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TAZ980002
831 Posts |
 Posted - 02/28/2010 : 23:31:31
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After playing 2 straight tournament in the 12u age group, here are some observations and thoughts about the experience so far as a Bandit parent:
- Some of these 12 year old players are HUGE !!!
- NO 12u team wants to lose to an 11u team
- These 12u pitchers are AWESOME
- The Astros are LOADED with pitching
- The Stixx are LOADED with hitters
- We struck out way too many times this weekend
- We struck out less in our last game than our first
- Our pitching has measured up better than I expected
- Our defense has held up better than I expected
- Our boys are relentless competitors
- East Cobb is probably the coolest place to play baseball
- Our team doesn't like to be laughed at by our opponents (yes, that actually happened this weekend)
- Teams that were laughing at us before the game weren't laughing afterwards
One more weekend of playing with the big boys and then we return to play in our age group. I continue to pray that we don't suffer an injury while facing the giants. We are learning a lot and building tons of character.
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ecbstix
115 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2010 : 08:57:48
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| Great team! Your boys played great. I can assure you whoever laughed at your boys had never seen them play! |
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bturner
231 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2010 : 09:16:41
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Bandit 13
My only concern with playing up is only getting 3 or 4 games out of it. I know you guys want to be ready for the big 11 u events and you guys can certainley hold your own with the 12's. But like I said Team Ga. and the other 11's are playing 5 or 6 games. Getting 2 or 3 extra games a weekend may give a kid 10 extra at bats. Over the course of 3 tournaments that adds up. While I have NO doubt you guys will be ready for the 11's I think you will see the Elite 11's hitting the baseball very well. With all that being said you are only as good as your next starting pitcher and you guys have the best 4 out there. Where are you guys next?quote:
Originally posted by Bandit13
After playing 2 straight tournament in the 12u age group, here are some observations and thoughts about the experience so far as a Bandit parent:
- Some of these 12 year old players are HUGE !!!
- NO 12u team wants to lose to an 11u team
- These 12u pitchers are AWESOME
- The Astros are LOADED with pitching
- The Stixx are LOADED with hitters
- We struck out way too many times this weekend
- We struck out less in our last game than our first
- Our pitching has measured up better than I expected
- Our defense has held up better than I expected
- Our boys are relentless competitors
- East Cobb is probably the coolest place to play baseball
- Our team doesn't like to be laughed at by our opponents (yes, that actually happened this weekend)
- Teams that were laughing at us before the game weren't laughing afterwards
One more weekend of playing with the big boys and then we return to play in our age group. I continue to pray that we don't suffer an injury while facing the giants. We are learning a lot and building tons of character.
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Rocky
290 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2010 : 09:38:50
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| I think a couple of games against 12U teams is like a tournament of 11U teams. |
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TAZ980002
831 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2010 : 10:29:17
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BT, you are right but on the flip side the "quality" of the games are much better. Every game, every pitch and every at bat is challenging our team to a much higher level than some of the games in the 11's would be.
We are in the Forsyth County Slugfest this weekend playing with the 12u Major guys. How about you guys? |
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BROOKSTEAM
145 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2010 : 10:54:09
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| I for one am really impressed with the entire program that goes into making the 11U Bandits. I have gotten to know your team from a few different angles and think the team is great. And even if it means that the tournaments you are in the race is for 2nd place, I think all the 11U teams are looking forward to having this team back in our ranks. |
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baseballpapa
1520 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2010 : 11:04:33
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| Papa has also learned a lot but I don't play baseball for an education as I have already finished school. I will say that we have the same concerns that bturner brings up and that we have thought of this but it's the same ol quality versus quantity thing. Rest assurred that we will never see a pitcher in the 11's like the one's we faced this weekend so we should have gained in that category. bturner should know that last year we played in our age group 4-5 weeks prior to the Super NIT and that we had no losses, scoring over 100 runs and giving up less than 10. Did these extra 15-0 games prepare us for Mizuno Glory. We have the answer to that one in that we lost one of our 2 games last year at this point. Did we lose because they were better, "ABSOLUTELY NOT" We lost because they were better prepared than we were. Can we beat MBA Pride because we played in the 12 under division. I doubt it as they have at least 30-40 more games under their belt than us but I can honestly say that we will be better prepared than last year. Our homes are full of trophies and we are not in it for the trophy or to play more games, We are in it to teach these kids the game of baseball and to start preparing them now for what they will face in the future and I think although bturner makes a very valid point, that in the long run we are doing the right thing. |
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Spartan4
913 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2010 : 11:22:36
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| Great Job Bandits.......Can't wait to see yall play soon and I'm sure the rest of the 11U world doesn't mind yall playing up at ALL!! |
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bturner
231 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2010 : 21:44:54
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Papa
I agree with you and Bandit 13. The quality you guys have seen will make the difference. And while you guys have always been stacked you added 2 HUGE weapons to your aresenal. Coach Troy has a natural sleep remedy that is better than ambien. It is call four # 1 pitchers. We are off next weekend and I am going to try and bring my jr. Bandits out to see you guys.quote:
Originally posted by baseballpapa
Papa has also learned a lot but I don't play baseball for an education as I have already finished school. I will say that we have the same concerns that bturner brings up and that we have thought of this but it's the same ol quality versus quantity thing. Rest assurred that we will never see a pitcher in the 11's like the one's we faced this weekend so we should have gained in that category. bturner should know that last year we played in our age group 4-5 weeks prior to the Super NIT and that we had no losses, scoring over 100 runs and giving up less than 10. Did these extra 15-0 games prepare us for Mizuno Glory. We have the answer to that one in that we lost one of our 2 games last year at this point. Did we lose because they were better, "ABSOLUTELY NOT" We lost because they were better prepared than we were. Can we beat MBA Pride because we played in the 12 under division. I doubt it as they have at least 30-40 more games under their belt than us but I can honestly say that we will be better prepared than last year. Our homes are full of trophies and we are not in it for the trophy or to play more games, We are in it to teach these kids the game of baseball and to start preparing them now for what they will face in the future and I think although bturner makes a very valid point, that in the long run we are doing the right thing.
