Pitcher,3rd base,LF,RF,1st Base

[soreshins]

There is a lot of good information on here so far. It is refreshing to so many people trying to help out a young lady. I would like to add a few things from an ex-player now parent of 4 athletes point of view. Back in the day /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" /> when I played things were different. Fewer players, less exposure, lack on knowledgeable coaches or for what ever the reason TN & the Knoxville area was miles behind the rest of the country & the opportunities for play at the next level wasn't there. I was fortunate enough to play with one of the best High School pitcher to come out of Knoxville & our players got a lot of looks because of that. Things have changed tremendously. High School wont get you far any more. You need a well known, reputable travel ball program with the right goals for that. My oldest now in her senior year at a top end D2 school had to play with a team out of Nashville to get seen. My second oldest (the true all around athlete of the bunch) had to play with a team out of North Georgia / Chattanooga to be seen. I am happy to say that my High School Junior has been able to play with a Knoxville team the entire time & is on the right path for the next level if that is what she wants. The Knoxville area is slowly learning & if the 2-3 coaches that have the knowledge & experience would just swallow there macho pride & get over there egos the Knoxville area could have that true Gold team (or one real close to it) It starts at the lower levels. You cant just wake up one morning & decide your going to compete as a Gold team when you have been playing B ball the past 3 years.

 

Kara,

You dont have to go to Nashville or Chattanooga to be seen. There is teams in the Knoxville area that can help get you to that next level. There are a few coaches that know what it takes & will help guide you down the correct path. My advice to you & your parents would be to talk with the coaches of some of the the teams named on here. Ask the hard questions. Who beat who or wins and losses doesnt mean anything, you need a to be on a team that can complement your talents. I would stay away from teams that just have one or two teams in there organization, most of them are lacking coaches with the experience or knowledge to get you to the next level. The better programs attract the best coaches at the higher levels & thats what you need to help you threw this journey. IMO, with you being a SO (2011 Grad) you should be striving to play on a team that has a chance of making it to the 16u ASA Nationals. Exposure tournaments & National Qualifiers should be all thats on there schedule. One last thing, dont count on your coaches to do all the work for you. You need to start self promoting. Fill out the questioners, email the coaches of the collages of your choice & ALWAYS reply back to any emails you receive. Register for the Clearinghouse ASAP & keep your grades up. Doesent matter if your the next Jenni Finch, if your grades are below par you wont make it to the next level. Collage ball should just be a stepping stone for the best education possible.

 

Best of luck on this journey & God Bless!

[RHS25]

You want to get on a team that can play other top players. Coaches want to see you get a hit off a top pitcher or steal off of a catcher who has excellent pop times. They want to see you perform against others who are playing at the highest level. That is why the Fury or the Cruisers ( coached by Pruitt) may be a good choice. They can get their teams into the top two colorado tournaments ( fireworks or sparkler) , Champions cup , Batbuster and/or other top ones. Here are links to the top tournaments you will want to attend:

 

http://www. surfcitytourneys.com

 

www.ocbatbusters.com

 

www.teamnjsoftball.com

 

www.ronaldmcdonaldtournament.com

 

http://www. risingstarsevents.com/risefall

 

www.eliteshowcase.com

 

http://www.championscup.org/

 

I have not seen the FURY in Colo. or Calf.when did they play there?

[statman3]

There is a lot of good information on here so far. It is refreshing to so many people trying to help out a young lady. I would like to add a few things from an ex-player now parent of 4 athletes point of view. Back in the day /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" /> when I played things were different. Fewer players, less exposure, lack on knowledgeable coaches or for what ever the reason TN & the Knoxville area was miles behind the rest of the country & the opportunities for play at the next level wasn't there. I was fortunate enough to play with one of the best High School pitcher to come out of Knoxville & our players got a lot of looks because of that. Things have changed tremendously. High School wont get you far any more. You need a well known, reputable travel ball program with the right goals for that. My oldest now in her senior year at a top end D2 school had to play with a team out of Nashville to get seen. My second oldest (the true all around athlete of the bunch) had to play with a team out of North Georgia / Chattanooga to be seen. I am happy to say that my High School Junior has been able to play with a Knoxville team the entire time & is on the right path for the next level if that is what she wants. The Knoxville area is slowly learning & if the 2-3 coaches that have the knowledge & experience would just swallow there macho pride & get over there egos the Knoxville area could have that true Gold team (or one real close to it) It starts at the lower levels. You cant just wake up one morning & decide your going to compete as a Gold team when you have been playing B ball the past 3 years.

