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gausssa
209 Posts |
 Posted - 11/30/2010 : 16:02:48
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| To all, I am working on something very special with the Florida State Director and need everyone's honest opinion about your age group. I need feed back on who you/the people think the top 4 MAJOR teams in Georgia will be this spring. Thanks, i will set back and read!!!! |
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ONE WAY
48 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2010 : 20:04:16
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The top 4 teams
1.ECB BRAVES
2.ECB LONGHORNS
3.STEALTH BOMMERS
4.GEORGIA GRAYS |
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puppetmaster
11 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2010 : 20:42:02
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NATE IS THAT YOU?
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Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2010 : 23:02:25
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| I think that top 4 is correct....or close to correct....of course I am biased!! But I think that until Stealth loses a couple times to the Grays or Longhorns they are the number two team....Coach Derrick has spent a couple years up around the top and he has gained valuable experience coaching at the major level....Either way I can't wait until the season starts... |
Edited by - Spartan4 on 11/30/2010 23:04:38 |
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Grampa Steinbrenner
24 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2010 : 00:21:14
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With the players that the Braves lost and several other moves other teams made, I think Mr. Usssa you could take about 7-8 teams and who knows what order they will fall.
I think there are 4 very good teams out of East Cobb: Rays(took 2 of the Braves best players and a top Yarddog), Braves(took 2 of the Rays players and a top Yarddog), Stars(took the 2 best players from the Tigers and the best Shiloh Titans player) and Longhorns(basically a whole new team with a merger with the former Yarddogs), All 4 teams lost good players and picked up good players, the only true way to settle it is on the field, like somebody mentioned above that the Longhorns are #2, however the Rays shut them out 8-0 a few weeks ago.
Outside of East Cobb, you have the following teams that could beat any of the East Cobb teams anytime: Grays(Always good), Stealth(I heard the best player from the Yarddogs was added) and maybe Elite Gamers Red(Always good)
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prestont
197 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2010 : 08:55:09
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Sounds interesting Bubba.
Of course I'd want my son to have the opportunity to compete against the best teams - but I'd want him, and his teammates, to earn it!
Grampa said it well - there are changes every year with every team, and some have yet to play a game together so it may be early for offers to a GA-FLA Border war ;-)
Here's an idea.... Super NIT is usually early in the spring - why don't ya take the Top 4 GA teams from the Super NIT to the border war with FLA?
Its nice having a break, but agree with Spartan - sure looking forward to Spring and watching the kids compete. |
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ecbinsider
318 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2010 : 10:19:55
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Four responses and four different answers, is that any surprise. IMHO, the Braves and Stealth teams are 1 & 2 based on previous history, they shouldn't lose their ranking until one of these new teams knocks them off. The Stars, Longhorns, Rays, Gamers, Titans and Grays each have a legitimate shot at being the #3 or #4 team but like college football, that can change from week to week. I bet if some of these teams played, you'll have a situation where one team wins 10-2 and the next week they lose to the same team they beat 11-1.
For Bubba, the best thing to do is invite the top 6-7 teams to whatever tournament your trying to set up because I bet only four will end up being able to go. |
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Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2010 : 14:12:09
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| Insider makes a great point, I don't think any of these teams is on a level like the Bandits are in 12U, but if a team is 3-1 or 4-1 against a particular team I don't think that is exactly even. Also, while the Stealth did pick up a great player I would argue he wasn't the best player from that team...I look for this to be the year that speed will really help a team and lack of it will really hurt one....And being from Gwinnett, while I am sure a team or two will compete I wouldn't look to put one in any top-5....There is a reason we drive an hour!!!! The facilities and COMMITMENT to winning or at least TRYING to win is night and day..... |
Edited by - Spartan4 on 12/01/2010 14:35:09 |
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ducktape6
12 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2010 : 14:50:00
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Finally, USSSA does something that makes sense...... But as stated the 4 teams should play their way in, with the highest finishing team from the GA Super NIT getting and automatic bid. There should then be a tournament within a month of the Super NIT to determine the final 3 spots. The timing of the play in tournament is KEY .....Mr Director Smith because people have other goals and will need to arrange time and travel if this tournament is held in Florida...... Good Idea though because USSSA was is on life support in GA and these Border Wars just might give the sanction some life.
