This should be the poster child for a trophy hunting team...they are playing in B regionals...
Sounds like a great organization doing great things for the girls...but they should be in A...
Texas Pride Artcle "More Than a Team" Appearing in Balls and Strikes Magazine
The following article, "More Than a Team" recently appeared in ASA's magazine, Balls and Strikes. Click on the title to see the original article.
More Than a Team
By Eli Pagel
A few years ago the softball scene in Plano, Texas was quite different than it is today. The town had a strong showing of recreational teams, but competitive players were forced to commute to surrounding communities to find teams that better suited their needs. Now, however, Plano has its own way to keep those competitive softball players in town. The Texas Pride Softball Organization was started a little more than a year ago to meet the growing demand of Plano’s residents for competitive softball teams.
The demand in Plano was so great for competitive softball for young players of all ages that not only was the town able to produce one team, but ten. Tom Miles, founder of the Texas Pride Softball Organization, said those involved in starting Texas Pride had hoped to have enough interest to field five teams in their first year. The Texas Pride had 125 players playing competitive softball in their first year. The Pride had teams as young as 8-Under and as old as 16-Under. The teams range in size from 10 to 12 players ensuring ample playing time and game experience for all the girls. The teams were filled by players who heard about Texas Pride through various internet ads, public service announcements, but primarily through good old fashioned word of mouth advertising. Once word got out about the new softball organization in Plano the teams each hosted open tryouts for anyone who was interested. The teams then began to fill the needed spaces to complete their rosters.
The Texas Pride Organization not only had to find players to fill their teams, but volunteers to staff their organization. Everyone involved in the running of the Texas Pride organization, from the coaches to the scorekeepers, is a volunteer. Many of these people are parents of players, but all of them are volunteers. These volunteers organize practice times, schedule games and tournaments, do fundraisers, and cheer the players on to victory.
Texas Pride is a softball organization that is a departure from the recreational softball that Plano had prior to its beginning. The organization is for players who are interested in developing as competitive softball players, and who are looking to play softball year round. Some of the Texas Pride teams will play competitively February through December. Texas Pride teams, depending on age, will compete in 14-15 tournaments throughout the year. The Pride teams will also compete in a league in or near Plano to get more experience and playing time. The Texas Pride Organization will also host 1 day tournaments, and “friendlies” or scrimmage games to allow the girls to play more softball. Altogether the Texas Pride players will play 80-85 games per year, this total will vary from Pride team to team.
The Texas Pride organization also has a way for players who are interested in competitive softball, but are not quite sure if the lengthy schedule fits their desires to try out the organization. The Texas Pride has “non-roster” players. Many of these players are contemplating the commitment it takes to be a competitive softball player and member of the Texas Pride organization. These players are given the opportunity to play a limited schedule with the Texas Pride team that correlates with their age. If these players decide that the Texas Pride and competitive softball are the way they want to go, they are put on a waiting list and when an opening arises they fill that spot.
The Texas Pride organization also has the luxury of pooling their resources to fill the roster of one of their teams for a tournament. The Texas Pride organization uses its own players, and some of the non-roster players, as “pick-up” players if a team needs players to compete in a tournament. Both the players and the teams benefit from having such a vast pool of players to fill rosters giving the teams to play more games and tournaments and allowing the players to play more games and get more experience.In their first year as an organization Texas Pride Teams recorded 15 top 5 finishes in tournaments all across the nation. Players also developed their skills enough to make varsity rosters at area high schools, as freshmen. While none of the Texas Pride players are old enough to be recruited for college scholarships, Texas Pride founder Tom Miles believes that “ASA is the path for a player to develop their skills for high school and beyond”. It looks as though Texas Pride Softball will be a constant player in Texas and ASA softball for years to come. For more information on the Texas Pride Organization, check out
http://www.texaspride.org.
and that if this was the case they would have automatically taken 1st place I'm just saying
