SP Soft ball, will it gain respect

[OLD PIRATE]

Old Pirate says yep, BUT FIRST.......................the city fathers need to be resourceful and build some more ball fields. SP has always been in the leader of county communities. SP had 2 high schools McReynolds & SPHS early and Today have Richard Hardy & SPHS and even 2 city parks that have went down & was the hub of shopping in the county. But.......have set back and now Whitwell, Jasper and even Bridgeport have better ball fields than SP. Point is this, OP says it's time for the folks to step up and get-er-done.

 

"IF YOU'RE NOT THE LEAD DOG, THE SMELL AND SCENARY NEVER CHANGES"

[purplemonster]

I'll agree OP, South Pittsburg can become a very good team again. You have some talent and you have a great head coach.

 

But...

 

Fields are not your biggest problem.

 

Local city fields are good for one thing, REC BALL.

 

Rec-ball does not teach girls to play, and win, at the high school level. If you want to have a successful high school program, these girls have to play travel ball and/or B Select tournys and games.

[OLD PIRATE]

I'll agree OP, South Pittsburg can become a very good team again. You have some talent and you have a great head coach.

 

But...

 

Fields are not your biggest problem.

 

Local city fields are good for one thing, REC BALL.

 

Rec-ball does not teach girls to play, and win, at the high school level. If you want to have a successful high school program, these girls have to play travel ball and/or B Select tournys and games.

 

Old Pirate says agrees partly with your post, but the youth leagues are where player interest and parential involvement is cultivated and to have these things facilities are a must. OP agrees totally with travel ball,touneys and etc. That is why the Chatt teams always have more consistant teams annually.

[Indian]

They had a chance to make some hay a couple of years ago when the pitcher from Bledsoe transferred in, but didn't. The players need to have, at the least, basic skills before they enter 9th grade or the HS team won't ever catch up to the likes of Grace Academy and Whitwell. SP's middle school team was not competitive this past fall, the team from here used 6th graders for the most part in that game and run-ruled them, then SP didn't even participate in the postseason valley tournament. Rec ball can help at the youngest ages to get a ball and bat in their hands. but as was said the older players do need to play as high a level as possible. The line-up on the HS team here last year had 3 pitchers and 5 others playing out of Chattanooga, 1 who'd played on a good Jasper-based team (I think a couple from SP played on that group too) and 1 who played out of Atlanta. That was a big part of having their best season in six or seven years. It takes $$$ but to keep up with the strong school teams (and get good college looks) it's necessary now. It will be harder for SP in the district/region after this season, in addition to Whitwell, Grace, Sale Creek having good teams, Marion and Boyd-Buchanan will be moving down to Class A, and I expect Silverdale and Signal Mountain to field good teams before too much longer.

[MrNoitAll]

They had a chance to make some hay a couple of years ago when the pitcher from Bledsoe transferred in, but didn't. The players need to have, at the least, basic skills before they enter 9th grade or the HS team won't ever catch up to the likes of Grace Academy and Whitwell. SP's middle school team was not competitive this past fall, the team from here used 6th graders for the most part and run-ruled them, then SP didn't even participate in the postseason valley tournament. Rec ball can help at the youngest ages to get a ball and bat in their hands. but as was said the older players do need to play as high a level as possible. The line-up on the HS team here last year had 3 pitchers and 5 others playing out of Chattanooga, 1 who'd played on a good Jasper-based team (I think a couple from SP played on that group too) and 1 who played out of Atlanta. That was a big part of having their best season in six or seven years. It takes $$$ but to keep up with the strong school teams (and get good college looks) it's necessary now. It will be harder for SP in the district/region after this season, in addition to Whitwell, Grace, Sale Creek having good teams, Marion and Boyd-Buchanan will be moving down to Class A, and I expect Silverdale and Signal Mountain to field good teams before too much longer.

 

 

 

To bad that we are not talking football here because if you were the problem would be taken care of fast! You are right Indian it will be several years before the Pirates will be able to play with the better teams. I also heard that their Jr high team was very weak! Heard that the rec league there is daddy ball and with that kind of program it will never get better! Great people there but not alot of help with their softball program. /flower.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":flower:" border="0" alt="flower.gif" />

[OLD PIRATE]

To bad that we are not talking football here because if you were the problem would be taken care of fast! You are right Indian it will be several years before the Pirates will be able to play with the better teams. I also heard that their Jr high team was very weak! Heard that the rec league there is daddy ball and with that kind of program it will never get better! Great people there but not alot of help with their softball program. /flower.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":flower:" border="0" alt="flower.gif" />

 

Old Pirate says rec ball is always mostly daddy ball in all rec leagues. The point is SP needs to put more effort into the youth rec program and that has to start with facilities. OP says every community around has passed SP in regards to baseball facilities.

[purplemonster]

I'll agree OP.

 

Jasper and Sequatchie both have new facilities that support the rec program. It does create an interest in softball and baseball.

 

SP is not a softball town. Football is #1 in SP. It would probably be easier the get the city to build a Rec Football park than it would be to get them to build a 4 field city SB/BB park.

[BigJ]

From 5 yrs. old to 18 yrs. old, the only way for these girls to get better is to play. To begin with rec ball is fine, but only if you play some tourneys as well. The normal rec ball schedule is not adequate enough to teach these girls the skills necessary to make them the players they need to be to have successful high school programs. Select ball is where its at, and there are very few on SP's varsity that play it. The ones who do or have are head and shoulders above the others as far as hitting, fielding, pitching, and common game knowledge. Bottom line is the girls have to play and play a lot, and as the girls progress in age they should also progress in the competition or level that they are playing at. That, attending camps, taking hitting, pitching, or fielding lessons is how you make a player. However no team can make it with only a couple of kids with that kind of dedication. It has to be a group effort...

[bluefan23]

Old Pirate says rec ball is always mostly daddy ball in all rec leagues. The point is SP needs to put more effort into the youth rec program and that has to start with facilities. OP says every community around has passed SP in regards to baseball facilities.

SP and Bledsoe both need to concentrate on good rec programs to get girls interested in playing ball at an early age. Bledsoe Countys fields are equally as bad and the rec program in terrible and the future of travel ball and school ball does not look good. Bledsoe does have one A travel team that is successful and will be a force in high school ball in years to come but they can't even use the rec park.

More kids playing rec means more to pick from later.

[MrNoitAll]

Last year you won two games, hmmm sounds like to me if you want respect you better try and up your wins! Just an idea! /flower.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":flower:" border="0" alt="flower.gif" />

[otm3b]

Well said MrNoitAll.