Best SoCal Fall Tournaments

[silverstreak]

Our coach asked me to find tough 16U Socal tourneys for the Fall. I found the Surf City and Socal's Finest tournament sites. Are there others that SoCal people would recommend that are worth traveling for? Are they better than those two?

[Tony]

Saw these listed and thought I would pass them on...lots of teams to go around, never room for us, will look at these. Pool play plus elimination

So Cal ASA Fall Showcases:

October 14-16, 2011

Ruben S. Ayala Community Park
5499 Edison Avenue
Chino, CA


November 11-13, 2011
Noble Creek Park
650 W. Oak Valley Parkway
Beaumont, CA 82223

More info will be posted at www.socal-asa.com

[anonlooker]

Will the ASA Showcases be NFCA endorsed recruiting camps? Or NFCA administered?

[Tony]

I'm not anti anything....just seem to read everyone not on the same page here and think that everyone should have a chance to play and not have just one organization take it all. Room for everyone. Lots of teams to go around. Its hard work putting out a good product and both ASA and Gary and Dan should be proud , they both did a good job.

[Tony]

And to answer your question, no, I'm not ASA, and never was ASA, just been around a long time , left California and just recently moved back.

[silverstreak]

Surf City are showcases, not tournaments, so that could influence your decision.

Our coach would prefer tournaments where people care if they win. The goal is to compete against the best before we get to championship play. Tournaments would be better than showcases.

Where should we be?

[watchtonsofsoftball]

I see you guys are forming a new team and moving up. You will learn real quick that it is VERY tough to find tournament style at 16s as that is not the goal. The goal is to get your kids to college,those who wish to do so. Fall is a great time to showcase your players. I agree that in a perfect world tournament style would be the preference but that is backseat these days to showcasing. Make sure your team is traveling down south for the bigger fall showcases. It is a must to travel down there as coaches aren't coming to Nor Cal to often. The bay area showcase is also a must to get into from Nor Cal.You really dont see a lot of tournament style until just after spring. Hope this helps.

[silverstreak]

Thank you, it does help. I know that most 16U play is showcase, but our coach hates it. Is the play experience worth going to socal for, or just the college exposure?

So the Hemet, Huntington and Bay Area showcase are the ones with the strongest teams, even if they're not playing to win?

[watchtonsofsoftball]

Yes the best competition, and most teams still try to win , its just not tourney format. You will likely get 5 games and thats that. It still doesnt look good if you lose all your games in front of college coaches so you still want to win. Besides those tourneys if you havent got into the Colorado Fireworks or Boulder Indy tournament, you better get on it. They fill up quick and extremely hard to get into. The Indy tournament I believe cuts off at the end of September this year for next summer. If the coach or sponser has any pull you better use it. 16s and 18s everyone wants to get into the Indy tourney. If you fail there get into the Fireworks to avoid the lowely Sparkler. The key is balancing all of your players and getting them all exposure. Thats tough if you have a large roster, especially when most teams are getting bigger and bigger. Its a transition and a quick learning curve. Ideal roster is 13 to keep everyone happy but that seems to be a rarity these days. Believe me the trip to So Cal is still WAY more competative then any local tourney put on down here. Good luck

[silverstreak]

Thank you, that is very useful.