Here is what's wrong with Texas Teams

[TEXASGLORY]

Before you start talking about no Texas teams coming close to winning gold nationals...see below.

Katy Cruisers WON GOLD NATIONALS in 2001 (Marietta Georgia)

Impact Gold finished 3rd at Gold nationals in 2004

Impact Gold finished 4th at Gold Nationals in 2005.

Texas Eclipse Gold finished 7th at Gold Nationals in 2005.

Sudden Impact (Impact gold) finished 9th at Gold nationals in 2005.

Houston Power finished 7th at Gold Nationals in 2006.

Texas Glory Gold (Adkins) finished 13th at Gold nationals in 2007.

[TulsaEliteGold]

Actually the Katy Cruisers won Back-to-Back Gold Nationals in 2000 (St. Louis, MO) & 2001 (Marietta, GA). And what a pitching trio the Cruisers developed with Cat Osterman (Texas), Nicole Denes (OU) and Kristin Schmidt (LSU); not to mention all the other future NCAA D1 stars.

[heybuckethead]

Before you start talking about no Texas teams coming close to winning gold nationals...see below.

Katy Cruisers WON GOLD NATIONALS in 2001 (Marietta Georgia)

Impact Gold finished 3rd at Gold nationals in 2004

Impact Gold finished 4th at Gold Nationals in 2005.

Texas Eclipse Gold finished 7th at Gold Nationals in 2005.

Sudden Impact (Impact gold) finished 9th at Gold nationals in 2005.

Houston Power finished 7th at Gold Nationals in 2006.

Texas Glory Gold (Adkins) finished 13th at Gold nationals in 2007.

I'm sure your omission of the Texas Aces (9th, 2007 Gold Nationals) was just an ovesight in your bit of self-promotion. No offense, but there was a long, long, long, long way to go between 3rd and 4th and the Gold title in 2004 and 2005. The other awesome Texas teams you list, yours included, were blessed with tremendous talent, but nowhere close to the teams that claimed the championship in either year listed.

Your response also makes my case that it will take a Osterman-type pitcher to win a Gold championship (ie. 2001, 200) rather than a change in organizational structure. I, for one, find it interesting that after winning the only Gold nationals by a Texas team, the Cruisers dissappeared from the Gold landscape after only a couple of years. If they couldn't build a dynasty, who can.

[TEXASGLORY]

My oversight on the Texas Aces was simply that. I think that any team that can place within the top 20 at Gold Nationals can feel pretty good about where they finished. One would always like to finish at the top, but the odds are not in your favor.

If you see any "Osterman" type pitchers, be sure and let us know. I am sure that every club and team in the state are looking for that young lady. Until then, we will all simply try to do the best we can do with the pitchers and players we have.

Dan Adkins

[oldskool]

Since you came up with the list....

So was it Texas Glory Gold (Adkins), as you put it, that finished 13th in 2007 or did Texas Glory Gold (Shelton) have any role in that?

Don't they still have three of the five coaches that were there that year on their coaching staff? And isn't that team the ones that still have some players left from the 2007 roster still on their roster?

Aren't you the only (Adkins) coach from the 2007 Texas Glory Gold team? Didn't you disappear after the 2007 season for a year only to return from Georgia to start up another Glory Gold team? Enlighten us all on the reason for that move. Feel free to be honest, as everyone seems to know the real reason despite your denial.

[TEXASGLORY]

The Glory Gold team that went to gold nationals and finished 13th was coached by Dan Adkins, Kevin Shelton and Donnie Love. Kevin now coaches Texas Glory Gold (Shelton) and has one player, his daughter Kathy who is a very special player that plays on that team. The Texas Glory Gold (Adkins) has one player that played at ASA Gold Nationals as well, Tomi Garrison.

I left after the 2007 season as I moved to Georgia with my real job. I took a year off to spend time with my family and to focus on my job and new responsibility. I came back after a year for a few reasons. I missed the players, I miss the sport and I also feel that I have something to offer the young ladies on my roster. So that we are straight, this is not Kevin VS Dan. I still consider Kevin Shelton a close friend and we still talk regularily. We have two different teams and different coaching staffs. Phillip McCloud, long time assistant of mine has joined Kevin's staff. Phillip is an asset and a great man of God that will be a positive influence on every player that he touches. Kyle Strickland and our staff will continue to coach for many years. The future is still very bright for Texas Glory. The Glory Shelton and Glory Adkins teams will be forces to e recokened with in the spring for all of those that want to qulify for gold nationals.

Dan Adkins

[fastpitchfan]

It appears that there is not any kind of legitimate way of becoming a "Gold" team. I have been involved in the softball community for 10 years and these teams just "appear" out of the blue as a Gold team. At least most of the Glory Gold teams are very very talented teams. I have witnessed a team from the Travelers org. called Travelers ET Gold, that couldn't beat themselves out of a wet paper bag ! Have also witnessed several non affiliated teams that were so called Gold that were just as bad . These are the teams that totally destroy the integrity of the "Gold" ranking. But yet you continue to see them . They obviously think that if they call themselves Gold it makes them a better team. I have seen some that couldn't compete in the 14 A division. I think it's more of an ego trip for some of these so called coaches. At least Dan Adkins and Kevin Shelton are all about getting the girls to the next level. I promise you if you had to earn the gold ranking there would not be all the fluff. ASA or whoever needs to define a legitimate way of EARNING the rank of Gold.

[onedownonetogo]

I have to wonder where this movement to earn a "Gold" ranking comes from. The folks pushing for this change want people to ignore that "Gold" teams such as the Texas Glory just "appeared out of nowhere" five or so years ago after climbing up together through the 12u, 14u, and 16u ranks. At the same time, once dominate "Gold" teams like Fear This and Katy Cruisers faded away.

Like the Texas Glory, Texas Blaze, Texas Express, etc. did, these new teams are "earning" their ranking every weekend. If they win, they survive. If they don't, their players leave and they fade away. The only reason to implement some new ranking system is to eliminate competition for existing Gold teams by cherry picking the best players off of new teams trying to earn some new "Gold" ranking.

ASA does not need to legislate the "Gold" ranking, except perhaps to restrict the age group to players that are juniors and seniors in high school.

[Lori]

Let me put my 2 cents in here...

"Gold" is just a name... a neccessary name to put on your team if you want to really have a chance to be looked at by college scouts when the coaches or players/parents haven't done their job in sending out letters or videos to coaches.

When you go to the Elite showcases, the NRH showcase, or where-ever, if you do not have the "GOLD" label on your team, at least in the name if not classification...you do not hardly EVER get to play at the main complex, unless it is Friday night late, or Sunday afternoon...both times when college coaches are LESS likely to be there. I am not neccessarily griping about this, but pointing out that if you are not a competitive team, even in name "GOLD", then why would you get the premium game times and fields?

I say..leave the teams alone that want to be called or classified "GOLD"...let them take their butt whoopins, and go home early..who cares..at least they are trying!! I saw more teams with "GOLD" in their name than there should have been...saw them go home early from the local tournaments, saw them go home early from the qualifiers....but you know what?....I also saw them play more premium games at showcases than better teams without the name "GOLD"


Sounds pretty ingenuious to me.

[DonnieS]

Jerry Jones