Collectively, A Thread To Celebrate Our Kids Athletic Accomplishments (3 Viewers)

[Chadstroma]

Last night we had the Conference meet. So, all 5 (including our team) in our division for the Conference championship.

I was not expecting my older son to be at his best swimming as this week he has been in a football camp from 9-12 everday and it is a pretty demanding camp that he expends a lot of energy on. I knew he would be worn down and I was right but he warriored through it.

It was rough getting the Conference team roster together as there were more than a couple key swimmers that were not available for various things like vacation. Including my sons relay team was missing a very fast swimmer and replaced with a good kid that tries hard but his times are much slower. This is all on top of having a number of strong swimmers skip the season for what it sounds like other sports like baseball.

My little guy made the Conference team but pretty much be default as they just don't have a lot of 8U boys this season. When I told him he was super excited but then stopped and looking confused says to me "but I am not very good?"

My older son swam the 100 IM and 50 Fly as well as the 200 Medley Relay and 200 Free. He placed 4th in IM and 2nd in Fly with 2nd places in both relays.
My younger son was set to swim the 25 Free and 25 Back and then the relays but the relays got scratched with one of the swimmers having some sort of conflict come up earlier this week. He placed last in each event 4th and 5th but he did drop nearly 2 seconds off of his back and would have won his heat if he didnt stop to look where he was towards the end.

And then the team won the Conference Divisional Championship. When they announced all of the swimmers and most of the coaches jumped in the pool to celebrate. It was fun.

My older son has two chance to drop the last .74 to make regionals two last meets. He will likely be on the regional team for relay even if doesn't make it but I think with some rest, he will be able to make that.

So.... a pretty good year for our family and especially our older son in sports.

My older son...
Football, undefeated championship
Basketball, championship
Soccer, second place
Swim, championship

My daughter...
Basketball, 2nd place
Volleyball, championship

and then my little guy with his first big sport win with this swim championship.

For this being the hardest year our family has had to go through it is nice to have these wins with sports.

 

[Angry Beavers]

I have posted earlier in here, I think. Here is an update. My 22 year old son has been in various combat sports basically his whole life, from little kid Karate at age 3 on. He is now a national level boxer on the cusp of being ranked in the top 10 for his weight class. The ranking is based on 2 years of results. He only started boxing again 15 months ago after training a bunch of disciplines just to stay in shape and learn (basically 2 years away from just boxing) He goes to a national tournament in Colorado later this summer with a shot to get to the Olympic Trials. His 1st National Tournament he won 2 bouts before bowing out in a very close contest. Just proud of that kid and how insanely dedicated he is. #Flex

 

[Chadstroma]

My son made regionals tonight for his 50 Free. He needed to cut .74 and cut .79
He also cut 4.23 from his 100 Free and 1.25 from his 100 IM

My youngest is done for the season but cut 7.06 from his 25 Free and 2.57 from his 25 Back

 

[Chadstroma]

Not my kid but was very good friends with his Mom and Uncle growing up.... so.... congrats to Jacob Wilson getting picked 6th overall to the A's in the baseball draft tonight!

 

[Drunken knight]

Daughter declared that lacrosse is now strictly social for her.

Honestly, I want her to have fun. Shame to see talent/opportunity left on the table. She makes incredible plays out there.

Their coach was fired (imo not warranted) but I can see why. I thought he did a nice job. He was a bit combative with refs. The girls and parents are asking me. Would love to but work does not permit.

 

[Chadstroma]

Daughter declared that lacrosse is now strictly social for her.

Honestly, I want her to have fun. Shame to see talent/opportunity left on the table. She makes incredible plays out there.

Their coach was fired (imo not warranted) but I can see why. I thought he did a nice job. He was a bit combative with refs. The girls and parents are asking me. Would love to but work does not permit.

Why the choice?

 

[Drunken knight]

Daughter declared that lacrosse is now strictly social for her.

Honestly, I want her to have fun. Shame to see talent/opportunity left on the table. She makes incredible plays out there.

Their coach was fired (imo not warranted) but I can see why. I thought he did a nice job. He was a bit combative with refs. The girls and parents are asking me. Would love to but work does not permit.

Why the choice?

to strictly do it for social reasons?

She is getting very career focused and developing a nice friend group.
She has really isolated herself over the past 3 years and i have no issue with her finishing things off with a good HS experience.
She set up a nice internship at a local medical facility for pediatrics.
I think she could have been scholarship worthy if she dedicated herself to it... but the passion isn't there and I want her to be happy.

 

[belljr]

I still don't understand the why the choice question

 

[Chadstroma]

I still don't understand the why the choice question

You mean being curious as to what her reasons were? I am not sure what you are saying.

 

[belljr]

I still don't understand the why the choice question

You mean being curious as to what her reasons were? I am not sure what you are saying.

No what you meant by why the choice?

As in are you asking why did he let her choose?

 

[Chadstroma]

I still don't understand the why the choice question

You mean being curious as to what her reasons were? I am not sure what you are saying.

No what you meant by why the choice?

As in are you asking why did he let her choose?

Oh, I get it..... no. Horrible use of English on my part. I was just curious on why she made the choice.

 

[SWC]

my kid beat a possum in an arm wrastlin match in the alley behind our garage last night it was a really big possum fyi take that to the bank brochachos

 

[belljr]

I still don't understand the why the choice question

You mean being curious as to what her reasons were? I am not sure what you are saying.

No what you meant by why the choice?

As in are you asking why did he let her choose?

Oh, I get it..... no. Horrible use of English on my part. I was just curious on why she made the choice.

Ah....I see. Misunderstood.

If I had to guess she's somewhere between 14 to 16 and just doesn't want to take it as serious anymore

 

[Gally]

my kid beat a possum in an arm wrastlin match in the alley behind our garage last night it was a really big possum fyi take that to the bank brochachos

You should create a highlight reel and do travel opossum arm wrastlin circuit. They give out cubic zirconia championship belts and rings but beware of Bobby's dad as he will tell you why his kid is better and your kid shouldn't be playing travel arm wrastlin and should go back to the rec league. Take that to the bank brohan

 

[Chadstroma]

Swim season is done after my son doing his 50 Free today. That wraps up a really great year of sports for my clan in a year that was easily the hardest of our family has had to go through to this point. I think the sports really helped my kids navigate the emotional/mental stress of having their mother go through a battle with cancer. My goal for this year has been all about two things- making sure my wife was supported and had what she needed and then doing everything I could to keep things normal with the kids. Sports is a big part of normal for us and the accomplishments both individual and team that we had this year was helpful for them.

