Premier High School Division

[cyberman]

Superfan,

Your reaction says alot- No need to read into anything. I just want to why they (PGF) changed
from what was posted, nothing else

Happy Holidays

[AlwaysImprove]

I trust PGF, but I trust them more when they follow what they posted, which is what they said.

So without speculating, or saying that is what ASA does, or saying we would rather earn a berth,

can someone with authority from the PGF world, please say why there was a change in policy?

Last year there were berths from some qualifiers that were not contested. You also had teams that went to multiple qualifiers where berths were more heavily contested and they did not qualify, but were close multiple times. PGF handed those berths down. One instance of hand down berth, the WA Ladyhawks went on to finish 9th.

Gary, JMO and the rest of the PGF board watch more softball at this level than anyone. They know the coaches, they know the teams, they know what the teams did last year and have a great idea on what teams are doing going forward. That is why this tournament will again be the most competitive.

[AlwaysImprove]

Superfan,

Your reaction says alot- No need to read into anything. I just want to why they (PGF) changed
from what was posted, nothing else

Happy Holidays

A question for you. If you were running the tournament and wanted to ensure you were making it as competitive as possible, would you use invites in the same fashion as PGF? Invite teams from regions where qualifiers did not really workout last year?

[ontheblack]

ASA does invites and so does TCS (at large berths).

One of the HS invites is last year's ASA 18G champion, Team North Florida. Can't complain about that one.

At 16s its clear some are getting in based on reputation and past performance.
At 14s, the only 2 SoCal teams are part of the orgs behind PGF. I would have expected the ASA 12U champions, FC 98, over SCAs, but it is what it is.

Frankly I'm surprised that there were not more SoCal teams invited (with the exception of the HS div). What I hope to see are more qualifying berths in large markets like SoCal to discourage the chasing of berths in other states.

If I was one of the weaker teams that was invited, I would feel a bit embarrassed that I need to count on nepotism to get in. Regardless, it doesnt make much difference to me because if they had kept the status quo, my kid's team would still have to qualify, and I'm good with settling it on the dirt.

[jonriv]

I can certainly understand why PGF would have invites

-gives them a base of teams for planning purposes
-they are still relatively "new" and need to ensure a certain level of competition
-acts as an incentive for teams to host a qualifier

The risk it has is that it may deter some teams for even trying to qualify under the perception that there are too few berths. It may also become like the PONY national(no comparison in talent levels intended) where the vast majority of teams at the nationals are invites.

From what I have seen and gleaned about PGF is that they have developed a superior tournament that has caught the real attention of college coaches, but is still very California-centric. It appears they are trying to broaden their base without watering down the product on the field. I would love to see more qualifiers in the northeast and to have the competitors in them be from the northeast. Perhaps as PGF grows the number of qualifiers will grow and the need for invites will diminish.

I for one wish them luck.

[LeftyHitter]

To those asking why do you care, the answer seems twofold. One, since there are still only going to be 64-66 teams total that qualify, every team that is invited means there is one less berth eligible to be earned on the field at a qualifier. Second, this means that the competition at the qualifiers will be theoretically weaker, since these invited teams won't be playing. To me, this is the bigger drawback, since it's all about playing the best and getting better. In the end, I'm guessing that the field will end up about the same either way. From what I've seen of most of the teams invited, they are deserving and would have qualified anyway. I see that an explanation was posted on the main page of the website. I am a little surprised at the timing of the decision and change of direction, but these guys know what they're doing and are up front on who is invited. Hopefully DD's team will qualify, and we'll see everyone in sunny Cali at the end of July.

[bracketologist]

ASA does invites and so does TCS (at large berths).

At 14s, the only 2 SoCal teams are part of the orgs behind PGF. I would have expected the ASA 12U champions, FC 98, over SCAs, but it is what it is.

inviting the 2nd place team but leaving the champion off …………… it is what it is!