 

Kara,

You dont have to go to Nashville or Chattanooga to be seen. There is teams in the Knoxville area that can help get you to that next level. There are a few coaches that know what it takes & will help guide you down the correct path. My advice to you & your parents would be to talk with the coaches of some of the the teams named on here. Ask the hard questions. Who beat who or wins and losses doesnt mean anything, you need a to be on a team that can complement your talents. I would stay away from teams that just have one or two teams in there organization, most of them are lacking coaches with the experience or knowledge to get you to the next level. The better programs attract the best coaches at the higher levels & thats what you need to help you threw this journey. IMO, with you being a SO (2011 Grad) you should be striving to play on a team that has a chance of making it to the 16u ASA Nationals. Exposure tournaments & National Qualifiers should be all thats on there schedule. One last thing, dont count on your coaches to do all the work for you. You need to start self promoting. Fill out the questioners, email the coaches of the collages of your choice & ALWAYS reply back to any emails you receive. Register for the Clearinghouse ASAP & keep your grades up. Doesent matter if your the next Jenni Finch, if your grades are below par you wont make it to the next level. Collage ball should just be a stepping stone for the best education possible.

 

Best of luck on this journey & God Bless!

 

Great Post!!!! and Great advice....obviously someone who has been through it.

[stlbrd]

I have not seen the FURY in Colo. or Calf.when did they play there?

 

They didn't and neither did the Cruisers..........

 

College coaches are at every Gold qualifier. Good luck finding a team in this area that is playing in all (or any) of the exposure tournaments listed.

 

The main thing is making sure the colleges you are interested in know where your team will be playing.

[CFS]

There is a lot of good information on here so far. It is refreshing to so many people trying to help out a young lady. I would like to add a few things from an ex-player now parent of 4 athletes point of view. Back in the day /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" /> when I played things were different. Fewer players, less exposure, lack on knowledgeable coaches or for what ever the reason TN & the Knoxville area was miles behind the rest of the country & the opportunities for play at the next level wasn't there. I was fortunate enough to play with one of the best High School pitcher to come out of Knoxville & our players got a lot of looks because of that. Things have changed tremendously. High School wont get you far any more. You need a well known, reputable travel ball program with the right goals for that. My oldest now in her senior year at a top end D2 school had to play with a team out of Nashville to get seen. My second oldest (the true all around athlete of the bunch) had to play with a team out of North Georgia / Chattanooga to be seen. I am happy to say that my High School Junior has been able to play with a Knoxville team the entire time & is on the right path for the next level if that is what she wants. The Knoxville area is slowly learning & if the 2-3 coaches that have the knowledge & experience would just swallow there macho pride & get over there egos the Knoxville area could have that true Gold team (or one real close to it) It starts at the lower levels. You cant just wake up one morning & decide your going to compete as a Gold team when you have been playing B ball the past 3 years.

 

Kara,

You dont have to go to Nashville or Chattanooga to be seen. There is teams in the Knoxville area that can help get you to that next level. There are a few coaches that know what it takes & will help guide you down the correct path. My advice to you & your parents would be to talk with the coaches of some of the the teams named on here. Ask the hard questions. Who beat who or wins and losses doesnt mean anything, you need a to be on a team that can complement your talents. I would stay away from teams that just have one or two teams in there organization, most of them are lacking coaches with the experience or knowledge to get you to the next level. The better programs attract the best coaches at the higher levels & thats what you need to help you threw this journey. IMO, with you being a SO (2011 Grad) you should be striving to play on a team that has a chance of making it to the 16u ASA Nationals. Exposure tournaments & National Qualifiers should be all thats on there schedule. One last thing, dont count on your coaches to do all the work for you. You need to start self promoting. Fill out the questioners, email the coaches of the collages of your choice & ALWAYS reply back to any emails you receive. Register for the Clearinghouse ASAP & keep your grades up. Doesent matter if your the next Jenni Finch, if your grades are below par you wont make it to the next level. Collage ball should just be a stepping stone for the best education possible.

 

Best of luck on this journey & God Bless!

 

There are teams that have less than 2 or 3 teams in an organization that are still very successful in helping kids get to the next level. It does not have to be a team that has a team or 2 in every age group because most of these teams have different coaches and are playing at various levels. Look at teams like Ga Lightning that have had 2 teams but have been in existance since their players were 9. They have sent numerous kids to school with financial assistance from Athletics. Look at Cruisers from Nashville (basically 1 team), they won the 16A ASA Nationals a couple years ago and many of there players are playing or will be playing next level. The Chattanooga Eagles "earlier known as Austin Eagles" they were the team that set up their players for playing next level and have only had two teams. The Chattanooga Filly's had one independent team and have or will have players at the next level. Tennessee Raiders had one successful team plus one more coming with many collegiate players. Chattanooga Heat from many years ago had many playing in college but was a small organization or a single team. The Yankettes the same applies. More currently, the GA Heat, Ch Force, Al Pride plus some others have players either playing at next level or on their way. All small organizations with less than 3 teams. On the other side of it there are some successful big organizations: Xplosion- Crook Xplosion- Drake (2 teams) that have players at the next level but really not sure where talent goes after that. The Knox Thunder has some good teams while others in the organization struggle and they are a big organization.