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G-Man
326 Posts |
Posted - 03/02/2010 : 02:05:00
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This is my first post of many I hope on this forum. I have really enjoyed reading some of the threads before I decided to register.
Several of you have made some very good points about not only the Bandits playing up in 12u but something other 11u teams should consider. I personally have the opinion that by playing with or against better skilled players/competition your player/players will only improve their skill level.
I have seen this first hand. My son who is 10yrs old plays on a 12u Major team in Florida. The improvements I have seen from him over this year has been very surprising. Because of the experience in 12u. The game at 11u in his opinion,(His Words not mine  ) seems slower. He has commented that the ball looks larger as a hitter and that the ground balls seem to take longer to get there.
The game at the 12u major division based on my observation is so much faster than 11u. The players are bigger, stronger and throw the ball with so much more velocity. As someone mentioned in this thread about how much bigger these kids are. Its almost scary seeing some of the kids we play against down here. We have faced teams with kids that stand 6'3 and 200lbs at 12u. Which by the way I still swear that kid was driving the team bus in to the park  Thats intimidating to any player 11u or 12u. However any kid who faces that type player/team regularly can and will improve their ability. However I will say too much weight is placed on winning at this age instead of development. Winning is nice but trust me no high school coach is going to care how many travel ball tournaments your team won.
So I believe that if the Bandit players are experiencing this level of play right now it will only help them come tournament time in the 11u division, no matter how many less games they may get to play per tournament vs the 11u division. So for what its worth Bandits13 I commend you for challenging your team in the 12u Major division.
On a side note though and I have read some of the other post/threads. Just as you are trying to prepare your team by playing 12u Major teams. Teams like MBA, Pembroke Lake Bulldogs, Tampa Boltz are all doing the same thing. MBA down here often plays in the 12 Major division just for the challenge since they dont feel they have any local competition in the 11u division, which by the way isnt true. If you need a scounting report Bandits13 let me know. We will be playing with a Georgia team this weekend in Atlanta for the Slugfest. I personally think MBA needs to be knocked down a peg or two LOL  |
Edited by - G-Man on 03/02/2010 08:20:42 |
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baseballpapa
1520 Posts |
Posted - 03/02/2010 : 10:00:45
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| What team will you be playing with and Bandit13 and Papa will look you up. In my opinion it is not physically possible for MBA Pride to be any better team than we have just faced in the 12U East Cobb Astros and Stixx Baseball. You can bet for sure that we will not match the MBA physically but you can also bet that the Bandits will play with heart. I could swear that some of the 12U pitchers are throwing golf balls instead of baseballs. We faced the 12U East Cobb Astros #2 and #3 pitchers and both were off the chart good. The only good news is that we might be a little more prepared next time out as we have now seen the gas and are going back to REV up the pitching machine and try and get better prepared next time out. |
Edited by - baseballpapa on 03/02/2010 11:45:40 |
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G-Man
326 Posts |
Posted - 03/02/2010 : 16:55:57
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quote:
Originally posted by baseballpapa
What team will you be playing with and Bandit13 and Papa will look you up. In my opinion it is not physically possible for MBA Pride to be any better team than we have just faced in the 12U East Cobb Astros and Stixx Baseball. You can bet for sure that we will not match the MBA physically but you can also bet that the Bandits will play with heart. I could swear that some of the 12U pitchers are throwing golf balls instead of baseballs. We faced the 12U East Cobb Astros #2 and #3 pitchers and both were off the chart good. The only good news is that we might be a little more prepared next time out as we have now seen the gas and are going back to REV up the pitching machine and try and get better prepared next time out.
As I mentioned before. Any 11u team that plays in the 12u Major division is going to better prepare themselves for 11u baseball. Any time you can speed the game up for a player/team and constantly compete at that level that player/team will always improve. |
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TAZ980002
831 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2010 : 10:11:36
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Well, our run at the 12's is over for now. All-in-all, a very good experience. A special thanks to the coaches, parents and players that showed support and respect for our team. In particular, the following teams treated us like gold. Thank you.
Sig Park Hawks
ECB Astros
Albany Stixx
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baseballpapa
1520 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2010 : 12:24:18
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Papa would also like to say thank you to teams that welcomed us into their world of baseball and would like to add a couple of names to the list. I had an opportunity to speak with several of the Southern Jaguar Coaches and the Stixx Coaches and both of these teams are filled with class.
I would also to thank all of the East Cobb Astros parents that seem to have adopted the Bandits and they all offered much encouragement and support when we weren't playing them. And when they did play us they played their rears off and after their win treated us with class.
This has been an awesome experience that Papa would not take anything far and I now have several 12U teams that I have adopted and will be pulling and cheering for every game they play.
NOW IN THE FAMOUS WORDS OF ARNOLD THE TERMINATOR I TELL THE 11U DIVISION IN GEORGIA THAT THE BANDITS ARE "BAAAAAAAAAAAACK" |
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