As a parent of one of the young ladies on Intensity, and having never read any of this trash talk before,(but heard all about it) I must say that the older girls on this team all played on different select teams from as far back as 10U. They all have had many coaches over the years who taught them good sportsmanship, refined their skills, tried to make them into the best ballplayers possible. They also have experienced coaches, players, and parents who taught them the exact opposite skills.(not good!) I know my daughter learned life lessons from each kind of person,so her decision to play for this team was colored by all she has learned as an A-ball player over the years. She chose to play for Intensity this year for the exact reason she had always played for a certain team, to be the best that she could. To contribute her skills to a team that had her best interests at heart, while being as competitive as possible. That is why she left league ball and became an A-ball player years ago. If some of the other players on this team chose to do this exact thing because they felt their best interests were not being met, and they wanted to be as competative as possible, then I think they made the right choice for themselves. Hasn't that always been what select ball was about? Kids come and go on teams, but a truly competative Select team never has problems filling spots because of the quality of their coaching and the playing of the best 9 kids on the field at all times, period. My daughter has made good and bad choices in her short lifetime, and she has reaped the benefits or suffered the consequences. That is what life lessons are, making good choices and living with them, and making bad choices and living with them. With a National Championship under her belt now, I think she made a wise choice to play with the best group of players possible. It was icing on the cake that they happened to be high school teammates as well as best friends. That doesn't always happen in life, it was truly a blessing from God that she had this opportunity at all. So, in the end, all cry-babies and trash talk aside, good or bad choices, these 14 girls did make the right choice to play their best ball, be seen and be recriuted by college coaches, and know the true meaning of teamwork and heart. Knowing most of these girls and their parents personally for years, they are good, spoiled, hard-working, talented, smelly softball players who we all love with all our hearts because they have always been champions. Now it's just nice for them to be known Nationally for their achievemnts. Congratulations Nederland Intensity 18U IFA National Champions 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
