Keystone Colonel

Lang is shut down from pitching this year - injured shoulder. She is better than Morgan though - SK should still be good.

Well say RetiredCoach - many good coaches get out or get run out by parents who think their little Johnny or Jenna will be the next starting point guard, pitcher, setter, etc. at UK. Some parents take a positive coaching situation and life learning/lesson opportunity to teach the girls about life and more than sports, and turn inside out and blame the coach. It amazes me at the number of parents today that always blame the teacher and/or coach first, even if they know their kid is in the wrong. My dad was my biggest defender but he never crossed the line with the coaches and he would have knocked me through a wall if I showed the disrespect and attitude that some of these players display towards their coaches and teachers.

There are some good softball coaches out there and available and some not so good and/or inexperienced that have been hired...many good coaches stick with travel ball so they don't have to deal with all the drama, politics and parents. High school coaching is certainly not worth the time or pay, these coaches have a thankless job and really must like the girls and/or sport to consider coaching.

Sorry guys - only drink the Blue and White (CCH, TMC, UK, XU). Love my special CCH Jim Beam collector's edition!!!

I believe St. Therese grade school also is the only parish school on an endowment plan where there is no tuition because the parish members cover the costs of the school - basically "adopt" a family. That way all their monetary contributions are tax deductible vs. tuition which is not.

Well, at least for 8th graders, they take the HS entrance exam, usually at the high school they plan to attend for more "academic scholarship" money. They are notified of their scores and acceptance in January and then are asked to register and pay a registration fee and schedule classes for their freshman year. If an 8th grader, regardless of their grade school, jumps through these hoops and makes a monetary commitment to the high school they are choosing to attend, then there should not be a problem. At this point, it should be obvious of their HS selection and they should be allowed to play softball as this all happens prior to the beginning of the spring school season. If there are high schools that have knowledge a 7th and/or 8th grader is planning to attend another high school, but still allow them to play sports at their school during those 2 years, then shame on them. My question is why they don't just go play at the high school they want to attend? There are NO DISTRICT FEEDER PARISHES as of a few years ago!!!!!!! Your current parish does not dictate where you have to attend high school and the tuition is the same for everyone - there is no out of district tuition and/or requirements anymore. Once people accept this, then all these points, arguments and the SILLINESS goes away. :thumb:

The "Academy" behind their name has nothing to do with it. Let me repeat - THERE ARE NO DISTRICT BOUNDARIES - AND AS OF 3 YEARS AGO WHEN THEY DID AWAY WITH OUT OF DISTRICT TUITION - THERE ARE NO "FEEDER" SCHOOLS. Call the Diocese Board of Education and ask their opinion. The high schools are still using the "feeder" school mantra as a marketing tool since there are a few high schools (HC, NDA, CCH, VMA, St. Hanks) that are vying for the same 7th and 8th graders regardless of where they attend. Not completely on the in with Brossart/NCC quarrels.

Any student who is a 7th or 8th grader currently enrolled in a Diocese of Covington Grade School can play softball at any Diocesan High School and still attend another high school. May not be fair, but it happens all the time. Students in grade school at Villa play high school and then leave to CCH or NDA for high school, as one example. Or kids moving between NCC and Brossart. In some cases, I know players who played for a Diocesan high school as a 7th or 8th grader and ended up at a public school like Dixie. As far as I have read, the KHSAA is silent on all of these scenarios. You can play a Varsity sport up through 8th grade and still change schools at the beginning of your freshman year without being subject to any penalties like sitting out a year. Again, may not be right, but alot of parents are choosing schools based on athletics and not academics necessarily. JMO

AMEN

Get the lead early and let your pitching and defense win you the game. The later in the game you have the lead, the more pressure the offense puts on themselves.

But that doesn't equate to good softball when all the NDA athletes play other sports.

I like the wooden bat leagues...just expensive for high school teams...especially given the economy.

I thought that was the whole idea of hiring a new coach, to get rid of the Kenny Shields, Dan Tieman, Mike Listerman half court style of basketball???? I was really hopeful at the beginning of the season because CCH was playing a high speed transition game that gave them a chance to be competitive. But now they are simple to defend. They walk it up the court, try to force it down to Tobler and if thats available a guard launches up a three.

