Are 12U Houston teams too watered down ?

[la cabra]

I keep reading "looking for players" posts within the 12U Houston ranks. Is the top talent spread out over too many teams? Some of the "Top dogs" are looking for starters?? Others looking to fill the rosters??? What gives

[JCates]

I keep reading "looking for players" posts within the 12U Houston ranks. Is the top talent spread out over too many teams? Some of the "Top dogs" are looking for starters?? Others looking to fill the rosters??? What gives

I don't think it is a case of talent being spread out over too many teams. For example, TPS 98 stated in our post that we are looking for a starter to join our VERY strong team. You still want to have an extra player in case of injury or illness. Any "top dog" will want a legit starter caliber player...why would you advertise for anything else? If the player is not of that caliber they will not make the team.

There are many teams out there looking to try to find players just to have a team. You will see these advertisements all year long, just like last year when 12U Houston teams did very well at ASA Nationals. Strong teams are just trying to find the "diamond" level player out there to strengthen their roster to make a run at ASA Nationals.

[softballrocks]

I assume you are talking about Smash, TPS and Force. I have to agree with Mr Cates that the "top dogs" are only looking for a specific type of athlete. If one comes so be it, if not keep looking.

I can't speak for Force or TPS but Smash has 9 SOLID athletes back from last year and we know we will need 10 to 11 to compete at Nationals if we get a bid. Injury bugs have hit us hard this spring so we had to ramp up the effort. Hopefully it all works out. God willing, we will have all of our girls healthy come April and throughout the summer as well as everyone else.

Softball Rocks

[slaphitter]

I keep reading "looking for players" posts within the 12U Houston ranks. Is the top talent spread out over too many teams? Some of the "Top dogs" are looking for starters?? Others looking to fill the rosters??? What gives

This topic can be debated and discussed forever without a clear cut answer. Watered down teams that spread out the talent pool in Texas to such a degree that Texas cannot win a National asa championship has also been thrown around.

Just because a dd is a great talent does not mean her and her parents are a good fit on a team that has a very good team core of players. Because her parents feel she is not the "super star" so they go to a team where she can be. This being said the top teams sometimes have problems getting the so called top talent.

The 2 different reasons you mentioned above are 2 different searches.
The team that is is looking for several, or 2 or 3 to complete their roster could indicate they are having problems keeping players, for whatever reasons, or injuries have left them so they do not have enough players to field a team. These teams are usually looking for players that they hope, they can develope, but are not impact players for a run at nationals. It is just players that will keep the team alive.

The teams that are looking for 1 solid player are the teams that are looking for an impact player that will help give them the best chance for a run at nationals. But they have to be a player that her and her parents are a good fit on the team. They do not want a player and/or parents that will disrupt the balance and harmony on the team, so they will be very selective on who they choose.

[3monkeys]

Quoting Slaphitter:

"Just because a dd is a great talent does not mean her and her parents are a good fit on a team that has a very good team core of players. Because her parents feel she is not the "super star" so they go to a team where she can be. This being said the top teams sometimes have problems getting the so called top talent."

"The teams that are looking for 1 solid player are the teams that are looking for an impact player that will help give them the best chance for a run at nationals. But they have to be a player that her and her parents are a good fit on the team. They do not want a player and/or parents that will disrupt the balance and harmony on the team, so they will be very selective on who they choose."

Two excellent points that Slaphitter brings up. Cali teams are good because they get the "team" concept. The solid 12U teams generally carry 14 girls. Here in Texas, we seem to have an issue with such a number, not realizing that as the girls get older, carrying 16 or 17 or more players is a norm at the higher levels. And guess what? If coaches and parents do their part as well as their kid, there is no reason all 16 or 17 won't get the interest of the scouts.

On the second point, I strongly believe that the teams that are consistently on the top year in and year out, are the ones that understand the "team" concept. They are not just looking for a strong player, but strong support from the parents as well. On those teams, it is hard to pick out the "superstar" because everyone on the team plays an important role at every tournament.

Yes we will see some great teams pop up every year, but that's the point, they just seem to pop up because that kind of team is full of "superstars" and parents with "my child is the superstar" mindset. Next year, those kids are another team. Heck sometimes you do not even have to wait that long. Think about it, how many times have you seen parents come on here and brag about how great their kid is and for those of us that know who's who, we understand that the kid will be another team the next season.

