USSSA WS or ASA Nationals?

[BayonneFury]

Hello,

Not sure if this as been touched but have not been able to find it anywhere.

Setting our 2016 goal for our 2nd year organization. Last year we didn't attempt to qualify for any national tournaments. This year parents are beginning to ask if we will be attempting to qualify. Playing is WOS in FL seems pretty cool and I think would be a great experience for the girls.

I would like to get some opinions.

Thanks

 

[Eric F]

What age group?

 

[BayonneFury]

10u-16u (10,12,14,16)

 

[SoAZDad]

DDs org has 10U through 18U. The 16U and 18U teams only go to showcases. Our 14U - A team also does one or two showcases each season. The 10Us, 12Us, and 14Us try to qualify for all three of the best sanctions. Teams that qualify for PGF go to SoCal. Teams that don't usually qualify for TCS, USSSA, and ASA and have their choice at Nationals, usually on the west coast.

 

[MNDad]

It depends on the caliber of your teams and what you’re program is looking for. The FL WS is more vacation than softball, but everyone I know that’s gone has had a great time and the facilities are excellent. USSSA WS events are perfect for B or lower A caliber teams that don’t want to travel a great distance to find good competition. PGF, TCS or ASA events would be a better fit for organizations promoting recruiting exposure or playing top competition.

 

[Rambler34]

I am really wanting to see how the USSSA Elite World Championships impact everything. Looking at the qualifiers that are showing for the fall there are many top organizations represented. Our organization pushes ASA but teams can play PGF. This event starting makes me wonder how many teams will travel to 12U ASA nationals in Va next summer.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

It depends on the caliber of your teams and what you’re program is looking for. The FL WS is more vacation than softball, but everyone I know that’s gone has had a great time and the facilities are excellent. USSSA WS events are perfect for B or lower A caliber teams that don’t want to travel a great distance to find good competition. PGF, TCS or ASA events would be a better fit for organizations promoting recruiting exposure or playing top competition.

To clarify and add...

- ASA has 2 levels of TB "nationals" - ASA/USA and ASA Eastern/Northern/Southern/Western

- - ASA/USA are true nationals, very large (except 10U), very competitive and worthwhile for strong teams. ASA spreads them around the 4 territories, however it seems Salem, VA has cornered the Eastern bids - it is holding 12U in 2016 after holding 14U and 16U the previous years. The other sites for 2016 are Stockton, CA (10U), Sioux Falls, SD (14U) and College Station, TX (16U). The next closest sites you'll see in coming years are IN, IL and TN.

- - ASA also holds a regional national in each territory which are smaller and less competitive. It's a good alternative for many teams that don't want to travel far and/or aren't strong enough for ASA/USA nats.

- Triple Crown Sports (TCS) similarly has 2 levels - TC/USA Nats and various regional ones.
- - TC/USA is very high level and only for the older age groups (14U-18U).
- - Regional ones are located in some fun places to visit and draw a mix of teams, which TCS handles well by placing teams into different brackets based on how they did in pool games. See https://www.triplecrownsports.com/EventPages/champlandingfp.asp?sportid=3&eventtype=championship

 

[Little Angels Softball]

Hard to say. I guess it depends on what part of the country you're in.

Out here, the USSSA National held in So Cal had a very good field of teams, especially in 12U and 14U. It was kind of ironic in my mind as no one here really plays USSSA. A tourney like it would have been a very worthy destination for a team like yours.

For the most part, we consider ASA "Western" Nationals to be every bit as competitive as the ASA/USA Nationals, since very few teams from our neck of the woods will travel to BFE when they can play top competition without leaving the state.

If you qualify for PGF Premier, you have arrived on the Elite scene.

TCS is good stuff, too.

Not sure how all the sanctioning bodies hold up outside our area, though.

 

[MNDad]

To clarify and add...

- ASA has 2 levels of TB "nationals" - ASA/USA and ASA Eastern/Northern/Southern/Western

- - ASA/USA are true nationals, very large (except 10U), very competitive and worthwhile for strong teams. ASA spreads them around the 4 territories, however it seems Salem, VA has cornered the Eastern bids - it is holding 12U in 2016 after holding 14U and 16U the previous years. The other sites for 2016 are Stockton, CA (10U), Sioux Falls, SD (14U) and College Station, TX (16U). The next closest sites you'll see in coming years are IN, IL and TN.

- - ASA also holds a regional national in each territory which are smaller and less competitive. It's a good alternative for many teams that don't want to travel far and/or aren't strong enough for ASA/USA nats.

- Triple Crown Sports (TCS) similarly has 2 levels - TC/USA Nats and various regional ones.
- - TC/USA is very high level and only for the older age groups (14U-18U).
- - Regional ones are located in some fun places to visit and draw a mix of teams, which TCS handles well by placing teams into different brackets based on how they did in pool games. See https://www.triplecrownsports.com/EventPages/champlandingfp.asp?sportid=3&eventtype=championship

Don't forget the vacation hotbed of Midland TX, home of the George Bush house and the Petroleum museum. Sioux Falls was nice. Not much to see except the falls and Battleship museum. Yes, there's a battleship museum smack dab in the middle of the U.S.

i was really impressed with TCS Nationals. The competition was every bit as good as I've seen at ASA/USA or PGF. If I could start over I'd go that route instead of dealing with the politics of ASA here or running around the country chasing PGF berths. The ASA JO Cup had a lot of good teams too. The price isn't outrageous when you consider what it costs chasing other berths.

 

[marriard]

Hello,

Not sure if this as been touched but have not been able to find it anywhere.

Setting our 2016 goal for our 2nd year organization. Last year we didn't attempt to qualify for any national tournaments. This year parents are beginning to ask if we will be attempting to qualify. Playing is WOS in FL seems pretty cool and I think would be a great experience for the girls.

I would like to get some opinions.

Thanks

This is easy: You try to qualify for ASA and if you do, make a call on whether you go or not depending on location, quality of your qualifier, etc.

To qualify for USSSA WS in Florida all you need is a check for the entry fee.