Copied from Meatball on a earlier topic; "9u also is going to see several strong coach pitch teams making the transition. I have seen Acworth, Oregon Park and Adcock Scorpions just to name a few all play really well." I've seen all three teams play in the fall and was impressed as well. Of the three from top to bottom I would say Acworth has the best chance to do damage. They have athletic kids with size and once they play at this level for a couple of tournaments they should be a tough out. We will have to wait and see. Also, don't forget about Wills Park, they had a ss last year with a flat out gun - if that kid can throw strikes it will be scary. To answer, yes they will be able to compete - how long will it take? To me it depends on how deep their pitching is, they probably will have one or two kids that are comfortable where teams that have played last year are already there.
pumpknhead, one of the biggest advantages a coach pitch team has is it's ability to play defense. Coach pitch teams routinely face the "ball being put in play". Probably way more than 90% of the time.
Conversely, the biggest challenge they face is to adjust to kid pitch. If these teams will let their pitchers pitch to their batters routinely during practices, they will overcome the disadvantage more quickly.
Will they have a chance? Ask the 11 u Bandits if they have a chance. They were a coach pitch team at 8 and the best team in the state at 9. We played them early when they were 9 and they beat us with good piching and defense. By the middle of the season they were hitting and still pitching and playing defense. It was at that time they started run ruling everybody.
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Posted - 02/11/2010 : 21:44:58
