The Future of North Texas Softball?

[Fusion Gold]

With all of the changes that are happening in North Texas and across the country with ASA softball, I am wondering if people have really thought about where the game is headed? I think with the formation of these new governing bodies, many people seem to be forgetting two of the biggest pieces of the puzzle.

1. The umpire association
2. Having a true National Championship for all ages

The umpires are trained and developed through ASA and many of them are loyal to ASA. If these umpires want to be mentored into collegiate umpires or if they aspire to become the best umpires that they can become, what organization besides ASA is there to help them develop through that process? That’s why ASA, and particularly Billy Monk (in Dallas) has always been so defiant on keeping the umpires that ASA has recruited, trained and developed within their organization.

The National Championships have been discussed on other threads. And while the Premier League may be the way of the future for Gold softball, what about the younger ages? If you start to think of all the logistics and the manpower of teamwork that is involved to sanction and host qualifiers all over the country that feed the National Championships, it can be almost overwhelming.

I have been an ASA supporter for several years, I was an ASA tournament director at one time, my teams have always played ASA Championship play and I plan to continue to support ASA. I’m not sure what the future holds or where the world of fastpitch softball is headed, but I must admit that I am concerned that with all of the changes that are coming, I am even more fearful of a more diluted product, and that isn’t a good thing for our sport.

The leagues are drying up all around us and it seems that more and more people are pulling things apart instead of trying to put the pieces back together. I know that most of the people that read this, don’t care much about the leagues, but the rec leagues are the future building blocks for our sport. And as they continue to dry up, so does the sport at the grass roots level.

[softballrulznut]

Slade I totally agree with what you are saying, especially in regards to further diluting the product. North Texas softball is so diluted that an ASA Gold or Premier League National Championship will NEVER come from here because every Tom, Dick, and Harry that gets pissed off with their current situation and starts their own team.

Now the associations are doing the exact same thing. Essentially, "they" think the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence or that they can do it better. Maybe they can, but like you I strongly question if a full understanding of the work, effort, knowledge and coordination it will truly take to do it the "right way".

I share your concern and I hope that things work out.

[dueceduece]

Slade that is the best post I have seen as of yet in regards to this situation. Very insightful!!
and quite refreshing!

[liveintex]

I have been viewing this site for about 2 months now and this may be the best topic I've seen. Having said I can mirror what the initiator of this post said.


*Disclaimer - My daughter is a '98 and just moved up from 10U to 12U.

There are just too many select teams in NTX and not enough select players to fill them. I don't remember which weekend it was but maybe a month ago there were 2, 12U tournies going on in DFW with about 40 teams. That's 400 girls and in my opinion, maybe 1/2 of them were good enough to be called select. I blame the parents, mainly the dads. Far too many of them think that they are experts when in fact they are hurting their child by not telling them, "honey, we should stick with all-stars right now.

I don't have the numbers available but ask yourself this question. How many 12U teams in NTX is led by a manager that has their daughter as a bracket pitcher. I would be willing to bet you that at least 1/2 and probably more than 3/4, don't see Sunday's come tourney time.

My point is simple; there are no qualifications to call yourself a select team. Dad's daughter isn't getting enough mound time so he starts his own team and then becomes a weekly contributor to the VTD site looking for 2-3 players a week.

Solution?

1) Sanction each team with an official roster of at least 9 players.
2) Have 3 distinct seasons (Mar-Jun, Jul-Sep, Oct-Dec) with a roster due each season.
3) No more "throw together" teams. If you want to form a team, get the girls together and submit a roster.
4) No tournament team with more than 2 non-roster players.

I am not a coach or director. I strive to be neither. I am a former collegiate baseball player laughing as I watch dads ruin other teams.

[pbj2000]

These posts are by far the best that the "hey" has seen or read. ASA/VTD/USSSA/USFA/IFA all provide a service in my opinion, in which we are the consumers. Our daughters are the consumers of there service. Who represents the players?? Who represents the coaches?? I believe there was a comment posted a while back that most of the TD's once had daughters that played the sport, but no longer do...so you have a bunch of guys who no longer have a vested interest in the sport...instead the vested interest is now in the pocket book. What about a players association or a coaches association that represents the players/coaches for when changes like this are made. Unfortunately with the way things are going with ASA and VTD in NTX our team is looking elsewhere to play, Colorado, Oklahoma, Lousiana and New Mexico, San Antonio etc... You even see some of the other NTX teams going to play in California (mizuno) so the aftermath of all this conflict is what? Could the end result be that NTX teams that call themselves travel ball clubs actually become just that? Travel ball teams? I like the above ideas about the three seasons and the set rosters...as a players dad I get discouraged when I see two new girls every other month trying out and then see them at another tournament picking up for 3 different teams throughout the course of time. Problem is, who is going to step up and recommend some of these changes to VTD or ASA of we the players,parents,coaches don't have a voice...

