SUPERSOFTBALLMOMMA

[quote name="JohnnyT60" post="825768" timestamp="1281897716"] [quote author=SUPERSOFTBALLMOMMA link=topic=71322.msg825709#msg825709 date=1281880944] [quote author=tpriddy link=topic=71322.msg825623#msg825623 date=1281843988] SUPERSOFTBALLMOMMA, were you a parent who was involved in any of this? If so, speak for yourself.  My daughter was one that was "invited" to play with the team that went to Lufkin.  And the person that invited her is a parent whose daughter is on the Blast.  The way *I* remember it, we did not have all the details of the how and why prior to the first meeting.  We were invited to play and we agreed.  However, after the first meeting/practice, enough information was given to understand enough about why it was put together.  If people didn't like it after the first meeting/practice, why did they show up for the second practice and play in the tournament?  How that fits into DADS from the new GT Shocker team being deceitful, I have no idea.   Troy and I never once felt like we were being deceived.  The initial invitation has led us to where we are right now and for that I am thankful regardless of the hows and whys it all came about. Craig's point was that there are no dads coaching the new GTS team.  The girls were not given spots based on the fact that one of their dads was going to help coach.  Simple as that.   Are you saying that the girls on the GTS team did not make the team based on their skills?  Were you at the tryouts and did you see the girls that tried out?  If not, then how would you know who should have received spots?   I second what Dottie said....I believe that the decision to join the GTS team is one of the best decisions we have made for our daughter with regard to softball.  They did bust their butts at tryouts (both of them) and continue to bust their butts at practices and have earned their spots on the team.  If you don't believe me, come check out one of our practices.  These girls have been practicing extremely hard and are still coming back for more.  They know all their hard work will only make them better.  So don't knock it until you try it. Why people (especially anonymous people) feel the need to create conspiracy when there is none, I will never understand.  Get over it and move on.  We sure have and are extremely happy with our decision.  We are looking forward to the upcoming season and are not looking back. Amy [/quote] Wait a minute...[b]I never said anything negative about ANY girl on that team[/b]. I have nothing negative to say about those girls, but for Craig Soignet to come on here and say that no spots were taken is completely FALSE, because they were. There was a reason you didn't know details prior to the first meeting, it was because a dad was orchestrating it that way. He kept it very quiet what his true intent was, because he knew that was the only way he would get parents to agree. I'll be happy to let the so called "controversy" go away, but I will not sit quietly while people spew half-truths. I am very glad you are happy. [/quote] But you did when you said that those girls only made it because there Daddies were going to coach. Don't you see. [/quote] I don't think I said any daddy was going to coach. Please show me where I said that a daddy was going to coach. What I said was daddies were INVOLVED, and I stand by that. Soignet showed up at the practice to get ready for the Lufkin tournament and turned it into a parent meeting/tryout. That isn't what we thought we were showing up there for. I just want Soignet and all of his minions to quit splitting hairs and be honest. Soignet attacked a poster for saying that most all teams have a few spots taken before tryouts happen. He says that isn't so in his organization. All I'm saying is, it IS so. Even in the case of the GT Shocker GOLD team, All I'm saying is that people need to quit spinning the facts. One more thing. The way I remember it, this started out as a tryout thread for the Blast, and for some reason  certain people felt a need to create controversy around that team (where there was none) and used this thread to do it. I read it and tried to ignore it for a while, but eventually I felt the need to call y'all on it. If that makes me unpopular on this board, so be it. The only reason I can come up with for the stuff that has been spewed is because the people doing it are either afraid of the competition or are just mad that certain parents chose to go somewhere other than the Shockers. As Dottie stated before, there is enough talent to support both teams, but for some reason, certain people are just very opposed to that, which is very puzzling to me. [b]Admin Note: Watch the language SUPERSOFTBALLMOMMA!  This is your first warning. Second, we don't need to talk about kids of specific persons.  You are getting way too specific here! [/b]

