daddy23

Someone post the bracket for those of us who would like catch some games this weekend.

I want to tell everyone thanks for the good wishes. I agree that there are a lot of great coaches and boys from the Golden Triangle who will not get to go to the tournament this year. I hope that we will do a great job representing the Triangle. I know that we have the very best 3 assistant coaches that I could hope for. I also know that we have 12 boys who are excited for the chance to make the trip--they are a fantastic group of boys and I hope that we can make a great showing on the field. THANKS TO ALL Coach Hal

643, Both of the coaches you mention have amazingly talented boys as well. You would be impressed to see what they both can do out there. It is hard to compare the two because one is 5 and the other is 6, but no one in the tourney was better than those two boys at their age division. It is really fun to see what these two boys and so many others can accomplish at such a young age. HAL

Rob, About Fall Ball, I really do not know the details or if the plan is in place yet. I will defer to the board members who might know more about it. I think our Shetland and Pinto VP check in here from time to time. As for me, I will move into Football mode for the fall with my middle son--Luke is my youngest son. Luke will not play football but loves to play Soccer. He will be back with Clint and my brother Chad in the "Vidor Soccer Academy"--ok, I made up the name, but you ought to see what Clint has done with these soccer teams in just 1 and 2 seasons time. If you ever see how his soccer teams play, then you will know one of the big reasons why our team was so well coached this year. I also echo the comments by Clint about our other two coaches. Don't let them get lost in the shuffle. James Odom has done a great job with the outfield and his son is playing second base. Jason Sylvester is an amazing baseball guy. His boy is our pitcher and the batter that waits 10 seconds after the ball is on the Tee before he knocks it deep in the outfield--I think he is imagining taking a pitch or two until he sees the one he likes. Also, his son is only 5. One thing I wanted to ask was how many "five" year olds did the teams have on them. Our team only had one--the pitcher, Sylvester. Our other Vidor team was about half 5 year olds and half 6 year olds. I am just wondering how many of these boys will be coming back to Shetland next year and how many will move on. Just curious.

I won't lie. I am really glad we won and I am super proud of the boys on our team. However, my hat goes off to the TC squad. There was not another team in the tournament even close to them for the Top 2. We managed to come out on top of both games, but they had a heck of a team. I think TC would have been a great representative of the Golden Triangle had they won it. We will try to represent the Golden Triangle well. We know that we are no longer the Vidor Team but the Golden Triangle Rep. I want to say Thanks to everyone from TC who were so gracious and complimentary after the game tonight and all week. I thought both everyone from TC tonight displayed super sportsmanship--and that is not always easy to do when you lose. Congrats to everyone in the tournament. And Lastly, thanks to Port Arthur for working so hard to make the tournament special for everyone. Coach Hal

Amen.... Good Luck to All of the Pinto teams. I hope to be out to watch as much as I can--I think it will be a great tournament. Anybody know if there will be 8 or 9 teams, and if there are only 8 teams, will they redo the brackets?

Congrats to TC on a convincing win tonight over Groves. Congrats to Groves on a great comeback performance in the tournament. After losing in Round 1, they recovered and won 4 straight games before losing to a great TC team. Good Luck to both teams tomorrow. I echo the thoughts of others that we have some great young baseball talent in the Golden Triangle.

I have to agree that the Groves 2 catcher is the most memorable boy in the tournament. He was bringing our bats back to our dugout after every hitter and sometime during the play. I have heard lots of people comment on how much fun he was to watch.

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And I meant to add great performance by all of kids. So many kids played so well. However, special kudos to TC SS #99, Baker. I know that he is a great player, but he had a great game.

I hate to jump in the fray, but I know that you all know that I am checking this board everyday. I am glad that we won tonight, but the tournament is long from over. Whoever we play on Friday (TC or Groves), we better bring our A-game if we want to win again. As far as my acting goes, I can't complain about the comments. However, I could never make it on Broadway--I couldn't hold a tune in a bucket. As far as yelling at the umpires and the kids, we could all do better. However, it is always easier to be good sports when you are winning. I know that everyone on the TC sidelines wants to win as bad as everyone on the Vidor sidelines. It is easy to get carried away when you really want to win. A nice story is that after the game, both 1st basemen (as well as some other boys) happened to be a Mazzio's Pizza. They knew each other from Lamar Baseball camp. They played together for almost an hour. There were no hard feelings or trash talking among the boys--just a lot of working together to try to win as many prizes as possible in the arcade. All of the parents were also very nice and respectful to each other. Even though we know that there is a good chance that we will play again on Friday night, we were not opponents tonight after the game. We were just people who live and work in the Golden Triangle together. So let's be quick to forgive each other for our competitive spirits. And let's all continue to try to be great example for these boys.

I am already 2-0 with my predictions from last night. I think I should stop while I am ahead. Congrats to Everyone still in. The last 4 teams are all very good teams. Even the weather has held nicely. Thanks to Port Arthur for making this tournament the very best that it could be.

