3 hours ago, All State Baseball said:

Anyone know how well Estill County performed?

I saw bits & pieces of their pool games against Lincoln County & Northwest.  What I saw, seemed like they played Lincoln pretty even.  Northwest definitely seemed to get the better of them however.

Hazard and Montgomery County got into it with punches exchanged and were asked to leave. Hazard was 2-0 before that with wins over Bullitt Central 30-22, and Russell County 27-6. 
 

So August 23rd will be very interesting as Hazard travels there for the REC Bowl.

The final four ended up being Woodford Co, Pulaski Co, Zika Academy and Collins. 

On 7/19/2025 at 10:30 PM, Unrivaled97 said:

Zilla was the team from Georgia, correct?  I saw them play against Ryle & it looked like they were laying it on Ryle pretty good.  Their pool play field was diagonal from our field so I was able to catch some of those games.  Looked like they were loaded with athletes.  I found it strange that they all had different colored helmets, almost as if they were more of a club team than school team.

I heard some talking that this was just a 7v7 team.  Like the one Charles Johnson puts together up here in NKY.

2 hours ago, No Hiding Here....BC 21 said:

I heard some talking that this was just a 7v7 team.  Like the one Charles Johnson puts together up here in NKY.

I have mixed feelings on this.

One one hand, if my kid is a WR/TE/QB or even a HB trying to showcase his versatility and my home school is more rural and not catered to the finer elements of the passing game then I can see a travel 7 v 7 team as a great way for exposure.

On the other hand, that's a LOT of time, chemistry hours, and reps you aren't getting with your team.

Additionally, if I had to venture a guess... if I got my hands on a roster of this 7 on 7 team I am going to guess a fair share of these players are not from rural "run only" schools but instead are from noted strong programs or programs around a metro Georgia area like Atlanta, Columbus, Savannah, Macon, Valdosta, etc. 

Which tells me getting attention and getting noticed is not that difficult at their home based school.. maybe I am just turning into an old man... but that ain't for me if that's the case. Then again I also struggle with what travel baseball is these days as well.

 

**EDIT**

Consider I found this video and their tryouts were at Collins Hill High School, I feel even more confident in my statement above. Collins Hill was our old school district in Gwinnett County before we moved and confirms to me that a lot of these players are not coming from rural small areas of Georgia like a Brooks County, Swainsboro, etc... but are probably coming from areas that college coaches are already recruiting hard.

Let's put it this way.. Collins Hill is where Travis Hunter played and they play against noted programs in GA's largest classification that have had national success like North Gwinnett, Grayson, Norcross, etc... college scouts are on those fields multiple times a year. 

8 minutes ago, ATLCat said:

I have mixed feelings on this.

One one hand, if my kid is a WR/TE/QB or even a HB trying to showcase his versatility and my home school is more rural and not catered to the finer elements of the passing game then I can see a travel 7 v 7 team as a great way for exposure.

On the other hand, that's a LOT of time, chemistry hours, and reps you aren't getting with your team.

Additionally, if I had to venture a guess... if I got my hands on a roster of this 7 on 7 team I am going to guess a fair share of these players are not from rural "run only" schools but instead are from noted strong programs or programs around a metro Georgia area like Atlanta, Columbus, Savannah, Macon, Valdosta, etc. 

Which tells me getting attention and getting noticed is not that difficult at their home based school.. maybe I am just turning into an old man... but that ain't for me if that's the case. Then again I also struggle with what travel baseball is these days as well.

Found this on youtube:
Zilla Zoo's first-ever 7-on-7 tryout event aims to provide kids with an alternative to negative influences and offers a competitive football program.

And this on Instagram
ZILLA ZOO 7v7 (@zillazoo7v7) • Instagram photos and videos

 

 

7 minutes ago, No Hiding Here....BC 21 said:

Found this on youtube:
Zilla Zoo's first-ever 7-on-7 tryout event aims to provide kids with an alternative to negative influences and offers a competitive football program.

And this on Instagram
ZILLA ZOO 7v7 (@zillazoo7v7) • Instagram photos and videos

 

 

I edited my post after immediately researching and included the tryouts above! Thanks for posting.

After thinking on it, I have one other exception that I would applaud a travel 7 on 7 like this going to these type of "Summer play with your local program to get geared up" based tourneys and competing instead of sticking to a specific spring schedule against like constructed travel teams.