[quote name="tpriddy" post="825623" timestamp="1281843988"] SUPERSOFTBALLMOMMA, were you a parent who was involved in any of this? If so, speak for yourself.  My daughter was one that was "invited" to play with the team that went to Lufkin.  And the person that invited her is a parent whose daughter is on the Blast.  The way *I* remember it, we did not have all the details of the how and why prior to the first meeting.  We were invited to play and we agreed.  However, after the first meeting/practice, enough information was given to understand enough about why it was put together.  If people didn't like it after the first meeting/practice, why did they show up for the second practice and play in the tournament?  How that fits into DADS from the new GT Shocker team being deceitful, I have no idea.  Troy and I never once felt like we were being deceived.  The initial invitation has led us to where we are right now and for that I am thankful regardless of the hows and whys it all came about. Craig's point was that there are no dads coaching the new GTS team.  The girls were not given spots based on the fact that one of their dads was going to help coach.  Simple as that.  Are you saying that the girls on the GTS team did not make the team based on their skills?  Were you at the tryouts and did you see the girls that tried out?  If not, then how would you know who should have received spots?  I second what Dottie said....I believe that the decision to join the GTS team is one of the best decisions we have made for our daughter with regard to softball.  They did bust their butts at tryouts (both of them) and continue to bust their butts at practices and have earned their spots on the team.  If you don't believe me, come check out one of our practices.  These girls have been practicing extremely hard and are still coming back for more.  They know all their hard work will only make them better.  So don't knock it until you try it. Why people (especially anonymous people) feel the need to create conspiracy when there is none, I will never understand.  Get over it and move on.  We sure have and are extremely happy with our decision.  We are looking forward to the upcoming season and are not looking back. Amy [/quote] Wait a minute...I never said anything negative about ANY girl on that team. I have nothing negative to say about those girls, but for Craig Soignet to come on here and say that no spots were taken is completely FALSE, because they were. There was a reason you didn't know details prior to the first meeting, it was because a dad was orchestrating it that way. He kept it very quiet what his true intent was, because he knew that was the only way he would get parents to agree. I'll be happy to let the so called "controversy" go away, but I will not sit quietly while people spew half-truths. I am very glad you are happy.

[quote name="Tigers9" post="825116" timestamp="1281705545"] [quote author=setx99 link=topic=71322.msg824007#msg824007 date=1281366276] It's apparent that you are disappointed that your daughter did not make this team, but the way teams are picked isn't any different on any other team out there.  If a coach has a playing daughter and he has 2 or 3 assistant coaches and they have kids playing then that is 3 spots taken already, then if you have kids previously on the team they will pick from them before looking at others. [color=red][i][u][b]If you look at the "new" GT Shockers, its the same.[/b][/u][/i][/color]  It doesn't differ that much from rec ball either.  They need to do A and B teams so that more girls can play and if they aren't performing on the A-team and a girl on the B-team is performing they can switch them out.  I hear that they do this in Houston.  You might try OOC as far as try outs go and make sure you go to both, they lost a lot of girls.  I don't think personally that this team put up a front in having try outs, but I do understand where you are coming from, if you take a hard look at the other teams, you'll find it's not different. [/quote] Leave us out of this unless you have at least attended our tryouts or have been a part of our program, or have spoken to ME personally. I do not have coaches that are dads at this point. The coaches are Me (Craig Soignet) and several GTS Gold players.[b] NO DAD HAS BEEN PART OF ANYTHING WE HAVE DONE TO THIS POINT. [/b] I will ask a dad or two to help me out as we move into the season, however, these dads will be chosen AFTER the kids have been chosen, therefore NO SPOTS WERE TAKEN (as you put it) due to daddy coaches being pre-determined! Thanks, Craig Soignet [/quote] This would be funny, if I didn't find it so sad that you actually think people believe everything you sign "Craig Soignet" to. Please explain just who did have something to do with what you have done to this point, if it wasn't a DAD. The way I remember it, you showed up at a practice that a DAD had organized for a team to "get together informally and play a tournament" in Lufkin the week after Panama City and turned it into a tryout for this team that you want left out of this. No parent knew what they were showing up there for except YOU and a few deceitful DADDIES. And you want us to believe that those DADDIES' girls didn't have a guaranteed spot? I was born at night, but it wasn't LAST night... ;)

Congrats!