Now my opinion on the 4 that will make it:
1. EC Braves - Kirksey seems to flourish in tournaments that have significance and his boys are big game ready.
2. Stealth Bomberz - Just because they win alot of games and they have the long ball.....But if this tournament is held on the southside ......11U-12U fields are bigger and pitching comes in to play and at 50 feet the fast ball becomes less and less effective. The addition will tighten the defense up and give them more speed but this tournament will be about coaching and pitching came the 2 amigos get it done
3. EC Longhorns - This team has the POTENTIAL to be the #1 team in the state......Coaches and players need to challenge themselves and realize that Major Baseball is no holds bar ...... There are no friend only foes and every game counts. They have made even more moves in the last month and are looking strong...... they have it all Long ball, speed, defense and pitching ...... Can they pull it together and keep it together ....... This will be a big tournament for them
4. Elite Gamers - Against my better judgement I am picking the Gamers ..... With all that talent its almost hard for the team not to win ..... If Bubba is running the tournament it will be in the Gamers back yard and home field will help.....
Other Contenders:
1. GA Grays - We all know the movie they will sneak up on a big win every year and this just might be the tournament.
2. Shiloh Titans - If they play a Major schedule instead of that GGBL they will gain the experience to compete in a tournament of this calibur......but thats not going to happen so ..... Good Luck to them
3. And my favorite team and coaching staff ....... EC Rays ........ What can I say these guys keep it interesting .......
For those who know me ..... Im out of sight now working .......But ....... I WILL be back for good just in time for the Spring Frost.....
Enjoying the Sun |
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gausssa
209 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2010 : 17:32:58
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| To all: this will be a out of town tournament and impossible to wait till after the Super Nit to to put together. Teams have to plan from the start on out of town trip's they will make and most of all "budget" for it. Out of town trips as we all know has a big impact on your overall schedule. The People's opinion's and general consences will have to do for now. Will we get it perfect? No, but we will get very close. It will be a little easier next year as it will be in Georgia....Thanks to all for your imput!! |
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RACGOFAR
208 Posts |
Posted - 12/01/2010 : 21:01:09
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Come on Spartan, you know better than to make generalizations like that. ECB has a nice facility for sure, but its field surfaces (which is what I care about) are nothing special and there are plenty of Gwinnett fields that are equal to or superior to ECB fields my teams have played on.
As to team commitment to winning and trying to win at ECB versus Gwinnett (or anywhere else) being night and day, I note that the ECB mission says nothing about winning and everything about commitment to things way more important than winning. Gwinnett teams that I know and play against have similar philosophies to ECB's. Teams who emphasize winning over everything else generally don't stay together very long. Focusing on winning at the expense of everything else at age 11 does nothing to prepare these boys for the next level or for life. |
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Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2010 : 03:30:11
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No doubt there are some tougher bounces at EC on the lower fields(they get less attention)....But I don't think IMO there is any comparison of the total quality of the facilities...there are some nice fields in Gwinnett but we played over 70 games last year and other than Disney I am yet to see a nicer facility....
It is no secret on here or from anybody who knows me I am not very high on Gwinnett sports and while there are a couple ECB teams that play lower classifications and hand-pick tourneys.....But EVERY SINGLE AGE GROUP has a top team or two represented by EC.....It wasn't that long ago when my friends and I played sports(in Gwinnett) and most of the top players always found a way to Marietta.....Teams that focus on winning can also focus on development(Braves/Bandits/Sandtown/643/Team Fla/Banditos/San Diego Stars/MBA Pride)....I realize I am probably in a minority to most on here but when our family puts a substantial amount of money and time into playing travel ball we expect to play on a team that is coached to win(or at least not give a game away for the sake of appeasing a player's parent concerning playing time)with kids of a similar talent level...I am sure both of us have seen GGBL teams with a HUGE DIFFERENCE in talent level(with 8 coaches to boot)......There is a reason Gwinnett routinely finishes high in HS State Playoffs but never puts an amazing team out at younger age groups.....THE TALENT IS HERE!!!!!There are two teams in Gwinnett at this age group one being yours I think top level talent should consider.....I have never seen you run from better teams or big tourneys, having said that you are one of the few over here that doesn't.....I will probably not change my stance on Gwinnett sports until I am proven wrong.....I guess I just question why the talent is there but the long term results are not???
