The Future of North Texas Softball?

[BigYellowBalls]

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.

The umpire association helped start the division of ASA/Pony a couple of years ago by forcing most Organizations to pick one or the other. Before that There were alot of organizations that put on ASA,Pony,USFA and even mulltiple sanctioned tournaments.
As for a tru National Championship that cannot happen until the different Associations come together to have combined National Championship. (Same problem with the BCS)

[Lori]

Slade, I have a new found respect for you. Great objective post, filled with many questions that really do need to be answered...now if we can only get those answers.

Joe, you know I love you dear, but please let's don;t trun yet another thread into an ASA bashing thread...there are plenty of those you have already ignited. Mybe instead you can help NTX work things out without forcing your hatred for ASA on every little topic.

As for questions about insurance and such.....every team will now be required to submit rosters AND buy insurance for ASA....VTD....IFA....and the beloved dead PONY....4 sets of insurance to play ball...substantially more expensive...which has always been the case, but noone ever played IFA (AFA), VTD, or PONY. If you play in a PONY sanctioned event....PONY insurance...If you play in an IFA sanctioned event....IFA insurance....etc.

Who knows, maybe the increased costs will force out these "all star" kids that some of you think have no right playing "travel ball".

[Joe]

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.

Called me old-fashioned...but I fail to see where 400 kids playing ball on a given weekend is a problem? Where would you send the other 200? Soccer, volleyball, cheer?
I mean, apparently these kids and parents do not want to play rec ball, so I have to ask...where do we send them? How does it hurt these kids to play at a higher level?

BTW...unlike baseball..."all-stars" IS select in fastpitch.

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.

5) None of the above

[Joe]

Who knows, maybe the increased costs will force out these "all star" kids that some of you think have no right playing "travel ball".

...not much else to say...

[onedownonetogo]

Slade, I have a new found respect for you. Great objective post, filled with many questions that really do need to be answered...now if we can only get those answers.

Joe, you know I love you dear, but please let's don;t trun yet another thread into an ASA bashing thread...there are plenty of those you have already ignited. Mybe instead you can help NTX work things out without forcing your hatred for ASA on every little topic.

As for questions about insurance and such.....every team will now be required to submit rosters AND buy insurance for ASA....VTD....IFA....and the beloved dead PONY....4 sets of insurance to play ball...substantially more expensive...which has always been the case, but noone ever played IFA (AFA), VTD, or PONY. If you play in a PONY sanctioned event....PONY insurance...If you play in an IFA sanctioned event....IFA insurance....etc.

Who knows, maybe the increased costs will force out these "all star" kids that some of you think have no right playing "travel ball".

After reading this post, I went back and look at an old team insurance policy. It covered the team for participating in any practice, tournament, etc. The policy was very specific that it did not require the team to be participating in an ASA sanctioned event. It covered everything. I have heard the statement above for a long time from the ASA people as the reason why tournaments need to be "sanctioned" by ASA, and I just don't think it's true. What does everyone else's insurance policy say?

[3Bsnag]

FWIW, here's my take:

- ASA- I respect what they have done for our sport and the organization they are. I personally like having a large, governing body and prefer it stay that way. However, we all see room for improvement and area's they have been non-responsive (JO level and tiered):

1. International obligations- as the USA is viewed as a super power and has international obligations to help the little guys (regardless to your personal beliefs on current issues), I believe USA softball has faltered in promoting this sport world wide. We are a dominant member country of the ISF and have an obligation to reach/help many international, grass-roots organizations.

2. Continuous improvement- not just on rules, but the overall product. Someone needs to step up in regards to the location and substance of our national championships. Lets just take locations as an example. The major hubs are NY, DC, Atlanta, Orlando (?), Dallas, Chicago, Houston, LA, and the Bay area. How many Nats are around those cities? 1, maybe 2?

3. Diluting talent- I don't blame ASA by any means for earlier verbals and recruiting and I realize I'm being a hypocrite, for those that know me. BUT, the potential for abolishing or diluting an age group (the fall of 18A, or as some mentioned, possible 16U) could have been prevented by requiring kids to play their age/classification. Would we have all liked that our kids had to move down and change teams. Heck no, but maybe it would have been better for our sport overall and eventually, the players. Same goes for the A and B classifications.

4. Locally, our JO comm is unresponsive. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Richard Tate, but his western counterpart is hard to deal with.

5. There is either too much or not enough differences according to region. Do we adapt to the locals or mandate nation-wide rules? I haven't thought that one all the way through yet.

