Tournament question...
- Thread starter stephanie
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"A" tournaments--best teams.
"B" tournaments-- good teams
"Open" tournament--Both "A" and "B" teams can sign up.
Generally, "A" tournament teams recruit from a much larger geographic area than "B" teams. E.g., a "B" team may have players from a single town or city, while an "A" team might draw players from the entire state (or states). Some "B" teams are better than most "A" teams.
The difference between "A" and "B" teams is most notable at the bottom and the top. A good "A" team is much better than a good "B" team. A bad "B" team is much, much worse than a bad "A" team.
Usually, the distinction doesn't mean much unless your team is in California. If you are in California, then you had best get the California ASA organization's rules and put a lawyer on retainer. They have rules about when a player can play on a "B" team after playing on an "A" team.
"B" tournaments-- good teams
"Open" tournament--Both "A" and "B" teams can sign up.
Generally, "A" tournament teams recruit from a much larger geographic area than "B" teams. E.g., a "B" team may have players from a single town or city, while an "A" team might draw players from the entire state (or states). Some "B" teams are better than most "A" teams.
The difference between "A" and "B" teams is most notable at the bottom and the top. A good "A" team is much better than a good "B" team. A bad "B" team is much, much worse than a bad "A" team.
Usually, the distinction doesn't mean much unless your team is in California. If you are in California, then you had best get the California ASA organization's rules and put a lawyer on retainer. They have rules about when a player can play on a "B" team after playing on an "A" team.
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thanks for the clarification!! Now I have another question: my team hasn't played tournaments YET..I am registering them for an OPEN tournament, and there is a tournament for B teamslater that I would like to register for. Am I allowed to register for the B tournament, or do I have to wait until the team plays more OPEN tournaments? HOW does a team get a designation such as A or B?
First, if you are in California, you need to check the SoCal or NoCal ASA Rules. Please, if you are in California, check with your local ASA organization. They are very strict about kids moving back and forth between "A" and "B" ball.
You get a designation simply by declaring yourself to be a B or A team, and then recruiting players in accordance with the guidelines of your local ASA organization. It isn't as big of a problem as you might think. If you have a good "A" level team, you won't enjoy playing "B" level tournaments, unless you enjoy crushing every team you play. When it happens, it is embarrassing for everyone involved. (One team is playing in t-shirts and gym shorts, while the other team is wearing $200 custom uniforms.)
Whether you are an "A" team or a "B" team depends quite a bit on the reasons for the existence of the team. If you have kids who want to go out and play in a few tournaments as long as it doesn't interfere with the family vacation, then you have a "B" team. If you have kids who want to get a softball scholarship and therefore want to play 8 or 9 tournaments during the summer, then you have an "A" team.
You get a designation simply by declaring yourself to be a B or A team, and then recruiting players in accordance with the guidelines of your local ASA organization. It isn't as big of a problem as you might think. If you have a good "A" level team, you won't enjoy playing "B" level tournaments, unless you enjoy crushing every team you play. When it happens, it is embarrassing for everyone involved. (One team is playing in t-shirts and gym shorts, while the other team is wearing $200 custom uniforms.)
Whether you are an "A" team or a "B" team depends quite a bit on the reasons for the existence of the team. If you have kids who want to go out and play in a few tournaments as long as it doesn't interfere with the family vacation, then you have a "B" team. If you have kids who want to get a softball scholarship and therefore want to play 8 or 9 tournaments during the summer, then you have an "A" team.
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If you dont play ASA it wont really matter.
Sounds like you are a B team though. You know the old adage, if you have to ask.....
There is a lot of overlap. A lot of B teams will try to play as A, hoping it makes them better. A lot of teams playing A are really B's, and dont belong playing A at all. Some avg A teams will sandbag and play as B in major for-profit tournaments. After travelling and spending $$$ they want to be there as long as possible and maybe win something. They know they dont have a chance against the top A teams, so they figure they might as well try to be the "best of the rest". The competition can be pretty strong, nottraditional B level at all sometimes.
There is a wide disparity for just 2 classes. It doesnt depend as much on the girls as you might think, the quality of coaching and instruction and work is what will eventually determine how good the team is at all but the most upper elite level.
At 12U and above, the best A teams at national level are REALLY good, skilled and disciplined in everything they do, most girls will be a college prospect of some sort if they choose, with several going to major D1 schools, possibly up to half.
