A Sea Of Red

LU 8 McDaniel 0
LU 9 Lynchburg Col 0

Freshmen look good. The Bishop twins are real deal.

Let's see what happens when they face higher quality pitching.

That is true, but I think we will be much improved over last season. Only worry I have now is who will play shortstop. I am not sure we have a true "gold glove" shortstop. Corner OF spots should be greatly improved.

ballcoach15 wrote:That is true, but I think we will be much improved over last season. Only worry I have now is who will play shortstop. I am not sure we have a true "gold glove" shortstop. Corner OF spots should be greatly improved.

You would think, of all positions, HS shortstops would be lining up to play for Dot Richardson

It is puzzling as to why we do not have a "gold glove" pure shortstop. We have lot of depth on infield, but shortstop has me worried.

You would think, of all positions, HS shortstops would be lining up to play for Dot Richardson

In talking with current high school players, many don't have a clue who she is!

Well bear in mind, the 15 year olds (high school freshmen) would not have been born until 2001, the year AFTER she won her second gold medal. These are the girls who grew up with Leah Amico, Crystl Bustos, Cat Osterman, Jessica Mendoza, Tasha Watley, Stacy Nuveman, Monica Abbott, Jennie Finch, Lovie Jung, Vickie Galindo, etc. The seniors (Class of 2017) were born in 1998 and 1999 and so they really would not know the name all that well.

That's exactly my point! DR is, at most, a name on a bat that they use or once used. The same can be said for Turner Gill. He's a name in a stat sheet to the recruits, not someone they watched growing up. Perhaps our AD overlooked that when he hired "big" names.

Dalegarz1 wrote:That's exactly my point! DR is, at most, a name on a bat that they use or once used. The same can be said for Turner Gill. He's a name in a stat sheet to the recruits, not someone they watched growing up. Perhaps our AD overlooked that when he hired "big" names.

Are you saying neither can coach?

I think he is suggesting that JB's mindset was that if we get "big names", the recruits come flocking to the mountain. The name of the coach is only one cog in the recruiting machine. Course when your name is Nick Saban or Chip Kelly or Jimbo Fisher or Mike Candrea or Ralph Weekly its going to have a much bigger impact.

I agree BJ-however as far as their coaching abilities-the jury is still out. Disappointing seasons a year ago for both.

I think we are in for a big season in 2017. Should be improved at every position. I will be disappointed If we not in NCAA tournament.

Not good enough to just get into the NCAA's. We need to advance in the tournament.

Dalegarz1 wrote:Not good enough to just get into the NCAA's. We need to advance in the tournament.

Gotta start somewhere.

With both DR and TG at this point it is the parents of the recruits moreso than the kids themselves who know who they are and admire and respect them, and that can still be a big deal

olldflame wrote:With both DR and TG at this point it is the parents of the recruits moreso than the kids themselves who know who they are and admire and respect them, and that can still be a big deal

I can see this with Dot Richardson within softball circles, but does Turner Gill have the respect/name recognition amongst football parents? Maybe, but he's far from a household name.

adam42381 wrote:

olldflame wrote:With both DR and TG at this point it is the parents of the recruits moreso than the kids themselves who know who they are and admire and respect them, and that can still be a big deal

I can see this with Dot Richardson within softball circles, but does Turner Gill have the respect/name recognition amongst football parents? Maybe, but he's far from a household name.

Dot is certainly more of a household name than Gill Turner is well respected in Big 12 territory, and of course mainly Texas, where he is from and Nebraska, where he played and coached We have recruited Texas extremely well and picked up an OL this year from Nebraska

You're correct olldflame...the parents of these girls were the ones watching the1996 Olympics when she hit the home run to win the gold medal. That can still play a factor, but I think its going to be what she does as a coach to really start getting better recruits to play in Lynchburg, and her 1996 exploits serve as a part of the pitch (no pun intended) instead of being the main selling point.

We need to win a Regional, then a Super Regional and get to WCWS. That will put LU softball on the map nationwide.

Now you're talking ballcoach! Nevertheless, the more interesting discussion is the hiring of big name coaches and the effect it has on the success of the program. In addition, how much did the "name" come into JB's decision to hire them. Initially, a big name would seem to have positive affects on recruiting. It's like the first day of school when the teacher has the respect of most of the students simply because they are the teacher. That wears off quickly and any subsequent respect must be earned. The same with coaching-CCU football is a good example. Not a big name (except on Wall Street)-but sure has had success. I think we have very good athletes in softball and football. The ingredients are there but it takes a skilled coach to put them together the right way. That's why this year is pivotal for both programs.

Winning brings in recruits. If LU can win enough for the "softball world" to stand up and take notice, recruiting will be easier for coaching staff. Only Baylor and LSU have better facilities than LU. LU has potential to become a "softball power".

Bear in mind... Facilities =/= wins. You can have top notch facilities and all the money in the world, but it comes down to the coaches and the girls between the lines.