Question- why not close the Qualifiers to state / regional

[Trophy Hunter]

Another question is, what will PGF do with the berths from cancelled qualifiers? Tomorrow is the registration deadline for the Colorado and Georgia qualifiers, and in 14u, there is 1 team confirmed for each. If they dont get the minimum number of teams by tomorrow and cancel the 14u qualifiers in Co and Ga, will they add any of those 5 berths to the So Cal 14u qualifier, which has 35 teams confirmed (so far), and another 20 that have started the registration process, fighting for 4 berths?

I'm betting teams from So Cal will be signing up ASAP for Colorado...

There are only 4 teams entered in the Minnesota 14u qualifier, with 2 berths available.

Nice odds..

Any Cali teams going?

Not yet. I'm just trying to drum up some interest for PGF.

[AlwaysImprove]

Please keep the qualifiers open to other states. Living in Washington State, we very often get SoCal teams that come into our qualifiers and try to take births.

We had great fun trying to ensure they wasted their money.

It was great for our local teams to see just how they are pretty far behind. This allowed a lot of local teams that did not travel much to see just how good the game could be played. I think at times we had way better athletes stacked on a team, but were unwilling to adjust to the flow of the game the way that the SoCal teams would.

For me it helps spread the sport.

[hit4power]

Your last comment is what I am speaking to.....why is ASA still the choice for most Texas teams over PGF??

I agree that ASA seems to be the preference for Houston teams, but I don't know the answer as to why. Last year, DD's team did as you mentioned - we skipped the Houston qualifier (couldn't get enough girls between playoffs and graduation) and opted to play in one of the round robins with what we had available. We did sign up for the N Texas qualifier which was played after the ASA qualifiers and we knew then that we hadn't qualified ASA so PGF was our last chance at a national. I know from connections that another team qualified ASA and then withdrew from the Dallas PGF qualifier for the reasons in my orig post.

My best guess would be that, to some, Premier feels more like Colorado (an exposure tourney) than a truly national championship. I know when I've been in conversations around here about Premier that the gist of the conversation is more often about exposure than national championship

[coachEd]

Another question is, what will PGF do with the berths from cancelled qualifiers? Tomorrow is the registration deadline for the Colorado and Georgia qualifiers, and in 14u, there is 1 team confirmed for each.

There may be more teams entered than shown - it's not unusual for brackets to come out with more teams than what was listed after the deadline. BTW, the team listed for the Georgia qualifier, Lady Lightning Futures, is likely the one that qualified at the Indiana qualifier.

IMO, the current PGF policy that results in canceled qualifiers is problematic because it is based on the number of berths. They should establish a minimum number of teams for a qualifier and just reduce the number of berths if the participation is insufficient for the original number of berths.

I inquired with JMO over a month ago about how up to date the website is as far as teams signed up for each qualifier. I was informed that they are kept up to date, and you can see that the So Cal Qualifier list has been updated daily, and often several times a day. If the same is being done for the Colorado and Georgia qualifiers, there is still only 1 14u team signed up for each of those and we could probably expect them to be cancelled later today if enough teams dont sign up for them today. It would then be up to PGF to decide what to do with those 5 berths, and hopefully, they would add some berths to the much more heavily attended 14u qualifiers (So Cal, Nor Cal, Oregon) rather than giving out more invites.

[PDad]

There may be more teams entered than shown - it's not unusual for brackets to come out with more teams than what was listed after the deadline. ...

I inquired with JMO over a month ago about how up to date the website is as far as teams signed up for each qualifier. I was informed that they are kept up to date, and you can see that the So Cal Qualifier list has been updated daily, and often several times a day. If the same is being done for the Colorado and Georgia qualifiers, there is still only 1 14u team signed up for each of those and we could probably expect them to be cancelled later today if enough teams dont sign up for them today. ...

The AZ qualifier showed 20 16u teams a couple days after the deadline and the bracket came out with 23 teams. There were similar instances last year. The website is only as accurate as the information they get from the TDs, although I suspect the main reason is the TDs allow a couple days after the deadline for payments to arrive.

It would then be up to PGF to decide what to do with those 5 berths, and hopefully, they would add some berths to the much more heavily attended 14u qualifiers (So Cal, Nor Cal, Oregon) rather than giving out more invites.

They gave some extra berths to a qualifier last year that didn't finish due to weather, so they may want to hang onto some berths in case something like that happens again. Absent that, they should go to the best teams that tried to qualify.

[MadiDadi]

Okay; so I'm not affiliated with PGF, but if I were trying to develop a true national championship, I would want to have qualifiers across the country. I also would not object to California teams travelling to remote venues to qualify because, if the assertions are true that California teams are stronger, then it gives the rest of the country a chance to see a higher level of play and have something to strive for in development of its players. If not true, then California teams would have less of an incentive to travel to remote venues to qualify and only do so as a last resort to qualify. Over the long haul, this may increase the level of play nationally at the local levels.