The avg A teams are mediocre, might have a couple of college prospects in the bunch, probably smaller schools too.
The avg B teams are pretty poor, the worst B teams are REALLY REALLY bad.
Not to insult anyone, when I say poor or bad I mean relative the the top, most elite.Not compared to average. I know a lot of B and rec ball coaches/parents read here, but it is the truth.
Again, the fact that players will be college prospects is not just a factor of how athletically gifted they are, It is also heavily dependent on what kind of coaching, instruction, and development they have been fortunate to have. Fortunate is the right word too, good coaching and instruction by experinced knowledgeable coaches is not that common. Too many Daddys coaching their daughters.
Sounds like you are a B team though. You know the old adage, if you have to ask.....
There is a lot of overlap. A lot of B teams will try to play as A, hoping it makes them better. A lot of teams playing A are really B's, and dont belong playing A at all. Some avg A teams will sandbag and play as B in major for-profit tournaments. After travelling and spending $$$ they want to be there as long as possible and maybe win something. They know they dont have a chance against the top A teams, so they figure they might as well try to be the "best of the rest". The competition can be pretty strong, nottraditional B level at all sometimes.
There is a wide disparity for just 2 classes. It doesnt depend as much on the girls as you might think, the quality of coaching and instruction and work is what will eventually determine how good the team is at all but the most upper elite level.
At 12U and above, the best A teams at national level are REALLY good, skilled and disciplined in everything they do, most girls will be a college prospect of some sort if they choose, with several going to major D1 schools, possibly up to half.
The avg A teams are mediocre, might have a couple of college prospects in the bunch, probably smaller schools too.
The avg B teams are pretty poor, the worst B teams are REALLY REALLY bad.
Not to insult anyone, when I say poor or bad I mean relative the the top, most elite.Not compared to average. I know a lot of B and rec ball coaches/parents read here, but it is the truth.
Again, the fact that players will be college prospects is not just a factor of how athletically gifted they are, It is also heavily dependent on what kind of coaching, instruction, and development they have been fortunate to have. Fortunate is the right word too, good coaching and instruction by experinced knowledgeable coaches is not that common. Too many Daddys coaching their daughters.
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ASA is the big one. It is the governing body of softball. It is where the strongest teams normally want to compete. It has the only true National that has structured qualifiying and limited berths. ASA is where you compete for THE national championship in your age group. Some areas have strong participation, some have weakernow days, but the strongest teams in the country, especially from Southern California, play ASA nationals.
The others are "For Profit" organizations. In other words, they are in it for the money. They organize and hold tournaments to make money for themselves. They have less stringent rules, (everyone bats, etc) in order to not exclude any potential $$ that might come their way. They want everyone to be happy, have fun, and play their tournaments. Their tournaments are not "nationals', more like "regionals", with teams that did not qualify for ASA Nationals attending,and most that never had a chance to.
Different organizations are more or less popular in different areas, especially centered around where they hold their tournaments or world series, etc. A big advantage that most of these organizations have is that they have excellent websites which list sanctioned tournaments by date and make it easy to find tournaments to play in, as well as see who is signed up, how many teams, how a particular tournament is shaping up, etc all in real time. Most teams, regardless of what end-of-season "National" they play, will register in several organizations and play in their tournaments during the season. It is just easy to find tournaments outside your area to play using them, and of course no one wants to play the same local teams all year long. You also need a fall-back in case you dont qualify for ASA, you need to be qualified to play end-of-season somewhere else. Of course, If ASA nationals are all the way across the country this yr, some teams may elect to forego them anyway since the travel costs might be out-of-hand for them iif airfare is needed.
So the short answer is, there is no "best" to play in, except when it comes to Nationals, then its ASA USA Nationals without a doubt. After that it just really depends on which organizations have the strongest presence in a particular area, who draws the most teams to their end of season tournaments. Some of these organizations "qualify" teams simply by playing in a couple of their sanctioned tournaments, you dont have to be any good at all, or win anything at all. They have "A" and "B" tournaments also. Others require you to play in a qualifier tournament , but as many as the top 5 or so finishers may get "qualified" for the end of season tournament.
In ASA you have to win a berth, berths are available based on the # of ASA registered teams in the state, etc. Something like 1 berth per 500 registered teams. In about half the states, the # of berths is only 1, in some like California it is about 22 or so. More populous states and cities may be broken up into districts with each having a number of berths available, based on the# of registered ASA teams. If you dont win a berth at state level, or ASA district level, You must win a regional or national qualifier tournament to get an at-large berth.
