Last Night's Loss is 99% on FH...

[Forza Azzurri]

Fatigue from all the fighting that goes on here does wonders for the heart. Common ground is an amazing thing, ain't it?

Ain't that the truth.

I actually took two months off from posting this year because I was so sick and tired of all the JB-bashing.

I only logged on once in early Feb - to congratulate Phillymoose on his daughter's signing with SU.

With him being a Philly guy and me being a NY guy, we went after each other pretty good on the Other Sports board.

Then, one day, we discovered that our daughters both played really high level soccer...

His daughter had just made an ECNL team in SoCal and they played SoCal heavyweights like Legends and SoCal Blues.

My daughter's team's biggest rival was World Class - an NYS-based ECNL team.

There is a huge tournament every summer in Chicago that draws all the top U12 teams from around the country. World Class and Legends played in either the group stage or the semis - don't remember which.

Legends won 2-1 and I believe they ended up winning the whole thing with the World Class game being their closest game.

That common bond took us from Philly-NY hatred to kindred spirits over girls high-level youth soccer. LOLOLOL.

As you say, common ground is an amazing thing...

Worst part about deciding that today was the day to start posting again was that the first four responders to my post were Milldouche, Longislandcuse, TrueBlue25 and Phil77 - four posters that I have had on ignore for years - so I did not even know they had responded until I logged out and read the thread as a guest.

I think I need to take another hiatus - for a much longer period of time...

Maybe end up as Dick in MI...post about once every three years or so...

Log in once a week to read SWC's JB show; once a week for the DB show and that is about it...

Tomcat doesn't post his recaps anymore...haven't read anything from the General in ages...

Thank God for SWC's coaches' shows recaps or this board would be devoid of readable content...

 

[OrangePA]

yes, I agree. brissett was part of that too. those two guys can't resist going into I GOT THIS mode

i sound like the old mrs lincoln joke as bad as boeheim shot the ball, he was good at moving the ball around until everything bogged down. I loved boeheim's pass on the play you mentioned

Agreed.

I had no problem with Buddy’s play.

He is the one guy on the team who understands the value of the bounce pass.

And nearly every shot he took was in and out.

He’s really solid.

 

[RF2044]

Agreed.

I had no problem with Buddy’s play.

He is the one guy on the team who understands the value of the bounce pass.

And nearly every shot he took was in and out.

He’s really solid.

You can just tell he knows how to play. I bet he's going to show lots more versatility as he progresses through his career.

Last night was just a bad night -- he hasn't played that ineffectively since Nov / Dec. That will sour the opinion of some on his capabilities this offseason.

 

[manleyzoo]

BTW, my uncle has a kid who played baseball for Bucknell. Low-level D1 - Patriot league.

They are from Wisconsin.

They came out to Dreams park in Cooperstown to play in one of the U-12 tournaments.

When I asked him how his team was going to do, he replied, "We should do ok as long we don't have to play anyone from California, Texas or Florida.

That tournament was my first exposure to really high level youth baseball and that was in about 2007.

It taught me that there is high level youth baseball and then there is the level on the west coast, Texas and Florida - which is in a whole different universe.

I learned about kids flying in to pitch in playoff games...It was a real eye-opener...

My son was four at the time and had just played T-ball. LOL...

Thanks for sharing. Much appreciated.

A kid from my son's travel team who couldn't even get on the field went on to become the starting SS at Bucknell for four years. My son gave them a look but not much more than that. Still, even that lower level D1 is good ball.

We played at Cooperstown Dreams Park in 2004. Made two tours out there, one in July for fun and another in late August to compete for the national championship. The talent level there is ridiculous for that age, the 64 best teams in the country. As your Wisconsin friend said, the California, Texas and Florida teams dominate. His team made it to the national semi-finals but got beat there by a team from South Carolina that went on to win it all. There was some bad blood between the coaches. Our pitcher drilled their lead off to begin the game, not the greatest lesson to teach kids. A*s hat coaches. Anyway, my son struck out swinging on a 3-2 count in the bottom of the 7th with the bags full down a run to end the game. Oh well, that's baseball I told him. The day before he'd lit it up. And you're right, there's youth baseball and then there's the kids that play year round. It's a whole other level. And, yes ringers were regularly flown in to pitch a game or two.

In the end of October, there's a tournament in Vegas with all the best teams on the West coast including Arizona and Nevada. So one night game maybe again in 2004 this kid comes to the plate a beefy lefty and hits the ball 8 miles over the right center wall. And he does it again and then again. I'd never seen a kid swing that hard. Turns out it was Bryce Harper.

 

[manleyzoo]

Congrats to him.

End of the day, great success story, even if it didn't end up in the show...

All those trips, all those games...all that time...all that money...

But I bet you'd give both legs to be able to do see him play just one more time, wouldn't you?

Well maybe my left nut, not sure about the legs. Honestly, by the end I was so exhausted from living and dying with every pitch for 15 years I was ready to be done. Fortunately I've got DVDs from travel ball, high school and college. I always thought it interesting that he had offers to play at high D1 but turned them down for school. It was a good choice. Playing 56 games a year with lots of travel pretty much takes the players out of school for the whole semester. It's a tough deal to play D1 and get a degree in four years. I'm sure it's the same if not more so with soccer.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Not in high school it isn't. Not when kids are still growing. Not when the difference in ability differs so much from kid to kid.

