12u - Who accepted a berth to ASA Nationals?

[fairball]

So it looks like the majority feel that ASA is the best experience for 12 and under, followed by Premier for the older age groups.

[25! & 28!]

So it looks like the majority feel that ASA is the best experience for 12 and under, followed by Premier for the older age groups.

Well, what is the "best experience"? I would love for the team that my daughter is on to experience both ASA and Premier (minus the expenses) but they are at the same time. (Sort of a face-off it seems.) However, if a team feels that they are in a position to compete for a National Title, they have no choice but to go where the best competition is. The SoCal weather this year will be just a bonus as the big competition will be in Huntington Beach. The National Championship will be won at Premier.

[bugs]

Again, this argument can rage on forever as to who is the best National, ASA or Premier nationals. Just know and I have said this many times on here, there are great teams all over the country. To just out and out say Premier will have the best national champion is not fair to the great teams from around the country who do not have the money or will to play at Premier as at 12u the teams around the country tend to stay closer to home. Premier had one team from Texas and one team from Alabama last year and the rest at 12u were from California or Arizona.

Suffice it to say they both have great Nationals at 12u.

[WreckballCoach78]

I could be wrong but I bet if you asked majority of Southern California 12U players if they would rather play for the National Championship in Huntington Beach, Ca or Chattanooga, TN most would want to go to TN. The experience of flying back east with your teammates, lodging together all week and playing teams you've never played before is EXCITING for them! Instead of playing at fields and teams that they have competed against all season. With that said there is no doubt in my mind that Premier will have more of the elite SoCal programs attend (which we all know is usually the best in the country). I also have no doubt that there will be elite teams from other areas of the country attend ASA. Shame on the organizers of both ASA and Premier for making this a difficult decision for us all. And good luck to all who plan on attending either tournament. Both Championship teams will no doubt have something to be proud of!!!!!!

[Fastpitch4Life]

I could be wrong but I bet if you asked majority of Southern California 12U players if they would rather play for the National Championship in Huntington Beach, Ca or Chattanooga, TN most would want to go to TN. The experience of flying back east with your teammates, lodging together all week and playing teams you've never played before is EXCITING for them! Instead of playing at fields and teams that they have competed against all season. With that said there is no doubt in my mind that Premier will have more of the elite SoCal programs attend (which we all know is usually the best in the country). I also have no doubt that there will be elite teams from other areas of the country attend ASA. Shame on the organizers of both ASA and Premier for making this a difficult decision for us all. And good luck to all who plan on attending either tournament. Both Championship teams will no doubt have something to be proud of!!!!!!

After doing ASA 10U in Bloomington, IN last summer. I am looking forward to Irvine, CA this summer. It was a great experience for the team. Go to the Jr. Sparkler in CO if you want that "travel" experience and don't want to go all the way to TN.

[SouthPaw_Dad]

Again, this argument can rage on forever as to who is the best National, ASA or Premier nationals. Just know and I have said this many times on here, there are great teams all over the country. To just out and out say Premier will have the best national champion is not fair to the great teams from around the country who do not have the money or will to play at Premier as at 12u the teams around the country tend to stay closer to home. Premier had one team from Texas and one team from Alabama last year and the rest at 12u were from California or Arizona.

Suffice it to say they both have great Nationals at 12u.

BUGS for us the decision is easy:

12 out of 18 (67%) of girls who suited up in the Women's College World Series were from California.

Competition should be more than adequate in Huntington Beach
Humidity is below 90% in Huntington Beach
Temperature is below 90F in Huntington Beach
I can get to "Surf City" in less than 60 minutes

For those not attending PGF and instead going to ASA -congrats job well done - who cares which is better - If our team decided to go to both we would - thank god we aren't

[PDad]

BUGS for us the decision is easy:

12 out of 18 (67%) of girls who suited up in the Women's College World Series were from California.
Where did you get that? 13 of the 22 (59%) starters for the 2 finalists, OK and TN, were from CA. 42 of the core 85 (49%) for the 8 teams in the WCWS were from CA.

Competition should be more than adequate in Huntington Beach for 18HS Premier.
Humidity is below 90% in Huntington Beach Avg is 87.3 and frequently gets over 90
Temperature is below 90F in Huntington Beach Nice, but 12U is playing in Irvine.
I can get to "Surf City" in less than 60 minutes Only good for checking in and opening ceremonies.