As for umpiring, I find that most ASA umpires are a good product of the system. We have many UIC's who take the time to train their crews. Are they supposed to have 3 or 4 sets of uniforms and regulations now? That seems to be a mess. At least if they umpire PGF they get to put NCAA umpiring on their resume.

I don't believe the other guys should fold up shop just because change is on the way either. They put in the time and effort to improve what they saw neglected. However, ASA can still win the war. They need some change- new leadership, improved discourse with their members, a member-friendly approach, be agile, be nimble (after member consultation!), and get a MUCH better marketing team.

In the end, I still believe in ASA softball AND I'm excited about the new opportunities. One will become or stay dominant after the dust settles, but may be on a regional level in the future.

[Joe]

As for questions about insurance and such.....every team will now be required to submit rosters AND buy insurance for ASA....VTD....IFA....and the beloved dead PONY....4 sets of insurance to play ball...

Not true.

[BigYellowBalls]

Slade, I have a new found respect for you. Great objective post, filled with many questions that really do need to be answered...now if we can only get those answers.

Joe, you know I love you dear, but please let's don;t trun yet another thread into an ASA bashing thread...there are plenty of those you have already ignited. Mybe instead you can help NTX work things out without forcing your hatred for ASA on every little topic.

As for questions about insurance and such.....every team will now be required to submit rosters AND buy insurance for ASA....VTD....IFA....and the beloved dead PONY....4 sets of insurance to play ball...substantially more expensive...which has always been the case, but noone ever played IFA (AFA), VTD, or PONY. If you play in a PONY sanctioned event....PONY insurance...If you play in an IFA sanctioned event....IFA insurance....etc.

Who knows, maybe the increased costs will force out these "all star" kids that some of you think have no right playing "travel ball".

Do you even have a clue?
When do you come out to see the light?

[Joe]

FWIW, here's my take:

- ASA- I respect what they have done for our sport and the organization they are. I personally like having a large, governing body and prefer it stay that way. However, we all see room for improvement and area's they have been non-responsive (JO level and tiered):

1. International obligations- as the USA is viewed as a super power and has international obligations to help the little guys (regardless to your personal beliefs on current issues), I believe USA softball has faltered in promoting this sport world wide. We are a dominant member country of the ISF and have an obligation to reach/help many international, grass-roots organizations.

2. Continuous improvement- not just on rules, but the overall product. Someone needs to step up in regards to the location and substance of our national championships. Lets just take locations as an example. The major hubs are NY, DC, Atlanta, Orlando (?), Dallas, Chicago, Houston, LA, and the Bay area. How many Nats are around those cities? 1, maybe 2?

3. Diluting talent- I don't blame ASA by any means for earlier verbals and recruiting and I realize I'm being a hypocrite, for those that know me. BUT, the potential for abolishing or diluting an age group (the fall of 18A, or as some mentioned, possible 16U) could have been prevented by requiring kids to play their age/classification. Would we have all liked that our kids had to move down and change teams. Heck no, but maybe it would have been better for our sport overall and eventually, the players. Same goes for the A and B classifications.

4. Locally, our JO comm is unresponsive. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Richard Tate, but his western counterpart is hard to deal with.

5. There is either too much or not enough differences according to region. Do we adapt to the locals or mandate nation-wide rules? I haven't thought that one all the way through yet.

As for umpiring, I find that most ASA umpires are a good product of the system. We have many UIC's who take the time to train their crews. Are they supposed to have 3 or 4 sets of uniforms and regulations now? That seems to be a mess. At least if they umpire PGF they get to put NCAA umpiring on their resume.

I don't believe the other guys should fold up shop just because change is on the way either. They put in the time and effort to improve what they saw neglected. However, ASA can still win the war. They need some change- new leadership, improved discourse with their members, a member-friendly approach, be agile, be nimble (after member consultation!), and get a MUCH better marketing team.

In the end, I still believe in ASA softball AND I'm excited about the new opportunities. One will become or stay dominant after the dust settles, but may be on a regional level in the future.

Excellent response...and I agree. Until someone, like Premier, comes along and proves themselves, ASA is still the big dog nationally.

Locally.... leading up to and immediately following ASA championship play, teams, players, parents just want to play ball. If your team doesn't qualify for an ASA event, many more will choose to attend tournaments/events elsewhere. After all of that, players/parents just want to play without the hassles and obstacles. Finally, by their soph year in HS, it seems to me that 99% want to play where they can be seen by college coaches and I doubt any could care less who's doing the sanctioning.

[Lori]

All you have to do is click on the IFA and PONY links on the front page of the VTD to go read their insurance programs..not rocket science.


Joe....excellent response!! I am proud of you!! I do love you!!