Here is the year in review for them.

Daughter (oldest child) 6th grade
- School Basketball 2nd place finish on the B team. She went from being the worst player in the school the previous year to being the best player on her team, helping lead them to the Championship game where they lost a close game.
- School Volleyball 1st place finish on B team. She really should have been on A team but she told me that she had a horrible try out so it is what it is. She was clearly the best player on the team and the team made huge strides of improvement through the year as several girls has never played vball until that season. They got stomped a couple of times in some tournaments but came on strong and took their league championship.
- Club Volleyball. She made their mid level club team and continued to develop through the season. She was one of the better players on the team and they came together towards the end having several sweep 1st place finishes in some smaller tournaments and went to the championship game in a large end of year tournament which they lost.

Son (oldest son, middle child) 4th grade
- School Football. Undefeated season. He played almost all snaps on offense at LG and about half the seasons snaps on defense, mostly at DT but also DE and even OLB in a 4-4 defense. At LG he had a number of key blocks and pancakes. The previous year, he played LT and I didn't understand the change but they changed their offense and did a ton of pulling G's (usually my son doing the pulling) on sweeps etc. On defense, he had a much bigger impact on the games even though he played less snaps. Tons of tackles for losses.... most of his tackles were for losses. Some forced fumbles, forced fumble recoveries.... and really impressively since there is not a lot of throwing at this age... almost an INT and a couple of QB hits that were near miss sacks. When him and one other kid who is very tall but also hefty for his age were in at DT, teams could not run against them. The inner line was clogged or broken by them and then their team mates had too much speed for teams to run to the outside. The coaches told me that my son could "play any position on the field." which was a huge compliment to him since no one else could possibly do that as they would lack size to be up on the line or speed to be in the secondary.
- School Basketball. League Champions. He was one of the top 4 players that really were the engine for the winning. 4th highest points for the season and most rebounds. He also plays tough defense. In the championship game, there were two players on the other team that were their best players and they played G doing a pick and roll pretty much every time. One was a taller kid and the other the better ball handler. I placed my son on the taller kid and brought up one of my other kids, who is less strong but quicker than my son, on their point guard. Both my son and his team mate usually played 3-5 positions during the year but they were both better defenders than my 1 and 2. It worked. They both got in foul trouble and I had to roll the dice to the end but the team came back from a early deficit, tied it for an OT and then won the game and championship.
- School Soccer. 2nd place finish. This was a bit of a heart break as they dominated all season long. My son, during the first game, volunteered to be goalie when they wanted to give the goalie some time on the field. He from then on became their starting goalie. In the championship game, He gave up 3 goals- two were free kicks and the other he got his hands on but went high and in the goal. They lost 3-2. I think we were still the better team overall but they played the lineups like they did all season long where they had basically two teams and did complete line changes. They split our best players between the two. During the championship game, they kept that until towards the end where they started to put in all our best to try to come back at the end. I think they waited too long to do that but it is hard at this age where you need to balance giving everyone time and developing players with the winning part too.
- Club Swim Fall/Winter season. He made Conference team and then Regionals on the relay teams. Showed good time improvements all season.
- Club Swim Spring/Summer season. He made Conference team and they took 1st place in Conference finals. He made Regionals with his 50 Free.

Son (youngest son, youngest child) 1st grade
- First basketball development league. He really enjoyed it. Showed his skillset is a little more advanced than most kids his age.
- Club Swim Spring/Summer season. He joined the team and enjoyed it. He made Conference (more by default for not a lot of boys his age- his response when I told him he was on the Conference team was "but I am not very good?") and took part in them taking 1st place at Conference. He made huge improvements from the start of the season to the end where he wouldn't swim the whole length of the pool to swimming a somewhat decent looking Free and Back and starting to work on Fly and Breast.

Thanks for the opportunity to celebrate them as they make their way through their sports journeys. Looking back on the year, I think focusing on their sports helped me make it through better too even though at times I was exhausted and running on fumes. Next year we do it all over again but my youngest son will start flag football this year as well.

 

[belljr]

So last night was senior night for my daughter's travel softball team. They pull the kids off the field in the middle of inning etc etc. We actually have one tournament next week but that's a play to win so you can't do all the festivities mid game. It hit my daughter hard at the after party because we joined this team in January due to circumstances beyond our control (the coach quit and team folded after Thanksgiving). Anyway many of the kids have been on the same team for 3-5 years, so it got to her that 2 years ago our team that was together for 4 years split up. She missed that core "friends" finishing it off. She understands the choices we made allowed her to play in college but was just sad. I could not have asked for a better experience this summer but her being a shy kid she never really got a full bond. Hopefully she goes out of her way a little more in college and bonds with the teammates.

Sad and exciting, I feel bad for her and happy all at the same time

 

[Chadstroma]

So last night was senior night for my daughter's travel softball team. They pull the kids off the field in the middle of inning etc etc. We actually have one tournament next week but that's a play to win so you can't do all the festivities mid game. It hit my daughter hard at the after party because we joined this team in January due to circumstances beyond our control (the coach quit and team folded after Thanksgiving). Anyway many of the kids have been on the same team for 3-5 years, so it got to her that 2 years ago our team that was together for 4 years split up. She missed that core "friends" finishing it off. She understands the choices we made allowed her to play in college but was just sad. I could not have asked for a better experience this summer but her being a shy kid she never really got a full bond. Hopefully she goes out of her way a little more in college and bonds with the teammates.

Sad and exciting, I feel bad for her and happy all at the same time

That is rough. Even more so if the new team has mostly been together for a while. My daughter, who isn't shy but also not the biggest social butterfly, had a hard time for at least half the season with club volleyball as most of the other girls knew each other from the public schools in the area and she was the only one from her school. She kind of felt like an outsider. It got better as they went though. But on the other side of that is her school volleyball team where it's a small private school so they all know each other and they are all friends or good friends or best friend type relationships going in. You can see the bonding of the relationships in the teams. The energy, the communication, the effort, the body language, the encouraging teammates, etc all is very different from the club to school team.... even though the school team would get trounced by the club team if they played each other. I think sometimes, at least myself, without seeing something like what you saw with your daughter or the difference in teams with my daughter we can sometimes just default to "go make friends" which they do but the bonds of teams can be very different with time and differing relationships.

