Griz Getting Dominated

[HookedonGriz]

Just got swept 3 games by ISU…. And outscored 23-1 in doing so.

Swept by UNC before that and outscored 29-10.

Haslam 100% needs to bring in an entire new staff. And he needs to do it yesterday. Anyone disagreeing with that doesn’t want to see this Griz team succeed or to see Griz softball flourish.

 

[alabamagrizzly]

Just got swept 3 games by ISU…. And outscored 23-1 in doing so.

Swept by UNC before that and outscored 29-10.

Haslam 100% needs to bring in an entire new staff. And he needs to do it yesterday. Anyone disagreeing with that doesn’t want to see this Griz team succeed or to see Griz softball flourish.

If Haslem has not already started a national search then something is definitely wrong.

 

[Griz til I die]

There’s literally no excuse anymore. I understand Haslam wanting to giver her every chance in the world to succeed, but by all accords she has failed. There’s no more giving her a pass. A change needs to be made

 

[thirdandlong]

There’s literally no excuse anymore. I understand Haslam wanting to giver her every chance in the world to succeed, but by all accords she has failed. There’s no more giving her a pass. A change needs to be made

And yet, you support our men's BB coach. Oh the irony

 

[3-7-77]

I don't follow Softball, and barely follow basketball. If you are looking for a change from Haslam, look to precidents. Shannon Cate was here HOW LONG, what was her record, problems, transfers.? MBB...?
He's had ten years, successful the the first four.

 

[thirdandlong]

I don't follow Softball, and barely follow basketball. If you are looking for a change from Haslam, look to precidents. Shannon Cate was here HOW LONG, what was her record, problems, transfers.? MBB...?
He's had ten years, successful the the first four.

Unfortunately, the portal, and the NIL program has radically changed recruiting and retention of players. If a head coach does not embrace these changes, he will be behind the curve. Regardless, the bottom line is winning the conference, and we haven't done that in awhile. And, any realistic fan should admit that we have more unanswered questions going into next season than any time in memory.

 

[Griz til I die]

And yet, you support our men's BB coach. Oh the irony

I never once said that. If you’ve been paying attention at all you would know that I’ve noted on multiple occasions now that next year is a contract year for Decuire and that it’s time to either ship up or ship out. I actually was in favor of making a change this year. You either have me confused with someone else or you just haven’t been paying attention. I tend to think it’s the latter

 

[Grizfan-24]

You aren't going to find a bigger supporter of Mel than I. I am not going to be one of those people who are blind to the issues going on within the program, but I am not going to throw coaches and staff under the bus either. Coaching at the D1 level isn't easy, and the staff had the decked stacked against them for a multitude of reasons over the past three years. I am not really going to restate things for the 933rd time in that regard as to why they did.

That being said, staff was put on notice this year and they know it is was a prove it season. Once we hit conference, the pitching (outside of Brinka) has regressed. Injuries again have played a part (losing Brock) but I don't think you can band-aid it anymore. Results matter. Going 0-9 in conference isn't all that you evaluate but it is enough after last year.

I watched a lot of the games last year and lions share this year over the conference and non-conference schedule when they've been streamed. This team is greatly improved and better prepared to win games that the version we saw last year. Up until conference, they were primed to be competitive in conference. That just hasn't been the case. Should have won 2 out of 3 against Weber and the wheels slowly came off against NC, and they weren't all that competitive against ISU.

Yes ISU (presumptive conference favorite) was a bad weekend and there was a lot of 2023 in the weekend and far less 2024. The pitching regressed and you can't overcome only having 1 consistent conference level pitcher (Brinka). Saw a lot of poor at-bats on Friday, tons of pressing by players to get back into the game. As a long time high school baseball and softball coach, I know the type of wear and tear lack of pitching can have on the totality of the program. Just eats away at you knowing you have to be perfect everywhere else.

Ultimately that is on staff. I just don't see a scenario over the last few weeks where it doesn't result in a full reset of the program.

