Ronald McDonald 16U College Exposure

[93players]

Pretty lackluster weekend. Decent teams for the most part with a couple of duds. Loved to see the Colorado and Oklahoma teams with talented players. 4-5 college coaches at the most. Alot of teams dropped out at the end. A couple of fields were empty for most of the weekend. That was never the case before.

If you are a leading program with a need to kiss Lampl's you know what, then you have to sign up next year. Otherwise, your gold team will be banished to the bush fields. If you are a standalone, don't bother to come. I would just sign up for the 18U tournament the week before. The coaches only watched teams from 3-4 programs. Sad to see a great tournament for 16U fall for no good reason.

[Lefty's Dad]

I was worried going into this weekend because I knew several coaches were going to miss due to other showcases. However, I was pleasantly suprised to see several colleges represented there and quite a few watch our games (our team is an unkown, not part of a big org. or any org. for that matter). When it began I agree that most coaches roamed between fields of big name teams but as Saturday went on, they were watching other teams as well. The thing is, if you are an unknown team and you want to get noticed, you have to beat the big name teams and if the coaches are watching you better do it right then and there. Of course, sending out mounds of letters/emails prior to the weekend helps too
Overall, I was disappointed they changed the format to a showcase rather than a straight tournament but I was happy with the college coach turnout considering they had other options for the weekend.
I know at least two teams dropped at the last minute but that was a bonus for us as our schedule changed and we were able to play a couple more really good teams.

[93players]

My opinion on the strongest 16U teams in the tournament: (in no particular order), Colorado Stars, Colorado Crush, Rebels, Team Oklahoma, Tulsa RapidFire. There were alot of medocre teams with rosters of tall and large players. These teams were very slow.

[etx bd]

93,
Seriously, you didn't have one Texas team on your list. Were they that bad?

[Lefty's Dad]

Actually, the Rebels are a Texas team. I would have added High Voltage to the above list. They are a very good team.

[etx bd]

Sorry thought the Rebels were from OK. But I thought there were some pretty good teams going to be there - were they all really that bad?

[93players]

Austin Storm - avg to below
Houston Power - avg
Platinum - below avg
Texas Eclipse - below avg
High Voltage Cobras - below avg
Hitnrun - Below avg

[Lefty's Dad]

I won't argue those but I'm sure there had to be some other Tx teams that stood out as more than just average. I hope anyway.

[93players]

Well, 16U is just not that big in Texas. Some of the most talented kids move to Gold quickly. I expected to see some ASA A quality teams, and for the most part I did not see them. Batbusters looked to be hitting well. Texas Elite gave up alot of runs in the game I walked by. Blaze Prinzo White has a lineup of lefties who run all over slow infields. I did not see Storm Demarini or the Hawks. They have been very good in the past. The pitching does not seem to be as dominant as one would expect at 16U 40 feet.

[SOFTBALLS]

Must be a rebel parent cause the rebels are no better than some of the teams listed. What team are you from? Obviously your team is no good enough to make your own list...... Do agree the Colorado team looked good. We will just have to wait and see..................................