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DuluthHardball
12 Posts |
 Posted - 03/24/2010 : 11:22:45
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| Curious to hear everybody's thoughts on their surprise teams thus far. My 2 teams are Homeplate Lawson and Sandy Plains Wildcats. In the past tournaments, the Lawson team seem to be consistent in threatening to be in the Finals. They are hitting the ball hard and long and their pitching seems to be strong. It looks like the new Sandy Plains Wildcats Head Coach(came from 6-4-3 I believe)seems to be doing a great job with their defense and offense. They are playing excellent in pool play and hitting hard. |
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bkball
173 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 13:16:37
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| I agree, Home plate can really crush the baseball. Now that you mention it that coach for Sandy Plains Wildcat was with 6-4-3, he really has those kids playing up to their potential. I have to throw in my Suprise Teams as the East Cobb Astros, Warriors baseball is better than described and Home Plate Black. |
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SMASH
253 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 14:02:13
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| bkball, thanks for noticing. Warriors baseball has been working very hard. Just curious, you said "better than described" How were we described? |
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baseballpapa
1520 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 16:12:57
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| Like ole Ernest T. Bass says on the Andy Griffin show. "SURPRISE, SUPRISE, SUPRISE and that was right before he threw the rock. I don't think you could count Chili Dogs Lawson as a surprise as they have been near the top of the better teams since the Bandits started playing them. I might consider Sandy Plains as a suprise but even they didn't suprise me much. For the Chili Dogs to get back to where they once were I believe that they have got to finish the drill. Getting close will only win you a horseshoe contest and I promise you that the Chili Dogs won't be happy until they finish the drill and break through for the championship. I can also promise you that I know them well enough to know that they didn't come to hit a few home runs, they came to win the tournament and if I know them like I think I do this will start happening sooner than you think. |
Edited by - baseballpapa on 03/24/2010 17:00:40 |
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dirtdawgs
58 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 00:48:52
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| I'll throw my Dirtdawgs name in the hat. Lost all but 3 players and have rebuilt to be a tournament contender. Reached semis twice in Hotlanta (changeing name to Wetlanta) and have gone 6-2 in those tournaments. Was very impressed by the West Georgia Bandits and equally with thier coaching. Very smart team. Also have to give a salute to Sharon Springs, got me the last 2 meetings can't wait for next. |
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stinger
120 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 09:17:40
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Homeplate Lawson - This is a great team and some of the best hitters in the state. Not sure how they fit the "surprise" category though. Good coaching, good players. Good last year, good this year.
SP Wildcats - Definitely an improvement over last year. Agree that the new former 643 HC is having an impact. Much better defensively and hitting. Good wins over SS Blue, EC Luck, EC Stars, GA Outlaws. They shut-up "shut out".
OP Storm - Went deep into Feb Frost and a huge improvement over last year with same kids I believe. They have added a paid coach who has them playing fundamental baseball. Poor game against N. GA Storm this weekend but otherwise have been very good. Almost beat SP and tied Jackets-Gold.
EC Astros - Any team with this name at any level should not surprise anyone. New HC has picked up some great players including Sandtown's #1 pitcher to add to a strong mix from the EC Tigers from last year. HC has one son killing it at GT as a Freshman and another going to GT next year as a 2-sport athlete (football & baseball) so good bloodlines. I believe they will be at top with Bandits, Sandtown, Team GA and 643 Cougars by end of season.
643 Jags - Had a disappointing season last year but appear to have it together this year. May be as good as Cougars. Team to watch.
ECB Colts - Only surprise here is that we haven't seen them yet.
Warriors - I somehow keep missing this team so no comments.
Spartans Blue - Went deep this past weekend. Impressive win over EC Stars.
GA Outlaws - Have beaten some good teams including Jackets-Gold and run rule of HS Express. They definitely fit the "surprise" definition for me.
EC Luck - Have 2 really good pitchers at the top who can beat anyone. Have wins against EC Titans, Midway, GA Select-Navy. Big kids can hit hard.
Jackets-Gold - Surprise me from week-to-week. Can look great (see Feb Frost and Forsyth Slugfest), can look not-so-great (see Super NIT & TC Frost).