FWIW, Softball and for that matter baseball recruiting aren't like other sports. There isn't a 1 to 1 scholarship to roster ratio. Few if any of the Griz softball players are on a full scholarship. I made this point about it last year about recruiting to Montana for softball isn't easy and the decked is stacked against anyone who coaches here. Pinkerton said that for anyone who'd listen and I know that Mel has said as much as well.

Montana is a black hole for competitive D1 HS girls (Maybe 1 every year at most) and probably has fewer options for in-state than anyone in the conference by large margin per-capita in the immediate region. They have to be really, really creative with scholarships to extend their money as far as they can go. As such the emphasis has been finding girls who fit the WUE requirements so they can offer less scholarship money and get more bang for their buck.

I think whomever has the program has to figure out how to make the scholarship economics work for softball here. I know that it has to be better than what we've seen the past two years. The players who they brought in this year have been a big improvment, but you just can't purge the roster like you can in Football or basketball because of the scholarship limitations. Maybe the NIL helps that in some way down the road, but right now they aren't able to offer that type of incentive to help offset the scholarships.

Are these issues that many BSC teams face? Absolutely. This staff hasn't recruited well enough to keep them competitive regardless of mitigating factors. I just want to be clear, they simply can't offer 20 girls from CA full rides and make it better over night. They have to bring in better talent and then get results. The overall talent is better than a year ago, and so is the product but it is really really apparent they had a very, very large hill to climb to be competitive.

They were better this year in just about every area and as much as I want Mel to succeed, I think we've seen they might be out of time.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

You aren't going to find a bigger supporter of Mel than I. I am not going to be one of those people who are blind to the issues going on within the program, but I am not going to throw coaches and staff under the bus either. Coaching at the D1 level isn't easy, and the staff had the decked stacked against them for a multitude of reasons over the past three years. I am not really going to restate things for the 933rd time in that regard as to why they did.

That being said, staff was put on notice this year and they know it is was a prove it season. Once we hit conference, the pitching (outside of Brinka) has regressed. Injuries again have played a part (losing Brock) but I don't think you can band-aid it anymore. Results matter. Going 0-9 in conference isn't all that you evaluate but it is enough after last year.

I watched a lot of the games last year and lions share this year over the conference and non-conference schedule when they've been streamed. This team is greatly improved and better prepared to win games that the version we saw last year. Up until conference, they were primed to be competitive in conference. That just hasn't been the case. Should have won 2 out of 3 against Weber and the wheels slowly came off against NC, and they weren't all that competitive against ISU.

Yes ISU (presumptive conference favorite) was a bad weekend and there was a lot of 2023 in the weekend and far less 2024. The pitching regressed and you can't overcome only having 1 consistent conference level pitcher (Brinka). Saw a lot of poor at-bats on Friday, tons of pressing by players to get back into the game. As a long time high school baseball and softball coach, I know the type of wear and tear lack of pitching can have on the totality of the program. Just eats away at you knowing you have to be perfect everywhere else.

Ultimately that is on staff. I just don't see a scenario over the last few weeks where it doesn't result in a full reset of the program.

FWIW, Softball and for that matter baseball recruiting aren't like other sports. There isn't a 1 to 1 scholarship to roster ratio. Few if any of the Griz softball players are on a full scholarship. I made this point about it last year about recruiting to Montana for softball isn't easy and the decked is stacked against anyone who coaches here. Pinkerton said that for anyone who'd listen and I know that Mel has said as much as well.

Montana is a black hole for competitive D1 HS girls (Maybe 1 every year at most) and probably has fewer options for in-state than anyone in the conference by large margin per-capita in the immediate region. They have to be really, really creative with scholarships to extend their money as far as they can go. As such the emphasis has been finding girls who fit the WUE requirements so they can offer less scholarship money and get more bang for their buck.