Sure it is. If you wait until college, it's too late. If a kid wants to be great, they want to be pushed. My best Christmas gift this year was my son's college essay. In a nut shell, it said how thankful he was that I was there to push him, but he always knew that if D-1 soccer, and beyond, were no longer his dream, he was free to say no more, and we would move on to the next thing.
You just have to have a relationship where they trust you to push, and you trust them when they say they need a break.
SU doesn't have FB and BB with out players who were pushed in HS. Molycoddling kids is part of what is wrong in this country.
The FM cross country team is great, because the coach demands they out work everyone else. If other kids are running 20 miles a week in the summer, FM is doing 50.
If you push most kids, they will excel.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

A kid from my son's travel team who couldn't even get on the field went on to become the starting SS at Bucknell for four years. My son gave them a look but not much more than that. Still, even that lower level D1 is good ball.

We played at Cooperstown Dreams Park in 2004. Made two tours out there, one in July for fun and another in late August to compete for the national championship. The talent level there is ridiculous for that age, the 64 best teams in the country. As your Wisconsin friend said, the California, Texas and Florida teams dominate. His team made it to the national semi-finals but got beat there by a team from South Carolina that went on to win it all. There was some bad blood between the coaches. Our pitcher drilled their lead off to begin the game, not the greatest lesson to teach kids. A*s hat coaches. Anyway, my son struck out swinging on a 3-2 count in the bottom of the 7th with the bags full down a run to end the game. Oh well, that's baseball I told him. The day before he'd lit it up. And you're right, there's youth baseball and then there's the kids that play year round. It's a whole other level. And, yes ringers were regularly flown in to pitch a game or two.

In the end of October, there's a tournament in Vegas with all the best teams on the West coast including Arizona and Nevada. So one night game maybe again in 2004 this kid comes to the plate a beefy lefty and hits the ball 8 miles over the right center wall. And he does it again and then again. I'd never seen a kid swing that hard. Turns out it was Bryce Harper.

Great story about seeing Bryce before anyone knew who he was.

One of the kids on my son’s high school team was pitching at Dreams Park back in 2016.

Pitching to some monster of a 12 year old. The kid took a line drive off his orbital bone.

Had to be medivacked out of the park to the nearest hospital.

Father hired a private plane to fly the kid home to NYC.

Says the move probably saved his son’s sight as nearest hospital was not equipped to handle it.

This year at Diamond Nation:

Kid takes a line drive off his head. Face down on the mound. Motionless. Thank God, the kid’s mother was a nurse.

She Took charge. Had the 22 year old safety director, who no idea what to do, call 911.

Hospital was 1 mile away. It took 20+ minutes for ambulance to get there.

This year at Diamond nation: early season tourney in March. Temps in 40s with steady, driving rain. Our coach has his top pitcher pitch entire game in first round of playoffs. Ruined his arm for the entire spring and summer seasons. Did not pitch again all year. Arm still bothers him a year later...

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Well maybe my left nut, not sure about the legs. Honestly, by the end I was so exhausted from living and dying with every pitch for 15 years I was ready to be done. Fortunately I've got DVDs from travel ball, high school and college. I always thought it interesting that he had offers to play at high D1 but turned them down for school. It was a good choice. Playing 56 games a year with lots of travel pretty much takes the players out of school for the whole semester. It's a tough deal to play D1 and get a degree in four years. I'm sure it's the same if not more so with soccer.

The daughter of a colleague of mine played soccer for Johns Hopkins. D1 program in D3 clothing.

Made sweet sixteen all four years.

Went to her first party second semester senior year.

When she graduated, she knew the girls on the soccer team and a few of the other athletes. That was it.

College athletics is a HUGE commitment and is now a 24/7/365 commitment. Those coaches own you, especially if you are getting $.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Sure it is. If you wait until college, it's too late. If a kid wants to be great, they want to be pushed. My best Christmas gift this year was my son's college essay. In a nut shell, it said how thankful he was that I was there to push him, but he always knew that if D-1 soccer, and beyond, were no longer his dream, he was free to say no more, and we would move on to the next thing.
You just have to have a relationship where they trust you to push, and you trust them when they say they need a break.
SU doesn't have FB and BB with out players who were pushed in HS. Molycoddling kids is part of what is wrong in this country.
The FM cross country team is great, because the coach demands they out work everyone else. If other kids are running 20 miles a week in the summer, FM is doing 50.
If you push most kids, they will excel.

The key is the kid wanting to be pushed.

No way I’m doing interval training with my daughter if she hadn’t asked me to.

Otherwise, you end up with Todd Marinovich.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

A kid from my son's travel team who couldn't even get on the field went on to become the starting SS at Bucknell for four years. My son gave them a look but not much more than that. Still, even that lower level D1 is good ball.

