Anderson Express Invitational - Coming in May

[LETHAL WEAPON 25]

Just to note- Premier, ASA, and VTD are all at 40.

ASA- As I said, It's a shame that they didn't move. Wish they would have.

Premier- 1st yr for 14's...No real presence where we are= NON FACTOR for us

VTD- Don't be surprised to see them announce that they are going to 43' soon, or at
least that the TD's of their events have the option. Don't know how they will do it for
Nationals.

I know in Oklahoma most of the "competitive" teams I have
talked to have all said they want to go 43' because all of our kids are already at that
distance in school ball beginning with 7th grade. So in essence we have 98's that were
7th graders this year who are already at 43'. I think since VTD is based primarily in Oklahoma
and Texas that they will find that if they want their 14U piece of the pie they will have to go to
43' to get it. ( At least in Oklahoma anyway )

On another note, I have heard that Busters Bass will be bringing his Georgia Impact Red 97 to this shindig.
Can someone from that organization confirm. If so that will be a HUUUUUGE plus, and any truly competitive
team should want to get in line for this one.

[sbfan]

The best teams in the Country are playing Premier and ASA Championship play. If you are not then you are not playing the best. Everything else is just a weekend Tournament. If you want to argue about it then you really are a rookie. We call you all pretenders.

[LETHAL WEAPON 25]

The best teams in the Country are playing Premier and ASA Championship play. If you are not then you are not playing the best. Everything else is just a weekend Tournament. If you want to argue about it then you really are a rookie. We call you all pretenders.

LOL ..... We're not hard to find. Just drive a little North.

And I'm doubting that some of your better 97 Texas teams would agree with your "Pretenders" assessment. Maybe, but I doubt it. By the way, We did finish 2nd at last years ASA 12U Hall of Fame cant remember who finished 3rd, 4th, 5th......maybe you should check.

[SoftballG]

7th graders @ 43' in middle school? Oh yeah your in OK, nevermind...

[51sDad]

Premier- 1st yr for 14's...No real presence where we are= NON FACTOR for us

If you're not looking at softball from a recruiting aspect and you're just going out to play and have fun, I totally get what you're saying. It doesn't make sense for a team of high school players to pitch at 40ft @ Premier if the focus is on having fun and being good in high school. There's lots of different reasons to be out there. I respect that.

I don't think they are looking for teams that are worried about playing on....sleepovers, or play dates.

Come late April...that's exactly who they'll be looking for...

...mark it down.

I disagree. AE seems to be working very diligently to bring in solid competition from all over the country. I've spoke with several quality out of state programs who have shown interest. I truly respect your opinion but I do hope you're wrong. This could be a great opportunity for some good, competitive, softball.

[just sayin]

an invite to all TPS teams should be a thought. they have an 01,00,99,98,97,and 95......

[just sayin]

an invite to all TPS teams should be a thought. they have an 01,00,99,98,97,and 95......

[AE_Y2K]

So...ummmm, why would we drive to Longview when there will be 2-3 tournaments close by to play in DFW, Houston, Austin/SA?
Let me help you with this one...

First, you're competing with the big boys on this one...so you'll need to figure out a way to motivate teams to load up and make the 2-4 hour drive in mid-May... right about when everyone else is running a tournament AND families are busy with end of school year activities.

Second, you stand a much better chance to make this thing work during the "off season"...as in early spring or late summer, after Nats.

Third and most importantly...your tournament ends on May 8th...MOTHER'S DAY! Some teams will play on Mother's Day, but many won't. By keeping the May 8th date, you've probably eliminated half of your potential customers...who are already having trouble justifying the trip because of obstacles #1 and #2 above.

Finally, finally...move on to plan B. Your facilities are nice, but you're located in the boondocks. Make it easier for teams to make the trip... pull out your calendar and look for conflicts, and get creative.

Our goal for this tournament is to make the drive to Longview worth it. Its the same reason we drive from Longview to Dallas/Houston on a normal basis. To play someone different, and to see what competition is out there. As of right now we have teams from Oklahoma, Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama and Lousiana already verbally committed. Answer me this, how many teams from all those states are regularly in DFW on the same weekend? Right now that's where our TD's focus is, he's diligently working on getting teams from out of state committed. So far he has USSSA and USFA World Series champs, ASA National Finalists, so we're putting in the work, and all you guys have to do is drive.


And we're sorry that its Mother's Day weekend, I looked at it from a head coach's perspective. For a tournament that promises this type of competition, I could give my Mom some flowers on Monday and she'd love me the same.

I think for this one weekend in May, the boondocks will have some pretty good softball to watch.

[AE_Y2K]

an invite to all TPS teams should be a thought. they have an 01,00,99,98,97,and 95......

TPS will definately be invited. We look to secure as many out of state teams as we can, then we will turn our attention to the elite TX programs. Although we don't have daily updates for Heybucket, I can assure you that the work is being put in.

An official invite list of 100+ teams is alot of work. Especially when you're really trying to get the very best you can. We are doing our homework to make the tournament special for the teams that play. We are speaking with coaches, getting their input, finding out who they would like to play and doing our best to go after those teams.

[AE_Y2K]

The TD is suppose to give me an up to date list of the out of state teams who have shown major interest, some have even verbally committed. Many are unfamiliar with the VTD website, so it may be a matter of time before we get them "officially" signed up. I will post the list on Heybucket as soon as he gets it to me.

On another note, we haven't heard much response from any 2001 teams. Would like to hear from some of the knowledgable coaches/parents in that age group. We've played several locally...

Miken Stingers
Rippers 01
Texas Trouble
Express 01
Code Red
TPS 01
Austin's Finest

Just to name a few that I've personally seen, that I've thought were solid programs.