I think whomever has the program has to figure out how to make the scholarship economics work for softball here. I know that it has to be better than what we've seen the past two years. The players who they brought in this year have been a big improvment, but you just can't purge the roster like you can in Football or basketball because of the scholarship limitations. Maybe the NIL helps that in some way down the road, but right now they aren't able to offer that type of incentive to help offset the scholarships.

Are these issues that many BSC teams face? Absolutely. This staff hasn't recruited well enough to keep them competitive regardless of mitigating factors. I just want to be clear, they simply can't offer 20 girls from CA full rides and make it better over night. They have to bring in better talent and then get results. The overall talent is better than a year ago, and so is the product but it is really really apparent they had a very, very large hill to climb to be competitive.

They were better this year in just about every area and as much as I want Mel to succeed, I think we've seen they might be out of time.

Outside of FB, MBB, and WBB, WT, WVB, and Womens Gymnastics, everything is an equivalency sport. As for the bolded, I agree, but just three (3) pitchers from CA/AZ/TX might be a decent start. As you know, most good college coaches tend to recruit "down the middle" players in HS (P, C, 2nd, SS, and Center). The reason being is that those are the positions the best players tend to get put at when they're like 7 years old and up. My point is: that pitcher from CA/AZ/TX more than likely has a serviceable bat and can play middle infield as well because that's where they've played their whole lives when not in the circle. Just my thoughts.

 

[thirdandlong]

I never once said that. If you’ve been paying attention at all you would know that I’ve noted on multiple occasions now that next year is a contract year for Decuire and that it’s time to either ship up or ship out. I actually was in favor of making a change this year. You either have me confused with someone else or you just haven’t been paying attention. I tend to think it’s the latter

I was just messing with ya. No offense intended. My post was meant to make some of these Travis supporters think about why they continue to support him. Sometimes change is necessary to move forward.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

Outside of FB, MBB, and WBB, WT, WVB, and Womens Gymnastics, everything is an equivalency sport. As for the bolded, I agree, but just three (3) pitchers from CA/AZ/TX might be a decent start. As you know, most good college coaches tend to recruit "down the middle" players in HS (P, C, 2nd, SS, and Center). The reason being is that those are the positions the best players tend to get put at when they're like 7 years old and up. My point is: that pitcher from CA/AZ/TX more than likely has a serviceable bat and can play middle infield as well because that's where they've played their whole lives when not in the circle. Just my thoughts.

It’s lame to quote my own post, but I’m doing it anyway.

I just dropped my 12yo off at soccer practice at a local community college (she’s not in college, that’s just where the practice is). They have a decent softball team that was practicing on the adjacent field. I stayed and watched a bit and I saw at least six or seven women who I think could contribute to UM’s team tomorrow. Pitching, hitting, fielding, and overall awareness. These are women who were likely overlooked by regional DI programs for whatever reason, and would (I’m making a huge assumption) jump at any chance to play DI anywhere, even if it’s partially on loans.

This CC program is not unique. There are myriad all over the region. Just a shit ton of girls who have played year-round since they were six. There have to be some of them who could play for UM. I think it wouldn’t hurt us to look a bit harder outside of the PNW.

One last observation: I’ve noticed that “softball sisters” are sometimes more likely to follow one another for college than other sports. I’ve noticed a senior signing with X college and then her “bestie” on the HS or travel team signing the next year multiple times. I think if we can open up a pipeline, it could only help. It definitely can’t do any damage.

 

[Grizfan-24]

It’s lame to quote my own post, but I’m doing it anyway.

I just dropped my 12yo off at soccer practice at a local community college (she’s not in college, that’s just where the practice is). They have a decent softball team that was practicing on the adjacent field. I stayed and watched a bit and I saw at least six or seven women who I think could contribute to UM’s team tomorrow. Pitching, hitting, fielding, and overall awareness. These are women who were likely overlooked by regional DI programs for whatever reason, and would (I’m making a huge assumption) jump at any chance to play DI anywhere, even if it’s partially on loans.