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SSBuckeye
575 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2010 : 08:35:05
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| Spartan, if everyone in Gwinnett keeps running from the problem at the younger age groups, will it ever get better? |
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Gwinnett
791 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2010 : 11:20:56
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| We're still here in Gwinnett! I gotta tell ya the Signature Park program can and will run with any EC baseball programs. Now it's just a matter of rounding up the talent! I could care less if we're playing on gravel----> As long as we're being taught the right thing by the right people!!!!!!!! |
Edited by - Gwinnett on 12/02/2010 14:20:49 |
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Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2010 : 12:36:36
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It is just a different mentality....You just don't see the same level of coaching IMO, or commitment to playing the big tournaments or playing at the major level....It has been that way since I was playing baseball over 15 years ago...Yet the HS I went to finished in the playoffs for 5A 5 years in a row?? And Parkview and Brookwood were both pretty dominant during that time as well...But our feeder programs were never that good.....This whole thread was about the top 4 teams in GA, I was making a comment on Gwinnett sports before someone was "crowned" as a top team without playing anybody(it already happened on another thread)....
Last season we almost made the jump to EC but decided to give our side of town one more try, and it was pretty much the same as usual.....Bickering over why doesn't my son pitch, or when can my son pitch, or why does this player play SS all the time, or Little Johnny had 4 hits last weekend why does he still hit last(some teams do move kids around and that is fine, the Bandits have 12 kids that can play every position but few teams stay just as good changing positions every inning).....While I have seen it over at EC both from my age group and now my nephews I haven't(nor have my family) seen it as often as in Gwinnett county....Like I said there a few exceptions to the rule, but not a top 4-5 team in GA.... |
Edited by - Spartan4 on 12/02/2010 14:21:29 |
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RACGOFAR
208 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2010 : 12:44:18
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Good points and good observations Spartan. I think the answer to your question is that there is not a centrally located travel only facility in Gwinnett for the players to flock to and the Gwinnett parks operate under Associations whose focus is on recreational level baseball. But each Association sanctions travel teams under different criteria.
Ten years ago [When you were in middle school :)] there were not that many travel teams organized outside of the Associations in Gwinnett. Back then there weren't multiple tourneys every weekend year round to consider like we have now. As the tounrey options have grown, so too have the number of private teams forming outside of the Associations. Because of that and of course due to ECB proximity, there are a lot more options for players/families. There are some very good Major caliber teams in Gwinnett in the higher age groups. You don't see many Major teams under 11U in Gwinnett frankly because the majority of the talent and teams are still playing GGBL and affiliated with an Association in 9-11u.
My park and team are a good example of how things are. NGBSA now has 3 11u teams playing travel, 1 AAA (me) and 2 AA level teams. Across those three teams, there are at least 11 players capable of playing Major level ball, but they are not all on my team. There also a couple of other private 11u teams that are AA caliber and they pronbably have 1+ major level player each on their roster.
So why don't I have all the Major level players on my team? Well, for one the Association frowns upon recruiting players from sister teams. Second, there are strong coach/player/family relationships that form at the team's inception that keep certqin core groups of players together.
Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with being a AA team and going out and playing the best teams you can ind in your classification. I also don't beleive that the best players have or must seek out the best teams, especially if its an economic or time burden to do it. The grind of going to practices and games that involve 80 mile round trips or three hours both ways will suck the joy right out of baseball for most players and families. On the other hand, if a player show the determination and drive and wants to play at the highest level he can find, I see nothing wrong with that either.
In Gwinnett the majority of the best players/families fall into the first group, not the latter.
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ecbinsider
318 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2010 : 15:21:36
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quote:
Originally posted by ducktape6
Finally, USSSA does something that makes sense...... But as stated the 4 teams should play their way in, with the highest finishing team from the GA Super NIT getting and automatic bid. There should then be a tournament within a month of the Super NIT to determine the final 3 spots. The timing of the play in tournament is KEY .....Mr Director Smith because people have other goals and will need to arrange time and travel if this tournament is held in Florida...... Good Idea though because USSSA was is on life support in GA and these Border Wars just might give the sanction some life.
Now my opinion on the 4 that will make it:
1. EC Braves - Kirksey seems to flourish in tournaments that have significance and his boys are big game ready.
2. Stealth Bomberz - Just because they win alot of games and they have the long ball.....But if this tournament is held on the southside ......11U-12U fields are bigger and pitching comes in to play and at 50 feet the fast ball becomes less and less effective. The addition will tighten the defense up and give them more speed but this tournament will be about coaching and pitching came the 2 amigos get it done
3. EC Longhorns - This team has the POTENTIAL to be the #1 team in the state......Coaches and players need to challenge themselves and realize that Major Baseball is no holds bar ...... There are no friend only foes and every game counts. They have made even more moves in the last month and are looking strong...... they have it all Long ball, speed, defense and pitching ...... Can they pull it together and keep it together ....... This will be a big tournament for them
4. Elite Gamers - Against my better judgement I am picking the Gamers ..... With all that talent its almost hard for the team not to win ..... If Bubba is running the tournament it will be in the Gamers back yard and home field will help.....