Hopefully this experience will be a benefit for her as she goes to college. Perhaps it will help her adjust better to the new college life and team because she has navigated this already to a degree versus being in the comfort zone?

 

[Andrew74]

Official 7th grade Middle School football starts tomorrow with a week of conditioning. Should be fun (for both of us, ha) although I am going to miss coaching. My son has been crazy dedicated to offseason workouts. We’ve been doing ladders and agility workouts. He even took up lifting weights after the HS football coach had a weightlifting “camp” to introduce the kids to proper form, etc. Now he’s gone healthy on his diet. For a prepubescent 12 yo he is insanely ripped. 6-pack and all.

Should be interesting to see how it all translates to the football field.

 

[Chadstroma]

Official 7th grade Middle School football starts tomorrow with a week of conditioning. Should be fun (for both of us, ha) although I am going to miss coaching. My son has been crazy dedicated to offseason workouts. We’ve been doing ladders and agility workouts. He even took up lifting weights after the HS football coach had a weightlifting “camp” to introduce the kids to proper form, etc. Now he’s gone healthy on his diet. For a prepubescent 12 yo he is insanely ripped. 6-pack and all.

Should be interesting to see how it all translates to the football field.

Dude... I love that. I keep encouraging my son towards this but he much rather vegetate watching youtube or play video games. He is only in 5th grade and he is usually very busy with sports so it isn't the end of the world but I would like to see him have an understanding of "I want to be the best so I have to work the hardest." That hasn't clicked for him... or at least enough to actually put the work in. Seems like your son has it clicked and he is in gear. Awesome.

5th grade football practice starts next Wed for us. We got the initial info and the interesting thing to me is that either at this level or as a league, they are starting to actually have weigh ins. Our team followed the rules but other teams clearly did not. I don't think it really mattered to my son for his positions even though he really wants to play WR. Height/size/strength wise he was second tallest/strongest on the team (even thought he is the youngest on the team) with a big drop off after one other kid for height/size/strength with just a couple of other kids that don't have the height but enough size/strength to play on the line. Plus we had a ton of speed at RB (one game we had 4 RB's score with our two top guys well over 100 yards each).... and at that level WR are blockers and on D he would play DT/DE/OLB like he did anyways. BUT as I said, clearly there were teams that ignored the weight limits for skill positions. It will be interesting to see how that ends up changing things up.

The other big change is going from the top class last year with the 3rd/4th graders. Bottom class of 5th/6th. The 6th grade class isn't nearly as numerous and athletically talented as my sons class so the under class should have plenty of playing opportunities. My best guess is my son will be utilized similarly still at G or T on offense.... maybe TE as they will start throwing more and should be good for the weight limit there and then on defense DT/DE/OLB.

My daughters 7th grade basketball and younger sons 2nd grade flag football should also start sometimes next week for practices. I am likely to help coach the flag football.

We got two weeks break of no sports for any of the kids (not including sports camps).... and now here we go again! (daugther will add club volleyball and the boys will add swim a month or two down the road as well).

 

[Gally]

Another accolade for my son for his junior season as he was named a top 50 player for the CIF Central Section.

"SPENCER GALLIMORE-Junior-CABRILLO CONQUISTADORS
Spencer was tough on the Hill and at the plate. Spencer went 11-2 with a 2.08 ERA, 84 innings pitched with 80 K’s. At the plate he hit .357 with 9 doubles and will come into 2024 as one of the best pitchers in the state."

PAGMETER ALL CENTRAL SECTION 2023 ALL STAR BASEBALL TEAM - The Pag Meter

PAGMETER ALL CENTRAL SECTION FANTASTIC FIFTY ALL STAR TEAM Email your teams info to pagmeter@yahoo.com and we will put it up in your teams notes KEEP THE PAG METER UPDATED ON THE LATEST SCOOP ON YOUR TEAM WITH PHOTOS & HIGHLIGHTS Follow the Pag Meter on twitter @pagmeter , Instagram at @pagmeter...

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We are currently on a college trip visiting Colorado Mesa University and University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Both are D2 schools. Hopefully he can get some interest as he would like to go to school in Colorado.

 

[Todem]

Exactly 3 weeks till my son begins his College Baseball Journey in Raleigh NC at William Peace University.

Had his overnight orientation this past weekend. He had a fantastic time. Met his roommate and suite mates as well as stayed in the dorm (sorta like a dry run). Coach Long was there as well and met with 10 of them who were all there. He is rearing to go.

Summer collegiate league ball came to an end yesterday. He had a solid summer at the plate and in the field. Hit the ball hard (.317) and it was a wood bat league as well. Faced some really good incoming Junior guys shoving 89-92 and even faced one sitting 96. Barreled all of them. He also saw some disgusting off speed and sliders.

Now it’s time to shut the arm down.

He will continue his cage work and strength and agility work.

Fall starts 9/3 and is only 2 days a week on the field and runs thru October culminating with 3 weeks of intrasquad competition. They split them into three teams. After they will have one on one meetings with Coach Long and he will find out if as a Freshman he will dress and get some run with the Varsity as well get a ton of reps with the JV. Or just play JV. My hunch is that will be what happens. If he gets 15-20 AB’s with Varsity as a Freshman that would be great. And he can get plenty of reps with the JV as well. Also I can see him being a key late inning defensive replacement as a freshman and pinch runner. I also love the fact he will have two full months off in November and December to decompress and rest his arm. He has never had that long of a time off playing in South Florida. It’s crazy. But he can focus on the weight room and cages (he never stops hitting) in the winter and really get hungry for Spring.

Sophomore year his hope is to earn a starting position at either SS or 2B. He has what it takes…..go get it son.

His new chapter begins!!! He can’t wait!

 

[belljr]

After back to back 9 inning ITBs and approximately 5 hours of softball in 97 degree heat. Little belljr club season has officially ended and her high school career is complete. She ends on a sac bunt to move the runner. She struggled at the plate this tournament sadly :(

On to college!!!! We need to get back in the cage

 

[Chadstroma]

First day of football practice. One of the assistant coaches called me over mid practice and asked me how much my son weighs. I wasn't sure but he said that my son looked really good with the ball and as long as he is under 100 pounds then they want to put him at a skill position. I talked a little bit to the assistant coach afterwards and he wasn't sure as it wasn't his call and they will do more evals for the rest of the week but it sounds like they will try him out at QB, RB and TE. He is at 90 pounds so he is super excited that he gets a shot at playing a position that touches the ball on offense. It should make for a fun season.

