NSA "A" World Series vs ASA or PGF regional for 14U

[tmolina]

I was at the PGF 14U and was very surprised at how many big time college coaches were there not only assistants but head coaches as well. I would not have believed it if someone had told me college coaches are after 8th and 9th graders but I guess it is true.

I second this, I was there too and personally walked by Mike Candrea, Lisa Fernandez and Clint Myers among others. I looked at the college attending list for PGF vs ASA and PGF had a lot more schools. The weather was really nice and there is a lot to do in So Cal when your done playing for the day unlike in a small town out in the middle of no where where ASA likes to host nationals.

As far as the PGF regionals goes, this past year was the first year and it takes a few years to get off the ground. I think if you want to play in regionals then you exclude yourself from PGF nationals and is for teams not aspiring to play on the national level.
So the odds are you won't see as big of a college recruiting presence there. Non the less based on the success PGF has had with thier national events I bet they will make this a success too as long as there is enough interest by teams in thier respective regions playing and supporting the regional PGF events. Good luck deciding where to go.. I personally think PGF runs first class events and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

 

[flipper14]

I second this, I was there too and personally walked by Mike Candrea, Lisa Fernandez and Clint Myers among others. I looked at the college attending list for PGF vs ASA and PGF had a lot more schools. The weather was really nice and there is a lot to do in So Cal when your done playing for the day unlike in a small town out in the middle of no where where ASA likes to host nationals.

As far as the PGF regionals goes, this past year was the first year and it takes a few years to get off the ground. I think if you want to play in regionals then you exclude yourself from PGF nationals and is for teams not aspiring to play on the national level.
So the odds are you won't see as big of a college recruiting presence there. Non the less based on the success PGF has had with thier national events I bet they will make this a success too as long as there is enough interest by teams in thier respective regions playing and supporting the regional PGF events. Good luck deciding where to go.. I personally think PGF runs first class events and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

If I was a small-DI, DII or DIII coach I'd live at PGF regionals. Usually well run and solid teams. You won't see many major college coaches there but if you have a club team with a lot of good students who may aspire to go to good DIII schools I think I'd go to PGF regionals in Chicago rather than NSA. Just my opinion...

 

[mad hornet]

If I was a small-DI, DII or DIII coach I'd live at PGF regionals. Usually well run and solid teams. You won't see many major college coaches there but if you have a club team with a lot of good students who may aspire to go to good DIII schools I think I'd go to PGF regionals in Chicago rather than NSA. Just my opinion...

Were you there this year? Curious what you thought of the officiating. We took our 13u team to NSA A in Chattanooga and had a good experience and I talked to some coaches who came back from Chicago saying the umpiring was atrocious.

 

[flipper14]

I think NSA, USSSA at ages under 14 are okay. I see most college coaches at any level at ASA or PGF from 14-years-old up. I was at the DeMarini Bandits exposure several weeks earlier at the same site and the umpiring was fine. I can't speak for regionals as I was not there.

 

[29dad]

Probably off topic a bit since the original post was regarding regional tournaments, but one girl in our org played 14U PGF nationals in CA (on our 13U team) and then played as a pickup player with my DD's team (14U) at ASA nationals the following week in Illinois. According to the father, and obviously this is just anecdotal, there were at least 4 times as many college coaches at 14U PGF nationals than there were at 14U ASA/USA nationals. FWIW.

We just had our first team meeting for next season, and the goal is to play in both (PGF and ASA) next year at 16U. That's going to be a brutal schedule. Not qute sure if it can be done, but that's the plan.

 

[Mike-Coach Q]

A little off topic, but a lot of colleges are now doing clinics as a way of getting a look at a player. Communication and exposure is key in finding the right match for a college. Do some research and have your athletes pick schools they might be interested in and start a letter campain with those schools. Find out what tournaments that school is going to attend. Good Luck.

 

[Sparky Guy]

I talked to some coaches who came back from Chicago saying the umpiring was atrocious.

At the younger levels the umpiring was not too good overall at the PGF Regional at the end of last season. The problem in the Chicagoland area is there are two main assignors and tons of tournaments. There is a shortage of quality umpires. So what the assignors do is put their stronger umpires at the older levels. The younger levels get the weaker umpires. There were some good ones, but not enough to offset the weak ones.