[Joe]

With all of the changes that are happening in North Texas and across the country with ASA softball, I am wondering if people have really thought about where the game is headed? I think with the formation of these new governing bodies, many people seem to be forgetting two of the biggest pieces of the puzzle.

1. The umpire association
2. Having a true National Championship for all ages

The umpires are trained and developed through ASA and many of them are loyal to ASA. If these umpires want to be mentored into collegiate umpires or if they aspire to become the best umpires that they can become, what organization besides ASA is there to help them develop through that process? That’s why ASA, and particularly Billy Monk (in Dallas) has always been so defiant on keeping the umpires that ASA has recruited, trained and developed within their organization.

The National Championships have been discussed on other threads. And while the Premier League may be the way of the future for Gold softball, what about the younger ages? If you start to think of all the logistics and the manpower of teamwork that is involved to sanction and host qualifiers all over the country that feed the National Championships, it can be almost overwhelming.

I have been an ASA supporter for several years, I was an ASA tournament director at one time, my teams have always played ASA Championship play and I plan to continue to support ASA. I’m not sure what the future holds or where the world of fastpitch softball is headed, but I must admit that I am concerned that with all of the changes that are coming, I am even more fearful of a more diluted product, and that isn’t a good thing for our sport.

The leagues are drying up all around us and it seems that more and more people are pulling things apart instead of trying to put the pieces back together. I know that most of the people that read this, don’t care much about the leagues, but the rec leagues are the future building blocks for our sport. And as they continue to dry up, so does the sport at the grass roots level.

"diluted product"

[dgorsuch]

With all of the changes that are happening in North Texas and across the country with ASA softball, I am wondering if people have really thought about where the game is headed? I think with the formation of these new governing bodies, many people seem to be forgetting two of the biggest pieces of the puzzle.

1. The umpire association
2. Having a true National Championship for all ages

The umpires are trained and developed through ASA and many of them are loyal to ASA. If these umpires want to be mentored into collegiate umpires or if they aspire to become the best umpires that they can become, what organization besides ASA is there to help them develop through that process? That’s why ASA, and particularly Billy Monk (in Dallas) has always been so defiant on keeping the umpires that ASA has recruited, trained and developed within their organization.

The National Championships have been discussed on other threads. And while the Premier League may be the way of the future for Gold softball, what about the younger ages? If you start to think of all the logistics and the manpower of teamwork that is involved to sanction and host qualifiers all over the country that feed the National Championships, it can be almost overwhelming.

I have been an ASA supporter for several years, I was an ASA tournament director at one time, my teams have always played ASA Championship play and I plan to continue to support ASA. I’m not sure what the future holds or where the world of fastpitch softball is headed, but I must admit that I am concerned that with all of the changes that are coming, I am even more fearful of a more diluted product, and that isn’t a good thing for our sport.

The leagues are drying up all around us and it seems that more and more people are pulling things apart instead of trying to put the pieces back together. I know that most of the people that read this, don’t care much about the leagues, but the rec leagues are the future building blocks for our sport. And as they continue to dry up, so does the sport at the grass roots level.

Slade,


Good points here. We have always supported ASA at our park and competed in the ASA championships. Seems like there are more questions than answers. I know ASA has a national meeting in January. Hopefully we will get some information after that meeting. My concern centers on teams costs and tournaments. Because so many parks in the area have moved to VTD, I assume my teams will now have to join ASA and VTD. Additional costs! Because we host tournaments at our park we will have to post them on someone’s web site. We have always used VTD for team posting and tournament posting. Looks like we will now be forced to use the ASA web site which is not very robust at this time. If we use the ASA web site will anyone see the tournaments we post like they did on VTD? Can we still post the tournaments on VTD? Can VTD teams play in ASA tournaments and vice versa? I hope so because the parks are very split at this time. Will we only have to have one insurance or both? I assume that ASA will require our teams to register and insure through them?? Will our ASA rep still approve travel rosters for all tournaments or will we have to use multiple. Will the adults and politicians be able to get along in the best interest of the teams and kids participating in softball? Not so far?? When is this sport going to start focusing on the kids and teams?

[Joe]

With all of the changes that are happening in North Texas and across the country with ASA softball, I am wondering if people have really thought about where the game is headed? I think with the formation of these new governing bodies, many people seem to be forgetting two of the biggest pieces of the puzzle.

1. The umpire association
2. Having a true National Championship for all ages

The umpires are trained and developed through ASA and many of them are loyal to ASA. If these umpires want to be mentored into collegiate umpires or if they aspire to become the best umpires that they can become, what organization besides ASA is there to help them develop through that process? That’s why ASA, and particularly Billy Monk (in Dallas) has always been so defiant on keeping the umpires that ASA has recruited, trained and developed within their organization.