 

[Gally]

My son was invited to join a team for the Arizona Fall Classic Showcase (baseball) at the end of September. It's an invite only showcase. Do any of the baseball guys have any experience with this showcase and how the scout/coach turnout is for this? There is also something they call an All-Academic Game where only players with a 3.7 GPA or higher are able to try out and then they choose two squads based on those tryouts to play in a game that evening.

My son is interested in going and I think it will be a good experience for him to see how these things are run/work so we will likely sign up. The cost is quite high ($550) but I am guessing that is par for the course.

My son doesn't pop off the screen for scouts. His measurables aren't what catches peoples eyes so getting an opportunity to actually play in games in front of a group of scouts is likely his best bet to get noticed. It's part of the reason he really wants to do this and I think it will be good for him. I am actually quite surprised he wants to do it.

Any thoughts, experiences, comments or advice is very much appreciated. Below is the link to the tourney.

www.azfallclassic.com

 

[belljr]

My son was invited to join a team for the Arizona Fall Classic Showcase (baseball) at the end of September. It's an invite only showcase. Do any of the baseball guys have any experience with this showcase and how the scout/coach turnout is for this? There is also something they call an All-Academic Game where only players with a 3.7 GPA or higher are able to try out and then they choose two squads based on those tryouts to play in a game that evening.

My son is interested in going and I think it will be a good experience for him to see how these things are run/work so we will likely sign up. The cost is quite high ($550) but I am guessing that is par for the course.

My son doesn't pop off the screen for scouts. His measurables aren't what catches peoples eyes so getting an opportunity to actually play in games in front of a group of scouts is likely his best bet to get noticed. It's part of the reason he really wants to do this and I think it will be good for him. I am actually quite surprised he wants to do it.

Any thoughts, experiences, comments or advice is very much appreciated. Below is the link to the tourney.

www.azfallclassic.com

which one

AZ Junior Fall Classic
Dates: September 21-24, 2023 –Invitation Only

AZ Junior All-Academic Tryout/Game
Date: September 21, 2023 – Individual Registration Required

AZ Senior Fall Classic
Dates: Sept. 28 – Oct. 1, 2023 –Invitation Only

Senior All-Academic Tryout/Game
Date: September 28, 2023 – Individual Registration Required

 

[belljr]

Looks to me like a typical college showcase invite event. If he's interested tehy should have a list of colleges attending

 

[Gally]

My son was invited to join a team for the Arizona Fall Classic Showcase (baseball) at the end of September. It's an invite only showcase. Do any of the baseball guys have any experience with this showcase and how the scout/coach turnout is for this? There is also something they call an All-Academic Game where only players with a 3.7 GPA or higher are able to try out and then they choose two squads based on those tryouts to play in a game that evening.

My son is interested in going and I think it will be a good experience for him to see how these things are run/work so we will likely sign up. The cost is quite high ($550) but I am guessing that is par for the course.

My son doesn't pop off the screen for scouts. His measurables aren't what catches peoples eyes so getting an opportunity to actually play in games in front of a group of scouts is likely his best bet to get noticed. It's part of the reason he really wants to do this and I think it will be good for him. I am actually quite surprised he wants to do it.

Any thoughts, experiences, comments or advice is very much appreciated. Below is the link to the tourney.

www.azfallclassic.com

which one

AZ Junior Fall Classic
Dates: September 21-24, 2023 –Invitation Only

AZ Junior All-Academic Tryout/Game
Date: September 21, 2023 – Individual Registration Required

AZ Senior Fall Classic
Dates: Sept. 28 – Oct. 1, 2023 –Invitation Only

Senior All-Academic Tryout/Game
Date: September 28, 2023 – Individual Registration Required

The two senior events. He is just starting his senior year.

 

[Gally]

Looks to me like a typical college showcase invite event. If he's interested tehy should have a list of colleges attending

His HS coach recommended him to a coach putting a team together for the event. That coach invited him. We aren't going through the event organizers themselves but I am sure I can contact them to get that list.

 

[belljr]

My son was invited to join a team for the Arizona Fall Classic Showcase (baseball) at the end of September. It's an invite only showcase. Do any of the baseball guys have any experience with this showcase and how the scout/coach turnout is for this? There is also something they call an All-Academic Game where only players with a 3.7 GPA or higher are able to try out and then they choose two squads based on those tryouts to play in a game that evening.

My son is interested in going and I think it will be a good experience for him to see how these things are run/work so we will likely sign up. The cost is quite high ($550) but I am guessing that is par for the course.

My son doesn't pop off the screen for scouts. His measurables aren't what catches peoples eyes so getting an opportunity to actually play in games in front of a group of scouts is likely his best bet to get noticed. It's part of the reason he really wants to do this and I think it will be good for him. I am actually quite surprised he wants to do it.

Any thoughts, experiences, comments or advice is very much appreciated. Below is the link to the tourney.

www.azfallclassic.com

which one

AZ Junior Fall Classic
Dates: September 21-24, 2023 –Invitation Only

AZ Junior All-Academic Tryout/Game
Date: September 21, 2023 – Individual Registration Required

AZ Senior Fall Classic
Dates: Sept. 28 – Oct. 1, 2023 –Invitation Only

Senior All-Academic Tryout/Game
Date: September 28, 2023 – Individual Registration Required

The two senior events. He is just starting his senior year.

I'll reach out to my people, but they're more east coast than might not have any idea about this, but it does look like a lot of the softball showcase events that we've been into

 

[belljr]

@Gally could be what you want....from a mlb scout

"Heard of that one but don't know much about it...asked my buddy out there and he said it used to be good but has dried up last few years - mostly D2-D3 and Juco coaches attend now"


From my personal experience with softball ....showcases are hit or miss some years some places you go we saw tons of coaches and other times we didn't

 

[Gally]

@Gally could be what you want....from a mlb scout

"Heard of that one but don't know much about it...asked my buddy out there and he said it used to be good but has dried up last few years - mostly D2-D3 and Juco coaches attend now"

Great information. Thanks. I think my son is a D2 type player so that is a nice fit for him. I asked the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (D2 school) coach that is interested in my son about the showcase and he said they have attended in the past but aren't going this year because their alumni game is the same weekend. So your intel seems to fit.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Gally]

@Gally could be what you want....from a mlb scout

"Heard of that one but don't know much about it...asked my buddy out there and he said it used to be good but has dried up last few years - mostly D2-D3 and Juco coaches attend now"

Your MLB scout friend looking to scout a HS senior that throws low to mid 80's with movement? I might have a name for him....hahahahaha?

