by Heyall » Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:09 am
Early thoughts:
1. Foothill Gold. As sure a lock for Nationals as there can be. Returns everybody from 4th place Westerns last summer. Coaching is superb. JD Stinson is the Head Coach, however, the real brains and motivation comes from Drew Sisneroz (don't be suprised to see him coach at much higher levels than ASA). Pitching, speed, power, defense. No one comes close. Already ripping a bunch of Gold teams.
2. Lady Magic- Coach Earl just wins. Players love him and play hard for him. A lot of talent, but not enough experience to hang with Foothill. Should be #2 qualifier for 16's.
3. Breeze- Lost two sluggers and coach from powerful Fall team. Just re-loaded instead. Could jump up.
4. Grapettes (DH)- Hutchins can coach with the best of them and he has some talent. Is there enough time for him to put it all together?
DARK HORSES- USA Elite is playing well and have been together for a while, look past at your own risk. Roseville Heats.
Stockton area. 1. OBS Monarchs 2. Grapettes (Olsen)
We will see this weekend.
Early thoughts? Well, after you wake up -
There are no SURE locks in Sac 16u since that's where you're apparently heading. As to whom is at the top, sure - FHG would be one but in no way are they a sure lock. They've played together for a few years and have a decent pitcher but to cite a 4th place finish at Westerns is just plain silly and as to ripping Gold teams? Puh-leeeeze! Playing 18G does not mean they've ripped anything Gold and even the teams that call themselves Gold are suspect! The only time words like "Sure Lock" come up is when one of their parents prematurely spews (like 16u FAN...). Lady Magic is a better team than FHG most every day of the week and it's just a matter of them being able to keep it together on a given weekend. Breeze '95 isn't bad either but with only a single pitcher (the former TNT pitcher), they're going to struggle if they lose a game and have to play much more than the minimum. DH's Grapettes wouldn't even make my top-5 list, nor would USA Elite. Just not enough pitching and they certainly haven't beat anyone noteworthy.
Roseville Heat-Watilio just picked up one of the Rocklin HS varsity pitchers who will add a strong companion to their already decent pitcher. Not sure if this will make them a shoe-in but they will definitely compete at Metros! Add to the list for Sac at least, Rocklin Hype-Mello and Ca Rapids-Warren as potential contenders. Both teams have a habit recently of winning when they are not expected to and both did pretty well in Las Vegas this past weekend. Breeze played in the tournament rather than the Showcase in LV and did quite well but the level of competition was perhaps not as high as the showcase teams. Lady Magic played in SoCal and did well against top-level competition.
As to who's the top 16u team in NorCal - Sting Perales is the #1... hands down.
<<<removed to correct divisions>>>
If a team cannot qualify in the Sac Metro, it'd be a good idea to strongly reconsider final season plans. Going to a Regional or a Nat'l Qualifier could be pretty eye-opening!
Last edited by
Heyall on Wed Jun 15, 2011 10:48 am, edited 1 time in total.