Michael Lewis's audio book about travel softball; playing to win

[_MIA_]

What? No fields in So Cal?????

Alliance 2023 Events – The Alliance Fastpitch

thealliancefastpitch.com

Not saying you are wrong in general, but I see a bunch of PCFL events in CA..

 

[nikkilugi]

And Colorado is just a boondoggle; only reason it's well-attended is because it's been around a long time. Totally inefficient way to recruit; colleges don't like it.

If colleges don't like it why are so many out there? I'm not talking about just P5 either. My daughter was mainly interested in smaller mid-majors in the NE area and pretty much all of them were at IDT to watch games. The school she committed to from MD held a camp out there for Sparkler (she was bummed because she was at IDT and we couldn't make it work). It's an honest question - part of the issue isn't just parents or orgs - it's also colleges. If the coaches don't show then the teams won't show. It's actually pretty circular if you ask me.

 

[Shiloh]

I don't agree with Alliance "attempting to curtail the craziness". Just going about it in a slightly less obvious way. For example, their 16U qualifier in AZ this past weekend was almost all So Cal teams. And their 14U qualifier this weekend in Las Vegas has 28 teams from So Cal and two AZ teams. What? No fields in So Cal????? Think it has more to do about $$$$. This is what I call completely unnecessary travel. The economy is struggling, gas is $5 a gallon and rooms are $150 a night. WHY? 28teams x 16 players x $800 (approx. travel, food and lodging cost) = $358,400. And for the climate change enthusiasts, think about the carbon footprint. LOL

Not saying that TDs are not trying to make money. But the Alliance structure makes much more sense than PGF.

PGF:

Very few teams get a beginning-of-the-season invite to PGF Nationals; usually only the top 3-5 finishers from the year before. So that means most teams must qualify. With a very limited number of premier and platinum births at each qualifying event, and not more than a handful of qualifying events within driving distance to SoCal, where the talent is concentrated, this setup drives a significant number of very good teams each year to chase births outside their drivable range. And then, because the number of births per tourney are extremely limited, there are many that don't qualify at these remote tourneys, even as the competition get pared down over time. Meanwhile, teams that attend the qualifier in Virginia Beach, where 4-6 teams sign up for 2 births, are feeling great. Nevermind that these teams might be nowhere near the caliber of the teams from SoCal or Arizona that can't get a birth.

But then, lo and behold, come late July teams that have tried and failed to qualify 3, 4, 5 times usually get an invite to platinum.

Which means that each year PGF extracts thousands of dollars from all but the best teams, dooming anyone outside of the top 25 or so teams to pay many thousands of dollars extra, in their pursuit of play in August in Southern California.

It's a system designed for scarcity and greed.


Alliance:

Local and area tournaments are sanctioned and reward points based on order of finish. Points drive rankings. Top ranked teams qualify for higher level events, moving onto successive stages of competition vs teams in their geographic region, until a roster is compiled of the best teams in each region. Invitations to nationals go out to the best teams in each regional, which some accomodation for size, e.g. Pacific Coast Region will send 10 top teams to Nationals, East Coast Region will send 5 (don't quote me on those numbers I didn't look them up. But you get the idea).

There are 2-3 national events held in OKC each year, with the seminal event being Alliance Nationals in August.

No scarcity of qualifying events
No strict limits on the number of qualifiers per event
Tournaments withing driving distance (Arizona and LV are drivable from SoCal)
No last-minute invites to fill slots
Every team plays the schedule they want, i.e. no special subset of teams are vested and rested at the beginning of every summer, while others sweat births in June and July
Best teams in each region qualify
System utilizes the tournaments that are already in place, i.e. no special PGF-only type qualifiers

While it all sucks for lower-income families, the Alliance is more equitable and honest than PGF.
And has a lower carbon footprint - that's a really great point!

Cheers.