 

[belljr]

@Gally could be what you want....from a mlb scout

"Heard of that one but don't know much about it...asked my buddy out there and he said it used to be good but has dried up last few years - mostly D2-D3 and Juco coaches attend now"

Great information. Thanks. I think my son is a D2 type player so that is a nice fit for him. I asked the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (D2 school) coach that is interested in my son about the showcase and he said they have attended in the past but aren't going this year because their alumni game is the same weekend. So your intel seems to fit.

Thanks for the info.

GL.... We played some where we didn't care about the schools there but other kids did and vice versa. Like you we were looking at low D1 - D3 and local so we were staying small

 

[belljr]

@Gally could be what you want....from a mlb scout

"Heard of that one but don't know much about it...asked my buddy out there and he said it used to be good but has dried up last few years - mostly D2-D3 and Juco coaches attend now"

Your MLB scout friend looking to scout a HS senior that throws low to mid 80's with movement? I might have a name for him....hahahahaha?

If I get a finders fee .......

 

[El Floppo]

Saw my buddy who's kid was a top baseball recruit out of HS (throwing 90-94)...signed with U of Arizona as a sophomore, coaching staff left, he pulled his committment, got hurt Jr year into Sr year, ended up going to USF (San Fran) on scholarship, but somehow ended up at a JuCo before his frosh year was up.

Sounds like academics were too much, and that coaching staff was in some kind of local news scandal... turned out his pitching coach from HS had taken the job at that JuCo on the SF peninsula and told him to come over. Season went ok. Summer league was going gangbusters and within a week, he got hurt again (hammy) and his coach picked up and left to UoP (pacific). He's going to do his last year at the JuCo and see what's next. Apparently pitching back up around 94 with a solid splitter before the hammy.

Sounds like the kid only wants to play ball- had pros interested in HS, but both drafts he was up for, he was hurt and didn't get drafted.

As a former D1 guy- I always wished I had given the pro route a shot and then gone back to college if it didn't work out... so I'm hoping this kid can make a go of it. Doesn't sound like he has much to fall back on though... so I really hope he makes it.

 

[Gally]

Apparently pitching back up around 94 with a solid splitter before the hammy.

Good thing it wasn't his arm. If his injuries haven't been arm related he shouldn't have any issues still getting chances at that velocity. Is he not very intelligent or just lazy when it comes to school? There is a big difference there but if its the former then that will hurt him regardless of the path he takes.

If he only cares about playing ball the Juco route is much better for him. If he has the talent they will find him and he isn't committed to playing college ball for 3 yrs that route so can be drafted after this upcoming year.

 

[El Floppo]

Floppinha's tennis continues...

We've decided that coaching is the best money spent for this, so she's been seeing a guy intermittently who is a local private HS coach. the guy is fantastic- super technical, but approaches everything specific to my daughter adjusts how he's coaching so that he's not trying to force her to hit or play a way that isn't natural for her. I wish I could afford to have her see him 1x week at least. we're ponying up to have her do an invited clinic/class with him so that she'll get group training and private with the same guy and he can watch her more. she was also bumped up to a higher level class at her normal place (NTC- US Open location), but we're still trying to figure out the finances... plus it's also an hour+ by subway from us.

She'd had some tournaments over the last year- all L7s (entry level 12u) where she was losing more than winning... usually against kids she should beat. she'd get undone by her inconsistency- a product of less playing time and coaching (there's nowhere for her to play near us- that coach is an hour+ away by subway, and courts are impossible to come by in NYC). frustrating for her to lose. frustrating for me to see her play down to the level of people she could/should be rolling over.

she had 2 tourneys recently- an L7 and her first L6 (higher level)... going 2-1 at each... losing to good kids, but in matches I thought she could win. she was happy to win more, and I'm very happy for her to start beating those other kids that were closer to her level.

we're on vacation in MD with a public neighborhood court nearby- such a luxury to be able to go out and hit whenever we want to. I also had her play at a local tennis center (Sea Colony) during a match play event for kids.. she smoked 3 kids 4-0 (short sets) she absolutely should be beating but usually struggles with, and lost 1-4 to a 14yo who was a top HS player in the area (and just got back from spending the summer at an academy in FL). while she had no shot even hanging with the 14yo- she still hung in there, and was cool to see her take a game off her. but mostly- it was very cool to see her TCB against those kids who weren't as good as her- kids against whom she normally struggles.

signed up for another L6 after we get back to NY- hope she'll continue with her play and confidence.

 

[El Floppo]

Apparently pitching back up around 94 with a solid splitter before the hammy.

Good thing it wasn't his arm. If his injuries haven't been arm related he shouldn't have any issues still getting chances at that velocity. Is he not very intelligent or just lazy when it comes to school? There is a big difference there but if its the former then that will hurt him regardless of the path he takes.

If he only cares about playing ball the Juco route is much better for him. If he has the talent they will find him and he isn't committed to playing college ball for 3 yrs that route so can be drafted after this upcoming year.

thanks.

yeah- it was shoulder related in HS (rotator cuff, iirc), so he was out for a while and didn't get his velocity back up until deep into Sr year of HS- losing a lot of scholarship opportunities. the USF coach knew him since he was local. they were set up with drs out there, but I would've reached out to my college soccer teammate who's the yankees and NYCFC doctor.

he went for a year to a private HS out there my SIL teaches at... she said he just didn't seem to care, so it was hard to tell if the smarts were there or not. he was homeschooled (unsure/forgot why) in MS. given his folks and older brother (smart kid), I'd guess it's more lazy than dumb... but pushing 20yo, will take a bit to break that habit, especially chasing the pro ball dream. that said- the kid is a workout beast training for baseball... so laziness isn't his nature for everything.

mostly hoping he can stay healthy and play how he's capable leading up to the next draft. I'm sure he can get picked up somewhere- and then up to him, work, health, luck to see if he can make a run with it.