 

What matters most is how well the current coaches regardless of organizational size prepare these young ladies both on the field , in class and how to market themselves and follow up. I agree above that the ultimate responsibility is with the player and a coach is there to guide you through the process. If a coach tells you that he will do all the work, he is most likely incorrect, and do not forget it is your life as a player so dont sit back and think it will be handed to you. It is a lot of work and follow up, and ultimately it is your future. Dont depend on someone else to do your work. Sounds great but not reality. Big organizations can be too big with some very good teams but some watered down versions as well that basically just have a popular name.

 

The coaches job is too help you be seen and keep coaches informed of where you will be playing which is also the responsibility of the player with the schools they are most interested in.

[BBaller91]

They didn't and neither did the Cruisers..........

 

College coaches are at every Gold qualifier. Good luck finding a team in this area that is playing in all (or any) of the exposure tournaments listed.

 

The main thing is making sure the colleges you are interested in know where your team will be playing.

 

 

The Fury out of Chattanooga did play in California this year not just once but twice. We played in the Surfcity Summer Showcase and in the Early Thankingiving tournament. My daughter also played in the Rising Star tournament the year before. (with the Fury) We have been to many exposure tournament (Music City Hits, Dynamite Classic in South Carolina)

 

We will be playing in Colorado this year (2009) and we also already qualified for the 16U ASA Nationals in South Dakota.

[stlbrd]

The Fury out of Chattanooga did play in California this year not just once but twice. We played in the Surfcity Summer Showcase and in the Early Thankingiving tournament. My daughter also played in the Rising Star tournament the year before. (with the Fury) We have been to many exposure tournament (Music City Hits, Dynamite Classic in South Carolina)

 

We will be playing in Colorado this year (2009) and we also already qualified for the 16U ASA Nationals in South Dakota.

 

I think he may have been referring to the older Fury team......

[BBaller91]

I think he may have been referring to the older Fury team......

 

 

Oh ok, I guess I just assumed he was referring to the 16u since the girl inquiring about a team would fall under that age bracket. (16U)

[thatsafact]

Oh ok, I guess I just assumed he was referring to the 16u since the girl inquiring about a team would fall under that age bracket. (16U)

 

I was referring to the Fury 16U team. A team like that is an excellent place for this kid ,at her age, to play. The cruisers coached by Pruitt also, since they won 16U A nationals , has the opportunity to get into a lot of "exclusive" tournaments too. Of course they would have to play 18U this year as they all were older.

[RHS25]

I was referring to the Fury 16U team. A team like that is an excellent place for this kid ,at her age, to play. The cruisers coached by Pruitt also, since they won 16U A nationals , has the opportunity to get into a lot of "exclusive" tournaments too. Of course they would have to play 18U this year as they all were older.

 

 

 

Sorry for the confusion,I was referring to the 18U.We played against and know some of the girls. /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

[batboy1]

The Knoxville Thunder 18 under teams did noy play either White Lighting or Maryville Majic teams this Summer.Doug Jones coached the 18 under and all but one of his kids signed. Some to UTC and ETSU just to name a few. Thunder Sams 16 under team played both Lighting and Maryville Majic 18under teams.Thunder 16 won both of though games from what I understand. Thunder-Sams 17Gold played 18 Fury Gold at UT Stadium and played to a 0-0 tie after 7 innings.

 

 

Not sure where you got your information, but I can only guess that it was from Leonard's "Jethro Bodine math", but the Magic beat the Thunder 2 out of 3 times that they played in the '07 fall league at Eagleton. They did not play each other during the summer or fall of '08.

[batboy1]

Chattanooga Fury & Coach Moyer is a good choice for Exposure Tournaments. However there 18u/16u teams are usually made up of athletes that are already on the fast track to being signed or have committed already. Other teams you might want to look into are Knoxville Thunder & Fred Fekete's Magic team. The Thunder has contacts with many collage coaches & they have been attending higher level Exposure tournaments these past few years. Fred's last name alone gets his Magic team into most any Exposure tournament he wants but the quality of his teams has diminished some over the past few years. TN Xplosion is another team / organization that has a good feel for the recruiting process.

 

Good luck in your search!

 

 

Sounds like a little jealousy towards Fred Fekete's Magic team.

 

You are correct that his name does get him into most exposure tournaments, but that has more to do with his longevity in going to these types of tournaments and the class that he and his team conducts themselves with. The other thing Fekete has is a pipeline to many, many college coaches. Just go to any exposure tournament and see how many college coaches come up to him just to say "hello". College coaches could care less about the winners and loosers in exposure tournaments. They want to see individual kids and how they compete against other players at the elite level.

 

Coach Fekete and Coach Moyer understand that and that is why they are successful in getting their players to the next level.

 

Before you ask, YES, I have had a daughter to play on the Magic team in the past. It just pains me when people make posts on ASSumptions and not for personal experience.