Duluth - See Jackets-Gold. Good @ Slugfest, Not-so-good @ Mar. Madness
LeagueLineupRankings - Sandtown #1??? Really??? This is a big surprise. I know the Bandits have been out for 2 weeks now but are you kidding me?
Overall, I haven't seen the break-out surprise like we got from HS Express last year. And as you can tell, this is heavy NW and North ATL (sorry Moser). And of course, it's very early.
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11urankings
6 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 10:48:39
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| Sandtown #1, Bandits healthy are without question the best team in GA. With injuries they are still a top team. Word was they were not going to be playing for 3 weeks. It doesn't make sense to keep a team at #1 if they can't play. College football skips over teams all the time for off weeks. Our staff Sunday night went back and forth over this several times over a few beers, some wanted them to stay at #1 some wanted them as low as #6 because they were not going to play for almost a month and hadn't played any 11U tournaments at all. Players will heal and they will be back to their winning ways then they will be moved back to #1, but at this week could they win a major "blue gray" type tournament with the best? We wont know until they play. |
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CoachMark
216 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 11:26:13
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duluth,bk,stinger -
Just as a point of clarification. Our team, Sandy Plains Wildcats, do not have a new Head Coach. We have the same Head Coach as last season, but have added two new coaches to our staff. Our hitting coach is a former collegian who has really gotten our kids swinging the bats. Our new fielding coach did coach with Pralgo at 9u and has been a huge addition for our team. These two have allowed our HC to concentrate on pitching (former all-conf P at UCF) and running the team. The best part is all I have to do now is schedule the fields. Plus, keeping me from coaching is also a +1 for our team :)
Three coaches with Collegiate experience from three different areas (Pitching, Fielding, Hitting) makes a big difference. But it's also VERY early and there is a lot of work to be done. A good start does not make a good season and there are a lot talented teams. I'm just happy if we can compete with some of these great teams. |
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Shut Out
512 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 15:06:40
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quote:
Originally posted by stinger
Homeplate Lawson - This is a great team and some of the best hitters in the state. Not sure how they fit the "surprise" category though. Good coaching, good players. Good last year, good this year.
SP Wildcats - Definitely an improvement over last year. Agree that the new former 643 HC is having an impact. Much better defensively and hitting. Good wins over SS Blue, EC Luck, EC Stars, GA Outlaws. They shut-up "shut out".
OP Storm - Went deep into Feb Frost and a huge improvement over last year with same kids I believe. They have added a paid coach who has them playing fundamental baseball. Poor game against N. GA Storm this weekend but otherwise have been very good. Almost beat SP and tied Jackets-Gold.
EC Astros - Any team with this name at any level should not surprise anyone. New HC has picked up some great players including Sandtown's #1 pitcher to add to a strong mix from the EC Tigers from last year. HC has one son killing it at GT as a Freshman and another going to GT next year as a 2-sport athlete (football & baseball) so good bloodlines. I believe they will be at top with Bandits, Sandtown, Team GA and 643 Cougars by end of season.
643 Jags - Had a disappointing season last year but appear to have it together this year. May be as good as Cougars. Team to watch.
ECB Colts - Only surprise here is that we haven't seen them yet.
Warriors - I somehow keep missing this team so no comments.
Spartans Blue - Went deep this past weekend. Impressive win over EC Stars.
GA Outlaws - Have beaten some good teams including Jackets-Gold and run rule of HS Express. They definitely fit the "surprise" definition for me.
EC Luck - Have 2 really good pitchers at the top who can beat anyone. Have wins against EC Titans, Midway, GA Select-Navy. Big kids can hit hard.
Jackets-Gold - Surprise me from week-to-week. Can look great (see Feb Frost and Forsyth Slugfest), can look not-so-great (see Super NIT & TC Frost).
Duluth - See Jackets-Gold. Good @ Slugfest, Not-so-good @ Mar. Madness
LeagueLineupRankings - Sandtown #1??? Really??? This is a big surprise. I know the Bandits have been out for 2 weeks now but are you kidding me?