I have not heard much trash talking. All the coaches have been very polite to me (at least to my face ). Port Arthur beat Orange 25-14 on Sunday night. Lazeek, you are very kind by naming us as the team to beat. And our boys have looked good in both games. However, your TC team has also looked very solid against two good teams as well. I certainly hope that we come out on top on Wednesday night, but I have lots of respect for all of the teams still left in the tournament. I would guess that Port Arthur and Groves will win on Tuesday (and I mean no disrepect to the TC and Orange teams, it is just a prediction). Then we will have 4 very solid teams left for Wednesday. Good Luck to Everyone still in, and hopefully the weather will continue to cooperate. That field has dried up a lot. It could absorb lots more water at this point, but if we have nighttime thunderstorms one evening, we could still get postponed.

Everyone (coaches) seemed to get along well today. I hope that was not because our team was the only one that did not play. Seriously, congrats to everyone who is still in it. Congrats to TC and Orange who fought a great battle in the 3rd game. Both teams had some great plays. Twin County has looked good in both games so far. Congrats to Port Arthur. I know that it was no fun for Orange being on the other end, but PA really came out to play tonight. I don't know if anyone from Port Arthur frequents this board, but maybe someone could tell us if that is the first All-Star win for their league since it is so newly created. I hope they have won before, but if not, Double congrats on the win tonight. I know the forecast still calls for the rain this week, but I think we will get the games in this week. The field is getting drier and drier and should be able to absorb some more water now. Port Arthur has done a great job hosting considering. I appreciate all the work.

Congrats to Orange...the only league to have two teams win in the first round.

I echo the good luck to all and may all the kids have fun.

Our uniforms came in ;D. We got everything from head to toe, so we should be a matched up. Thanks to everyone for willing to be so accommodating on that front. Now we just need to keep the rain away.

Good Luck and I hope the name change helps bring in lots of new players.

I would say the field is the same. Lazeek, I heard that you beat the crap out of your Pinto team this week. That is quite impressive.

No, It was me that Shiner saw out there. I appreciate the info on the coach's meeting. I really cannot add anything on the field conditions. They are what they are and it is not the best for sure. Young Gun, which team are you with? See everyone tomorrow night at the meeting. I have no idea on Orange, but I would really like to know.

They only had portable toilets during the Director's Tournament. However, they were clean when I used them. I think they may be able to have a fence up by this weekend, but building bathrooms will take longer than a week, so I really am betting against any bathrooms this weekend. I will be interested in what other people think about the field.

I went out to the field around lunch today to check it out. The yellow tape is definitely a planned fence for the tourney. I have no idea if they will be able to complete the fence by Saturday, nor did I get a good vision of what kind of fence they are putting in. The pitcher's mound is under construction, but I really couldn't tell what it will look like on Saturday. Whatever the condition, all the teams will have the same field conditions. I may make another trip out there later in the week. One thing for sure is that it was hot out there. The forecast calls for hot and humid all next week. That is one part of the tournament that will not be much fun.

I have been the 1 coach and taken the 2 team spot. I look at the bracket and the times of the games and if I think it is better for my team to take the 2 spot then thats what I do. That is exactly why I took the Vidor 2 spot this year.

Shiner, I was not reading the thread that well...Sorry about the oversight. That just leaves Orange as the unknown. I think that last year they went in in reverse order. I guess we will know on Tuesday. As far as the fields go, I have not been back over there since the Director's Tournament. The field is the last one on the left as you drive in. I was going to go over today, but I got busy. I heard that the City of Port Arthur was going to install a 6 foot high outfield fence at "regulation" distance. I wanted to go over and see how it was coming and how deep it was being set. Maybe the yellow rope is where they are planning on installing the fence. However, if it is not up by tomorrow, I would have to question whether the fence will happen before the tournament. Has anyone heard where the tournament meeting is going to be held. I was under the impression that there is no "boardroom" at the ballpark and that they would find an alternate location. Just what I have heard. I am open to correction on all fronts and appreciate the info from anyone.

Sorry that it has taken me so long to reply. We are going in as Vidor #2. Out of respect for our other team, I was reluctant to share which team we were going in as. However, we are now just a few days away from the Tournament Meeting on Thursday, and surely everyone has already decided what team is going in as what. So if Lazeek is right, the top Sour Lake team is going in as #1 and we are going in as #2. I have not heard anything from Orange, Groves, or Port Arthur. I figured with just a few days to go, there would be a little more chatter as to who has heard who looks good. We have only had 2 weeks of practice, but I am pleased with how we are coming together. I would love to hear some chatter from Orange or Groves. I can't remember the Groves A team from last year, but they had one team in the DT that had a very strong top of the lineup. Last year, Orange had a great team in All-Stars and another really solid team as well. Maybe someone knows something from either place. What about Port Arthur? I don't even know how many teams they had this year in league to choose from for All-Stars. Hopefully, there will be some more chatter this week. Good Luck To Everyone