Other Contenders:
1. GA Grays - We all know the movie they will sneak up on a big win every year and this just might be the tournament.
2. Shiloh Titans - If they play a Major schedule instead of that GGBL they will gain the experience to compete in a tournament of this calibur......but thats not going to happen so ..... Good Luck to them
3. And my favorite team and coaching staff ....... EC Rays ........ What can I say these guys keep it interesting .......
For those who know me ..... Im out of sight now working .......But ....... I WILL be back for good just in time for the Spring Frost.....
Enjoying the Sun
Where are the EC Stars and Titans in all this talk? Stars picked up 3-4 very good players and were considered the #2 team out of east cobb last season and should be ready to rock n roll with the best of them come spring. Also, don't count out the ec titans, they own several wins over your top teams last year and have improved quite a bit. |
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Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2010 : 19:18:21
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RACGOFAR.....I was in HS!!! lol,I guess I just remember when there were only 25 travel teams in the state and behind the Astros they were all pretty good.... and I do agree with everything you said....Gwinnett doesn't have the facility in a central location and you know how hard it can be to get field time over the rec programs...Your team has a few kids that can play on just about any major team, your son being one of them....I think the main difference is I truly believe that playing the best competition is going to be better for the development of a player..Last year when our team was AAA our pitchers threw the ball right down the middle and tried to blow it by a majority of the batters. That doesn't work at the major level and it wont work at any level moving forward(including HS) ....Again, if a team is truly a AA team or AAA team then fine, but to play down a classification for the sake of winning is sandbagging and that team does not deserve to be ranked in a top 5...IMO...
Gwinnett, I know the Signature Park program well and Kevin trains my nephew and trained several of my friends when I was growing up...The only problem I really had with the way that program was run was picking up kids that didn't really help the team purely for financial reasons.....It hurt the good kids and pitchers when a kid was a defensive liability and drama ran wild for much of the season....Half of the team wanted what was best for a team's chance to win a tournament and the other half wanted their son to pitch/play SS or bat 3rd.....Not for me
The EC Stars picked up one of the better players from the Shiloh Titans(maybe the best, as well as their coach with the most baseball knowledge and experience IMO)...They will be just fine!! and the Titans are gonna sneak up on one or two teams this year I just haven't seen enough of them to know if they have deep enough pitching to be a top 4-5 team....I think the Stars do tho....Mr. Gates really stepped up last year and only played the best competition from what I remember, I can't recall him playing many weak tourneys for the sake of winning and I think his team is MUCH MUCH better than a win-loss record can show(MUCH BETTER!!)....I'm just ready for the dang season to begin! |
Edited by - Spartan4 on 12/02/2010 22:13:36 |
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Gwinnett
791 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2010 : 23:12:14
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S, it's all good. All that matters is my boy is very happy and it sounds like your nephew is happy too. I'm sure things will change but until then we will ride the baseball roller coaster and enjoy every second of it!
Thanks for getting things stirred up a bit, I was beginning to think everybody was going into hibernating mode....lol |
Edited by - Gwinnett on 12/03/2010 08:52:24 |
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Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2010 : 00:23:49
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| BTW.....anybody got any info on the ECB Raptors??? I am yet to see them play a game, how do they stack up in all this? |
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ecbpappi
244 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2010 : 09:41:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Spartan4
BTW.....anybody got any info on the ECB Raptors??? I am yet to see them play a game, how do they stack up in all this?
Raptors will be about the same as last season but they can take down a giant with their #1 gunslinger on the mound. I would rank them in the same category with the Titans & Yankees. |
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ONE WAY
48 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2010 : 10:25:08
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If we all would open our eyes and look at the big picture, how many of these kids will we see play at 13,14,15 not many. The game will pass them by and some of the parents look at this as a play date.If a child has talent why not say so. I see that some of you think that some of the team are better than are and they are not very good. The top teams are the top teams we need to stop trying to put a team some where they do not belong. We have maybe 5 Major Teams at 11u
1.BRAVES
2.LONGHORNS
3.STEALTH
4.GRAYS (IF THEY PLAY MAJOR )
5.GAMERS RED
IF YOU KNOW OF MORE PLEASE LET ME KNOW (THAT WILL PLAY MAJOR TOURNAMENTS) |
Edited by - ONE WAY on 12/03/2010 21:08:42 |
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RACGOFAR
208 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2010 : 12:19:19
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Agreed om all points Spartan. That is the major problem with the for profit teams hosted by the BP and instruction facilities. They all have great coaches with tons of experience, they all have access to great facilities, but when push comes to shove, they are running a business and they will fill open roster spots with kids whose parents will pay. Or worse, they'll take their best 10 yr old and put him on a higher age group team. The parents love that because they think little Johhny is so good he gets to play up, when in fact he is just filling out a roster spot and is the best available they could find and would pay. Very few kids, IMO, are good enough to benefit from playing up at any level.