Thanks to everyone that has tried to explain this. It's clear as....mud.  :D At least now I can say that I have an idea of what makes a team GOLD. I guess we,as parents, just need to be aware and ask questions when choosing a team at any level, because what I am hearing a lot of you say is that any team can put GOLD after their name and that it is often a recruiting tactic. I'm very glad to know this as we continue our journey. I had no idea there would be so much propaganda in youth sports. Maybe I should just hire an agent...

This is always a great tournament and a somewhat rare opportunity (at least in the younger age divisions) for the local teams to play in a competitive tournament close to home.

[quote name="sbparent" post="824245" timestamp="1281413269"] I'll take a shot......What does it take to be a "Gold" team.....put gold in your name or on your uni.  That's about it. Anyone or team can call themselves Gold.  Proof is always on the field if you are truely worthy to match up with best 18U teams. ASA does have rules regarding players who play in Gold qualifying tournaments.  I believe if a player plays in an ASA gold qualifying tournament then that player can ONLY play in ASA gold qualifying tournaments for the remainder of that year (thus could not play 18 or 16 under ASA tournaments). Hope this helps. [/quote] Thanks, sbparent. So, let me see if I understand what you are saying. Any team can just all of a sudden declare themselves gold. There is no qualifying rules, but if a PLAYER plays in a gold level tournament, then ASA determines that PLAYER to be "gold" and she cannot play in any tournament below gold (18U,16U, etc.) for the remainder of that year. So, I'm guessing this is the same rule that says if  player plays "A" she can't play "B" for the remainder of that year. Obviously, this wouldn't effect IFA, USFA, USSSA, etc. So this would explain the "gold" teams listed for the IFA National tournament. Mrs. T mentioned that a gold team has to qualify for ASA Nationals. Don't teams at all levels have to qualify for ASA Nationls? Does anybody know what qualifying entails? It has been my experience (limited as it may be) that in ASA district commisioners have a lot of say in what level of play a team is allowed to play. Is this the case here?

[quote name="Tigers9" post="824242" timestamp="1281412997"] "Gold" is a ASA term.  It is kind of like A vs. B ball...it's a classification.  The ultimate 18u tournament is the gold tournament.  You must qualify to play in the ASA gold  National tournament.  It is supposed to be the highest level of play.  I'm sure this an incomplete explanation maybe someone will give you a complete answer. Sincerely, Mrs. T12 or 9 or whoever we are these days PS  If I just stepped into some kind of argument....I just took the question at face value.  There may be a reason no one answered...I did not intend to "stir". [/quote] Thank you, Mrs. T. I asked this question in all seriousness. No "stirring" here.

??? ??? Wow! 67 views and no answer...I guess most of us don't know the answer. Maybe I'll send this to the Beaumont Enterprise journalist that has that column "Asked and Ansewered"...In the meantime, I'll have to dig around and see if I can find the answer. I'll be sure and post what I find... :-*

Could someone explain exactly what makes a team a "Gold" team as opposed to a 16U or 18U or whatever. I am so confused by this. Is this just something that any team can be? Does a team have to win at a certain level? If a team is "gold" can they play regular 18U tournaments? I noticed there were gold teams mixed in with others on the IFA National thread when the results were posted. So, does "gold" only pertain to a certain sanctioning body? Can somebody that understands all of this please explain it to me?

