PGF 18U Divisions - Premier and Platinum

[freetacos]

pgf will not replace asa, little league, pony or any other organization that actually try to grow the game from the ground up. Without rec ball there would be no growth of the game. Where does pgf get thier players? From other organizations that start teaching the game at a very early age. Pgf just takes them after another organization has spent years training them.
If they really want to be the big dog...then act like one and spend time growing the sport from the bottom up instead of trying to find ways to make money off the older age groups. How many PGF rec leagues are there around the country?...right...

nuff said

ft

[ontheblack]

FT - ASA is monolithic. IMO PGF simply wants to be the TB part of ASA.

[papadan]

Except for calling it a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP it sounds a lot like the Colorado Tourneys in July. Between the Independence, Sparkler, Jr. Sparkler, and Fireworks I can't imagine how many teams are in the Denver area. Lets face it, National Championships are really obtained by a handful of the elite organizations, the rest of us are there to have our girls seen by the college coaches competing against the best. If there are different levels, such as in Colorado, colleges are going to go where they can see the most players possible and players are going to have more opportunities to be seen. All though my daughter has played in the PGF NATIONALS for three years, I am all for the expansion. She was seen at this tournament by her current college coach and there are so many more players out there who are not on the elite teams that would travel to So Cal for the glorified showcase opportunity. The more teams that are in the SO CAL area during this time period, the more coaches that will find there way there. That benefits everyone.

[rdelawder12]

I think it is a good idea. Maybe the teams that placed 9th, should get their automatic berths. The teams that normally get invited that did not make it to 9th place (if still invited) should get their berth in the 18 platnum and if they want to play in the premier division, they will have to qualify.

Honestly, there are many of the invited teams that should not be playing with the big dogs. (just my opinion)

Going to have to agree with you, dd's team finished in top 5 and will say some teams impressed me that earned their berth, but watchiong some of the ones that were given, truly shouldn't have been there and most likely should of played in ASA 18U A National. So maybe PGF will host a tournament like ASA does in Oklahoma, or maybe they can extend an invitation to all ASA State Title winners, so the state is represented properly! Just a thought!!!
BTW-there are enough teams across the country to have a PGF, ASA, PONY, TCS, USSSA Nationals. Comeon ASA offers a National for Eastern, Western, and ASA/USA to make sure the best teams are in the right location. PGF wants this and is working toward this, but are they really going after all that action, or only the best of the best for 16U and 18U and offer one convenient location for College Coaches to recruit the girls, as softball is always about the recruiting process first, then National Title second! I wish softball would get back to earning the right to be called GOLD, versus everyone having the TITLE. Years ago, it use to mean something and today we have 14 year olds playing on teams and calling themselves "GOLD"....

[PDad]

I am sure there are plenty of teams, but that does not answer the dilution question. I did not think their goal was to become ASA?

Creating a second 18u classification does not dilute the top tier. Dilution would only occur if they doubled the number of teams in a classification.

[jonriv]

I am sure there are plenty of teams, but that does not answer the dilution question. I did not think their goal was to become ASA?

Creating a second 18u classification does not dilute the top tier. Dilution would only occur if they doubled the number of teams in a classification.

It does dilute it when a "sub-par" team can claim "PGF" affilliation- Platinum, Gold, copper.... or whatever stratas they come up with

Whenever you have a less exclusive version of something very exclusive- it hurts the original brand. They may choose to do this to expand their customer base and market($$$$) which I understand, but it does dilute their brand

[xyzdude]

Jon,

Don't think a second tier of 18U will have any effect on the brand - may just open it up to more teams. This could be a great way to attract more teams from the east who realistically cannot compete with the top teams but may be able to work their way up from the second level. As long as they don't let college players in, it could be a great move in my opinion.

I think you may see PGF expanding in many other ways in the future - why not. Once they have the insurance and registration platform in place why not expand to more levels, more age groups, more states, etc.

[jonriv]

What are the things that make PGF great(make the brand great)?

-One can argue the best TB Fastpitch softball teams and players in the country
-smaller national tournament held over a shorter period of time
-The most difficult tournament to get into and to succeed in when you do get in
- Run by coaches
- Held in a locationwith ideal weather and convenient to a majority of organization

Can they add divisions and maintain the brand? Perhaps..., but the fact that they are adding a newer(lesser) division by definitions does dilute the brand- how much remains to be seen. Also, can they maintain the responsiveness to their customer base as they get larger also remains to be seen. I wish them well, but to ignore the the potential pitfalls would be ignorant. The marketplace is littered with defunct companies/organization that grew too fast. I hope that their hunger to grow does not exceed their capacity

[NumeroUno]

I don't think it will dilute it at all. I think it is a great idea that it will give an opportunity to a lot more teams and players to play in a national event. It has worked for ASA for many years. All the top teams will still try to qualify for the big show, and the top teams will qualify. It is always the same teams playing late in the week at nationals. 1st tier, then you have teams 20 -40 2nd tier. Then you have the 3rd tier. I don't see how the 4th and 5th tier can weaken the main event

[rdelawder12]

In todays Economy, I like the idea of an 18U A tier, saves a lot of monies for all states surrounding California. Not only that, puts a lot of coaches in one location to see a lot of athletes playing ball against California Teams.
As it's been stated many times, if the best teams are in California at all age levels, then why play anywhere else! From a recruiting perspective if the other states come in and do well, then this will open up the recruiting for other states to be considered for producing top athletes and more kids from East of the Mississippi will show they too are hitting while everyone else is sleeping! lol

I like the idea of bringing all states in and earning thier respect, so Ca should be careful as who they are issuing PGF berths to in state because Ca has more to lose than any team from outside of Ca.! JMO