 

[Peak]

My son (HS senior) has committed to play college baseball. After an arm injury last year, he worked hard to get back on the mound and pitch this year. He made his HS varsity, but talked the coach into letting him play JV for the reps since he missed Fall Ball and offseason workouts. He also knew that with 4 pitchers ahead of him, he wouldn't be used often. He led the team in innings pitched, strikeouts, walk rate, and earned runs at the JV level. He then moved into his regional travel team and kept it going by posting a team record in strikeout to walk ratio, walks allowed, and earned runs. He had a couple of colleges with eyes on him, but one D1 in KY followed him extensively and was always in contact. After two visits to the campus (one with the coaches and another with admissions), he's made up his mind to go play in KY. Very proud of him and all of his hard work to get here. While his friends are struggling to find colleges and places to play next year, he gets to skip that stress, focus on school and have fun playing Spring Ball. Couldn't be happier for him.

On another note, my youngest (HS Soph) competed for and received his black belt in karate over the summer. He's been taking classes since he was 8 and never looked back. He's competed in local and regional tournaments, loves the fighting aspect of it, and teaches classes at his dojo ranging from Kindergarten to Adults. He isn't much in to "sportball" but loves the strategy and discipline karate brings.

Fun summer that ended on a high note for my family.

 

[Gally]

He had a couple of colleges with eyes on him, but one D1 in KY followed him extensively and was always in contact.

Just curious how he had D1 interest playing JV baseball his junior season? Is he had a huge baseball school? Did this all come from his travel schedule this past summer? Does he throw 95?

Any suggestions to garner this kind of attention is much appreciated.

 

[Peak]

He had a couple of colleges with eyes on him, but one D1 in KY followed him extensively and was always in contact.

Just curious how he had D1 interest playing JV baseball his junior season? Is he had a huge baseball school? Did this all come from his travel schedule this past summer? Does he throw 95?

Any suggestions to garner this kind of attention is much appreciated.

He's a lefty and throws consistent low/mid 80s. His HS has 3 RHP who all throw in the 90s and already committed D1. So HS wasn't going to help him get noticed. It all stemmed from his travel team. He played ball against competitive teams in KY, OH, NC, FL, GA, TN, and Canada. What helped him was that he just hit his growth spurt earlier this year (5'6 in Jan to 6'2 in June). He hasn't filled out his frame yet. He knows how to pitch and can locate his fastball, curve, and slider very well.

When he told me he wanted to play in college last winter, we devised a plan to get him exposure. He posted video of his favorite KOs/pitches on Twitter and YouTube after every game. He reached out to colleges of interest near a tournament/showcase and provided his stats, twitter profile, and youtube link. He would then follow up with them after the tournament with his results. He cast a wide net, but it paid off. The school he's committing to wasn't on his radar initially. They showed up to watch another kid play on the opposing team and he sparked their interest. He kept the opposing team to one hit across 5 innings with 7 KOs and no earned runs. The coach watching talked to his summer coach after the game, got his phone number and texted him that night. They built up a relationship after that week with the coach reaching out for an update after every tournament. He said he watched my son pitch 6 times over the summer (3 of which we knew about), and was happy to see my son was the same pitcher every game.

Aside from the D1 coach, he has had coaches emailing and texting him from D2 and D3 schools in OH, PA, and KY. His summer travel coach has been instrumental in the entire process. He has been the middle man for many of these conversations. My son has kept him on copy of every email he has sent out to a college coach. He has also talked to his summer coach after getting DMs on Twitter or texts from college coaches. Not only has he done this with my son, but also any other player on the team who wanted to play college ball and put in the work. From my son's team there are 2 D1 commits (my son and another pitcher), 3 D2 commits, and 3 D3 commits. There are two more pending decisions. Great team of boys/players.

My advice is to have him constantly be in the coaches faces. Send out emails and tag them in social media posts. Twitter and YT have been huge platforms for my son. Constantly emailing coaches to introduce himself and provide updates kept his name out there. I am a firm believer that college recruitment for baseball is done in the summer and not in HS. My son's HS coach wasn't a part of his recruitment journey. My son worked hard for his opportunity and was lucky to find a coach that saw his potential and decided to take a chance on him. I personally thought he was a D2 pitcher. I went to meet the college coaches with him a few weeks ago and they told us what they saw and what he could become and how he would fit into their program. The biggest thing for my son was that he was viewed as a person and not just a number. This school wasn't bringing in 60 players each year and cutting it down to 40. They were targeting specific players at positions of need and that was it.

 

[Todem]

My son was invited to join a team for the Arizona Fall Classic Showcase (baseball) at the end of September. It's an invite only showcase. Do any of the baseball guys have any experience with this showcase and how the scout/coach turnout is for this? There is also something they call an All-Academic Game where only players with a 3.7 GPA or higher are able to try out and then they choose two squads based on those tryouts to play in a game that evening.

My son is interested in going and I think it will be a good experience for him to see how these things are run/work so we will likely sign up. The cost is quite high ($550) but I am guessing that is par for the course.

My son doesn't pop off the screen for scouts. His measurables aren't what catches peoples eyes so getting an opportunity to actually play in games in front of a group of scouts is likely his best bet to get noticed. It's part of the reason he really wants to do this and I think it will be good for him. I am actually quite surprised he wants to do it.

Any thoughts, experiences, comments or advice is very much appreciated. Below is the link to the tourney.

www.azfallclassic.com

So….as you may know….I coached Summer High School Showcase baseball for many years…and just went through the entire journey of the college recruitment process.

Sure this event looks like a fun event to attend. And the experience will probably be a good one.

However if the goal is to get on D2 college coaches radars…..IMO this is not an effective use of your financial resources.

Important questions for you Gally because it can be an overwhelming process.

1. What is his true position Pitcher or Hitter/fielder. Two way players fade away in college for the most part unless your exceptional at both. Typically most teams have a couple of two ways at the most. It seems to be either you focus on pitching or being a position player.

2. Grades seems great which is critical. There is a lot of academic money out there for baseball players especially at D2/D3

3. If he is a pitcher and his velo is 85-87 he is absolutely a good fit D2 and D3.

4. He is a senior….how many school has he reached out to that he is truly interested in, introduced himself, sent video, etc and how much traction has he gotten.

