Hoopsquad20, you must have some type of psychic premonition or something. You say junk D and adjustments will be huge in the Fatima/South Calloway game, with Fatima pulling out the win. You claim Newburg and Richland will finish above Licking in the Frisco League, with Newburg claiming the top spot. And you believe Sullivan will claim the title in the Four Rivers Conference, even though St. James beat them over the summer during the Licking Camps. Your Four Rivers prediction is understandable. Anyone could make an argument for Sullivan finishing in the top spot. However, your predictions in the Frisco and Show-Me run contrary to logical thinking. I just can’t figure out how you can make those predictions based on what everyone knows about these teams. Licking made final four last year and brings back virtually everyone. South Calloway is tough as nails and nearly beat Licking at the start of last season. Yet, you choose other teams to finish ahead of both of these teams in their conferences. Unless you have some type of psychic ability and see something the rest of us can’t (future injuries, etc), I just don’t see how you can pick Newburg and Fatima to finish in the top spots. Or maybe you just like rooting for the underdogs. For me, I love rooting for the underdog and I love to see underdogs upset conventional thought. Any thoughts on Hermann or Russellville? The Quincy girl from Herman is pretty phenomenal and Russellville has an incoming freshman that should get a lot of varsity playing minutes. Not sure where either of these two teams will finish in the conference.
As for travel ball, you are attributing a lot of negativity toward a particular organization. You claim that this organization negatively influences parents and players. The founder of the organization showed his displeasure with his daughter’s former high school coach and that’s it. He didn’t promote a culture that negatively impacted players. His organization drew players from a large swath of schools and he encouraged all players to work hard ( both in-season and out-season), show respect for both coaches and opponents, be humble, and give thanks to God. Just because he wasn’t crazy about his daughter’s high school coach doesn’t mean that he negatively influenced players and parents from all schools in the surrounding area. And you are sorely mistaken if you believe that all the parents’ displeasure for the high school coach came from the influence of this organization’s leader. Those seeds of discord were sown by many factors, not just one man. This organization had a powerful impact on the surrounding communities and offered experiences to players that they otherwise would never have gotten. I’m not saying everything or everyone was perfect, but if you weigh the pros and cons, you would see that the cons just can’t stack up to all the positive experiences afforded to the players.
I’m not saying all of this to start an argument or to get on your bad side because that’s certainly not my intent. I love reading what you and others post and hope to be able to respond without feeling like I’m ruffling feathers. I don’t want to make anyone mad because by doing so, I’ve left a bad taste and will always be seen as a contrarian by those people. But that’s just how social media works. Someone disagrees with another and before long, all kinds of nasties are being hurled back and forth. So trust me...I’m not looking for a fight or argument. I’m just giving my opinion, the same way everyone else gives theirs.