 

[Shiloh]

If colleges don't like it why are so many out there? I'm not talking about just P5 either. My daughter was mainly interested in smaller mid-majors in the NE area and pretty much all of them were at IDT to watch games. The school she committed to from MD held a camp out there for Sparkler (she was bummed because she was at IDT and we couldn't make it work). It's an honest question - part of the issue isn't just parents or orgs - it's also colleges. If the coaches don't show then the teams won't show. It's actually pretty circular if you ask me.

They go because they have to.
Again, first mover advantage on the part of Fireworks/Sparkler. I believe the event is like in its 40th year or something like that.

Coaches and recruiters hate having to travel hours from one side of CO to another. Because they usually are at games to only see one player, maybe two.

The IDT and Power Pool are an attempt to cut down on the amount of travel for the coaches, but it's still not great because if you're a mid-major D1 or below (D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO) having the best teams play each other in Broomfield does nothing for you.

Very few colleges within driving distance of the Denver-Boulder- Colorado Springs area also.
Everyone is flying in for this.

 

[nikkilugi]

They go because they have to.
Again, first mover advantage on the part of Fireworks/Sparkler. I believe the event is like in its 40th year or something like that.

Coaches and recruiters hate having to travel hours from one side of CO to another. Because they usually are at games to only see one player, maybe two.

The IDT and Power Pool are an attempt to cut down on the amount of travel for the coaches, but it's still not great because if you're a mid-major D1 or below (D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO) having the best teams play each other in Broomfield does nothing for you.

Very few colleges within driving distance of the Denver-Boulder- Colorado Springs area also.
Everyone is flying in for this.

And teams go because coaches go. I mean now anyway - who knows what they did before my DD played. My point is it's circular and honestly the coaches have the power here. If they don't go then teams go where they are in the end. May take a while for the shift to happen but that's the long and short of it. Teams only go where they think there will be colleges watching.....

 

[Shiloh]

If colleges don't like it why are so many out there? I'm not talking about just P5 either. My daughter was mainly interested in smaller mid-majors in the NE area and pretty much all of them were at IDT to watch games. The school she committed to from MD held a camp out there for Sparkler (she was bummed because she was at IDT and we couldn't make it work). It's an honest question - part of the issue isn't just parents or orgs - it's also colleges. If the coaches don't show then the teams won't show. It's actually pretty circular if you ask me.

Also, see my response re: Alliance.

That structure, or something like it, could eventually render Sparkler/Fireworks moot.

By sorting teams based on abilities (points, rankings) and location (PCFL, HFL, etc.) Alliance should do a better job of helping college coaches identify talent at their level.

 

[Shiloh]

And teams go because coaches go.

Yes.

The Sparkler/Fireworks setup made sense when there were 100-200 fastpitch teams. Get everyone together in roughly the same area and let the coaches have at it.

Now that there's 800-1000 teams, that setup no longer makes sense.
But people are still trying to figure out what to replace it with.

Alliance is a good start.
But who knows what will happen in the next 5-10 years.

Top teams from SoCal and elsewhere have been declining their Sparkler/Fireworks invites for the past few years.

 

[Westwind]

Alliance should do a better job of helping college coaches identify talent at their level.

I personally HATE the idea that the oligarchs of travel softball have so much input on who gets recruited. I want less of that not more.

Now I’ll let y’all get back to this episode of “The Sun Rises And Sets On Sunny California.”

 

[Westwind]

The reason “travel teams” travel is the same all over the country.

Teams travel to play teams that they haven't already played 9 times.

 

[Kraedad]

I just finished it. Highly entertaining description of the life of a travel softball dad, college recruiting and admissions, and some behind the scenes on the Hayley Woods and the Cal Nuggets. Has anyone read it? It was a surreal description of the live many of us are living.

Playing to Win Amazon product ASIN B08DL7ZJDX

Thanks for the recommendation. Just buzzed through the book. As a father of a 10year old DD, who is starting down the competitive softball trail, I really enjoyed the perspective the book offers. I have and hope to continue to strive for balance in her life. (or I'm going to take a look at her golf swing...) I'm sure everyone's journey is quite different. Very well written and great ending.