 

[Gally]

My advice is to have him constantly be in the coaches faces. Send out emails and tag them in social media posts. Twitter and YT have been huge platforms for my son. Constantly emailing coaches to introduce himself and provide updates kept his name out there. I am a firm believer that college recruitment for baseball is done in the summer and not in HS. My son's HS coach wasn't a part of his recruitment journey. My son worked hard for his opportunity and was lucky to find a coach that saw his potential and decided to take a chance on him. I personally thought he was a D2 pitcher. I went to meet the college coaches with him a few weeks ago and they told us what they saw and what he could become and how he would fit into their program. The biggest thing for my son was that he was viewed as a person and not just a number. This school wasn't bringing in 60 players each year and cutting it down to 40. They were targeting specific players at positions of need and that was it.

We have done some of this but haven't had a ton of luck. He does have some interest from a D2 school and will be taking part in the Arizona Fall Classic at the end of this month. We haven't had much return contact from the times we have reached out so hoping that this showcase will at least put him on the radar for a few more schools.

The D2 school that has interest in my son sounds a lot like that. We did a visit and met with all the coaches and they seem to want to build a culture and not just bring in transfers every year. That was good to hear. It was a bit eye opening though because our contact has been with a volunteer pitching coach for the most part so talking to the head coach on the visit was interesting. He said he was looking to bring in a strong class for this year (fall of 2023) and wasn't looking to bring in as many for fall of 2024 (my son's class). Still an interesting place and my son really liked the school and location so that is a positive as well.

What helped him was that he just hit his growth spurt earlier this year (5'6 in Jan to 6'2 in June). He hasn't filled out his frame yet. He knows how to pitch and can locate his fastball, curve, and slider very well.

This sounds a lot like my son except he is right handed. He has four pitches he can locate (2 Seam, CB, Slider, Change) and all move quite a bit. He is sitting at 80-82 last time he was clocked but has put on another half inch (to 6-1) and 15 lbs (to 175) since then so hopefully that is going to get him to the mid 80's. The D2 school that has interest told him they would like to see him get to 85-86 over the course of his senior season to really be interested. So he has that as his goal.

I am really curious how this showcase at the end of the month will go. He took August off from throwing to rest so now he is just starting to ramp back up for the end of the month. He also plays infield and will get a chance to do that as well at the showcase. That whole process is new to me so I am interested to see how he handles it. Hopefully he gets some interest and it's a positive.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

In other college baseball news, my son's alma mater will cease to exist at the end of the current school year, having fallen on financial hard times, and will become an extension of Villanova University. Most of the baseball players left, either via the transfer portal or otherwise, leaving barely enough to field a team for one last moment in the sun.

The program began in 2017, my son joined the following year, where he helped the team double its win total from its inaugural season. During his tenure (3 full seasons and 2 partials due to covid), they were never below .500 and won 31 games in 2 of the 3 full seasons he played.

Even before he went there, we were a part of the team's 'community'. He and my wife went to the team's very first banquet/fundraiser, and we haven't missed one since. My son took it upon himself after his freshman year to reach out to incoming players and make them feel welcome, something that he was not afforded as a freshman. Not only his teammates but also their parents really took that to heart and I think that was a big factor in the team becoming a family over the years.

As sad as it is that things are ending, I'm also glad it ends with the coach that was there at the beginning.

 

[Gally]

Important questions for you Gally because it can be an overwhelming process.

1. What is his true position Pitcher or Hitter/fielder. Two way players fade away in college for the most part unless your exceptional at both. Typically most teams have a couple of two ways at the most. It seems to be either you focus on pitching or being a position player.

2. Grades seems great which is critical. There is a lot of academic money out there for baseball players especially at D2/D3

3. If he is a pitcher and his velo is 85-87 he is absolutely a good fit D2 and D3.

4. He is a senior….how many school has he reached out to that he is truly interested in, introduced himself, sent video, etc and how much traction has he gotten.

1. He knows that two way is a pipe dream and is fine with that. He has already come to the mindset that pitching is where he is best suited. We discussed this with the D2 school interested in him and they aren't against a two way player but told him he would have to really excel in both to do it. They had a guy last year kind of come out of nowhere and be their 3B and RP (closer). He got the chance and showed he could do it. That is how they approach it. Give you the chance and you either play your way in or out of it. My son is fine with that.

2. He has no problem grades wise. He already applied to the D2 school and was accepted and qualifies for their merit scholarship that is basically a freebie.

3. That is where I saw his abilities taking him. I think he could easily get to 85/86 by just filling out and I think if he really worked he could get to the 88-90 but it would take some serious work on velo specific things which may not really help his overall game. His arm slot and speed changes/movement are really his bread and butter so maxing out velo with effort my not suit him. I would like him to just get stronger and let his natural arm slot/motion maintain and get into the 86-87 range consistently with off speed in the mid to upper 70's (maintain his current separation and movement).

4. He has emailed, Twittered, sent videos to half dozen schools he is interested in and had zero response back from any of the coaches. The school that has shown interest was because we were able to set up a bullpen in front of their pitching coach because he was in town visiting his family and a friend of mine knows him and set it up. Since then we have had great communication with that school on what they expect, want to see, and will continue to monitor. I believe it is a very promising opportunity.


As far as the showcase, I know it's probably not a great ROI but it is a pressure situation in front of scouts against other good players in a "tryout" type situation. I think the experience will be beneficial even if he doesn't get many contacts or interest. Bottom line is that his measurables don't turn any heads. Coaches need to seem him manage a game and get people out to get an understanding of his value. I know that sounds like dad speak but I feel it is accurate. One of the opposing coaches in our area (the one that set up the bullpen session for the D2 coach) did that because of this exact thing. It was what he told the college coach. As he put it......"he just gets guys out and nobody ever hits him hard". So when you send stats/videos etc it's hard to understand his value to a team. Earlier this year he shut down a team in the first game of the double header. CG, 5 hits, 1 BB, 8 K's and in between games their best hitter was talking to his parents and I overheard him say, "That pitcher.......sucks. I can't believe we didn't hammer him". A lot of teams end up saying that because they can't figure out why they don't square him up. I am hoping this showcase will give that glimpse to some coaches.

Thanks for the info.

 

[belljr]

In other college baseball news, my son's alma mater will cease to exist at the end of the current school year, having fallen on financial hard times, and will become an extension of Villanova University. Most of the baseball players left, either via the transfer portal or otherwise, leaving barely enough to field a team for one last moment in the sun.

The program began in 2017, my son joined the following year, where he helped the team double its win total from its inaugural season. During his tenure (3 full seasons and 2 partials due to covid), they were never below .500 and won 31 games in 2 of the 3 full seasons he played.

