One Opening in 16U for ASA National Qualifier

[frostcomets96]

Also, I know plenty USFA regulars that would've easily competed and done better than 75% of the teams at the ASA-sanctioned SluggerFest this past weekend.

 

 

Not true. Doesn't matter if they've already earned a berth. It goes to next highest finisher that hasn't qualified, according to CoachT experts on another thread (in addition to making sense).

 

 

 

It matters if you are knocked to the losers bracket by a team that has already qualified, or knocked out of losers bracket (Sent home) by a team that has already qualified. Only time it doesn't matter, if you are the next finishing team, 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc that has not qualified. But to say it doesn't matter is foolish..Teams that have already qualified are typically better, you wouldn't want to go straight to losers bracket becuase your draw was bad...

 

My daughter at 9 (Jan 13th B'Day) played for Southern Crossfire 8u (Coach Pitch). If you are talking 9 yr first year of 10u she played with Huntsville Comets.

 

Also, I know plenty USFA regulars that would've easily competed and done better than 75% of the teams at the ASA-sanctioned SluggerFest this past weekend. Maybe so but that is what makes ASA so special, the top 25% of teams from a state, region, etc are the best teams! To get better you have to see & play those teams.

[BallHawkD]

The reason I ask about your dd when she was 9 was because one of those 12u teams that you said was not A is made up of 9, 10, and 11 yr. olds. They have competed quiet well in A to be very young!

 

CoachD

 

TN BallHawks

[5-Sport Dad]

It matters if you are knocked to the losers bracket by a team that has already qualified, or knocked out of losers bracket (Sent home) by a team that has already qualified. Only time it doesn't matter, if you are the next finishing team, 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc that has not qualified. But to say it doesn't matter is foolish..Teams that have already qualified are typically better, you wouldn't want to go straight to losers bracket becuase your draw was bad...

 

My daughter at 9 (Jan 13th B'Day) played for Southern Crossfire 8u (Coach Pitch). If you are talking 9 yr first year of 10u she played with Huntsville Comets.

 

Also, I know plenty USFA regulars that would've easily competed and done better than 75% of the teams at the ASA-sanctioned SluggerFest this past weekend. Maybe so but that is what makes ASA so special, the top 25% of teams from a state, region, etc are the best teams! To get better you have to see & play those teams.

 

Huh? 'The top 25% of teams from a state, region, etc. are the best teams!' is a ridiculous statement. Just exactly how many is that? Only 8 teams make it to the College World Series every year. And there's a reason for that: They're 'top teams.' You sound like you'd rather somebody give you a berth instead of earning it.

 

Maybe I should have said it so you'd understand it better: There were 32 teams at this year's SluggerFest 16s. Do you think...and this is a guesstimate...maybe 8 (25%) were better than ALL USFA teams? Were you there? I was...and I'd say it was closer to 3...again maybe. Two more questions: 1) If you were not there, how could you agree or disagree...unless you're blindly loyal to ASA? 2) Was the Kool-Aid sweet or sour when you drank it?

 

 

Finally, I yield...and agree...with 3rdbasecoach:

 

Even if the Chattanooga Force had won the tournament, the 2nd place team would have recieved the berth. Just win your games! Its that simple. A wise coach would learn to benefit from such teams being in the tournament, let them put teams in the losers bracket for you or even eliminate them. Why get ticked off, just take care of your business and all will be fine. Berths should be earned by playing the best teams and beating them. In my opinion, there were 6 of the 13 teams last weekend that were capable of winning that berth. One team got the breaks they needed and the other five didn't. Congratulations to the Fury 94, now let them and the Chattanooga Force do the dirty work for you and eliminate your competition.

[frostcomets96]

Huh? 'The top 25% of teams from a state, region, etc. are the best teams!' is a ridiculous statement. Just exactly how many is that? Only 8 teams make it to the College World Series every year. And there's a reason for that: They're 'top teams.' You sound like you'd rather somebody give you a berth instead of earning it.

 

Maybe I should have said it so you'd understand it better: There were 32 teams at this year's SluggerFest 16s. Do you think...and this is a guesstimate...maybe 8 (25%) were better than ALL USFA teams? Were you there? I was...and I'd say it was closer to 3...again maybe. Two more questions: 1) If you were not there, how could you agree or disagree...unless you're blindly loyal to ASA? 2) Was the Kool-Aid sweet or sour when you drank it?

 

 

Finally, I yield...and agree...with 3rdbasecoach:

 

 

I used 25% based on the other posters "USFA Teams better than 75% than at sluggerfest". Personally I don't think there are more than 3-5 per state that are true "A' teams. 12's and 10's there definetely isn't 3 or 5 "A" teams. 14's that seems like a close number from what I have seen. 16's and up I don't know. When I say "A" teams, I am talking about teams that can compete regionally or nationally at ASA level. Which our team can and has done. Not just a team that plays or wins "A' tournaments in Tennesee.. I am a big fan of ASA, as that is where the best fastpitch is played, but I also have played USFA, USSSA, NSA, SEAA.. They all have a place in fastpitch. Some like vanilla, some like strawberry ice cream....To each his own..