For those not attending PGF and instead going to ASA -congrats job well done - who cares which is better - If our team decided to go to both we would - thank god we aren't

12U teams can't do both this year - they're the same week.

PGF 12U hasn't developed into a true National yet - looks like there will be 8 teams besides the usual CA-AZ-LV teams. IMO, the teams that traveled to get a PGF berth should have gone to ASA/USA Nats instead. There is more than enough competition at ASA/USA Nats to challenge any team and the experience of going back there is great for the girls - especially the ones that have lived in SoCal their entire life.

ASA/USA 14U Nats will be in San Diego next year. Hopefully PGF and/or ASA can get a good mix of the top teams together to determine an undisputed National Champion.

[SouthPaw_Dad]

BUGS for us the decision is easy:

12 out of 18 (67%) of girls who suited up in the Women's College World Series were from California.
Where did you get that? 13 of the 22 (59%) starters for the 2 finalists, OK and TN, were from CA. 42 of the core 85 (49%) for the 8 teams in the WCWS were from CA.

Competition should be more than adequate in Huntington Beach for 18HS Premier.
Humidity is below 90% in Huntington Beach Avg is 87.3 and frequently gets over 90
Temperature is below 90F in Huntington Beach Nice, but 12U is playing in Irvine.
I can get to "Surf City" in less than 60 minutes Only good for checking in and opening ceremonies.

For those not attending PGF and instead going to ASA -congrats job well done - who cares which is better - If our team decided to go to both we would - thank god we aren't

12U teams can't do both this year - they're the same week.

PGF 12U hasn't developed into a true National yet - looks like there will be 8 teams besides the usual CA-AZ-LV teams. IMO, the teams that traveled to get a PGF berth should have gone to ASA/USA Nats instead. There is more than enough competition at ASA/USA Nats to challenge any team and the experience of going back there is great for the girls - especially the ones that have lived in SoCal their entire life.

ASA/USA 14U Nats will be in San Diego next year. Hopefully PGF and/or ASA can get a good mix of the top teams together to determine an undisputed National Champion.

WOW PDad you da man - I nominate you head Bucket fact checker!!!! I did pretty damn well if i dont say so myself

I got my WCWS info from announcers Beth M. and Jessica M guess they were off 7% I stand corrected

See you in IRVINE

[booyahballer]

Saw a number of teams that qualified for ASA Nationals at the SoCal State tournament also have qualified for Premier Nationals. Who is going where?

Corona Angels Tyson
Artesia Punishers
Firecrackers - Araujo

All of the "Big Dogs" CA, Punishers, Firecrackers Araujo will be at PGF instead of TN. Majority of the talent is here in So Cal, why spend the $$ to play lesser teams in crappy, bug infested weather? Those heading out to TN more than likely would be knocked out of PGF early.

[JustPlayTheGame]

[/quote]All of the "Big Dogs" CA, Punishers, Firecrackers Araujo will be at PGF instead of TN. Majority of the talent is here in So Cal, why spend the $$ to play lesser teams in crappy, bug infested weather? Those heading out to TN more than likely would be knocked out of PGF early.[/quote]
_____________________________________________________________________________

Not sure if it's arrogance or just ignorance. I know some in SoCal believe there are no or few top-tier teams in other parts of the Country, and that may have been accurate a few years back. But other areas of the Country are getting stronger at the younger ages, and the 2012 results for PGF and ASA show this to be true:

Teams / PGF / ASA
Firecrackers Quarles / 1st / 4th
Quakes / T7 / T17
Power Surge 99 / T7 / 1st

Other SoCal teams
Cal-Lite 12u / NA / T9
Jynx 99 / NA / T17

According to several coaches who went to both, the competition was relatively the same, though with many more teams at ASA you will get a number of weaker teams as well.

From a 12u "national" perspective, last year PGF had 38 teams in which 33 were from California. On the other hand, ASA had 83 teams, with 11 California teams.

And finally, the "national experience" for 12u players is much more unique and special when you get to fly to your destination and play teams from all over the Country in a new environment. You don't get the same overall "experience" playing in OC at fields you have played at numerous times against teams you have competed against in Friendlies and Tournaments all year long.

14u - 18G is where one should be concerned with college recruiting. So it probably makes sense to play PGF then.

Yes it costs money and the weather is usually difficult for all of us spoiled SoCal folks. But on balance, for the 12u division, ASA Nationals is a terrific and unique life-long experience for our girls. Especially if you win it!

Good luck to all SoCal teams at Nationals!