The Road to the State

[Bulldawg45]

I would like to hear opinions about what it takes for teams to get to the "next level". Looking at the list below (from TSSAA.org) you might think it would be to move to Chattanooga...but if so, why? Is is something in the water down there or are they just able to play more ball and better quality of teams due to the proximity? I know that is what college coaches talk about when they talk about kids from Florida and California...they say they play all year and play good teams...

I don't buy that it is just coaching, no disrespect intended. The way I look at this list is that Dickson Co. is the only "non metro" team on the list. Can teams outside the metropolitan areas compete on a consistent basis?

 

State Champions 98 - 07

98- East Ridge

99- Soddy Daisy

00- Soddy Daisy

01 ??“ Beech

02- Dickson Co.

03- Soddy Daisy

04- Beech

05- Red Bank

06- Soddy Daisy

07- Soddy Daisy

[ranger215]

I would like to hear opinions about what it takes for teams to get to the "next level". Looking at the list below (from TSSAA.org) you might think it would be to move to Chattanooga...but if so, why? Is is something in the water down there or are they just able to play more ball and better quality of teams due to the proximity? I know that is what college coaches talk about when they talk about kids from Florida and California...they say they play all year and play good teams...

I don't buy that it is just coaching, no disrespect intended. The way I look at this list is that Dickson Co. is the only "non metro" team on the list. Can teams outside the metropolitan areas compete on a consistent basis?

 

State Champions 98 - 07

98- East Ridge

99- Soddy Daisy

00- Soddy Daisy

01 ??“ Beech

02- Dickson Co.

03- Soddy Daisy

04- Beech

05- Red Bank

06- Soddy Daisy

07- Soddy Daisy

[ranger215]

coaching might have somethingto do with it . sincethe soddy coach has also won another at soddy and two at hixson

[softballscout]

Soddy and the Chattanooga area was in my mind the beginning of serious softball in the tennessee area just like california is in the US. The feeder programs and the youth leagues were way ahead of everything else in tennessee. while the rest of the state was still playing Dixie Youth, chattanooga kids were in travelball. Then these kids want to play on a great high school team would either go to a private program like Baylor or GPS or actually move into the Soddy system. The rest of the state is slowly catching up. That is why Soddy will always be good, they have a great feeder system.

[OldCoach1]

Coaching has a ton to do with it. In fact, Soddy's coach once said that one of the coaches that he would feel good about leaving what he has built to would be the coach at Red Bank. However, Red Banks Coach Mandi Munn is die-hard Red Bank. She was a legend at RB and UTC. Took her beloved alma mater to the championship in her 4th year as head coach. Started 7 freshmen last year, so the future looks good.

 

Also..... the youth programs in the Chattanooga area are pretty strong !!!! Travel teams who do very well across the nation. These teams have seasoned coaches who are passionate about their sport.

[justthetruth]

I do not agree that Soddy Daisy wins so much due to their coaches.Soddy Daisy has been lucky to have the tallent come through at Soddy. The coaches get too much praise!Question,If all the players for Soddy played for Brainerd(just throwing a team out there) Brainerd would have won state.If all the brainerd players played for Soddy they would have been dumed.No offense.Clifford and Lamar know softball but it is the players who deserve the glory.Outside peolpe also have no clue whay the Soddy Daisy girls have to put up with if the want to play High school softball.Both coaches can be major jerks and they do not care who they hurt as long as they win.Those two coaches have done some cruel things as well as win.So lets give it to the girls for even sticking it out at Soddy Daisy.If you asked past platers they will tell you the truth.I know first hand and this is not gossip!

[softballscout]

I would have to say that cliff and his bunch are some of the best coaches out there. We have played them several times through the years, and i have seen the coaching staff have to create runs with some risky calls. when we played them it was always a tight game, and usually a tight game win comes down to luck or a risky call or a little of both. They do love that suicide squeeze.

I do not agree with his "in" "out" signals to his batters, but whatver works. If a good coach is on the other side it doesnt matter.

