What are the top tournaments to go to when finding a great team to join

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Mar 26, 2016
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meaning ASA NSA PGF , USSSA, IFA...which ones would you want to go to a team that does what tournaments to get noticed where there will be scouts people watching and maybe even the best states to go to.


and second question the best Softball Camps to go to for exposure what colleges. I know ASU has a week over night stay I will be attending. 2 to a room I cant wait to go there because its very close to home .I'm more a Pac 12 but doesn't matter. As long as its a 4-5 day camp.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
I think it varies by region. Where I live, it seems like most of the real A tournaments are USSSA. I've seen other people say USSSA is just glorified rec ball where they live. I know in CA PGF is the big thing but we have pretty much zero PGF presence here. ASA used to be bigger here but it's fallen by the wayside, it seems. We did an ASA qualifier last year and were one of I think 4 teams that signed up (we're not recruiting age yet - but still, there seems to be no PGF around here for the most part).
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
meaning ASA NSA PGF , USSSA, IFA...which ones would you want to go to a team that does what tournaments to get noticed where there will be scouts people watching and maybe even the best states to go to.


and second question the best Softball Camps to go to for exposure what colleges. I know ASU has a week over night stay I will be attending. 2 to a room I cant wait to go there because its very close to home .I'm more a Pac 12 but doesn't matter. As long as its a 4-5 day camp.

I am sure you have heard it before, but where you go is just a small part of the process - if you expect to be 'noticed' then you better be something special. It is the hard work with emails, communication, skills videos, etc that get you noticed so the coaches come out to specifically give you a look.

Ok.... when it comes to 'tournaments' then going to ASA Nationals or PGF and even USA Elite are places you want to end up - but don't expect a lot from coaches until you reach the actual nationals. If qualifying for Nationals of any kind is your recruiting path, then that is really the hard way. As a team you want to qualify as quickly as you can for your target tournament so you have more time for specific recruiting events. For example - our team is hitting a PGF qualifier, an ASA qualifier and already have an invite to the USA Elite event if we want it. We won't be spending much time this summer trying to qualify. USA Elite doesn't get the coaches you get at PGF or ASA however they do get a very large number of coaches for the first 3 days as it is right before the Legacy showcase - we will see plenty of the coaches we want to see even if we don't end up at PGF or ASA.

The easier path to get noticed is through showcases and then weekend camps held by colleges that you are invited to (i.e. you don't just register and show up, but work through the showcases and emails to get them to specifically reach out to invite you to be there).

I have not been to a good week long camp that was recruiting focused - the best ones seem to be 3 days and very focused. You want an invite of some kind because if you just sign up or show up you end up in the 'making us money' group which can be fun, but you wont get any looks because there will be a 'we are interested' group of players that the college coaches have been following who they will spend about 90% of their time with. We are also seeing a lot more multi-college camps being run where there will be 10-20 colleges represented generally run by one specific college. For example, we attended on recently where it was run by a large D1 but staffed also by several coaches from every other college level (low D1, D2 D3, NAIA, JUCO) - it was great because almost every girl there was getting attention from someone.

There are SO many Showcases. There are the obvious ones - Colorado (so, so massve) Atlanta Legacy, TCS Firecrackers, TBolts 5Star, etc, etc... Depends where you live what is best for you and also depends on where you want to go to college. There is also now a lot of invite tournaments/showcases the collleges are putting on - so the right team matters here because you do need a specific invite. We attended one last October being held jointly by 2 D1 colleges in conjunction with a local D2 and NAIA school - 16 of the best 16U teams were invited and played on the 2 major campuses, did university tours, etc, etc. Just for reference the same colleges also ran a 'camp' that weekend. I doubt any of the head coaches spent more than 20 minutes of the weekend at the camp - because they were always as the 'invite' tournament.

Getting recruited is a major project for 95% of players. And the destination is so undefined at the beginning it can be daunting..
 
Last edited:
Dec 2, 2013
3,410
113
Texas
In each area of the country there are the "marquee" teams that have been doing it year in year out. Start by looking at those teams/programs and then look at the tourneys they have been playing. How have they done? As I have said before, If you ain't in the loop, you ain't in the loop. Find a team that is in the loop. US Club Rankings is a good start. Marriad named many of the tourney/showcases that these programs attend. If some coach says we "plan" on playing in XYZ tourney/showcase, ask if they have played in it before. Most of the top programs have standing invites and will be on the "good" fields playing the "good" teams in front of most college coaches. I don't know how many times I have heard "I didn't see any coaches at our fields" Well, you ain't in the loop my friend! Moral of the story. Conduct your due diligence and get in the loop.

Having said all this, this is really geared for the 14U/16U/18U programs. Below that you should be focusing on getting reps, learning the game, etc.
 

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