Overall, I haven't seen the break-out surprise like we got from HS Express last year. And as you can tell, this is heavy NW and North ATL (sorry Moser). And of course, it's very early.
Stinger: i ate my crow on this one weeks ago about the spring frost. They didn't make the same showing in the slugfest but they are still much improved. Their team chemistry looks way ahead of last year. The new coaching techniques looks like it will pay dividends throughout the season. Are we all clear now that i underranked SP? |
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DuluthHardball
12 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 15:08:53
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Stinger-
I remember watching 2 HomePlate teams last season and this Lawson team does not look like any one of them. I especially did not recognize the hard throwing pitcher who also plays first base. Which HP team last year did they play under? Definitely a team to watch this season. I agree with your assessment with the other teams. There are a lot more baseball left and it will be interesting to see who has the endurance.
CoachMark-
Thanks for the clarification. The former 6-4-3 coach really stood out and that is why I thought he was the head coach. You guys are doing a fantastic job with those kids and I will not be surprised if you guys come on top in one of these tournaments. |
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baseballpapa
1520 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 16:13:57
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| Papa thinks 11U rankings make perfect sense. If you cannot defend then you must vacate the top spot and find a way to work yourself back in once you get healthy. Bandits are still the #1 ranked team in the nation so not being #1 in Georgia will not kill us. I have always loved the Sandtown team and if the Bandits couldn't hold on then I can think of no one that I would rather see in our spot than Sandtown unless of course it was my friends the 643 Cougars. Holding on to the top of the mountain this year in the 11U division is going to be tough if not impossible for anyone even the Bandits. |
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bturner
231 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 06:31:33
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Duluth
He played with HP (Hartman) last year and HP Stills before that. He has been around. Big kid and he has thrown the ball hard for the last 4 years. quote:
Originally posted by DuluthHardball
Stinger-
I remember watching 2 HomePlate teams last season and this Lawson team does not look like any one of them. I especially did not recognize the hard throwing pitcher who also plays first base. Which HP team last year did they play under? Definitely a team to watch this season. I agree with your assessment with the other teams. There are a lot more baseball left and it will be interesting to see who has the endurance.
CoachMark-
Thanks for the clarification. The former 6-4-3 coach really stood out and that is why I thought he was the head coach. You guys are doing a fantastic job with those kids and I will not be surprised if you guys come on top in one of these tournaments.
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stinger
120 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 07:45:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Shut Out
Stinger: i ate my crow on this one weeks ago about the spring frost. They didn't make the same showing in the slugfest but they are still much improved. Their team chemistry looks way ahead of last year. The new coaching techniques looks like it will pay dividends throughout the season. Are we all clear now that i underranked SP?
My apologies Shut Out for bringing this up again. You are absolutely correct and I believe you apologized more than once if I remember correctly. It was just a good line and I was taking a little writer's privilege.
The HP-Lawson team is made up of HP-Red & HP-Black teams from last year with a HC from the HP-Black team. Their USSSA classification was generated from that HP-Red team. The 1B played for Red last season. I thought it was more Red than Black based on memory, so you're right it is a new team. But I'm still not surprised though. Both of those teams were good last year. Note: the HP-Red HC from last year now has the GA Academy Red team.
Regarding the rankings, I might agree that sitting out 3 weeks gets you booted from the so-called #1 spot and I appreciate Papa for not sticking out his chest, but someone should actually have to do something to knock you out. With all due respect to Sandtown (who is a great team so please don't take this as a knock on them), they were rated #2 & #3 for weeks without playing a game so this is inconsistent with the reasoning of why they were moved to the top spot. Then they go 3-2 in their first tournament of the year. And that earns you the #1 spot? Sounds like too many beers.
Stinger Rankings:
1. Bandits
2-6. (in alphabetical order) 643 Cougars, 643 Jags, ECB Astros, Sandtown, Team GA
7-20. a whole bunch of teams who can all beat each other on any given day depending on who's pitching |
Edited by - stinger on 03/26/2010 09:20:14 |
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gamer13
16 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 07:46:11
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quote:
Originally posted by DuluthHardball
Stinger-
I remember watching 2 HomePlate teams last season and this Lawson team does not look like any one of them. I especially did not recognize the hard throwing pitcher who also plays first base. Which HP team last year did they play under? Definitely a team to watch this season. I agree with your assessment with the other teams. There are a lot more baseball left and it will be interesting to see who has the endurance.
