PGF vs. ASA

sluggers said:

I don't want to bother him on his yacht...

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Softball scholar said:

I think one fair thing to say is that there is more competition for the national tournaments, and as a result all of them are more watered down. Things have evolved and each org offers something different.

PGF still probably is the toughest tournament, mostly due to the fact that the best travel softball occurs on the west coast. And the PGF gets the best west coast teams along with the handful of better national teams. But again PGF is more than 50% west coast teams, and there are a lot of teams that don't play PGF or go to nationals. The west coach beach is also a draw and its has multiple fun destination to at least attract some teams from around the country.

We went to the USA Select Elite Nationals in Kansas City. This tournament brings some good competition, OC batbusters come out and some Bandits teams go and has the best teams in the Midwest and good south representation. I would say their comp level is much better than ASA. It also has some fun nuances, as they bring in a WPF game. Also, the central location in a major city helps something. Yes, kind of hot and Kansas City is not the best vacation spot, but it has a good amusement park, decent restaurants, some cool museums and a major airport. USA Select Elite is catching up with PGF. I wouldn't be surprised to see it surpass or be equal in the near future.

ASA is not even close to what it used to be. And also, ASA needs to hold their nationals in major metropolitan city or at least a close to a tourist location. Who wants to got to Plano, TX in the middle of July. Never been there, but I but its hot as ?? What is there to do in Plano?

Saw somebody mention that you go to Nationals to just play softball. Come on, these national tournaments are the family vacation for most people. Yes, I want my DD to be focused, but lets also have fun and enjoy it. Generally, you still have time to do something fun and entertaining. Does the fact she went to the beach or a park one afternoon mean shes going to play bad the next game? I think the better the experience overall, the less likely shes going to get burned out. I agree on early poster, I don't envision my family vacation in Normal, IL or Plano, TX in the mid summer.

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Softball scholar said:

I think one fair thing to say is that there is more competition for the national tournaments, and as a result all of them are more watered down. Things have evolved and each org offers something different.

PGF still probably is the toughest tournament, mostly due to the fact that the best travel softball occurs on the west coast. And the PGF gets the best west coast teams along with the handful of better national teams. But again PGF is more than 50% west coast teams, and there are a lot of teams that don't play PGF or go to nationals. The west coach beach is also a draw and its has multiple fun destination to at least attract some teams from around the country.

We went to the USA Select Elite Nationals in Kansas City. This tournament brings some good competition, OC batbusters come out and some Bandits teams go and has the best teams in the Midwest and good south representation. I would say their comp level is much better than ASA. It also has some fun nuances, as they bring in a WPF game. Also, the central location in a major city helps something. Yes, kind of hot and Kansas City is not the best vacation spot, but it has a good amusement park, decent restaurants, some cool museums and a major airport. USA Select Elite is catching up with PGF. I wouldn't be surprised to see it surpass or be equal in the near future.

ASA is not even close to what it used to be. And also, ASA needs to hold their nationals in major metropolitan city or at least a close to a tourist location. Who wants to got to Plano, TX in the middle of July. Never been there, but I but its hot as ?? What is there to do in Plano?

Saw somebody mention that you go to Nationals to just play softball. Come on, these national tournaments are the family vacation for most people. Yes, I want my DD to be focused, but lets also have fun and enjoy it. Generally, you still have time to do something fun and entertaining. Does the fact she went to the beach or a park one afternoon mean shes going to play bad the next game? I think the better the experience overall, the less likely shes going to get burned out. I agree on early poster, I don't envision my family vacation in Normal, IL or Plano, TX in the mid summer.

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Orange Socks said:

Texas teams pretty much dominated in Kansas City this year and Triple Crown in Atlanta as a whole.

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CoachKevin said:

IMO the blue hair's at USA refuse to change their model, the honestly believe they still have the edge. While USA does have the edge based on the whole picture (men's, slo-pitch, etc) PGF has taken over the girls fastpitch side, and Triple Crown has also passed USA in regards to fastpitch.

In less than 10 years, PGF has taken Nationals to a new level. You know where it is being held every year in a nice location, plenty of things to do, see, eat, etc. Each Championship Game is televised on ESPN.... USA Softball blew it on the fastpitch side.

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Sparky Guy said:

PGF has taken over the competitive side of fastpitch. I think I remember seeing something a while back about girls on the Jr. National team being required by USA to be registered on a USA team. I don't know if that was true or not. I know in the Chicago Metro area the guy running it still thinks that ASA is the top dog in the area and the teams should play in the Chicago Metro Tournament each July to see which team is the best in the area. This summer an exposure tournament ran the same weekend. It was filled to capacity with many Chicago Metro area based teams and out of state teams.

The stark difference between PGF and USA softball is the approach. PGF is consumer oriented giving the customers what they want. It was started by Bill Conroy and some of the bigger names in CA fastpitch with a business model. USA softball is like dealing with a government agency. It moves at a ponderous speed with too many non-fastpitch people having input when changes are needed. By design, USA softball will always be behind PGF keeping up with the ever changing fastpitch side of the sport. I really don't think the top level people care. The slowpitch side is still going strong.

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FPSBDad said:

We enjoyed the USSSA tournaments we have played in Ohio. The person you are speaking of was knowledgeable, communicated well with teams, and was always at the fields to help and answer questions. You seem to have a personal grudge because she was nothing but fantastic this year when we had dealings with her. We will continue to play USSSA tournaments especially if she is involved.

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