which states are making the most progress ...

[ManitouDan]

in catching up with Ca in the 10-12u age groups ? I'm a transplanted Ohioian from Ky and would like to think that east of the missisip Ohio is at the top of the list. The 12u Ohio Slammers finished 5th out in Ca last year and the Lady Lasers were top ten I think. And 1 12u team beat the slammers in Ohio (Valley Extreme Red). At the 10u level the Lady Lasers finished top 10 as well in Alabama. So there is some good softball being played --It's tuff when you are inside 5 months a year . What other states are worthy of being mentioned. MD

[Cookie]

Cal is still the power house of softball but little by little they are getting caught by everywhere else. Great teams and organizations are poping up all over the country. Their should be some great teams at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame this summer that you can check out before ASA nationals.

[NumeroUno]

Don't forget about the Virginia Shamrocks, great organization and rumor is they will have a great 12U team this year. In 16's last year Batbusters from cal got third 1st went to Nashville Cruisers and a team from the land of Lincoln( Illinois ) got second.

[jofus]

I believe the Shamrocks is the team that Angela Tincher played for, that is a senior for Va Tech this year, and was one of the top few pitchers in NCAA last year.

[xxxYerOut]

The Ohio Slammers were very good at 12u Nat's. But outside of SoCal, Texas seems to be the closest in having a number of quality teams. Did anyone see the pitcher from The Peppers? Mostly all fast and up, but she could bring it for a 13 yo. (WOW)

[Lannie]

Are there any other teams from other states that might not have the opportunity to play ASA that might be as good or better?

[ManitouDan]

Why would the opportunity to play not be there for everyone ? economics? Not trying to be argumentative but no state or geographical area is locked out of competing are they ?

I did'nt get to see they Slammers play , they were 4 hours north of us , and we( my dd's team) were not in their league . Did see the Valley Ext. red play at the eastern nationals. They won the Pony nationals and beat the slammers in that event. They finished 2nd or 3rd at the Eastern nations in York pa.. So thats 3 Ohio teams that are worthy of top 10 consideration nationally. Last year was a strong year , don't know about 08'. MD

[Lannie]

Dan,
There are several states that ASA is not king. Especially in the SE. IN Va. for instance..... Anywhere West of Lynchburg is not ASA country. NSA is king....... Same thing goes for NE Tennesse and NW North Carolina as well as eastern KY. We would have to travel at least 3 hours to get quality ASA ball.

[GC HURRICANE]

I think Florida had a very good showing at ASA Nationals this year. Three or four teams in the top 5 at different age groups.

[jofus]

Softball nation has several tournaments in eastern va, Richmond to the coast or so. A coach I talked to a few weeks ago said his team liked the softball nations better than anyone elses, but I think it's just regional, not national.

WV has a little bit of a mix down in the Charleston/Huntington area, some ASA, a few USSSA, and a few that I'm not sure what they were last year, maybe nothing "official".