:notworthy:

Agreed...there are suddleties. And correct, parents don't cause teams to lose, but the coaches don't always shoulder the blame. I think you nailed it with "the lack of experience amongst the girls". Great players can make any coach look good = especially a dominant pitcher.

good question

Nothing replaces tee work

Baseball vs. Softball Here's your rules differences: http://www.stevetheump.com/nfhs_rules_dif.htm Biggest difference - boys are happy to be on a team and will accept a role. They also have short memories. Don't pay much attention to parents because most fields deny direct access to fans. Girls - want to play or once they hit 16 and discover boys, money, car, job, etc..the commitment level is not there. No play, no commitment and they will remember one thing forever and never let it go. Drama everywhere. And most fields allow parents to find there way into a dugout....bad combination. (My apologies to our fellow female bloggers, but this is the majority at least in my experience. It is not meant to be shovanistic (sp?)) Now, not withstanding the obvious strategies (bunt defense, some baserunning based on rules like look by rule, cutoffs, field layouts, etc., the fundamentals are pretty Word Filter ViolationWord Filter ViolationWord Filter ViolationWord Filter Violation close if they are being taught correctly. Throwing - same motion Fielding - same positioning and aggressiveness Mental intelligence and fortitude - have to know the game, situations, etc. Pitching - obviously the biggest difference - one dominant pitcher can make any coach look good. Catching - setting up, blocking, receiving, throwing - all similiar Catching fly balls - same Bunting - same (not including slapping here which is a specialty to fast pitch) Running technique - same Hitting - rotational vs. contact (I'd love to see Bustos not hit with a rotational technique and see where the power goes) This is obviously meant for a high level comparison, but to be a "good" high school fastpitch coach, someone with a baseball background who has passion, dedication, knows the above fundamentals, can/has experience to manage a program, communicate with players, parents, administration, push academics, etc., then you have found a "good" coach. No high school coach has enough time to teach the players everything given the preseason weather, limited facilities, limited interest in the sport - the real players are made in the offseason when they play travel. As point out earlier, high school coaches have a thankless job. But a DEFINITE YES, and we can all agree to disagree, but BASEBALL COACHES can make "good" softball coaches...the know it all parents are the biggest problem.:isurrender::deadhorse:

There is no "feeder" schools anymore...the Diocese decided to do away with that when they mandated that ALL tuition be the same for everyone. People may think there are "feeder" schools, or better yet parishes, but the honest truth is you can go to any Diocesan high school and pay the same rates regardless of where you live now.

I don't believe these schools cut - throw Villa in the crowd as well.

Fast pitch is still new to NKY so the players and coaches still have a lot to learn at the high school and summer level. There is also a lot of turnover among NKY fast pitch softball coaches for various reasons, but I think the "energy" is key. If you have a coach that puts forth a lot of time and energy with the kids at any level and can teach them the basics, then the strategies, etc. will come with experience. With that said, fast pitch softball is like baseball in almost every aspect with the main difference being pitching and the baserunning rules. Hitting, throwing, fielding, catching, fundamentals, etc. are almost identical to softball. Baseball coaches can make the switch - Persinger has done a good job with his program at Bracken after years of coaching baseball. Coach Gregg at WV coached baseball for years and the BGP blogs both rate them as quality coaches.

Not sure where the NDA came from, but if NDA beat Holmes and Holy Cross, then I guess you give them the nod unless something has changed. The entire district is young, has new coaches and did not really have good years last year. Do any of the 4 teams deserve to be top 10? This is a weak Region and explains why Ryle travels so much.

I honestly like Beechwood. New coach at HC is Lee Meeks.

Holy Cross has 3 wins last year and now a new coach - in the top 10??? Not sure about that one :popcorn:

Some of the schools need the Junior High to field a team (VMA, Holy Cross, etc.). Others want to compete and play the best, no different than the public schools (NCC, Bishop, St. Henry, NDA - finally).