[slaphitter]

[quote="3monkeys"]

Excellent points that Slaphitter brings up. Cali teams are good because they get the "team" concept. The solid 12U teams generally carry 14 girls. Here in Texas, we seem to have an issue with such a number, not realizing that as the girls get older, carrying 16 or 17 or more players is a norm at the higher levels. And guess what? If coaches and parents do their part as well as their kid, there is no reason all 16 or 17 won't get the interest of the scouts.
_____________________

We, as parents seem to lose that "team concept". In Texas, if our Little dd does not play 99% of the time we take our glove and move to another team then another team etc. That in itsself is why we cannot beat the Cali teams.

We have to start thinking what is best for the team and how can our dd contribute to the success of that team. If we reach that point then we can contend in asa with Cali.
Parents, in the long haul your dd is only as good as the "TEAM" she playing with. She cannot win championships by herself. Think "We" not me.

There are 2 to 3 teams in 12u that are trying to get to that stage. I think everyone knows who they are. I hope for Texas they get there so we can start a winning tradition for Texas in Nationals.

[liveintex]

I think that you need to remove "Houston" and replace it with "Texas". Great points all around. We have the same issue in NTX. It's to the point now that some of the "big name" programs have 2-3 teams in each age bracket. They are all decent teams but no one really quakes in their boots anymore when coming up against them because the overall talent level is spread too far out now and it is rare to find a team with 9-10 players that just a few years ago would be called select. Now, it's more like 5 select, 4 rec. Not that there's anything wrong with rec. The more girls that play the better.

You see the dilution in 12U especially because some of the top teams (in no particular order), Mizuno 98, Glory 98, Allen 98, & Fireballs 98 are all playing 14U until "it counts".

IMO, the problem mainly is no one (rephrase, dads), would rather have their daughter be a #1 pitcher on a lower level team than a #2 pitcher on a good team. It will be interesting to see who from Texas will make a good showing in OKC and then subsequently Alabama. I think that the only way NTX makes a strong run for the top of the heap in Montgomery is to take the top 2-3 kids from each of the teams listed above and merge them all together. Of course that'll never happen but it sure would be fun to watch.

[Let's Play Two]

liveintex

Great points. I think the talent level is there, what's missing is the coaches developing it. Their fundamentals are not where they should be. I've seen a few 14U tournaments and that is what separates a team from winning and losing.

Pitchers throwing strikes, fielders fielding and playing catch and hitters making consistent solid contanct. Outfielders need the most work as it is one the hardest thing to do, judge fly balls at this early age.

[fastpitchforever]

If you can't put 9 batters in your lineup that hit above 0.300, then your team is "diluted". I find most Texas teams fit this description, whereas the California teams seem to be able to do this routinely. This strong display of Calif batting is what leads to the downfall of Texas teams at nationals IMO. Might be the coaches fault, might be the parents or kids, but Texas is not going to win until we can send teams that can hit through all 9 slots.

[Let's Play Two]

You're right about that ff. The thing is Texas needs to have more than one of those teams that can compete, hit 1-9 or 10. You just can't send one team that can hit 1-9 and expect to win it all. You have to have a few teams that can do it because putting all of your eggs in one basket doesn't work all the time.

I believe that is the reason CA teams carry 14 players or more. It breeds competition and makes every player better. If any given girl is not hitting the next one in line is ready to take her lunch thus the stronger teams. Parents need to buy into this and believe it or not it will make your daughter a better player because the players that are not getting most of the playing should be trying to get better. That is what happens in CA, the girls and the parents invite the competition and the challenge to earn a spot, not given a spot.

I agree with Houston you need to have bigger rosters instead of 10-12 players. What happens if one girl gets hurt? Like you said usually out of those 10 players 6-7 can hit consistently. If you up the roster you will likely get the 8-9 consistent hitters while the other 5 players continue to work hard and get better. My daughter's team is also looking for a few more players and if that means it makes the team stronger so be it. If it pushes my daughter to practice harder, practice more to get more playing time that is good with me. I want my daughter to be on a competitive team and earn her playing time.

Winning, competing well or placing high at Nationals will just be the icing on the cake. Having a highly competitive team will only make your daughter a better player and in the end hopefully good enough to play college ball.