[cpa]

I can think of one issue that is a big problem here in the South -- and it is the same problem we face w/ pitching.

Fast pitch in the South is only one generation old -- our game down here is not as mature as in some other parts of the country. Fast pitch went out in the 1950s when the cotton mills quit playing the men's game and did not come back until Title IX issues forced fast pitch upon us (certain suburbs excluded)

So we have a lot of folks coaching ball teams who aren't very savvy about fast pitch -- whether it's the stealing game or pitching. Girls aren't being taught to slide properly, just as they aren't being taught pitching mechanics until their parents hire a private pitching coach. And that works its way into high school ball where many HS teams are coached by someone who never PLAYED fast pitch.

So we are equipping young girls w/ weapons on their feet and not providing them training on the proper use. It's different in baseball -- we've been playing that forever, and most Daddys -- given a choice -- gravitate toward coaching their sons and leave their daughters to be coached by novice coaches.

Thankfully, since Georgia plays in the fall, we will get to see how this spring goes in some other places before our HS season starts in August.