As for participation, if a player on any level team is not getting playing time because he is not good enough (relative to that roster) to get playing time, then he should be on another team. A player who plays in every game at the AAA level is going to get better than if he played against superior competition on a Major team but only plays in 2 games a weekend. Regardless of the talent level, the only way for a player to get better is to practice and play as much as possible, not practice a lot and occassionally play.
The other thing I forgot to mention as one of the biggest reasons you don't see Gwinnett Major teams in the lower age groups is because the associations have a participation rule requiring a certain percentage of the roster must have played rec. in the Assoc. or live in the school cluster where the park is located. In my park's case it is 50% of the players. That makes it hard to stay affiliated with a park and build a Major roster. It can be done, but has to happen over several seasons. I would love for my team to play at the Major level all season, but it is fruitless to try and pound a square pegged AAA team into a round holed Major schedule. It would do more harm than good for all my players.
But I'm not complaining. Part of being a coach is developing the players that you do have and making sure they get the opportunities they need to continue on at whatever level or pace they can handle. Part of that includes playing higher classifications to see what you are made of. I love my roster and the families on my team. My players continue to develop and get better every year and we are going to play at least 1/3 of our schedule in Open/Major tourneys so we can continue to get better. |
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Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2010 : 16:17:06
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Where did that #1 gunslinger come from?? I am unfamiliar with them, but I do know they got a couple good players in the off-season...
I didn't even remember when we played at South we had to let players go to other teams due to where they lived...I had forgotten all about that....And you are right that kids need to play a lot and not sit the bench to get better...I do think 12 kids can get enough playing time if all the kids are similar in talent, as well as recieve private instruction. That will probably be our last experience with paying an instructor to coach the team, any other paid coaches would need to have more focus on our team and not 50 other kids taking lessons from him as well!!! The last few years RACGOFAR you have taken your kids to big tourneys and haven't dodged talent, and while I agree that top to bottom you are a AAA team at least you take the opportunity to see where you stack up among the major teams(which is good for your boys, especially that LH pitcher yall have:)!....A couple years ago there was a team from middle GA(Macon I think) and the whole board was talking about how amazing they were and a few people said give the Braves a run for their money....They played up 2 weekends I can remember without much success....Some "TOP" teams get voted because of a stellar win-loss record, not because they are a top team...JMO |
Edited by - Spartan4 on 12/03/2010 21:21:17 |
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bmoser
1633 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2010 : 08:29:06
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Spartan4:
I think you are referring to last years Macon Cardinals. They beat Shiloh right out of the gate 2 Falls ago which got folks talking. They had a solid 10U campaign, but did get over-hyped a bit. Now, if it was Albany's Stealth Bomberz, they turned out to be the real deal. The Bomberz went to the final 4 at the Elite 32. There must be something in the water in Albany...sure are a lot of great baseball players down there. With a little parental cooperation, they could have a top 4 team in 11U,12U, and 13u come Spring.
Macon Cardinals record from the USSSA web site:
Record vs. BBboys11AAA Teams : 0-1
Record vs. BBboys11AA Teams : 2-2
Record vs. BBBoys11A Teams : 4-1
Record vs. BBboys10Maj Teams : 3-1
Record vs. BBboys10AAA Teams : 18-10
Record vs. BBboys10AA Teams : 12-0
Record vs. BBBoys10A Teams : 6-0
Record vs. BBboys9U Teams : 0-1
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titans
94 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2010 : 17:43:12
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Ducktape, FYI - Shiloh (now the Georgia Titans) will not be playing GGBL this coming season. Again, our first/main goal last season was to win the Gwinnett County championship, which blocked out many weekends. This season we will enter the top tourneys and our boys will get better by playing the best teams around. We have already played/registered in 2011 as a Major team.
I agree with your top 4, other than I would put the Grays in there before the Gamers. |
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