USFA World Series - Panama City

[CatchTheFever]

Anyone else in this tournament? DD team will be playing 12u 7/5 - 7/11

Also, any tips on things to do, etc from anyone that's played there before?

 

[grcsftbll]

We'll be there the same dates for 8U.

 

[JAD]

Some of my fondest softball memories were at the USFA World Series three years ago. We rented a 3-bedroom condo (Aqua or Calypso are great) on the beach and the whole family came, including my wife's parents and a couple of cousins. We stayed right across the street from Shuckums Oyster and Karaoke bar. Great food that is reasonably priced and the girls loved doing karaoke. We played softball in the morning and had afternoons free for beach/pool/family time. It was a great mixture of softball and vacation! I did not realize how good we had it there until the following years when we went to Normal, IL then Salem, VA for ASA Nationals. We played well and won the 14U open division - not bad for a first year 14U Church team!

 

[CJ D]

I'll never, ever, ever again go to Panama City for the WS. That is all. Lol. I hate traffic, heat, and hot sand.

 

[Rambler34]

I agree with JAD on Shuckum's as all of the girls love it. Other than that it is just the normal beach type stuff. The girls will enjoy the parade and pin trading as well and there will be good competition on the field. The best part for me was bonding with the other families at dinner, by the pool, and on the beach.

The reason I am glad we are done with PCB is the softball and experience side. The first year and everything that goes along with it is fun. As we got into year two, three, and four they tweeked a few things here and there and some were good and others were bad. I believe the year JAD's DD won it they had the opening ceremonies at a high school and it was a disaster parking wise. A lot of people missed the parade. The next year they moved it to Pier Park which was cool and actually felt like a parade as the girls walked down the street. Last year Jenny Finch got involved so that was another big thing for the girls.

The parks became a let down for me. We play at nicer facilities most other tournaments with better field conditions. We have played at four different parks and 2 of them were at least 45 minutes out of PCB which is another downer. We were excited the first year because we were less than a mile from the main park but ended up playing in Lynnhaven. It is next door to the local animal shelter so there was always this "pleasant" smell. If you are from Alabama or Georgia I could tell you at least ten parks that are nicer than the ones you will be playing at.

Maybe I would not feel the same way about it if we had not played in much better ran and organized tournaments. In my DD's second year of 8U she was invited to pick up with another team for the USSSA WS in Gulf Shores. Everything they did seemed to be at a higher level. Last year we played both in PCB and at ASA Nationals in Johnson City. The USFA WS cant touch the opening ceremonies and the other activities ASA held for the girls.

 

[Softball scholar]

We did the Panama Beach world series a couple of years ago. The parade was great and the facility by Pier Park is really nice. Competition is also solid here. Its a good location as in the first couple of days they divide the games up into afternoon or mornng. So you can enjoy the beach or the other entertainment during the half day you have off. Note the games are divided up in the about 5 different sites. A couple of them or over in Panama City (not Panama City Beach). The drive was about 45 minutes to one of the facilities. We came back during rush hour and was about 1hour and 45 minutes. We finally figured out that there is a back road that avoids traffic in Panama City. It wasnt shorter, but no traffic so was a lot faster.

 

[Cannonball]

BB's 12U Collinsville Extreme will be there. Coach Mark is the HC and BB is his AC. This will be their second year down there. They went as 10U last year.

 

[JAD]

The parks became a let down for me. We play at nicer facilities most other tournaments with better field conditions. We have played at four different parks and 2 of them were at least 45 minutes out of PCB which is another downer. We were excited the first year because we were less than a mile from the main park but ended up playing in Lynnhaven. It is next door to the local animal shelter so there was always this "pleasant" smell. If you are from Alabama or Georgia I could tell you at least ten parks that are nicer than the ones you will be playing at.

An event this size has to be played at multiple parks, the same is true for ASA and PGF Nationals. It is hard to find that many nice fields within close proximity to one another, so you have to take the good with the bad. For ASA Nationals in Normal, IL we ended up playing on a HS field that I swear was a cow pasture the week before we got there....

 

[Daddylawman]

Over the years I have done them all. PCB is fine for young kids as long as you don't mind long drives and half your games at poor quality fields. The beach time is nice. For 10U or 12U it's worth doing once. If you are serious about winning and commitment to the game long term then you should be at ASA or PGF.

 

[CatchTheFever]

We did the Panama Beach world series a couple of years ago. The parade was great and the facility by Pier Park is really nice. Competition is also solid here. Its a good location as in the first couple of days they divide the games up into afternoon or mornng. So you can enjoy the beach or the other entertainment during the half day you have off. Note the games are divided up in the about 5 different sites. A couple of them or over in Panama City (not Panama City Beach). The drive was about 45 minutes to one of the facilities. We came back during rush hour and was about 1hour and 45 minutes. We finally figured out that there is a back road that avoids traffic in Panama City. It wasnt shorter, but no traffic so was a lot faster.

Funny, because I've heard traffic was bad so I was just looking at google maps for back roads and shortcuts this morning