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A2C
7 Posts |
 Posted - 06/20/2012 : 13:09:17
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| From the other end of the state and trying to find the truth. Why are there so many good teams from the metro area (besides the numbers), and only a couple from the remaining portion of the state. We all know it is not what's in the water, but what are the things that must be done to make competitive baseball alive down here. We see the Bulldogs pulling it off so we know it is possible but opportunity seems to be worsening for the sport in our area and we want to do something to help. I am sure there is some wisdom to be shared from all the great teams out there. What systems really work? |
Edited by - A2C on 06/20/2012 13:12:04 |
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wareagle
324 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2012 : 15:26:02
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You must find a coach that is very well respected and that kids and parents will follow.
You must find a group of talented kids(parents) willing to put personal egos aside for the good of the team.
Savannah is pretty well populated and I would suspect that even there a few kids may come from the surrounding area as well. They Also do not seem to have many teams competing to separate the talent???
Stealth in Albany(12U) has also been able to do this, but I think only maybe half of thier current team lives in the Albany area????
Even on the top East cobb teams, there are kids driving an hour or more to play with them. So you must find a way to convince local kids as well as kids in the area tat playing for your team is worth the commitment involved.
Some(I hear) even offer full ride scholarships including room and board and gas allowance, if you hit puberty soon enough.LOL
You must be able to recruit, retain, and improve kids. |
Edited by - wareagle on 06/20/2012 15:32:46 |
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A2C
7 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2012 : 15:49:21
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| Thanks wareagle you are so right in those answers. Do you feel that performance training is a big part of the difference? I hear of the facilities, the dedication to the system, and work ethic of the kids just being at a differnt expectation in these elite programs.Of course the character aspects that you bring up are huge and we desire to make sure we do all things to build these young men up and challenge them to strive for excellence in all regards of life. Not sure we can offer full scholarships quite yet but we will work on that one! I knew there was some inside secret, thanks for sharing. |
Edited by - A2C on 06/20/2012 16:08:34 |
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SavannahBulldog
50 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2012 : 16:16:45
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| The culture in South GA is so different than the teams in the METRO Atlanta area. A lot of parents are just not going to travel very far outside their backyards in S. GA. Also, they really want to be in pews on Sunday and not sitting in the stands. The mentality is so different. It is very hard to recruit 12 kids/families in rural S. GA that are ALL going to commit to the travel, money, and the work that is needed to play MAJOR level baseball. You have a few that want to do it, but can't afford what it takes. You are right the Bulldogs do have a couple of kids that drive a long ways to play ball, and I commend their parents for the sacrifices they make to ensure their kids play the best of the best. Its hard to retain good talent so we will see what next year brings. |
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CobbYBB
56 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2012 : 18:00:34
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| And, Football is king in South Ga! |
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wareagle
324 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2012 : 21:51:28
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A2C
Not real sure that the facilities have much advantage outside of helping to recruit coaches and kids. The performance training can be accomplished most anywhere, and a good coach will find a way to get the most out of his players. With that said,I do however, see the kids pick up the tempo when some of the ex-pro instructors are around. |
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in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2012 : 00:00:49
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| Population Density + Disposable Income relative to the outlying areas. Add to that the "peer pressure/competitiveness" among parents that drive many to push their kids to work harder, pay for additional training, etc. |
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A2C
7 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2012 : 07:33:32
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Savannah - You are right, the culture is different, but i am not sure we have set the expectations clearly so the parents and kids can understand what it takes to play at this level, we only know what we know.
Cobb- Football will always be king but we are just trying to keep baseball in the number two spot, getting pressure from soccer!
One of the thoughts wareagle was to use the program and possibly a facility as an equipping center for other coaches and parents in the area as well as a trainig mechanism for the boys. To have some of our local guys that played NFL or MLB, college level, etc. instruct the kids on the mental and physical aspects of playing the game but also the discipline and hard work that it takes to be excellent. Facilities in our area (finding a field can be a challenge for example, we only have 1 indoor facility with 3 cages) seem to be an issue that comes up quite often. Good sound instruction is certainly another. We may have an opportunity to offer a place to equip coaches, teams, and programs with these aspects to help them accomplish their goals.
We see some of these programs really do a great job. Always impresssed by Cobb,Savannah, 6-4-3, and others. We are trying to make sure that we gain the knowledge and experience of programs that have done it for years.
If there were a performance training center that focused on these aspects, any examples that do a great job?
With these elite programs, what are the intangibles that will help us be successful?
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Edited by - A2C on 06/21/2012 08:28:27 |
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ramman999
241 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2012 : 08:05:15
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To me, it's the right people in place and the right situations to make it successful. You have to have the right population numbers to make it work, a bigger pool of talent so to speak. Coming from the Charlotte area, you see a culture of resistance from the rec leagues - they see travel ball still as competition rather than an option and do not support teams, at least not competitive ones. You have batting centers/facilities that are into it for the money and would rather sell you lessons and build "development" teams rather than field competitive programs - I am strictly speaking our age group and younger, because I do not know all the older ones and there are only a handful worth mentioning. You also have a TON of watered down daddy ball teams there - In Charlotte alone there is only 1 true Major team, and 9 statewide, and all the batting center sponsored teams play AA ball. Based on strictly talent, there could be 10-12 major level teams in Charlotte alone, if, as Wareagle said "You must find a group of talented kids(parents) willing to put personal egos aside for the good of the team."