This CC program is not unique. There are myriad all over the region. Just a shit ton of girls who have played year-round since they were six. There have to be some of them who could play for UM. I think it wouldn’t hurt us to look a bit harder outside of the PNW.

One last observation: I’ve noticed that “softball sisters” are sometimes more likely to follow one another for college than other sports. I’ve noticed a senior signing with X college and then her “bestie” on the HS or travel team signing the next year multiple times. I think if we can open up a pipeline, it could only help. It definitely can’t do any damage.

I got into a conversation a while ago with my HS's head softball coach about recruiting in Southern California. What I thought was interesting, for her decade experience as an ASA/travel ball coach, they are seeing less and less presence from college coaches in June/July as they used to. I've mentioned this before but it wasn't uncommon for college softball coaches to spend a week or two moving between LA and Riverside and just watching tournaments. She said the coaching presence hasn't recovered since the pandemic and she said the presence and dependence on scouting services/analytics and video recruiting has removed a lot of eyes. Philosophies have changed significantly on how college programs recruit. Ten years ago power 5 schools were offering 8th graders left and right from premier travel softball programs.

I think good or smart college programs recruit where people aren't. Travis made a living off recruiting Oakland until everyone recruited Oakland and he spent four or five years looking for talent elsewhere only to return the past two years. There is a lot of talent here that does get over looked because of how access driven the sport has become at the high school level.

I think there is hay to be made in recruiting here for Montana. I think whatever direction things go after this year, a lot of has to center on where they want to focus their limited resources in recruiting. We are seeing the impact of what that looks like when you have to recruit almost wholly regionally. There are reasons why that occurred, and frankly I am not going to get into it at this point.

They needed a talent infusion and all but one of their recruits did that this year and it was clearly not enough to change fortunes.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

I got into a conversation a while ago with my HS's head softball coach about recruiting in Southern California. What I thought was interesting, for her decade experience as an ASA/travel ball coach, they are seeing less and less presence from college coaches in June/July as they used to. I've mentioned this before but it wasn't uncommon for college softball coaches to spend a week or two moving between LA and Riverside and just watching tournaments. She said the coaching presence hasn't recovered since the pandemic and she said the presence and dependence on scouting services/analytics and video recruiting has removed a lot of eyes. Philosophies have changed significantly on how college programs recruit. Ten years ago power 5 schools were offering 8th graders left and right from premier travel softball programs.

I think good or smart college programs recruit where people aren't. Travis made a living off recruiting Oakland until everyone recruited Oakland and he spent four or five years looking for talent elsewhere only to return the past two years. There is a lot of talent here that does get over looked because of how access driven the sport has become at the high school level.

I think there is hay to be made in recruiting here for Montana. I think whatever direction things go after this year, a lot of has to center on where they want to focus their limited resources in recruiting. We are seeing the impact of what that looks like when you have to recruit almost wholly regionally. There are reasons why that occurred, and frankly I am not going to get into it at this point.

They needed a talent infusion and all but one of their recruits did that this year and it was clearly not enough to change fortunes.

I’ve heard the same re: college coaching presence from one of my daughter’s teammate’s mom. She was on the 04 Olympic gold medal team. Apparently in her day you could go to a platinum showcase tournament and see 30-40 coaches. Now, you’re lucky to see 5. That said, if the UM coaches want to come watch PGF nationals, they can stay with me to cut costs. I live within walking distance to the main complex.

 

[HookedonGriz]

I’ve heard the same re: college coaching presence from one of my daughter’s teammate’s mom. She was on the 04 Olympic gold medal team. Apparently in her day you could go to a platinum showcase tournament and see 30-40 coaches. Now, you’re lucky to see 5. That said, if the UM coaches want to come watch PGF nationals, they can stay with me to cut costs. I live within walking distance to the main complex.

Whoa whoa whoa this may getting awfully close to “Wife Night with the Cats Coaches” or whatever they had going there for a while!