No-shows at Showcase Tournaments

[txfastpitch]

Why would a team sign up for a showcase tournament and chose not to show up for certain scheduled games? Is it because of the game times, being put in a location other than the main complex, or what? I seen more than one game this weekend at the Elite Showcase where games were started late because one of the teams scheduled just didn't show up. Lucky enough for the teams that did show up as scheduled, they were still able to showcase there players because other teams stepped up and filled in the empty slots.

[Fasterpitch]

I agree with you, teams should not leave before their assigned games are complete. My daughters team played after 5pm Sunday, at Archgate. I can tell you that I wanted to pack up and leave at 2pm, but we never would do that.

With that said, I think the Elite can do a better job with game assignments. I think the older teams and more proven teams should play at the main complex. But it would not hurt to move some of those teams out and spread the wealth around. They could make fields 7-8 at Heritage available for lessor known teams. Why not move the top teams around some to other complexes sometime. The college coaches would follow them and maybe see a different team playing. If you put the all of the proven gold teams at one location, the coaches do not want to leave.
I know you will say, send your letters and they will come. That is not always true.


As a parent, on a team that played one game at Nesbitt, I can tell you, that I saw one coach. There were probably more throughout the day, but I only saw one. Many teams only got one game at Heritage. The one game played at Heritage cost every non-coach and player, $10 dollars. ( thanks Elite)



So I can understand why teams would be upset and leave. I do not agree with them, but I can understand.

With all of that said, I think the Elite did a good job. It is hard to put this tournament together.

[Fusion Gold]

Not sure who deserves to play when, where. But I would like to think that whoever is setting up these games, especially considering that they have had several months to do so, could do a better job.

Our team, Fusion Gold, was one of a handful of ASA Gold qualified team from 2008. We had one game at the main complex, and that was on Sunday @ 5pm on F7 by the way, after playing our other game on Sunday which was at 3:30pm @ Archgate Park F6 by the way, after playing our first two games on Saturday at Cheyenne Park.

We didn't "Skip" any of our games although it was a consideration due to several factors, including supplying our own balls at every game since we where out in the sticks, since we had to re-send the schedule to our players and college coaches about 4 or 5 times at the end of the week last week, and since we had two games scheduled back to back at two different complexes late Sunday afternoon.

Our players have done their homework and we had multiple coaches at all of our games and I can tell you that every one of them asked me why we weren’t at Heritage Yards. I don't know the real answer, but I have my suspicions. In the end it doesn't matter where they put you, if your players do their homework and the coaches are doing a good job, college coaches will come find you. But it is annoying to have the schedule change every few hours, get bounced around all over the place, and to pay $500 to play and still not have any softballs to play the game, so I can see why some teams would just as soon leave...

Slade Maloney
Texas Fusion Gold
Cell: 214-783-5054
http://www.fusionfastpitch.com

[TXfastpitchsoftball]

If Texas Fusion Gold was banished out in the sticks, I guess the rest of us shouldn't feel so bad. Cheyenne AND one game at Heritage at 5 p.m. on Sunday? That had to be a intentional. Fusion deserved better than they got along with many, many, many others. This is still the best we've got in North Texas, but there has to be a better way to do this.

[txfastpitch]

I would agree, it seems to me someone has a vendetta agianst the Fusion program. Way to stand tall and deal with the adversity you were handed this past weekend. I would agree a team that qualified for Gold Nationals should have been given the oppurtunity to showcase their players at the main complex all weekend, and should have never had to go to Cheyenne Park for 2 games, I mean those field conditions were horrible at best.

Don't worry about all the haters out there, you can't do nothing about them. Fusion has a solid program and should be a organization to be dealt with for many years, if you are able to maintain the talent you have gathered at the 16U-12U levels.