Relocating to Georgia has given me an appreciation for the atlanta area - there are tons of options good and bad, but there are options |
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aboutthekids
213 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2012 : 19:11:41
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I'll give you this. On the south side a few years back two teams pooled their talent the Elite Outlaws now Gamers Red and the Scrappers now OTC and they played head to head with any and everyone, bar none. Coaching philosophys clashed but the kids had a blast winning and playing top competition each and every weekend. It all came to an end at the W.S. which was of course the last game of the season that year and the two never pooled talent again.
Kids and parents were banned from this organization or that one and so on. I understand that you can't and won't please everyone all the time but when your area has the talent available to field a top team with understanding parents, kids and coaches on it then why not try your very best to do so. Kids from outside your area will not pick up the phone or email you for a tryout until you do this. It's MAJOR TRAVEL BALL and you have the talent available or in the surrounding communities so why not put it to use.
I was told by one of the best coaches I've met in youth baseball "you rush things, that's your problem". I was told this two years ago when my son was 9. I coached and supported my oldest three and wanted them around better talent and coaching each year from the time they were five throughout and want the same for my youngest. I don't call it rushing. I see a need for it if you are indeed going to be classified as Major. Others have other ideas and I respect them very much. I honestly do but I know the baseball on the southside very well (in this age group) and I know what they could have done the past four years had they put their egos and feelings aside.
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wareagle
324 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2012 : 06:22:58
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About the kids,
AMEN!!!
There is plenty of talent on the southside to compete if they could come together. It basically boils down to parents, organizations, and coaches trying to compete for the same players instead of merging. Personally, I would love to see the top kids from say HP, OTC, Gamers, and several other teams and some kids that are from that area that are currently driving to the northside to play, all come together. They could play with most anyone out there. Teams in Atl seem to merge because the understand that it must be done in order to compete at the major level, why can this not happen outside ATL in this age group? All we need is for someone to bring this group together!!! |
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aboutthekids
213 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2012 : 10:54:25
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You're right and I generally don't mention all of the organizations but you're right on all counts.
It can't and won't happen because of the ADULT EGOS. That's the bottom line. A few years ago, someone from one of the establishments told me and another dad "do what you want, I'll put a *&*&*&* team together that will kick your ***.
It's been nearly five years and the effort to put that team together in this particular age group fell very very short and with no help from the person / group that said that. Any ideas or efforts to change the system fall on deaf ears or when you push so far they budge a little but not quite far enough and you end up falling short again from head coaching, to being able to recruit etc. etc. etc.
BTW, that has been said at least once by pretty much everyone on the southside in this age group. (regarding the building a team that will kick and so on)
Not knocking them because I've heard the same thing from the northside said in the heat of the moment.
My take on the whole thing is "DO IT THEN!, IT WILL ONLY BENEFIT THE KIDS, COACHES, AND PARENTS OF THAT PARTICULAR AREA". Don't waste time talking about it, actually put forth an effort and do it. THE TALENT IS THERE!
I've been preaching that ever since the split between the Outlaws and the Scrappers.
The southside would benefit, the state of Georgia would benefit, Major level travel baseball baseball would benefit as a whole.
Not to mention it may trickle down to the other classifications and they might benefit as well.
quote]Originally posted by wareagle
About the kids,
AMEN!!!
There is plenty of talent on the southside to compete if they could come together. It basically boils down to parents, organizations, and coaches trying to compete for the same players instead of merging. Personally, I would love to see the top kids from say HP, OTC, Gamers, and several other teams and some kids that are from that area that are currently driving to the northside to play, all come together. They could play with most anyone out there. Teams in Atl seem to merge because the understand that it must be done in order to compete at the major level, why can this not happen outside ATL in this age group? All we need is for someone to bring this group together!!!
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aboutthekids
213 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2012 : 10:59:11
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"Disposable income" leaves me out of the equation.
I will do what it takes to help raise money from building web pages, to hosting a wide variety of fundraising to actually going on a door to door campaign but until my money tree starts to grow, I hardly have income much less disposable income. LOL, someone tell me how often I need to water this money tree anyway.
I know what you're saying though ITK. You're absolutely right but there is a lot of money in the southside for one. If you don't have the time / ability to work with the kids or the money to get them lessons or a volunteer coach with limitless time and knowledge, then it's harder for sure.
quote:
Originally posted by in_the_know
Population Density + Disposable Income relative to the outlying areas. Add to that the "peer pressure/competitiveness" among parents that drive many to push their kids to work harder, pay for additional training, etc.
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Edited by - aboutthekids on 06/22/2012 11:02:27 |
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