to play 60 games at the age of 12. There's a wall of how much a person can improve in a year. Torn elbow ligaments are usually from overwork. If a kid has to have Tommy John surgery while he's playing 50-60 games...it's unlikely he'll ever be able to develop and hold the course over 150 games. The idea as a coach is to strengthen and improve a kid...not use him for your own good

Disagree with you there. The circle change is the most difficult pitch in baseball to master. Most kid's hands are simply not big enough/strong enough to control a circle change. There's a reason why the splitter revolutionized the game. It is also a much easier pitch to command than a circle change. The curveball is most dangerous when young kids try to snap the ball. Proper education on the mechanics of the curveball reduces injuries. Unfortunately, most dads simply don't know that, and for that reason it's safer to avoid it. I'm opposed to throwing a curveball until 14 or 15, but not because of some doctor's threats. I want to see a young kid develop proper mechanics and be able to hit spots at a young age, as well as have the confidence to mix speeds. To add in a curveball is just more than someone needs to learn at a time. When we work with our pitchers, we expect them to have three pitches that they can throw for strikes in every count, as well as be comfortable throwing a breaking ball behind in the count. You can't expect someone to throw a curveball for the first time at age 15 and master it in a year. So I think it's important to work on it, but with a 4-seam, 2-seam and change, you can be effective when you command the zone.

I understood the context of the statement. He was saying how great it is that the two schools playing for the championship openly embrace God in a school setting....not that it has anything to do with their success But that God, boy can he recruit /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

The reality is that baseball is a pretty subjective sport. At these tryouts you've got 2 or 3 coaches looking to find the areas best prospects who tried out for the series they play. Like any other time, it would really behoove them to choose the best players to give them the best chance, but not every coach wants to stack a team with number one players. Those teams don't typically do well. Any time you attend a tryout you're at the mercy of the talent evaluator. Besides the missed opportunity, it's not really a big deal. I don't value the opinions of 2/3 of the coaches in this state anyways. I heard from several people that the teams were not predetermined and the selection process was pretty fair. If you're upset about not being chosen, perhaps you should evaluate your game and see what you can do to put yourself in a position to be more successful

so MBA is done, right?

thank you guys

scores? highlights anyone?