Couldn't agree more wilsonvb. Beating another club team first round of gold doesn't make you open it just makes you the better team, at least for that
day. If you're still finding competition at the club level then you have every right to be there. I saw Tampa Bay last year at JO's, and all though
they were a great team, they had to work for that win because there were certainly other good teams that made it to gold. Also saw them at Big South. Still a
great team but no match for Northern Lights. So as they continue to build to a solid Open team, there is still plenty of room for them in club if they choose.
They have there Open bid now, so certainly doesn't make sense. Possibly the day will come when they are a true Open team but that is not as easily
accomplished as some seem to think.
Dawgnit- Your definition of an Open team is not a solid one. We happen to be the top team in our region. We just began playing Open this season and barely compete and have no hopes of qualifying unless we get surprised with an at-large bid. Our regions #2 team finished below 30th at the qualifiers they attended last year in club and you are telling me that not only should this sub-30 finishing team play Open but the 3-8 teams below it should as well. Our #5 team is at best a recreation level team and shouldn't even consider a club qualifier much less Open. Southern Cal, North Texas or Lone Star might fit in that package but it's a small package. Please think that through again. If the top 5 in each region was the determining factor for Open, we would have a pretty watered down Open division and the college recruiters would be shaking their heads. Great clubs like KIVA and MAVA rarely have 2 teams playing Open much less beyond that. Open is the ELITE of all. It's not just the teams that happen to be better than your club team. If you brought your best game and still couldn't win then it looks like the only option is to get a better best game. You can't possibly think that the better team should sit out of JO's because they can't qualify Open and to make the road to getting a club bid easier for the rest. C'mon it's competition... COMPETE!
Dadstir-It's not a matter of lowering yourself it's a matter of improving yourself. You want to keep playing so that you get better. Club teams that don't qualify wait until next year because they have no other choice. Open teams that don't qualify Open have a choice and that choice is club. If they were good enough to play Open then they would have got an Open bid either by winning it or being given an at-large bid. If neither happens, then of course they should play club. If they won the qualifier they should obviously be there, why, because they are simply the better team and JO's is designed for the best teams. Yes, in the end, JO's is essentially the goal. The goal is to get better and be the best you can be. Doing so leads to a spot at JO's and for every teenage girl....THAT"S A PRETTY BIG DEAL!! Are you going to tell a NCAA basketball team that the Big Dance is no big deal? If you don't make it this year, skip the NIT and wait until next year. Right!?
Dawgnit- Your definition of an Open team is not a solid one. We happen to be the top team in our region. We just began playing Open this season and barely compete and have no hopes of qualifying unless we get surprised with an at-large bid. Our regions #2 team finished below 30th at the qualifiers they attended last year in club and you are telling me that not only should this sub-30 finishing team play Open but the 3-8 teams below it should as well. Our #5 team is at best a recreation level team and shouldn't even consider a club qualifier much less Open. Southern Cal, North Texas or Lone Star might fit in that package but it's a small package. Please think that through again. If the top 5 in each region was the determining factor for Open, we would have a pretty watered down Open division and the college recruiters would be shaking their heads. Great clubs like KIVA and MAVA rarely have 2 teams playing Open much less beyond that. Open is the ELITE of all. It's not just the teams that happen to be better than your club team. If you brought your best game and still couldn't win then it looks like the only option is to get a better best game. You can't possibly think that the better team should sit out of JO's because they can't qualify Open and to make the road to getting a club bid easier for the rest. C'mon it's competition... COMPETE!
Dadstir-It's not a matter of lowering yourself it's a matter of improving yourself. You want to keep playing so that you get better. Club teams that don't qualify wait until next year because they have no other choice. Open teams that don't qualify Open have a choice and that choice is club. If they were good enough to play Open then they would have got an Open bid either by winning it or being given an at-large bid. If neither happens, then of course they should play club. If they won the qualifier they should obviously be there, why, because they are simply the better team and JO's is designed for the best teams. Yes, in the end, JO's is essentially the goal. The goal is to get better and be the best you can be. Doing so leads to a spot at JO's and for every teenage girl....THAT"S A PRETTY BIG DEAL!! Are you going to tell a NCAA basketball team that the Big Dance is no big deal? If you don't make it this year, skip the NIT and wait until next year. Right!?