CoachMark-
Thanks for the clarification. The former 6-4-3 coach really stood out and that is why I thought he was the head coach. You guys are doing a fantastic job with those kids and I will not be surprised if you guys come on top in one of these tournaments.
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gamer13
16 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 07:53:46
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Home Plate Lawson consists of some Home Plate Black team members and Home Plate Red team members and a few other boys from other teams. The first baseman which is also a pitcher played on Home Plate Black last year. They are definitely a team to watch. Out of 14 games thus far this year they have 13 homeruns. They have strong pitchers, strong hitters, great defense and most importantly great coaching. quote:
Originally posted by DuluthHardball
Stinger-
I remember watching 2 HomePlate teams last season and this Lawson team does not look like any one of them. I especially did not recognize the hard throwing pitcher who also plays first base. Which HP team last year did they play under? Definitely a team to watch this season. I agree with your assessment with the other teams. There are a lot more baseball left and it will be interesting to see who has the endurance.
CoachMark-
Thanks for the clarification. The former 6-4-3 coach really stood out and that is why I thought he was the head coach. You guys are doing a fantastic job with those kids and I will not be surprised if you guys come on top in one of these tournaments.
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11urankings
6 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 10:42:23
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| Sandtown beat Team GA and went further than any other GA team this past weekend in Super Nit. How many georgia teams have beaten Team GA? At the beginning of the year we had to go by what teams did last season. Now if Sandtown doesn't play this weekend they will drop. If they play the next weekend and beat a Team GA or one of the 6-4-3 teams they will move back up. |
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baseballpapa
1520 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 11:31:59
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I don't have any problem with the 11U rankings as they mean absolutely nothing other than maybe some small bragging rights. I do believe that it has been proven that you shouldn't attempt to rank and drink beer at the same time. Rankings are very subjective and feelings and emotions can sometimes enter the equation. Sandtown is a good #1, Bandits was a good #1, Team Georgia would make a good #1, 643 would make a good #1 and HP Lawson is certainly making enough noise to be considered a good #1. And I could keep dropping names but my fingers are hurting from too much typing.
We talk about these things and don't even realize what we are saying. What we have proven with this debate is that Georgia is one of the strongest states in the nation for youth baseball and before you Florida, Texas, and California guys get all defensive I did not say the strongest, I said one of the strongest. |
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Sox
55 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 16:12:00
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We will not play this weekend because we have Opening Day at our park, We have always and will continue to put home first.
Tony Douglas
11U Sandtown Red Sox
quote:
Originally posted by 11urankings
Sandtown beat Team GA and went further than any other GA team this past weekend in Super Nit. How many georgia teams have beaten Team GA? At the beginning of the year we had to go by what teams did last season. Now if Sandtown doesn't play this weekend they will drop. If they play the next weekend and beat a Team GA or one of the 6-4-3 teams they will move back up.
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Sox
55 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 16:16:02
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I'm with Papa on this one, While we are here debating over the Georgia Ranking, We need to be worrying about how we are going to Stop Florida from dominating our age group, They are playing together against the state of Georgia. Until we top them this arguement is over, Florida is #1.
Tony Douglas
11U Sandtown Red Sox
quote:
Originally posted by baseballpapa
I don't have any problem with the 11U rankings as they mean absolutely nothing other than maybe some small bragging rights. I do believe that it has been proven that you shouldn't attempt to rank and drink beer at the same time. Rankings are very subjective and feelings and emotions can sometimes enter the equation. Sandtown is a good #1, Bandits was a good #1, Team Georgia would make a good #1, 643 would make a good #1 and HP Lawson is certainly making enough noise to be considered a good #1. And I could keep dropping names but my fingers are hurting from too much typing.
We talk about these things and don't even realize what we are saying. What we have proven with this debate is that Georgia is one of the strongest states in the nation for youth baseball and before you Florida, Texas, and California guys get all defensive I did not say the strongest, I said one of the strongest.
