Orlando Comets

(KB - 08/04/05) OK, you wanted to talk about the Comets Blue team, lets talk about the Comets Blue team. The Comets Blue team was formed in the autumn of 2003 immediately after the merger of the Orlando Lightning and the Orlando Comets. Many people, including SG, made a habit of referring to the Comets Blue team as the "B" team. Nothing drew a rise out of Comets coach Garfield Blair more quickly. He invariably pointed out that the Blue team was conceived as a viable, competitive entity in the AAU b. 1989 division. And he wanted to ensure that any publicity the team received in Milquetoast mirrored that view. But SG, blunt as always, is going to say how it eye-ess-wuz. The Blue team was formed because, after the merger, the Comets had too many players on their roster. Playing time was going to be an issue. There were either going to be unpalatable cuts of long time team members - or - a new team was going to be formed. The Comets chose the latter course. The original Blue team consisted of Jessica George, Kayla Griffin, Kristy Rivera, Callie Rivers, Candace Thompson, Lauren Thomas, Samantha Shields, Tiara Jackson, Michelle Troche, Arielle Johnson, Ciara Jones, A.C. Capehart and Larissa Wright. Griffin, George, Rivera and Thompson had been long time members of the Comets organization. Troche had been a Comet in the early years but left the team in 2002. Jessica's father Dino George was chosen as the coach of the new team. The Blue team got off to a rocky start. By definition, their main competition in the 14U division was the five-time state champion Red team. The Red team was stacked with just about every top Class of 2007 player in Florida. By adding Krystal Thomas in the front court and Jacky Nikic on the wing, the Red team shored up just about all of their weaknesses. The Red team cruised past the Blue team by 30 points on every occasion. So the Blue team sought out and found a reliable competitor: The Clearwater Heatwave (sans Sthefany Thomas). The Heatwave had been hounding the Comets for years and had not a single win to show for it. The Blue team decided to take on the Heatwave as a local competitor using this as a stepping stone to build a team that might be competitive with the Red team. This is where the story gets a little murky. While ostensibly a sister team of the Red team, the Blue team mapped out a path by which they might gain parity with the Red team. To this end they recruited their own players and set their own game strategy. However, Red team players that did not get "enough playing time" regularly ended up with the Blue team. Brittany Waters came directly to the Blue team from the Red team. Asia Wilson came by way of DEBO. And when the Blue team was able to make a recruiting coup, the Red team was sure to be right there with their hands out (see Laquita Curry and Jalena Childs). So, on the one hand the teams were sisterly rivals. On the other hand, the Blue team was more of a developmental team for the Red team. This didn't sit well with Coach George. No Blue team players have made the jump to the Red team yet. If Coach George has his say, none will period. He doesn't believe in developing players for competitors. And yet the teams regularly practice together. Coach Blair sits on the Blue team bench from time to time and shares coaching tips and tricks. The teams travel together and map out tournament strategy together. This systemic dichotomy defines the Blue team. They want to be a viable competition team in their age group AND they want to be a loyal organizational team. (They want to have their cake and eat it, too) They are walking on well travelled ground. The Georgia Pistols have a number of teams in the same age bracket, all of them delineated by different colors--much like the Comets Red and the Comets Blue. Indiana's Finest has the same thing. Both these non-Florida organizations make it clear that the teams are divided by talent. Players move between teams by excelling at one level and then moving up. They have 'A' teams, 'B' teams, etc. Fencor even calls their teams Fencor 'A's, 'B's, and 'C's. The parents sign an agreement early in the season that specifies that a player can be called up or send down at any time during the season--at the coach's sole discretion. The Comets Blue has no such agreement. And they further complicate the situation by focusing on getting their players seen by the largest number of scouts. The Blue team has set a huge table for themselves.