es time to go gold

[CULater]

Donnie -

I haven't seen a roster larger than 20. Don't get me wrong, my kid wasn't a fan of the big roster, and we only had 16. But more than 20 or 30? I haven't seen that yet.

[WACdad]

I thought Houston ASA had some rule about that doesn't allow teams to conduct tryouts until 2 weeks after ASA nationals. For Gold that would be August 11.

I believe the Peppers will say they are not a Houston ASA team.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but order of finish of Houston area teams at ASA Nats was Impact, Storm, Power...didn't see Power on the orig list of teams - any reason?

I'd have Impact, Peppers, Storm, Power, and Aces as my first choices from the perspective of all are established programs that have access to the best exposure tournaments and a track record of getting kids into college programs. Which one is best for your DD will depend, as others have said, on where she wants to go to school and how she fits on the team. You want a situation where she will get playing time.

Correction: Texas Eclipse finished in the top 10. They finished tied for 9th.

[WACdad]

Texas Eclipse also has a proven track record for getting top D1 scholarships
for their players. Same coach for over 15 years and probably the best teacher
of the game out there today.

[DonnieS]

Donnie -

I haven't seen a roster larger than 20. Don't get me wrong, my kid wasn't a fan of the big roster, and we only had 16. But more than 20 or 30? I haven't seen that yet.

A couple of years back - several teams we had paid some attention to popped 20 and one had 32. Maybe thats changed - I spent some time away since I saw that.

But the fun part is a big one.

[RexinTex]

Texas Eclipse also has a proven track record for getting top D1 scholarships
for their players. Same coach for over 15 years and probably the best teacher
of the game out there today.

Eclipse is a GREAT program, but so are the others that I listed, but it is NOT all about TOP D1 scholarships, it is about putting a kid at a school where she can SUCCEED! Not just in softball, but in life AFTER softball. Look at the organizations that put kids in college, I don't care if it is "TOP D1" or not. My kid did get a D1 scholarship (not a "top D1") and she loved it, but if she wanted to go D2 or D3 or NAIA, I would have been JUST FINE with that! It is about the kid and her future. Too many of these Gold coaches feed their own ego by putting UT, A&M and these other big schools on their websites without thinking of the KIDS!

[Vess Express]

There are a lot of considerations here guys, how is your kid going to handle playing on teams with over 20 people, some over 30. It needs to be fun , maybe thats my old age talking here - but it does.

I think you are absolutely right. And before anyone says,"Life isn't always fun and happy, like going to work every single day" - Let me say, these are late teens/early twenty year olds, and they don't sit around thinking about the big picture all day, like us old folks do.

And if they are playing college level sports, it will not be ALL fun.

FUN=HAPPY=CONTENT = Stays in school and gets a degree
NOT FUN=NOT HAPPY=NOT CONTENT = Transfers/drops out and no degree

[fastpitchforever]

Work hard to find the best team with talent and coaching where DD can be one of the top nine, cause those nine are the ones that play in June & July in the qualifiers and nationals. It does her no good to be a benchwarmer on an outstanding team. That's regardless of what the coach will tell her when he/she is filling out their roster. Been there, done that.

[br9467]

The rule was changed this year and was authored by the Peppers coach, and approved by the board, to allow Houston ASA to move up up a week.

I thought Houston ASA had some rule about that doesn't allow teams to conduct tryouts until 2 weeks after ASA nationals. For Gold that would be August 11.

I believe the Peppers will say they are not a Houston ASA team.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but order of finish of Houston area teams at ASA Nats was Impact, Storm, Power...didn't see Power on the orig list of teams - any reason?

I'd have Impact, Peppers, Storm, Power, and Aces as my first choices from the perspective of all are established programs that have access to the best exposure tournaments and a track record of getting kids into college programs. Which one is best for your DD will depend, as others have said, on where she wants to go to school and how she fits on the team. You want a situation where she will get playing time.

[br9467]

I think there is another perspective that hasn't been discussed or maybe I have just missed it. All of the programs mentioned have their merits depending on the needs and wants of the individuals. Some programs are better at developing their own young talent, while others are good at recruiting talent that has already committed. I'm not here to say one is better than the other in how they do things, it's a matter of what you are looking for. Yes, some win more than others, in the W/L column. So before you tryout/join a team, is it all about the W/L column or are you taking all the different ways "winning" can be defined into account. If no one had taken the time to develop mine, she may still not be playing gold ball. She is, and I am very fortunate for that. I'd like to thank all the coaches out there who take their time to develop these young ladies on and off the field. Just my $.02.

[93players]

Fastpitchforever and BR9467 have several excellent points.

Different head coaches have different philosophies. The development coach is different from the coach who plays the hot hand. On most gold programs, it is difficult to get time to develop. When you take out high school ball, you are left with qualifiers and showcases and warm up tourneys. Our development came at 16U with a coach who out players in positions to push their abilities. All 13 players got significant playing time and it was against excellent opponents. Two runs to Nationals and the top Colorado tournaments.

Four years ago, an excellent player was moved up to Gold from 16U and quit softball. Everyone was shocked. When my daughter talked to this player, she said, it was a completely different experience. Gold is all about competition all of the time. You constantly compete with your teammates, you compete for the coaches time and attention. You succeed when the teammate in your position fails. So, you will find that some very successful gold programs run with way. But there still are some excellent human beings who care about teamwork and developing the players. And, there are some pretty lousy human beings too.