8u Machine, 10u 12u and 14u Tournament
June 5 & 6
Faulkner Park

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After a great start to the 2010 High school softball season, I had the pleasure of taking in numerous games through out North East Texas. This past weekend I was an over achiever and hit 3 different tournaments. I packed up my wife and two daughters and left my son Running Bush, for those of you that know him- he is 17 and runs all over Tyler even though he has a car parked in driveway. For those of you that don't know him, his name is Ty and has a BIG fro. Can't miss him.
Back to the sport I love, softball.
First of all let me start off by saying, I am no expert. This is what i have observed since January and it is soley just my opinion-2 cents. When I started out this year it was mainly to watch some games of the girls that have played for my travel team over the years. I soon found out how small the softball community in East Texas is. There were tons of kids I knew since they were 5-6 years old and are now playing high school ball. Wow I am getting old. For many of them, this was a big step in their softball progression. Some are having a great experience and others are somewhat disappointed.
This past weekend in Longview, I was able to catch the best played high school softball game that I have seen this year as I juggled the fields. It was between North Little Rock 7A-Arkansas State Champs and Rusk Eagles. What a solid game, full of all the ingredients- solid pitching, good hitting, solid defense and stellar coaching by both teams. Coach Parr of NLR and Coach Mac of Rusk have done an excellent job of getting their team ready for district play and a run for championship play. In the final inning of the game, NLR was able to hold off Rusk with a nail biting 3-2 victory. Rusk did not go down without a last effort push with Sophmore Arika Minchew hitting a solo bomb over left field fence. The ball was hit so far, I thought they were serving pretzels on that flight. Sr Callie Collins-Rusk did a great job pitching. Congrats to Callie for all her hardwork. She has committed to UT Arlington.
One of the things that stood out for me was the coaching. It was obvious that both teams had coaches that knew the game. After watching so much softball, this was very refreshing. I will be the last to tell anybody how to coach their team, I am sure the coach will tell you that the parents do that well enough. But seriously, we all know that If a school was hiring a football coach, they would definately require them to have experience and winning record or at least played the game. I saw teams that had great athletes but no structure or discipine or for that matter a game plan. I also saw teams with decent coaching but their kids were not serious about the game. It was more of a social event but at least they had fun. Last but not least, I saw seasoned coaches talk down and degrade their players and coach with fear and humiliation when a player makes a mistake. It's kind of funny, it was a coaching mistake but the players would still get chewed out. To me, this was a HUGE mistake. I have been around female athletes long enough to know the obvious, A FEMALE ATHLETE MUST FEEL GOOD TO PLAY GOOD WHERE AS A MALE ATHLETE HAS TO PLAY GOOD TO FEEL GOOD. Good luck to the coaches who feel they need to intimidate. We have all worked for a boss that manages in this manner and it doesn't work for the long haul.
I am excited to see the sport growing in East Texas and I look forward to catching more games. Please join 903fastpitch on FB and feel free to post game times, scores, post photos, etc. However, PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS SITE TO CALL OUT BY NAME SCHOOLS, COACHES, PLAYERS OR PARENTS unless it is positive.
You know what Mama says, if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it!


Fastpitch Hitting Lessons offered by Roo Richardson- 2 Time All American
2 Time Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Easton All-American, Univ Texas at Tyler- All time HR leader, All time On Base Leader and member of the Sneaky Cleats Coaching Staff. It's time to get back in the swing of things. Brush up on your techniques with one of East Texas' best and former UT Tyler's Lady Patriots. This is a great opportunity for players to work with someone who has been there and done that.

Call for private or group lessons:
 www.roorichardson.com roorichardson23@gmail.com or call 903-808-0531



1st Annual Pre-High School Tournament

Thanks to all the teams that participated in the tournament. It was cold but the parents and players were troopers! We also want to say a special "Thank you" to all of the College Coaches that came out. We appreciate your support and plan on a BIGGER event next year adding a Season Opener High School Tournament!