Even before he went there, we were a part of the team's 'community'. He and my wife went to the team's very first banquet/fundraiser, and we haven't missed one since. My son took it upon himself after his freshman year to reach out to incoming players and make them feel welcome, something that he was not afforded as a freshman. Not only his teammates but also their parents really took that to heart and I think that was a big factor in the team becoming a family over the years.

As sad as it is that things are ending, I'm also glad it ends with the coach that was there at the beginning.

Thought that was you ... couldn't remember.

My daughter's college had a tough time also bouncing back after covid. This year seems like a step in the right direction

 

[Peak]

We have done some of this but haven't had a ton of luck. He does have some interest from a D2 school and will be taking part in the Arizona Fall Classic at the end of this month. We haven't had much return contact from the times we have reached out so hoping that this showcase will at least put him on the radar for a few more schools.

One thing I took away from talking with coaches this summer, whether at tournaments or showcases, the Transfer Portal has really turned baseball recruitment on its ear. A lot of D1 and D2 schools are looking to the Portal to fill out their 2023 roster and wasn't looking at 2024 until the summer/fall of 2023. Even the D3 schools didn't start reaching out until Fall 2023 to recruit for their 2024 class. When he got his offer from the D1 school, that is when other schools started to reach out via email and Twitter. He started getting interest from all levels - but they wanted to see him pitch again at a Prospect Camp. One school had him in for a visit only to tell him that they were recruiting 60 players in hopes of signing 10 of them. He treated my son like a number and not a person. The point is that it seems like the 2024 class is now starting to hit hard for recruiting. They played the portal to grab the transfers and now backfilling with the HS players. It's a different game.

Good luck to your son! He definitely seems to fit where mine was earlier this year. Sometimes it's being in the right place at the right time, but being persistent pays off. I'm big on the College Prospect Camps if they are target schools for him vs going to showcases. My son has had better responses from individual camps. He said only those who stood out got any attention from the coaches at the showcase - if only because there are way more players than coaches who attend these showcases.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

In other college baseball news, my son's alma mater will cease to exist at the end of the current school year, having fallen on financial hard times, and will become an extension of Villanova University. Most of the baseball players left, either via the transfer portal or otherwise, leaving barely enough to field a team for one last moment in the sun.

The program began in 2017, my son joined the following year, where he helped the team double its win total from its inaugural season. During his tenure (3 full seasons and 2 partials due to covid), they were never below .500 and won 31 games in 2 of the 3 full seasons he played.

Even before he went there, we were a part of the team's 'community'. He and my wife went to the team's very first banquet/fundraiser, and we haven't missed one since. My son took it upon himself after his freshman year to reach out to incoming players and make them feel welcome, something that he was not afforded as a freshman. Not only his teammates but also their parents really took that to heart and I think that was a big factor in the team becoming a family over the years.

As sad as it is that things are ending, I'm also glad it ends with the coach that was there at the beginning.

Thought that was you ... couldn't remember.

My daughter's college had a tough time also bouncing back after covid. This year seems like a step in the right direction

Good news for your daughter, glad to hear she'll have an uninterrupted career.

As for Cabrini, they claim it was because of covid, but given its location with another school literally right across the street and no room to expand (the baseball field isn't on school grounds but rather was built at a local HS), and nearly every student was there for some sort of varsity sport and getting some level of financial assistance, there's no way it was sustainable. Even though I only knew them as 'rival' schools, I have to say that Immaculata and even Marymount in Arlington had more enviable facilities.

 

[belljr]

Grain of Salt for Gally -

not all D1's are created equal
not all D2's are created equal
not all D3's are created equal
not all NAIA/JUCO's are created equal

what I mean by that is specially in the softball world everyone on the I'm PLAYING D1 bandwagon... Some of these D1 schools would get beat by some of our local D3 schools.

I don't know the percentage for baseball but 8% of HS Softball players move to the next level. 1.9% play D1

Now this is not a knock on anyone's choice or journey - just don't get hung up on Division x vs Division Y imo

One post I saw that I loved was this

D1 = life changing opportunity
D2 = life changing opportunity
D3 = life changing opportunity
JUCO = life changing opportunity
NAIA = life changing opportunity

Take advantage of YOUR life changing opportunity

Good luck


*FWIW D3 softball recruits late around here - especially during 2022/2023 when covid recruiting effects were still being felt

 

[belljr]

In other college baseball news, my son's alma mater will cease to exist at the end of the current school year, having fallen on financial hard times, and will become an extension of Villanova University. Most of the baseball players left, either via the transfer portal or otherwise, leaving barely enough to field a team for one last moment in the sun.

The program began in 2017, my son joined the following year, where he helped the team double its win total from its inaugural season. During his tenure (3 full seasons and 2 partials due to covid), they were never below .500 and won 31 games in 2 of the 3 full seasons he played.

Even before he went there, we were a part of the team's 'community'. He and my wife went to the team's very first banquet/fundraiser, and we haven't missed one since. My son took it upon himself after his freshman year to reach out to incoming players and make them feel welcome, something that he was not afforded as a freshman. Not only his teammates but also their parents really took that to heart and I think that was a big factor in the team becoming a family over the years.

As sad as it is that things are ending, I'm also glad it ends with the coach that was there at the beginning.

Thought that was you ... couldn't remember.

My daughter's college had a tough time also bouncing back after covid. This year seems like a step in the right direction

Good news for your daughter, glad to hear she'll have an uninterrupted career.

As for Cabrini, they claim it was because of covid, but given its location with another school literally right across the street and no room to expand (the baseball field isn't on school grounds but rather was built at a local HS), and nearly every student was there for some sort of varsity sport and getting some level of financial assistance, there's no way it was sustainable. Even though I only knew them as 'rival' schools, I have to say that Immaculata and even Marymount in Arlington had more enviable facilities.

Our softball field is awful. Not on campus. It does have lights so that is sweet. INDOOR is fantastic. When they moved the baseball field softball got the short end.

Rumor is they are looking to find space on campus. TBH - the field is really the only thing "holding" it back from being a solid program. They were solid pre covid (won the MAC) but the coach after covid was there for 40+ years kind of mailed it in and the school itself was struggling. They doubled the freshman class from last year (not a big school to begin with) and the new coach is a younger woman so fingers crossed its on the upswing...... I mean they went 18-20 last year after losing their stud pitcher and their #2 just graduated so not completely awful - so the coach was honest in that this year could be a rebuild - she hasn't even been there 12 months yet.