PGF Nationals - East Coast Teams - Best Tournaments Showcases

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Sep 29, 2013
112
18
South Central Pa
Looking for feedback on East Coast teams that play PGF Nationals in Cali. Definitely the best competition but was it worth it? Its a shame it isnt held mid-country.

What are your favorite Tournaments / Showcases and why

Go.......
 
Mar 26, 2016
122
28
We were in Cali this fall for the PGF surf city early thanksgiving showcase, I spoke with an ump he stated they haven't had a rain out for hs in about 7 years, so that perfect weather you can't beat it, and it will always be a sticking point on why PGF Nationals is hosted in California.

Regardless where you are from if you can get a bid to PGF Nationals they are well worth.


Personal favorite thus far though is the D9, great weather, and a ton to do outside of the tournament.
 
May 27, 2013
2,353
113
If a player is interested in a Northeast / New England school Pennsbury is a great showcase to get into. My dd guest-played for a team who played on their main fields and the amount of coaches there was amazing.
 
Sep 29, 2010
1,082
83
Knoxville, TN
Never been to PGF. My two favorite Showcases are Atlanta Legacy and USA Diamond Classic in Spartanburg, SC. Legacy has the same issues as most big tournaments being spread out at multiple parks, but coaches seem to be everywhere at every park. The Veterans Tribute is the fall version of the same tournament with the same college turnout. The Diamond Classic is limited to just over 100 teams and played at one 13 field park, Tyger River Park, that is as nice as anywhere you will play. DD received more “on the spot” interest at this tournament than any other, meaning interest from colleges she hadn’t contacted.
 
Dec 2, 2013
3,409
113
Texas
I have nothing to add with regards to PGF Nats. My favorite Showcase Competitive Tourney is Boulder IDT. 18U is played on two Boulder complexes that are pretty close together with some of the best teams around the country. I get to go to Red Rocks to see Widespread Panic the weekend before. We stay with a college a buddy in his basement. The weather is awesome. The scenery is breathtaking. I am gonna miss it after this summer.
 
Sep 3, 2018
87
0
PGF has their headquarters in Huntington Beach, California (only tourists call it "Cali") literally across the street from the park where so many of the games are played. Why would they put their biggest event elsewhere? TCS has their headquarters in Colorado (or is it "Collie"?), where their largest event, Sparklers is held. Just makes sense to hold your largest event close to home so they can keep tabs on everything.
 
Last edited:
Apr 28, 2014
2,316
113
There are two different classes at PGF. Premier and Platinum. With Premier being the top. Most east coast teams aspire to play at the Premier level. When you sign up for a qualifier the rules state how many "bids" are awarded for each class. The competition could be average or very good depending upon who comes and how far they travel to gain a bid. I've see Arizona teams come to NJ to try to earn a Premier bid. In most cases if the team doesn't win the qualifier or place second (If there are 24 teams) then they are awarded a platinum bid. Most east coast teams would not accept that bid as it's very costly to travel to Huntington Beach to basically play in the "B" bracket. That may sound harsh but it's the truth.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
If a player is interested in a Northeast / New England school Pennsbury is a great showcase to get into. My dd guest-played for a team who played on their main fields and the amount of coaches there was amazing.

I second this. DD attended this a couple of years ago. By far the best event she was at.
 
Jan 4, 2015
48
8
I’m from the Midwest. Over the last 3 years, we played at several events. The biggest tournaments we had were:
D9 sun classic fall showcase
DeMarini Invite
Tulsa Elite invite
Top Gun Invite
T-bolts 5 Star
Boulder IDT
Fireworks Powerpool
World Fastpitch Championship
TCS Nationals
And PGF Nationals Premier

Several coaches at our games in all of the above tournaments, but none compared to PGF Nationals Premier. It was pretty ridiculous this last year with the number of coaches. Having said that, we had friends that played Platinum at the other park, and there were only 3 that we saw there. Obviously, they haven’t played them all, but of those listed PGF Nationals Premier was the best for coach presence in our experience.
 
Oct 5, 2015
91
18
I will caveat my opinion by stating that regardless of tourney, if your DD is writing and in contact with coaches, they will attend. Coaches plan their recruiting schedule, find out their travel plans (subject to standard recruiting contact limitations).

The two top events my kids attended were IDT (Boulder) and PGF (Huntington). Both are easy to get to and the weather is typically very good, So Cal A+, Boulder A- (albeit you might get lightning delays in Colorado).

For IDT, depending on age group (Broomfield -14U, Longmont - 16U, Boulder - 18U), the fields within each age group are very close and easy for coaches to go back and forth and it is very well attended. For 18's, Stazio has the larger set of coaches than East Mapleton but that Whole Foods is incredible!!.

As far as PGF, I think Pool Play in well attended in both Premier and Platinum but the serendipitous moment of making that diving play or hitting that loud shot, will certainly have a better shot of getting noticed at Premier but it all comes down to writing.

As many others have commented in the past, if you write, call, text, they will watch, whether it is in Greeley/Loveland, Colorado or the furthest away non-Disney D9 venue.
 

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