rank the softball hotbeds in the U.S.

[riseball]

are you being serious....?

Yep. Some days you would catch a break. Air Station is long gone now. Turned it into a park or something. Folks got tired of Phantoms and Hornets leaving in full AB.

 

[MsDinosaur]

What? No KC? I was just looking at the all the pretty colors there......ON THE RADAR!

LOL, DD's team picked up a girl whose family has moved from Virginia. Nice folks, but after our temperatures careened back and forth from the 30s/40s to the 70s/80s a few times, they were like, "Um, what's with the weather?"

 

[marriard]

Some observations just looking at just travel softball over the past few years:
- GA has consistently produced some very impressive teams that compete on a national level.
- FL and TX are strong, but haven't done much against the best lately on the national level.
- AZ has gone from just producing a few players for SoCal teams to producing some strong teams.
- CA has lost ground as other areas are catching up and major SoCal orgs are franchising teams.

I think the early college recruiting has hurt the overall development of players and teams.

I agree somewhat. The best Florida has to offer are often off the exposure circuit early - or never even get on it as there is other exposure opportunities here that others states don't offer. Many TB & HS programs are well known and are recruited hard and early by many programs

I also think one of the issues Florida and Texas have is one of size and density. It is just hard to get all the top players together on one side because there is so many local options. Why would I drive 90 minutes to play for the absolute best team in the area when I can play for a slightly worse team 10 minutes away - or maybe by playing for that closer team they are now the best team in the area? There isn't 'one best team to play for' in any area - there are several - and the players to play for them - so the top talent is a little thinner amongst all teams. South Florida teams suffer from this a lot - the northern teams appear to do it a little better.

And it takes slightly less time to drive to Atlanta as it does for me to drive to Pensacola (which is in-state). Florida is LONG.

Last comment - I don't think that CA softball is getting better/worse/dropping - I just think other areas are closing the gap and it is more obvious because the gap was so wide to begin with. Florida is really only on its second generation of fastpitch players - it was slowpitch through HS and even in college not that long ago.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

Yep. Some days you would catch a break. Air Station is long gone now. Turned it into a park or something. Folks got tired of Phantoms and Hornets leaving in full AB.

Closed, but not long gone. Many of the buildings and runways are still there. Top Gear USA uses the runways for a test track.

Irvine's "Great Park" has been a huge fiasco - they spent most of the money and only have a baloon ride and a series of ever-changing plans to show for it. The housing crash put a big crimp in their plans as portions of the base will be developed for residential and other uses.

 

[MsDinosaur]

Last comment - I don't think that CA softball is getting better/worse/dropping - I just think other areas are closing the gap and it is more obvious because the gap was so wide to begin with. Florida is really only on its second generation of fastpitch players - it was slowpitch through HS and even in college not that long ago.

I think you're right. The rest of the country, even the warm weather states, was way behind California for a long time. Girls in some areas are always going to not reach their full potential due to climate, but I don't see why girls from the deep south can't end up having the same sort of success that CA softball players have enjoyed.

In a corollary, I also don't believe the PAC12 has gotten worse; the other conferences have improved.

 

[Pdiddy]

Yep. Some days you would catch a break. Air Station is long gone now. Turned it into a park or something. Folks got tired of Phantoms and Hornets leaving in full AB.

most people's commute is 30-60 minutes one way everyday (if you are lucky)....and work be thanking the lord for a 20 minute commute one way...hell it takes 20 minutes to get somewhere in my own suburb.....

 

[riseball]

most people's commute is 30-60 minutes one way everyday (if you are lucky)....and work be thanking the lord for a 20 minute commute one way...hell it takes 20 minutes to get somewhere in my own suburb.....

Very true. Know some folks near Atlanta and they would love to have a 60 minute commute.

 

[MsDinosaur]

Very true. Know some folks near Atlanta and they would love to have a 60 minute commute.

Hehehe, my average commute is 7-8 minutes--used to be 5 minutes but my office moved one exit further up I-29.

On the other hand, nearly every softball activity I drive DD to is 40 minutes to an hour away, so it's really not much of a win...

 

[guero_gordo]

are you being serious....?[/QUOTE

It's no Twentynine Palms or Victorville, but it's special in its own way.

 

[slingnit]

Agreed TX, CA, GA, FL, AND AZ are the largest hotbeds. But the number of players in ratio with the population Oklahoma is represented as well as anyone. 10 girls on the 2013 National Champs team. In comparison to 5 in state kids on the 2012 Bama Tide team. Like I said the shear numbers do not compare but the percentage is up there with the best of them. And I'm not sure that they play the WCWS in any other state, or am I wrong on that!