[quote name="Dottie" post="824155" timestamp="1281390566"] I'm not sure what happened or what all is going on.. all I know is that this is supposed to be about the girls and the parents are all supposed to be adults. It's not just coaches and parents who read this board... a lot of the players do as well. And to speak of their team in the way I've seen some of the "adults" do is just shameful. [/quote] I completely agree! You have been a voice of reason time and time again. You almost don't fit in here... you're way too grounded.  :D

[quote name="Dottie" post="824139" timestamp="1281389231"] [quote author=LU Cards Fan link=topic=71322.msg824135#msg824135 date=1281388610] Well it seems that this team already has controversy surrounding it. I was told that the Blast was coming back, but I thought it would be a brand new team. But from the looks of things it just another team going under a new name. I really was hoping this was something like they had when I was at LU. My DD will continue to play in the metro area. Kind of disappointed that it is starting out with controversy. So correct me if I am wrong several dads have come under the umbrella of the blast, with girls that have been playing for them. If this is true the coaches should have posted this in the tryout info. Letting people think that this was a brand new team is completely wrong. LU football is back  [/quote] This IS a new team (And no.. I'm not associated with them but know who they are) Coach Don who was a Blast coach from way back when.. has come back into coaching. Other coaches are from the 10U GT Shockers of last season and one of the coaches from OOC's 10U team last season.  I do not know who all made the team but I do know there were a few girls from the shockers team and one of the girls from OOC that most likely made this team. There really isn't any controversy other than ridiculous stuff that needs to go away. They are bringing back "blast" but it stands to reason some of the girls will be girls who were on other teams from here as the original blast girls are all grown up. They had a pretty good turn out at tryouts and hopefully ended up with a really strong team of girls. This IS a new team. There are simply some girls who had been team mates last season. But that happens with every team. It's really not a big deal. And I'm sure they will be a great team who will carry on the Blast pride! [/quote] See, Dottie... This is exactly the nonsense I was referring to earlier. What did they think the players were going to all be league players? This area isn't that big...that means a limited talent pool. Any idiot could figure that out.  But I strongly suspect the "controversy" that supposedly surrounds this team comes from a few "daddies" that have their panties in  knot because they couldn't control all in the Golden Triangle softball world. I guess they thought they were "softball gods" and couldn't handle it when their underhanded tactics didn't pan out in their favor. I've also noticed that a lot of these "controversial" posts come from fairly new users and most of their posts have been targeted at creating "controversy". If you ask me it is one or two people with an agenda posting under multiple names. 

[quote name="Dottie" post="824066" timestamp="1281376427"] Clearly you think your daughter should have been picked over other girls. Which is fine. But the tryout is not a sham. Even if a team basically keeps it's core players they will still need to "fill out" the team with other girls. As to whether one or another girl was better or worse than one another.. you can't really tell that with a tryout. My daughter is a clean up batter.. she is practically knocking the ball over the fence.. has had several grand slams this past season and almost always gets herself on base. And yet, at the Blast tryout she couldn't hit a ball to save her soul. For whatever reason she couldn't hit off the machine for anything. It was frustrating to her and it was not a true example of her ability. Yet, if you're a coach who has never seen her hit a grand slam you'd think she couldn't hit at all. You just can't always tell from a tryout. I'm assuming a lot of girls that made the team were shockers girls from last season. To be honest, they earned their place on the team while working on the team all last season. Again, it goes back to the need to "fill out" a team. I'm sure your daughter is an exceptional player who will find a team that she will go on to do great with. But please don't feel the need to basically tell other girls they didn't earn the right to be on a team. That's just wrong on so many levels. The advantage for a coach during a tryout with girls he's coached before is that if the girl has a bad day he knows it. He is already aware of her strengths and weaknesses. And yes, it's an advantage those girls have over girls who weren't on the team. It's an advantage your daughter will have on the team she ends up on over girls who come next summer to try out for that team. I don't think you'll feel your daughter is less talented because she gets a spot another person felt their daughter should have gotten. Good luck to you and your daughter.. fortunately there are still many teams holding tryouts.. I'm sure she will end up on one of them :-) [/quote] I couldn't agree more, Dottie. Once again you are the voice of reason. I'm not sure some of these folks want to hear reason though.  ;)

So, I've been waiting on the edge of my seat...  :D Is there any substance to this rumor or is it just another internet rumor?