Today, ASA also offers 2nd tier regional championships as well, but they arent really what the name says. The top ASA teams in the region are playing in the USA nationals. These are a choice in addition to the "for profit" end of season tournaments. However, for many the "for profit" tournaments are the way to go because they may be located in vacation spots that create other incentives to attend, does make it an enjoyable trip.
So again, if you plan on end-of-season large weeklong tournament trip, whether it be NSA, IFA, USSSA, USFA, ASA, ISA, AFA, etc you will need to register in multiple org.'s, plan ahead around qualification requirements, try to qualify in a couple of organizations, and have a first and second choice of where to go. Some that are ridiculously easy to qualify for fill up very fast early in year. Planning for the end of the season begins at the start, or you may find you have no where to go!
The others are "For Profit" organizations. In other words, they are in it for the money. They organize and hold tournaments to make money for themselves. They have less stringent rules, (everyone bats, etc) in order to not exclude any potential $$ that might come their way. They want everyone to be happy, have fun, and play their tournaments. Their tournaments are not "nationals', more like "regionals", with teams that did not qualify for ASA Nationals attending,and most that never had a chance to.
Different organizations are more or less popular in different areas, especially centered around where they hold their tournaments or world series, etc. A big advantage that most of these organizations have is that they have excellent websites which list sanctioned tournaments by date and make it easy to find tournaments to play in, as well as see who is signed up, how many teams, how a particular tournament is shaping up, etc all in real time. Most teams, regardless of what end-of-season "National" they play, will register in several organizations and play in their tournaments during the season. It is just easy to find tournaments outside your area to play using them, and of course no one wants to play the same local teams all year long. You also need a fall-back in case you dont qualify for ASA, you need to be qualified to play end-of-season somewhere else. Of course, If ASA nationals are all the way across the country this yr, some teams may elect to forego them anyway since the travel costs might be out-of-hand for them iif airfare is needed.
So the short answer is, there is no "best" to play in, except when it comes to Nationals, then its ASA USA Nationals without a doubt. After that it just really depends on which organizations have the strongest presence in a particular area, who draws the most teams to their end of season tournaments. Some of these organizations "qualify" teams simply by playing in a couple of their sanctioned tournaments, you dont have to be any good at all, or win anything at all. They have "A" and "B" tournaments also. Others require you to play in a qualifier tournament , but as many as the top 5 or so finishers may get "qualified" for the end of season tournament.
In ASA you have to win a berth, berths are available based on the # of ASA registered teams in the state, etc. Something like 1 berth per 500 registered teams. In about half the states, the # of berths is only 1, in some like California it is about 22 or so. More populous states and cities may be broken up into districts with each having a number of berths available, based on the# of registered ASA teams. If you dont win a berth at state level, or ASA district level, You must win a regional or national qualifier tournament to get an at-large berth.
Today, ASA also offers 2nd tier regional championships as well, but they arent really what the name says. The top ASA teams in the region are playing in the USA nationals. These are a choice in addition to the "for profit" end of season tournaments. However, for many the "for profit" tournaments are the way to go because they may be located in vacation spots that create other incentives to attend, does make it an enjoyable trip.
So again, if you plan on end-of-season large weeklong tournament trip, whether it be NSA, IFA, USSSA, USFA, ASA, ISA, AFA, etc you will need to register in multiple org.'s, plan ahead around qualification requirements, try to qualify in a couple of organizations, and have a first and second choice of where to go. Some that are ridiculously easy to qualify for fill up very fast early in year. Planning for the end of the season begins at the start, or you may find you have no where to go!
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- Jan 17, 2010
- 40
- 0
I was always told that the difference between an A and B designation is that to qualifiy for B tournaments, you cannot have more than two players from out of "town".
- Jan 15, 2009
- 584
- 0
There are no National standards for ASA, USSSA that I am aware of that dictate how many "out of town" kids can be on a "B" team. Every state has local authority to add those rules as they see fit, so you may need to refer to those local authorities for specific rules. For example our local ASA does not allow teams to be formed with more than 3 out of draw area players unless they register 14UA, 16UA or 18U (any). Draw areas are maintained by the local ASA and typically consist of a city, or a school district or similar.