Lets put it this way, if this young team dominates this year, i would say it gots to be da coaching a little bit. As Michael Jordan says "Talent can win you games, but teamwork will win you championships"

[tnfisher]

I do not agree with his "in" "out" signals to his batters, but whatver works.

 

 

You mean he's not just guessing when he says, "turn on it" or "go with it." /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

[justthetruth]

You mean he's not just guessing when he says, "turn on it" or "go with it." /rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

 

No one knows more than the two "softball Gods" Hasn't people learned that by now? /blush.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blush:" border="0" alt="blush.gif" />

[MTSCA]

You cannot deny that Soddy has had a hold on AAA for a while, not like the years Coach Freudenthal had at Ezell-Harding in the 90's but they are the team that has risen to the top the last few years , along with Goodpasture and lately Trinity. There are a lot of good coaches out there and a lot of great coaching staffs. Riverdale with Jeff and Weave, Lipscomb with Coach Davis and his staff, Dickson with Coach Buchanan and Coach Newberry, Greenbriar with Julie and her staff, Hendersonville with a lot of great coaches and a lot more that have been around for a few years at the same schools and some that have had success at different schools. I think about Phil Burkhart from Rossview who has been to the Final 8 with 3 different schools. I think he took Lipscomb to the final 8 in the 80's when they just took 4 to the State, but they made it to the game before state in AA. He took Friendship Christian to the State twice in the 90's in A and his staff has been once with Rossview at the AAA level in 2005 or 2006. Lot's of good coaches that have been successful at different schools, so good coaching does have something to do with it.

[softballjunk]

The coaching is a part of being successful. But lets face it with the level that these athletes compete at during the summer they can coach themselves. In alot of cases these coaches hamper these athletes from performing at their top level. You see alot of these players playing for travel coaches during the summer they are relaxed and having the times of their lives and playing extremly well. Then you see the same players playing under a school coach and you see them and they look nervous and scared to even breathe. Most school coaches believe they have to play MENTAL games with these players and put all the players against each other. When the school coaches grow up and learn how to let there girls play, the level of softball in this state will be closer to California. /flower.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":flower:" border="0" alt="flower.gif" />

[trojan35]

I do not agree that Soddy Daisy wins so much due to their coaches.Soddy Daisy has been lucky to have the tallent come through at Soddy. The coaches get too much praise!Question,If all the players for Soddy played for Brainerd(just throwing a team out there) Brainerd would have won state.If all the brainerd players played for Soddy they would have been dumed.No offense.Clifford and Lamar know softball but it is the players who deserve the glory.Outside peolpe also have no clue whay the Soddy Daisy girls have to put up with if the want to play High school softball.Both coaches can be major jerks and they do not care who they hurt as long as they win.Those two coaches have done some cruel things as well as win.So lets give it to the girls for even sticking it out at Soddy Daisy.If you asked past platers they will tell you the truth.I know first hand and this is not gossip!

 

 

This is not just the truth! Talent is very good at Soddy Daisy, but champions are made by getting the finer points of the game correct. If your statement were true then Team USA would not need their coaches. Who can say that Mike Candrea does not make a difference at Arizona? The same is true for Team USA. Look around the SEC; Tennessee, LSU, Alabama are the better teams, now Florida, with the coaching being the difference. Clifford, Lamar, and Wes work with the girls to make them their best. Some girls do not want to listen to these coaches and try their way. That is not how TEAMS win. The techniques the Soddy Daisy trio uses are the same techniques utilized by TEAM USA, Tennessee, LSU, and Alabama. Soddy Daisy trio push the girls, which upset parents at times, but I know from personal experience that all three care about each girl very much and want everyone to succeed. Some players are just better than others are. Some players are good young in life but never work hard enough to stay ahead. Then you have girls who work everyday to be the best they can be. That is why I fork out the bucks for A-select travel ball, private lessons on running, and camps at great programs like those that I mentioned previously. Just for the little something that will make the difference for her to play at Soddy Daisy where championships are made because they do not just happen.