Where the players in the top 25 hail from

[Lobster Birch]

Although I make my home in Central Florida I currently work in Minot ND. The local DII, Minot State University has 6 players from CA. Minot, only 50 miles from Canada is truly in the middle of nowhere with temps dipping to -40 or less in the winter.

Well, there goes my theory!

Minot is where I had to fly into when visiting my grandfather in Rugby.

 

[riseball]

I saw the MSU Mighty Beavers play a game back in late April. They plowed the snow off the artificial turf in the football stadium, laid out a softball field and went at it. The fans looked dressed for ice fishing rather than softball, with their gear including small propane heaters.

 

[Lobster Birch]

I'll never complain about 44 degrees and a light mist again.

 

[SoAZDad]

I don't fully buy the "sunny state" explanation for California producing so many top college players. I suspect CA produces so many top players because they have so many players to begin with and besides having such a large population, softball is just more popular in CA than many other regions.

Our 12U and 14U AZ teams placed halfway down the field last summer at Nationals. My wife asked me why Cali girls were better.

I reminded her that Candrea's Arizona Wildcats roster typically has 3 or 5 from AZ, a couple from other states, and the large remainder from California. I remembered this thread and did some quick math to let the numbers explain it to DW. There is a much higher density of girls in Cali.

The 2010 US Census 2010 reported 2,633,873 girls between age 10 and 19 in California with an area of 163, 696 square miles. The 2010 Census reported 442,971 girls between age 10 and 19 in Arizona with an area of 113, 990 square miles.

That's 16.1 girls age 10 - 19 per square mile in Cali, and 3.9 girls age 10 - 19 per square mile in Arizona. California has over 4 times the 10 - 19 year-old girls per unit area than does Arizona.

 

[Cobb_of_Fury]

Our 12U and 14U AZ teams placed halfway down the field last summer at Nationals. My wife asked me why Cali girls were better.

I reminded her that Candrea's Arizona Wildcats roster typically has 3 or 5 from AZ, a couple from other states, and the large remainder from California. I remembered this thread and did some quick math to let the numbers explain it to DW. There is a much higher density of girls in Cali.

The 2010 US Census 2010 reported 2,633,873 girls between age 10 and 19 in California with an area of 163, 696 square miles. The 2010 Census reported 442,971 girls between age 10 and 19 in Arizona with an area of 113, 990 square miles.

That's 16.1 girls age 10 - 19 per square mile in Cali, and 3.9 girls age 10 - 19 per square mile in Arizona. California has over 4 times the 10 - 19 year-old girls per unit area than does Arizona.

This sounds correct - So where are all the New York Girls?

 

[SoCal_Dad]

The 2010 US Census 2010 reported 2,633,873 girls between age 10 and 19 in California with an area of 163, 696 square miles. The 2010 Census reported 442,971 girls between age 10 and 19 in Arizona with an area of 113, 990 square miles.

That's 16.1 girls age 10 - 19 per square mile in Cali, and 3.9 girls age 10 - 19 per square mile in Arizona. California has over 4 times the 10 - 19 year-old girls per unit area than does Arizona.

Using the area of the entire state really distorts the density numbers. For example, two-thirds of AZ's population is in the Phoenix metro area and that's only 1,147 square miles. Most of California's population is also concentrated in a couple areas.

Another issue is most urban areas don't produce very many high-level softball players. In SoCal, very few come out of LA proper - the vast majority come from the surrounding suburban areas.

It really comes down to having a large enough concentration of softball players in an area with the infrastructure (e.g. facilities, coaches, instructors) and disposable income to support it.

 

[SoAZDad]

Using the area of the entire state really distorts the density numbers. For example, two-thirds of AZ's population is in the Phoenix metro area and that's only 1,147 square miles. Most of California's population is also concentrated in a couple areas.

Another issue is most urban areas don't produce very many high-level softball players. In SoCal, very few come out of LA proper - the vast majority come from the surrounding suburban areas.

It really comes down to having a large enough concentration of softball players in an area with the infrastructure (e.g. facilities, coaches, instructors) and disposable income to support it.

SoCalDad, I think I understand your points but I don't fully agree with you. Because most of CA and AZ populations are similarly distributed, I think it's a pretty good, quick-and-dirty comparison. I also agree that most youth athletes don't come from inner cities and do chiefly come from the burbs. I believe that the municipalities and counties in CA and AZ generally build fields to support demand. So again I think it's a fair apples to apples comparison between the two states.

 

[SoAZDad]

This sounds correct - So where are all the New York Girls?

Dunno. Music, dance, soccer? But 3 or 4 NY girls were spread around the top 25 teams, so I guess I wouldn't label NY as a "softball hotbed."

 

[BB875]

Last summer my team played at the the 12U ASA Nationals in Bloominton Indiana. From what I saw, parity is on the way... Now, of course, I am assuming the 12U PGF Natioanls is similar in talent. I really don't know the answer, but I would like to hear what others know...

TournamentASA

 

[MNDad]

I’m not sure about 12U, but at the older ages PGF has a stronger field of teams. I’d say the top 20-30% of teams at ASA/USA would be competitive at PGF. The rest would struggle.