With that said, it may be best if the number of berths were proportional to the number of teams entered. Top 5%, top 10%, pick a number. If that approach slights a state with 10 entrants, because there would be one-half of a team with a berth, then round to the nearest whole number. To address concerns of less populace states, then have a Senate/House approach. Minimum of two berths and more awarded for a higher number of teams entered based on a formula like above. In SoCal, there are presently 42 teams confirmed for 14U. A senate/house approach would yield a total of 4 berths with a Senate/House approach and top 5% of entrants (2 berths for the venue, plus 2 for 5% of 42 (2.1)).

Also, if the goal is to have a national championship tournament of the top 40, 50, or whatever teams, and none materialize in some states, why not transfer berths to the venues with enough teams to participate without cancellation? This may help PGF to gain the momentum necessary to establish a truly elite national championship.

[Trophy Hunter]

With that said, it may be best if the number of berths were proportional to the number of teams entered. Top 5%, top 10%, pick a number. If that approach slights a state with 10 entrants, because there would be one-half of a team with a berth, then round to the nearest whole number. To address concerns of less populace states, then have a Senate/House approach. Minimum of two berths and more awarded for a higher number of teams entered based on a formula like above. In SoCal, there are presently 42 teams confirmed for 14U. A senate/house approach would yield a total of 4 berths with a Senate/House approach and top 5% of entrants (2 berths for the venue, plus 2 for 5% of 42 (2.1)).
.

Holy crap! Is this an election year?

[rdelawder12]

In this current economy, I'm comfortable with going to California for a National Tournament, however it would be nice to see teams from all over the country, as you can see the same top teams in California at a Surf City Tournament. I know ASA has been the big dog on campus over the past so many years and at 16U and 14U, it's still well attended by College Coaches, and PGF is truly becoming the "new" place to play and play against the best in the West.
Something I learned the other day and it's kind of got me thinking what's right and what's wrong?
ASA is a Sponsor of the USA Olympic Team as well as the Jr. Olympic Teams, which we all want to see in the Olympics again someday, but if ASA is losing it's appeal and losing teams, and losing money, how long before another Organization has to or will step in to become the official sponsor, or can ASA hold on? Can our USA Teams survive without ASA Contributions?

[jonriv]

In this current economy, I'm comfortable with going to California for a National Tournament, however it would be nice to see teams from all over the country, as you can see the same top teams in California at a Surf City Tournament. I know ASA has been the big dog on campus over the past so many years and at 16U and 14U, it's still well attended by College Coaches, and PGF is truly becoming the "new" place to play and play against the best in the West.
Something I learned the other day and it's kind of got me thinking what's right and what's wrong?
ASA is a Sponsor of the USA Olympic Team as well as the Jr. Olympic Teams, which we all want to see in the Olympics again someday, but if ASA is losing it's appeal and losing teams, and losing money, how long before another Organization has to or will step in to become the official sponsor, or can ASA hold on? Can our USA Teams survive without ASA Contributions?

I don't think there is a concern about ASA holding on- there are lots of teams/participants out there. PGF is and will always be a niche organization(that is not a bad thing) focusing on the top fastpitch organizations. Consider them the Porsche of softball. Not everyone can get in, everybody wants them, but there are still other cars to drive.

IMO PGF needs to do a better job getting their message and mission out there and attracting more of the elite teams outside of California. I think for an organization that is as young as they are they have done a great job so far

ASA, USSSA, TCS, NSA, PONY etc.... will continue to handle the vast majority of softball teams- PGF will just be what the best teams aspire to.

[coachEd]

I think one very big advantage that PGF is providing over ASA is in recruiting at PGF nationals. I went to watch some of the 18HS games last year and the number of coaches there was incredible. I recall seeing Hutch from Michigan, and many other big program Div I head coaches. Im sure you see them at ASA Gold Nats too. But where PGF provides an advantage is that they have 3 different age levels all playing at the same time in very close proximity to each other. It takes about 15 minutes to drive from the 18u venue over to the 16u and 14u venue. That allows one coach to see multple players at different age levels throughout the week. That simply is not possible with ASA since each age division is held in far distant locations. Because of that, schools have to split up their coaching staff if they want to see girls at each age level. That, of course, means less resources at each location, and more money having to be spent by the schools.

My daughter's pitching coach told us that he asked a PAC-12 program coach if they even send someone to watch girls at 16/14u. His answer was yes, but only because they have the budget to be able to do it. He asked the same question of the coach at Southern Utah (also a Div I program), and his answer was generally, no, because they dont have the budget to be able to do it. Obviously, PGF helps both schools in the recruiting process by allowing the coaching staff to see more players at different age levels, in the same week, and in very close proximity to one another.