The National Championships have been discussed on other threads. And while the Premier League may be the way of the future for Gold softball, what about the younger ages? If you start to think of all the logistics and the manpower of teamwork that is involved to sanction and host qualifiers all over the country that feed the National Championships, it can be almost overwhelming.

I have been an ASA supporter for several years, I was an ASA tournament director at one time, my teams have always played ASA Championship play and I plan to continue to support ASA. I’m not sure what the future holds or where the world of fastpitch softball is headed, but I must admit that I am concerned that with all of the changes that are coming, I am even more fearful of a more diluted product, and that isn’t a good thing for our sport.

The leagues are drying up all around us and it seems that more and more people are pulling things apart instead of trying to put the pieces back together. I know that most of the people that read this, don’t care much about the leagues, but the rec leagues are the future building blocks for our sport. And as they continue to dry up, so does the sport at the grass roots level.

"diluted product"

and

"I plan to continue to support ASA"

[Underdog]

With all of the changes that are happening in North Texas and across the country with ASA softball, I am wondering if people have really thought about where the game is headed? I think with the formation of these new governing bodies, many people seem to be forgetting two of the biggest pieces of the puzzle.

1. The umpire association
2. Having a true National Championship for all ages

The umpires are trained and developed through ASA and many of them are loyal to ASA. If these umpires want to be mentored into collegiate umpires or if they aspire to become the best umpires that they can become, what organization besides ASA is there to help them develop through that process? That’s why ASA, and particularly Billy Monk (in Dallas) has always been so defiant on keeping the umpires that ASA has recruited, trained and developed within their organization.

The National Championships have been discussed on other threads. And while the Premier League may be the way of the future for Gold softball, what about the younger ages? If you start to think of all the logistics and the manpower of teamwork that is involved to sanction and host qualifiers all over the country that feed the National Championships, it can be almost overwhelming.

I have been an ASA supporter for several years, I was an ASA tournament director at one time, my teams have always played ASA Championship play and I plan to continue to support ASA. I’m not sure what the future holds or where the world of fastpitch softball is headed, but I must admit that I am concerned that with all of the changes that are coming, I am even more fearful of a more diluted product, and that isn’t a good thing for our sport.

The leagues are drying up all around us and it seems that more and more people are pulling things apart instead of trying to put the pieces back together. I know that most of the people that read this, don’t care much about the leagues, but the rec leagues are the future building blocks for our sport. And as they continue to dry up, so does the sport at the grass roots level.

"diluted product"

and

"I plan to continue to support ASA"

pulling things apart instead of trying to put the pieces back together

[Joe]

With all of the changes that are happening in North Texas and across the country with ASA softball, I am wondering if people have really thought about where the game is headed? I think with the formation of these new governing bodies, many people seem to be forgetting two of the biggest pieces of the puzzle.

1. The umpire association
2. Having a true National Championship for all ages

The umpires are trained and developed through ASA and many of them are loyal to ASA. If these umpires want to be mentored into collegiate umpires or if they aspire to become the best umpires that they can become, what organization besides ASA is there to help them develop through that process? That’s why ASA, and particularly Billy Monk (in Dallas) has always been so defiant on keeping the umpires that ASA has recruited, trained and developed within their organization.

The National Championships have been discussed on other threads. And while the Premier League may be the way of the future for Gold softball, what about the younger ages? If you start to think of all the logistics and the manpower of teamwork that is involved to sanction and host qualifiers all over the country that feed the National Championships, it can be almost overwhelming.

I have been an ASA supporter for several years, I was an ASA tournament director at one time, my teams have always played ASA Championship play and I plan to continue to support ASA. I’m not sure what the future holds or where the world of fastpitch softball is headed, but I must admit that I am concerned that with all of the changes that are coming, I am even more fearful of a more diluted product, and that isn’t a good thing for our sport.

The leagues are drying up all around us and it seems that more and more people are pulling things apart instead of trying to put the pieces back together. I know that most of the people that read this, don’t care much about the leagues, but the rec leagues are the future building blocks for our sport. And as they continue to dry up, so does the sport at the grass roots level.

Didn't the "diluted product" happen under ASA's watch? Aren't the rec leagues drying up under ASA's watch? I'm not sure why anyone would dispute that the goal should be "trying to put pieces back together", but didn't they come apart under ASA's watch? Wasn't it DallasASA and FWASA who refused to pick up the phone and speak to each other? Wasn't it Billy Monk that refused to let Dallas umpires travel 10 minutes to call games in Fort Worth?

Great post Slade...but why the blind allegience to ASA when the fact is...

...all of your concerns, valid and thoughtful, happened under the watchful eye of the old establishment?