We played at Cooperstown Dreams Park in 2004. Made two tours out there, one in July for fun and another in late August to compete for the national championship. The talent level there is ridiculous for that age, the 64 best teams in the country. As your Wisconsin friend said, the California, Texas and Florida teams dominate. His team made it to the national semi-finals but got beat there by a team from South Carolina that went on to win it all. There was some bad blood between the coaches. Our pitcher drilled their lead off to begin the game, not the greatest lesson to teach kids. A*s hat coaches. Anyway, my son struck out swinging on a 3-2 count in the bottom of the 7th with the bags full down a run to end the game. Oh well, that's baseball I told him. The day before he'd lit it up. And you're right, there's youth baseball and then there's the kids that play year round. It's a whole other level. And, yes ringers were regularly flown in to pitch a game or two.

In the end of October, there's a tournament in Vegas with all the best teams on the West coast including Arizona and Nevada. So one night game maybe again in 2004 this kid comes to the plate a beefy lefty and hits the ball 8 miles over the right center wall. And he does it again and then again. I'd never seen a kid swing that hard. Turns out it was Bryce Harper.

Best part about his playing at Bucknell was getting to go up to West Point his senior year to watch a doubleheader.

View is not quite what it is at Michie but it is right in the middle of campus...

West Point is absolutely gorgeous.

 

[manleyzoo]

Sure it is. If you wait until college, it's too late. If a kid wants to be great, they want to be pushed. My best Christmas gift this year was my son's college essay. In a nut shell, it said how thankful he was that I was there to push him, but he always knew that if D-1 soccer, and beyond, were no longer his dream, he was free to say no more, and we would move on to the next thing.
You just have to have a relationship where they trust you to push, and you trust them when they say they need a break.
SU doesn't have FB and BB with out players who were pushed in HS. Molycoddling kids is part of what is wrong in this country.
The FM cross country team is great, because the coach demands they out work everyone else. If other kids are running 20 miles a week in the summer, FM is doing 50.
If you push most kids, they will excel.

Sounds like you and your son have a special relationship. That's always good to see.

The only experience I have with youth sports is baseball in California. At the travel ball and high school levels, it doesn't matter if you hit .900 with 80 bombs and 200 rbi. In youth ball you can do that just by being big and strong. It doesn't matter how much you're pushed if you don't have enough fast twitch muscle fiber, if your hand eye isn't good, if your bat speed isn't at least average, you're not getting on the field in college. Those are things you can't teach. You can take BP in the cage off the tee to improve your mechanics, you can take a million ground balls to fix your routes, you can do the same in the outfield but at the end of the day if you don't do something better than the guy you're competing against, you ain't playing.

Guys who go in the gym on their own to shoot 500 jumpers have learned how to push themselves. Guys who hit off the tee for an hour after practice push themselves. At the upper levels, it's much more about talent than anything. In my experience it's the talented kids who learn how to push themselves. At the high school and travel ball levels, in my experience good coaches teach kids how to push themselves. It's at the college level where coaches bring talent out and develop kids. At the high school level it isn't at all about being great it's about teaching kids to develop great habits. That's not molly-coddling vs demanding. It's understanding that player development takes time.

 

[manleyzoo]

Great story about seeing Bryce before anyone knew who he was.

One of the kids on my son’s high school team was pitching at Dreams Park back in 2016.

Pitching to some monster of a 12 year old. The kid took a line drive off his orbital bone.

Had to be medivacked out of the park to the nearest hospital.

Father hired a private plane to fly the kid home to NYC.

Says the move probably saved his son’s sight as nearest hospital was not equipped to handle it.

This year at Diamond Nation:

Kid takes a line drive off his head. Face down on the mound. Motionless. Thank God, the kid’s mother was a nurse.

She Took charge. Had the 22 year old safety director, who no idea what to do, call 911.

Hospital was 1 mile away. It took 20+ minutes for ambulance to get there.

This year at Diamond nation: early season tourney in March. Temps in 40s with steady, driving rain. Our coach has his top pitcher pitch entire game in first round of playoffs. Ruined his arm for the entire spring and summer seasons. Did not pitch again all year. Arm still bothers him a year later...

Ouch. Seen some of that myself. My kid was knocked out cold when he caught the third baseman's knee right in the head on a steal. Big concussion. It was scary. Truth is with youth baseball pitchers even the good ones don't really know where the ball is going and the pitchers are too close to the plate to duck against the big kids.

 

[manleyzoo]

Best part about his playing at Bucknell was getting to go up to West Point his senior year to watch a doubleheader.

View is not quite what it is at Michie but it is right in the middle of campus...

West Point is absolutely gorgeous.

Been in Michie to see a football game. Nothing quite like it.

 

[Bayside44]

yes, I agree. brissett was part of that too. those two guys can't resist going into I GOT THIS mode

i sound like the old mrs lincoln joke as bad as boeheim shot the ball, he was good at moving the ball around until everything bogged down. I loved boeheim's pass on the play you mentioned

Buddy warranted good defense on him, in theory to free up Tyus.

Seems that teams take those guys out and try to let OB beat them. Which is actually a pretty sound strategy.