Information about Premier Fastpitch Girls Softball

[Dispatch44]

GH,
Is there going to be a roster deadline and max player list for PGF? Is there an age/grade verifcation system in place? What about insurance?
I already hear rumors surfacing of teams on your list that will send a team to PGF and a team riddled with college players to ASA. If these teams go to PGF for exposure full of pick-up youngin's and send the meat to OKC...will the best teams really be at PGF or just the top orgs?
I'm sure most college coaches will want to see the talent that is available vs the ones already enrolled, signed and verbaled so PGF will be a good place for that.
Can we expect teams to run "business as usual" with ASA cards, Insurance, and rosters and attend the Regionals and Sectors only to (boycott) ASA Gold Nationals in the end? Imagine 25+ teams qualify for Gold and ASA can't drop them until after the last qualifier and Entry Fee deadline- (typically 7-10 days before). Then the ASA scrambles to fill the brackets with teams that were "runners up" at the qualifiers. Teams will have little notice to get a flight and hotel reservations in order, let alone Vacation requests at their place of employment. Many may have already folded up since they thought they failed to qualified.

Lastly, If a Top Team (on the list) opts to "wait-n-see " and go to OKC instead, will that team be "banned" from PGF next year? Some teams may feel somewhere between a rock and a hard place in whether to accept or decline the invite.

This could get pretty ugly this first year...no opinion, just some thoughts. Only time will tell.

[3'sDad]

Thanks for the reply on media outlet availability.....BK

[Gary Haning]

Dispatch:

All of the things you asked about and more are on our agenda to be discussed next week.

The four of us in So Cal do not want to go much further until the others can have input.

For now I can say that many teams will have Bollinger Insurance as usual, we have our own plan to acquire insurance but that may not be done by January. The tournament itself will have insurance specifically underwritten for the tournament. ASA has to sanction or approve tournaments as the Bollinger Insurance is now stated, doubt they will approve ours.

A couple teams told me they will still send a team to Gold, the Cal teams are not going to do that and I think the others want to compete here with the best HS players they can bring. If Gold becomes completely overrun by college players maybe ASA will look ahead for a change and make Gold for college freshman and sophomores, make 23U for juniors and seniors, combine the tournaments and host that in OKC.

No roster limit, no pickups after a to be determined roster deadline or when a team plays in a qualifier. Age does not matter, if you are 27 and still attended HS that year, you are good. Well not good in school.

[Gary Haning]

cont

The last paragraph are my ideas, those things will be decided next week.

Teams will register ASA for the insurance, we hope they do not enter qualifiers, knock out teams and then not take the berth to Gold but I cannot say that will not happen. I can say the Batbusters will not do that.

After next Wednesday will post a lot more information on the Premier website

[Chuck]

Gary,

Congratulations to you and the other board members that are making this happen. It is a great idea. I know there are probably many details to still be worked out, so good luck with this.

I have a couple of questions I haven't been asked yet. After all the invitations have been offered and accepted, do you have an idea how many spots will be available through the qualifiers? Do you plan to have the qualifiers in June or before the high school break?

Chuck

[wadeintothem]

If you guys cant read and see this is a High School player show case, not a championship.. I really dunno what to tell you. All you have to do is read the above.

You guys need to particpate in ASA and make changes counting on the fact that this has been a wake up call. ASA makes errors but they are not a boogie man, they are responsible for a great deal of good in our little softball community.

Even if we say "yeah well it took a wake up call" .. that may be, but there can be change for the positive.

They are putting together a coaches Commitee. We need this. I believe it should have been in place. But it wasnt and it will be now. Anyone who has had me officiate their games know I treat caoches with respect, learn their names, and deal with them in a professional manner, so you know I respect what you guys do.

ASA needs good people to help it adjust to changing attitudes and those people are you guys. Some of the people posting on heybucket are literally the best softball has to offer, and I know you in real life and know that is true.

Obviously choices are made to attend the showcase in 2010 and to send a great team to OKC as well, so there is a future that must be considered for 2011 and beyond.. and this show case thing wont be it IMO, so hopefully you chose to participate.

Youre biggest clue right now can be the fact those orgs are sending their loaded teams to OKC.

it is good to showcase youre hs players, but I think its obvious whats really going on.

Like it or not guys, ASA is a championship organization. Its rules are for championship play. ASA is NOT a HS player showcase organization. That is a side benefit of ASA>

I'd start thinking now which teams are going to the LA showcase and who will be fighting for th e championship.

Everyone has 2-3 gold teams.. OKC is not looking 18B'sish as more and more comes out.

[94redz]

You guys need to particpate in ASA and make changes counting on the fact that this has been a wake up call. ASA makes errors but they are not a boogie man, they are responsible for a great deal of good in our little softball community.

Who Needs Who???

[Blind Squirrel]

If you guys cant read and see this is a High School player show case, not a championship.. I really dunno what to tell you. All you have to do is read the above.

I went back a few pages in search of "the above" where it indicated that this tournament was being treated by teams as a HS player showcase and not a championship. I admit that I didn't take the time to go further than the following quote from one of Gary's posts:

"Yes, a couple teams said they would send a team to both. They also said they will send the best team to HB, time will tell but I believe them because they want the best competition."

Can you give a bit more direction as to what post(s) in the above that you are referring to? Though college kids will be in OKC and not HB doesn't mean that teams won't send their best non-college players to HB as opposed to OKC. I believe that you suggested earlier in this thread that this year in OKC there was a little more than 1 college player per team on the average and further, that their impact was less than significant.

Sorry. I'm trying to follow along but am once again confused.

Best Regards,
John

[Gary Haning]

Wade/Umpire:

YOU are the only person who looks at this tournament as a Showcase.

It will have Pool games, it will have a Double Elimination Championship bracket.

My team has won Gold 4 of the 5 Gold Championships we won without a college player, the other time we had one college player. From 1975 until 1994 when Gold began there were virtually no college players, were all of those tournaments Showcases?

Your postion that the tourament HAS to be sponsored by some large organization to be a championship has no basis in logic. These teams have proven over many years to be the best teams in the country, in OKC, Boulder, Aurora, Champions Cup and countless other tournaments.
Just because ASA hosted or sanctioned those tournaments does not change the fact that they are the best teams.

We who coach and compete with and against these teams on a yearly basis know which are the best teams. Your continual disrespect for our knowledge is exactly the same attitude that ASA has shown to bring this about.

I have no problem with your defense of ASA but one day you attack everything and the next day you say changes are needed. Maybe you could give this a chance and when it is over the facts of the matter will show which is the "B" tournament.

SHOWCASE-DEFINITION

A tournament run without lineups, with free substitution, with no championship round nor bracket, teams play everyone to gain exposure for everyone, teams usually do not bunt, usually do not run plays to be sure each hitter gets seen while swinging. Pitchers are often changed in and out regardless of the score or situation. I could go on but perhaps you get the point.

CHAMPIONSHIP-DEFINITION

Every team fields the best team it can to win each game. Every coach uses every strategy in their experience to win each game.

By your argument NONE of the ASA JO Championships are anything more than a Showcase, as all use HS or younger players.

[Gary Haning]

Chuck.

We are thinking 40 invites and 32 qualify.

In June, or July once teams have settled into what they will be a little.

Thanks