Quote from: frank_ezelle on April 27, 2009, 08:21:52 AM
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE READ THIS:
With all the excitement generated by Hendrix and the fine play of Centre, keep in mind that with the plans now in place, these two teams would not have been at the tournament. The new plan is for only the 1st and 2nd place teams from each division participating in the SCAC Tournament in baseball and several other sports.
This rule has to be changed and everyone interested in these SCAC athletes needs to talked to the coaches, the athletic directors, and especially the school presidents who made this decision. I understand the need to save money, but there have to be better ways to cut costs rather than denying deserving and capable teams and athletes a shot at an SCAC Championship.
Silence from the fans, parents, etc. on this is a real disservice to the student-athletes of the SCAC.
Frank, I could not agree more with this sentiment. As a very, very proud Hendrix alum, I am sad that this is the kind of cost-cutting measure that just deprives deserving kids. It seems to be that there are other ways to cut budgets without taking away opportunities like those that Centre and Hendrix just had.
You would also hope that these private colleges, when their teams get such opportunities, will find the money to support them with donations and fundraisers.
Quote from: infielddad on April 27, 2009, 11:57:52 AM
To follow on some of Frank's observations:
Congratulations to the Hendrix players and coaching staff! What a day, what a tournament, what a season!!
For me, this day has some special meaning that might help others have a glimpse of what this day means at Hendrix.
In 2004, TU won the SCAC's and our son had a wonderful season. Through another message board, I received a very nice email. It was from a 2004 Hendrix player/graduate I had never met. Included in the email were some thoughts about how our son played the game with respect for his opponents.
In 2004/2005/2006, we continued to email, he continued to follow our son, and even went to see him when Jason played a Milb game near is home in Illinois.
Through these communications, I was impressed with the love for the game, the love for Hendrix and Hendrix baseball, and that there was a true appreciation that while his team struggled, he and his teammates were treated with respect.
Through further emails, I learned the player was thinking of becoming a coach at Hendrix. He provided glimpses of what he thought they could accomplish and the dream he had for others, that he had not experienced.
Well, that player is now an assistant coach.
His name is Neil Groat.
Yesterday, he saw his players fulfill the dream he emailed about in 2004/2005. To the credit of Neil and the Hendrix staff, they created the dream so that others could experience what they did not. They then did the recruiting and the coaching so this team could share the dream Neil helped create.
Congratulations to Neil Groat for dreaming big, for standing in your dream, for doing the work to make that dream become real, and for helping others experience what you only dreamed.
What an exceptional post. Your son was indeed a classy, accomplished player on an incredibly tough team. And Neil is indeed one of the finest people you'll ever meet, absolutely committed to this program and the development of these players.
It's incredible that this Warrior team accomplished what it did for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that for the better part of a decade, it was a program that unfortunately had some coaching instability and some splintering among team members. I think it's safe to say that behind the leadership of RJ Thomas, Neil Groat and Jay Mattox, you now have a bunch of guys who see themselves as a single unit and plays the game day in and day out with vigor and enthusiasm. Hendrix's team stats this year weren't necessarily impressive, but they fielded the ball almost flawlessly, and their pitchers didn't put guys on base like they used to do in the past. Add in the fact that you had a very strong lineup that really started pounding the ball in April, and a shut-down type of reliever in Wheeler Gnat, and the formula for a conference championship team was in place.
Millsaps, incidentally, is absolutely one of the best teams in the country and deserves an at-large bid. After all, they lost three one-run games to Hendrix this year, and now those are quality losses when you consider what the Warriors have done. Jim Page is all class, all the time, and his team merits the bid without question.