I could also see a scenario where you are taking players from urban public school systems where the program may not have the means to travel to multiple tournaments but this gives the opportunity to do that. I would applaud this...just not sure that's actually what is happening.

Macon Northeast is a god example just ten minutes from where I sit. They made a run to the State Finals last year and I could see travel 7 on 7 being an excellent path for those kids to get noticed or for their skills to get better displayed. Northeast wasn't exactly running a "high level" scheme on offense. Their line wasn't really good at protecting their QB and they were far better equipped at blocking for the zone read than pass blocking. If I am a WR at that school, there is no denying travel 7 on 7 would allow coaches to see and better evaluate your route running, quickness, and ball skills.

Once again, I don't want to make assumptions without a roster, but my guess is for every kid that this applies to you probably have two kids who are there simply because it let's them win more games and each of those spots is probably a kid who could use this exposure that is cut.

 

2 hours ago, ATLCat said:

I edited my post after immediately researching and included the tryouts above! Thanks for posting.

After thinking on it, I have one other exception that I would applaud a travel 7 on 7 like this going to these type of "Summer play with your local program to get geared up" based tourneys and competing instead of sticking to a specific spring schedule against like constructed travel teams.

I could also see a scenario where you are taking players from urban public school systems where the program may not have the means to travel to multiple tournaments but this gives the opportunity to do that. I would applaud this...just not sure that's actually what is happening.

Macon Northeast is a god example just ten minutes from where I sit. They made a run to the State Finals last year and I could see travel 7 on 7 being an excellent path for those kids to get noticed or for their skills to get better displayed. Northeast wasn't exactly running a "high level" scheme on offense. Their line wasn't really good at protecting their QB and they were far better equipped at blocking for the zone read than pass blocking. If I am a WR at that school, there is no denying travel 7 on 7 would allow coaches to see and better evaluate your route running, quickness, and ball skills.

Once again, I don't want to make assumptions without a roster, but my guess is for every kid that this applies to you probably have two kids who are there simply because it let's them win more games and each of those spots is probably a kid who could use this exposure that is cut.

 

There are plenty of 7 on 7 tourney's even leagues that these types of teams can play in and they are constructed for that type of play.  I have no problem with that if a kid can get exposure or extra reps.  What I don't understand is getting in a 7 on 7 tourney against a bunch of high school only teams or why EKU would allow that.  Would be similar to AAU basketball teams getting in a tourney against all high school only teams.  The 7 on 7 teams in Lexington in Louisville are comprised of kids from several different high schools and they generally travel out of state a lot but are going against similar teams not against a high school team. 

41 minutes ago, RVaughn said:

There are plenty of 7 on 7 tourney's even leagues that these types of teams can play in and they are constructed for that type of play.  I have no problem with that if a kid can get exposure or extra reps.  What I don't understand is getting in a 7 on 7 tourney against a bunch of high school only teams or why EKU would allow that.  Would be similar to AAU basketball teams getting in a tourney against all high school only teams.  The 7 on 7 teams in Lexington in Louisville are comprised of kids from several different high schools and they generally travel out of state a lot but are going against similar teams not against a high school team. 

AMEN! There is an entire spring season and tournaments specifically for these type of teams.

Now if it is a strategy to try and get exposure for some of the guys looking for even lower level offers...maybe... but I still don't get it. This point in 7 on 7 should be about timing reps with your teammates you are about to play a full season with.

 

It's like an AAU team choosing to go play at the Martin County Fast Lane Tip-Off Classic!

 

3 hours ago, RVaughn said:

There are plenty of 7 on 7 tourney's even leagues that these types of teams can play in and they are constructed for that type of play.  I have no problem with that if a kid can get exposure or extra reps.  What I don't understand is getting in a 7 on 7 tourney against a bunch of high school only teams or why EKU would allow that.  Would be similar to AAU basketball teams getting in a tourney against all high school only teams.  The 7 on 7 teams in Lexington in Louisville are comprised of kids from several different high schools and they generally travel out of state a lot but are going against similar teams not against a high school team. 

So their coaches can see these kids from GA and try to make connections with them and likely offer them in hopes they end up back that way. I'd say.