how much different is usssa from asa in tournament play

[Larry C]

My daughters 12U travel and 14U rec. Next weekend we have our first tournament and it an USSSA tournament. We have played ASA tournaments before, but never a usssa tournament. So my question is how much different is it? We like to be very aggressive on the the bases, so are the lead, stealing, and continuation rules the same?

thanks in advance for any help.

 

[marriard]

It depends on where you are. Some areas USSSA is strong, others not so much.

So where are you?

 

[canyonjoe]

We have played every alphabet there is. Not much difference in the rule sets. You can do the same stuff that you can in ASA.

At least my experience in the Sacramento-Stockton area ASA is much higher quality although many teams will play in both tournaments.
The big difference to me is that out here they rarely break A and B's up so you tend to have some wide variance in ability.

 

[marriard]

We have played every alphabet there is. Not much difference in the rule sets. You can do the same stuff that you can in ASA.

At least my experience in the Sacramento-Stockton area ASA is much higher quality although many teams will play in both tournaments.
The big difference to me is that out here they rarely break A and B's up so you tend to have some wide variance in ability.

Yes, rules wise everything is much the same. Small differences in courtesy runner rules, hit by pitch, bat requirements, batting helmet strap requirements, # of batters allowed etc. Worth asking about those when you talk to the umpires pre-game.

 

[Jquick823]

Biggest difference is the bat rules. It must have the 1.20 BPF on the handle. You can bat 11 but you can't make unlimited defensive substitutions like NSA. Courtesy runner is someone not in the game and can run for either the pitcher or catcher, they can run for the same person multiple times in the same inning if you should bat around.

USSSA has a wide variance of talent in the EAST also. But most of the top USSSA teams play ASA/NSA and on occasion PONY (yes it still exists lol).

 

[Jquick823]

U-trip is taking over B and C level ball here. C level ball is exploding. Last weekend the field near my house was packed with u-trip more than any year before. However, A is staying with ASA. Those tourneys are smaller but more elite. If it is C level, boy the coaching and expectations are bad, but the scheduling (and lack of traveling out of state) is better for busy families. You can get a wide variety at Open tourneys.

UTrip is the only C level around me also. It's good for first year teams without pitching. Some of the C teams label themselves as B and get slaughtered a lot. Then again there are A teams in 14U that lose to 12U A teams around here also.

 

[Kevin Aldrich]

This year in Nebraska ASA has announced allowing batting the line up is acceptable during ASA play. Unlike USSSA where you can also substitute freely, ASA says if a girl that is an extra batter goes in on defense she is in for that person she replaced. That original defender can go back in and everyone can still bat.

 

[KCPRK]

In ASA you put EH on the lineup for extra hitters. In USSSA you put AP instead

 

[Comp]

This year in Nebraska ASA has announced allowing batting the line up is acceptable during ASA play. Unlike USSSA where you can also substitute freely, ASA says if a girl that is an extra batter goes in on defense she is in for that person she replaced. That original defender can go back in and everyone can still bat.

Asa is allowing batting the roster in pool play, regular tournament play is by straight asa rules. And, the rules governing it are a nightmare. I have no idea how umpires are going to keep up with lineup management because it is going to be a huge problem. We spent HOURS on it at our local clinic and kept coming up with problems that had not yet been resolved in the rules. I am hoping the coaches will be so afraid of the negatives of it they won't attempt to use all the permutations of it and simply bat the lineup.

 

[Larry C]

Thanks for all the help. We are located in east/central pa.