Top North Texas teams to watch in '08

[3Bsnag]

Bruno, you're right. That 12U Fusion team was really, r e a l l y, bad. The were having coaching problems too. Kudo's to Fusion for acting fast on a problem and replacing the coaching staff and holding tryouts.
However, their 14U team is great. The last five 16U tournaments they played they had 3 1st places and 1 2nd place.
I'm glad you mentioned Arkansas though. Those sneaky guys have popped into a tournament or two of ours and have done well. The one I was most impressed with was the Livewires, I think. No short game, everyone came up swinging for the fence, and some got there I may add.

Lori, nice research on BB. I knew it was bad, but not that bad. It is sad, we have friends on one of those teams. BTW, loved the Mizuno/Wright comment, I noticed that too.

I think these big organizations need to keep a better handle on their teams and who is even allowed to be a team. I'm sure it doesn't make alot of money, but I'm a fan of 1 team in each age group. If they overlap 1 year, so be it. But 4, 5, or 6 12U teams that couldn't beat their way out of a wet paper bag? I guess it helps the odds of one of their teams getting a berth at regionals or metro??

[aka7]

I would have to agree organizations should not allow more than 2 teams per year. 8 and 9 teams in a certain division is entirely to much. JMO

Lori, your information on the BB seems to be fairly stated. Did you research the other organizations, as well? With just a quick look it seems that they all seem to classify themselves as A teams, from 12U and up. My question would be how many of those teams are actually A teams that are competitive. Most 10U and 8U teams are classified as B which is fine they should be in the development stages of building their team.

Same should be said about the Gold divisions. How many true Gold teams are there in North Texas. ASA moving 18U A back to 43ft may help this situation.

[BRUNO]

3BSNAG- You are correct there are some good teams not great, playing out of Arkansas, however they play down at B level to collect the trophy, thus selling themselves and the girls short. In the usssa nationals last year 2 of the better teams the Livewires and TomBoys played down at 'B' instead of traveling 20 minutes to the west to play at the 'A' nationals. The Tomboys won the 'B' nationals out of 80 teams, the Livewires placed 4th. The other 2 teams in Arkansas worth mentioning are the Showtime and Havoc, they played in the 'A' nationals and were competitive. The KC Xplosion handled both teams pretty easily and took 1st place, however the showtime took 2nd and the Havoc took 4th. (not compariable to ASA Nationals, lol)
However i did enjoy the smack talk that these teams brought with them from Arkansas, I never have came accross a group of coaches and fans who talked so much shiiiiiiiiit. Until they got their asses handed to them, they humbled up a little. Pretty ammusing though.

[Lori]

Ok aka7--I took your post as a challenge, so here goes

We all know how sad the batbuster situation is getting, so enough said there.

Tx Glory:
NO 8u teams to be found
10u--2 teams both B
12u--5 teams--all classified as A, but 2 very questionable talent(B)..at least they are playing A and open though.
14u--3 teams--2 A teams , 1 true B team(Houston)
16u--4 teams--All classified as A, but only 2 dominant(Naudin and Mork)--Simmons and Whitby are ok, but not dominant--and I already stated the Simmons team situation(Old Tx Chill team)
18u--7 teams (3 classified as gold)--only a couple dominant teams out of those 7(2 Shelton teams) rest are run of the mill average 18u's(which doesn't mean they dont't deserve respect, because they do).
TOTAL--21 teams....13 with A talent, 8 B talent

Tx Elite:
8u--2 teams--both B
10--1 team--B
12u--3 teams--1 A, 2 B
14u--2 teams--Both classified as A, but Floyd should be B
16u--1 team--A
18u--6 teams--All classified as A or Gold, amybe one true B, if there is an 18u B
TOTAL----15 teams--9 A teams, 6 B teams

Tx Travelers:
8u--no teams
10u--no teams
12u--3 teams--1 A, 2 B
14u--2 teams--both A
16u--3 teams--2 A, 1 B
18u--2 teams--both Gold..not a lot of tournament history to realy assess talent.
TOTAL--10 teams--7 A, 3 B

Remember, this is how I see these organizations, purely my opinion ( and lots of others I know), of the top 3 or 4 organizations in North Texas.

[Lori]

Oh yeah, to answer your question as to true Gold teams.."Gold" is just a label. It no longer means what it used to....case in point-----Tx Sluggers Gold---they couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag, yet they are still "Gold". I saw them play a tourney this last fall and lost to 2 consecutive 14u teams moving up to 16u (in an 18u tourney). Same story with Bandits Gold out of Grapevine, Tx. They are better than the Sluggers, but still not a contender.

"Gold" is now overrated and way too misused by teams begging for attention.

[Flash4]

I went to the main Glory webpage...

http://eteamz.active.com/texasgloryhome/

I found:
a new 8U team
2-10U teams
3- 12U teams - the "red" team and "Heins" folded after losing everyone to 95 Glory "Gray" and the Monarchs
3- 14U teams
2 - 16U teams
4- 18U teams
2- Gold

I can't find an organization website for the Texas Batbusters and Travelers. Fusion has one but they don't have as many teams as these organizations.....yet!

[Flash4]

I agree, you even see the younger teams using the "gold" status. Example is Sweeet Gold. This is a 10U team; they are good and will do well at nationals but they use the Gold status just to have it beside their name.

[3Bsnag]

Here's the BB link, but the new teams aren't on there yet.

http://eteamz.active.com/FortWorthBatbusters/

[dallasfungo]

The 95 Traveler's site lists 7 teams but I don't see an organization site. I assume the list is current.

96 Texas Travelers (Thompson)
95 Texas Travelers
Texas Travelers (Jones)
Texas Travelers (Beard)
Texas Travelers 16U
Tanel Texas Travelers 18 Gold (Baker)
Texas Travelers 18 Gold (Wardlow)

http://eteamz.active.com/95texastravelers/

[dallasfungo]

It appears that the Monarchs may have folded. They are no longer signed up for spring tournaments and word is that their top two pitchers have moved to 95 Travelers. One of those was the #2 pitcher on the 95 Glory team that won the ASA-A 10U championship in 2005.