Well Coached Teams

[YplayAwhenucanplayB]

Which Teams, any age, are coached well? Which programs have quality coaching? Which programs do you see have quality coaching from 10's-18's??

[18'sdad]

Very simple answer. Look at the teams that are having the most success. Just to name a few in the 14U age in Central Texas in no particular order.
RR Crush - Bobby Rotan
Austin Stars - Jimmie Salas
Stix National Team - Lauren Myrick
94 Texas Bombers
RR Blaze - Prinzo
South Texas 8's - Scott (He does a good job with his kids no matter what you read)
Austin Storm

That is just a few. I guess a better question is what makes a good coach? Winning, Teaching, being able to recruit the best kids out there, or is it all of the above?

[ChangeUP]

18's dad.........I agree for the most part but you also have to consider that

Blaze- Prinzo is a temporary Team (smoke and mirrors)
ST8's- also a temporary Team (nasty good w/Ace pitcher)
Stix- Myrick (is this a temporary team also?)

which leaves:

RR Crush- solid team (can't say yet how good......they've only played in a couple of tourneys, won one)
93Austin Stars- solid also (a few players away from being really good)
94 Bombers-solid also (holding their own and doing well for a first year team.....placing high)
Austin Storm- ? Do they even have enough players? Struggling?

Corps (Thompson)- seems to be doing well............matter of fact I've seen this Corps program grow............have several teams now, but only one that's real competitive.

Wildfire- this team seems to do well late into bracket play............but haven't busted thru to place yet.

[18'sdad]

No the Stix Myrick team is a permaneant established 14U team. Now the question was not about how long the team has been around or how long they will last the question was about coaching. My dd plays on the Stix National team and we have faced the Blaze, 8's, Stars, Wildfire. The coaches for all these teams or very good. I does not matter how long the team has been around or long they will play. These coaches put their kids in a postion to win the game.

[dallasfungo]

Uh-oh, wait until play4fun and wizard start in on this....

[txballclub]

"Gloryously Elite Batbusters"

[BestSportEver]

I feel I keep up with this sport pretty well...heres my opinion of obvious well coached teams, in no order. I'll limit it to 14u teams already discussed.

Stix Myrick (good hitting fundamentals and over all good skill sets, you can tell by watching the team that Coach Myrick is having an impact in those areas and is a very well coached team)

ST8's (say what you want about Scott, I don't agree with some of his philosophies on coaching BUT the facts are this; he has one of the best over-all programs in Central Texas, whether it be talent level, fundraising, or skill development, his teams are strong and well coached.

Austin Stars - Salas (Jimi continues to put quality teams on the field, he has many talented, dedicated players who have stuck with him, he obviously brings something to the table)

Round Rock Crush - I don't know allot about this team, but they have amassed and developed a good amount of talent and are obviously putting allot of positive, constructive energy into their players)

Round Rock Blaze Prinzo - Smoke & Mirrors? Thats a strange statement, the kids on this team have a high skill set and respond well to their coach. So many Blaze teams have good skills sets, obvious learning going on.

Wildfire - Again, only limited views of this team, don't know about coaching, but the talent level is above average.

Austin Storm - The Storm almost always puts kids on the field with decent to very good fundamentals, so they are obviously teaching.

SA Corps - Know very little however it is obvious when watching them that they have above average coaching, the teams seems to have good skill sets.

I believe all of the coaches from above are doing a great job for Central Texas...keep it up and keep getting better!

[fastpitchguru]

If you want to define the best coaches in Central Texas here is my list...no matter what list you come up with the bottom line is Central Texas is well represented with good coaching! I will rank the coaches as I see them:

1: Scott Smith - Bombers Black , when you see his team play (Black) it is like watching a knock off version of Smithson Valley HS. The play the game so fast and it is obvious that they do that by design. His game tacticts get under the skin of a lot of people but from what I understand that is exactly what the say about Coach Daigle from Smithson Valley! From what I understand his players have been with him since 10U....they stay for a reason!

2. Phil Keohler - Austin Storm , Probobly the most experienced coach in Central Texas! He knows this game in and out! He gets great players to come to his team! He also is very connected with colleges from being around the game for so long!

3. Rollie Hernandez - Austin Stars , His team has been a Central Texas power fro many years! His team has lost some players as of late , bu without a question he can coach!

4. JB Slimp - Round Rock Blaze , I am not sure he has the in game tactics that the caoches above have, but he is starting to get well connected with college coaches.

5. Jeff Stanton - Texas Stix , he is to be put on the same level as JB Slimp , take a look at the quality of players he has every year and where his kids go year after year! Not sure he has the game skills as the others but he is a very good coach in his own right!

This is in no way to put down any of the coaches , it is just one old mans opinion!

[93players]

The Storm and the Blaze have solid players throughout the teams and the organizations are well respected by the directors of the exposure tournaments. These organizations get their teams into top tournaments and they play at the top sites of those tourneys at great times, rather than 20 miles away at 8 am. The Storm Blue and Red coaching has been very solid. 14U was spotty in the last year when they had many strong players who did not perform to peak level. The Storm young teams have had some player defections. The Blaze coaching has been very strong on fundamental softball. The Slimp and Prinzo teams have often performed well at exposure tournaments and their players are getting serious looks by D1 schools. Their 12U Red team won Ronald McDonald. The Blaze has attracted some top players recently.

The Austin Stars has some really good coaching and some great players, but it is very hard to have a two or three team organization without a history. The 92 Stars really made a splash in central Texas and around the state. The 93 Crush seems to have a very strong team. But college coaches cannot keep up with the new teams in town with whom they do not have a relationship. Keeping one or two coaches who consistently promote the kids to colleges around the country is the key to an organization's development of its college placement program. If you do not have the history, the players on those teams have to sell themselves much more to the colleges. Those teams have a much tougher time getting the premium games at exposure tournaments and in some cases they have a tough time getting in. Also, just take a look at the website for recruiting. Does it have updated information? Would you want to come back to it if you were a college coach? Alot of the teams around here do not care about the little things that make a program look professional. Apart from college coaches, tournaments like the Colorado Fireworks look at those those sites in making decisions to let your team in.

The Bombers have some excellent players and some solid coaching. But they have a reputation of trying to control the umpires' game. Not every game, but enough that alot of tournament directors around the state (and other states) do not want them entered in their tourneys.

My two cents.

[HighVoltage]

I have to agree that the best "coached" teams in the central tx. region are the Stix Myrick, RR Blaze Prizno and the 8's. The Austin Storm used to be considered but they seem to be struggling to keep players on their rosters and their coaches have lost some control in games...screaming, throwing things, etc.