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oldschooldad
203 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 17:16:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Sox
I'm with Papa on this one, While we are here debating over the Georgia Ranking, We need to be worrying about how we are going to Stop Florida from dominating our age group, They are playing together against the state of Georgia. Until we top them this arguement is over, Florida is #1.
Tony Douglas
11U Sandtown Red Sox
quote:
Originally posted by baseballpapa
I don't have any problem with the 11U rankings as they mean absolutely nothing other than maybe some small bragging rights. I do believe that it has been proven that you shouldn't attempt to rank and drink beer at the same time. Rankings are very subjective and feelings and emotions can sometimes enter the equation. Sandtown is a good #1, Bandits was a good #1, Team Georgia would make a good #1, 643 would make a good #1 and HP Lawson is certainly making enough noise to be considered a good #1. And I could keep dropping names but my fingers are hurting from too much typing.
We talk about these things and don't even realize what we are saying. What we have proven with this debate is that Georgia is one of the strongest states in the nation for youth baseball and before you Florida, Texas, and California guys get all defensive I did not say the strongest, I said one of the strongest.
Why all the worrying about beating Florida teams? Take care of being the best in your area first ( league, park, area, or state) and the rest will work itself out. I simple look at the rosters of any top "team" in FL that comes to GA to play will verify that they are stacking the deck againist GA teams. Most roster have 15+ players on them. IMO that not one team. If it was really that important, we could take the best players off of the tops teams (BANdits, 643, Sandtown, etc. ) at each position and head to FLorida and really clean up. But would that really be in the spirit in which we all play? This is only 11 u babeball. No one is playing for $$ yet.
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bmoser
1633 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 18:21:39
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Sox,
I agree with your post about Florida being #1 right now, but their lead will diminish a bit as the Georgia weather improves and our boys get in some more reps.
Florida has a much larger youth population to draw from and a better climate. We cant control that, so we'll have to work smarter and harder to close the gap.
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6bomber
68 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 21:22:24
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that's kinda funny because i know firsthand that the bombers and the longhorns didn't LOAD UP for any tounament.
sure they made off season changes, but they bring what they got. (except for you guys jumping 10bb and others over
one kid) most of the teams(in our age group) that have multiple kids, tend to be south fla teams. |
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Scoremore
18 Posts |
Posted - 03/26/2010 : 23:44:15
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| I agree with 6Bomber. Lynn Haven has over 12000 people and we just had two teams in the finals in Georgia. The majority of the Longhorns have been playing together now for 4 years. 2 of the original Longhorns play for the Bombers. Each year we have 1 or 2 drop and we have try-outs to fill their spots. The Longhorns, by no means, add players during the season to "load" their team. We are a united team, from beginning to end. |
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G-Man
326 Posts |
Posted - 03/27/2010 : 00:19:56
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quote:
Originally posted by 6bomber
that's kinda funny because i know firsthand that the bombers and the longhorns didn't LOAD UP for any tounament.
sure they made off season changes, but they bring what they got. (except for you guys jumping 10bb and others over
one kid) most of the teams(in our age group) that have multiple kids, tend to be south fla teams.
Thats very true bomber6 there is a BIG difference between recruiting a team and developing one. It takes solid coaching to develop a good team but nothing more than a recruiter to put together talent. I know the Bombers and Longhorns have both been together for several years. So those teams were developed by good coaching and time. |
Edited by - G-Man on 03/27/2010 07:41:48 |
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Arnie66
22 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2010 : 10:41:18
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| Now that I have figured out who the GA is, GA academy, based on what we saw as casual observers @ the GSWS qualifier, that team looks to be one of the dominate forces at this point the way they ran thru that event. Where did they come from? Coaches, players? |
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bmoser
1633 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2010 : 15:35:21
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Ever seen ET or Close Encounters?
quote:
Originally posted by Arnie66
Now that I have figured out who the GA is, GA academy, based on what we saw as casual observers @ the GSWS qualifier, that team looks to be one of the dominate forces at this point the way they ran thru that event. Where did they come from? Coaches, players?
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