[5-Sport Dad]

That was me. And I agree with you, everyone is different. However, just because a certain tournament is ASA-sanctioned definitely does not mean the competition is better. The majority of the time it may be, but some are at the worst venues, have the worst umpires and certainly the worst TDs. Heck, even the concessions have ding-dongs runnin' them >>> At the ASA SluggerFest tournament this past weekend - where you aren't supposed to bring any outside food or drink into the park except a team cooler, ha! haa! - I ordered a pizza...and the lady said they didn't have any and I guess assumed I wanted a slice ($2.75). I didn't. I wanted a whole one ($13.00) for my family and to share with others. I got out of line in respect to all the others waiting behind me to go ask my family if they wanted something else. I got back in line and a buddy, who was in front of me about 2 places, asked me where my pizza was. I told him the lady said they don't have anymore. So, he jumps line and asks the lady why she said that - he had just bought 2 - and she said (now I'm not making this up, it really happened), "We don't have anymore slices, we only have whole pizzas." For some reason I knew when we crossed the Mason-Dixon line things were a little...different. /roflolk.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflolk:" border="0" alt="roflolk.gif" /> /wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

[CFS]

Also, I know plenty USFA regulars that would've easily competed and done better than 75% of the teams at the ASA-sanctioned SluggerFest this past weekend.

 

 

Not true. Doesn't matter if they've already earned a berth. It goes to next highest finisher that hasn't qualified, according to CoachT experts on another thread (in addition to making sense).

 

 

Sluggerfest is not a qualifier!!! It is an exposure that is on the same weekend as the Dynamite which is a high end exposure where most of the top 16's go

[Indian]

That was me. And I agree with you, everyone is different. However, just because a certain tournament is ASA-sanctioned definitely does not mean the competition is better. The majority of the time it may be, but some are at the worst venues, have the worst umpires and certainly the worst TDs. Heck, even the concessions have ding-dongs runnin' them >>> At the ASA SluggerFest tournament this past weekend - where you aren't supposed to bring any outside food or drink into the park except a team cooler, ha! haa! - I ordered a pizza...and the lady said they didn't have any and I guess assumed I wanted a slice ($2.75). I didn't. I wanted a whole one ($13.00) for my family and to share with others. I got out of line in respect to all the others waiting behind me to go ask my family if they wanted something else. I got back in line and a buddy, who was in front of me about 2 places, asked me where my pizza was. I told him the lady said they don't have anymore. So, he jumps line and asks the lady why she said that - he had just bought 2 - and she said (now I'm not making this up, it really happened), "We don't have anymore slices, we only have whole pizzas." For some reason I knew when we crossed the Mason-Dixon line things were a little...different. /roflolk.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflolk:" border="0" alt="roflolk.gif" /> /wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

 

 

 

Sounds like an old James Gregory joke..."I stopped at a restaurant the other night..great food-dumb waitress! I ordered a coffee with no cream and she answered, you'll have to have it with no sugar, we're outta cream!" /laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />

[5-Sport Dad]

Sluggerfest is not a qualifier!!! It is an exposure that is on the same weekend as the Dynamite which is a high end exposure where most of the top 16's go

 

Who said it was? Even though somebody did tell me that it was a District 10 qualifier, we didn't go there for that reason. We went to win...just like we do every weekend.

[Lions4ever]

Also, I know plenty USFA regulars that would've easily competed and done better than 75% of the teams at the ASA-sanctioned SluggerFest this past weekend.

 

 

Not true. Doesn't matter if they've already earned a berth. It goes to next highest finisher that hasn't qualified, according to CoachT experts on another thread (in addition to making sense).

 

I know of two qualifying teams that dropped out of the 3rd ASA tourney because they caught so much flack for playing the second tourney after they had already won their berth. What some of these other teams don't realize is it's smart to let them play....all they can do is help a team looking for a berth by knocking out some of the other competition. But a lot of parents and some coaches aren't smart enough to figure that out so they gripe and the teams drop out, decide to play other tournaments and just move up an age division to get the competition they need to see before nationals. Hurts ASA big time but helps other sanctions, especially USFA and NSA, alot.

[joeyT]

I used 25% based on the other posters "USFA Teams better than 75% than at sluggerfest". Personally I don't think there are more than 3-5 per state that are true "A' teams. 12's and 10's there definetely isn't 3 or 5 "A" teams. 14's that seems like a close number from what I have seen. 16's and up I don't know. When I say "A" teams, I am talking about teams that can compete regionally or nationally at ASA level. Which our team can and has done. Not just a team that plays or wins "A' tournaments in Tennesee.. I am a big fan of ASA, as that is where the best fastpitch is played, but I also have played USFA, USSSA, NSA, SEAA.. They all have a place in fastpitch. Some like vanilla, some like strawberry ice cream....To each his own..

 

Yet every body keeps missing the point. Every body who has ever been to a asa national knows that the other world series dont hold a candle in competition to that. Thats not the point.

 

The point is that one asa director comes on this board and complains about nashville getting a national qualifier because she says they don't deserve it because nashville doesn't support asa and chattanooga is all that there is supporting asa. Nashville put on the qualifier with a ton of teams and most were middle tn teams that she says doesnt support asa just because they dont travel every week to chattanooga. Not many chattanooga teams made the trip up to nashville. Now she has a qualifier in chattanooga and nobody shows up.

2 12u teams

2 10u teams who are both knoxville

5 18u teams 2 nashville, 1 knoxville, 2 chattanooga and one with a berth

8 16u teams - 4 nashville, 3 knoxville and only 1 chattanooga

12u only has 12 with even split with nashville, knoxville, and chattanooga

Add in the 2 teams who have already qualified just so we dont have to hear that argument and pretend they are there both nashville and knoxville have alot more teams than chattanooga playing in a chattanooga qualifier.

 

Chatt might be registering a lot of rec teams so she can talk about how much they support asa there but they arent supporting travel asa anywhere near the level nashville is. All the rec leagues in mid tn dropped asa several years ago under the incompetent leadership of a couple of lame asa directors. They are gone but asa isnt going to get those rec leagues back no matter who is in charge.

 

Tn asa is broken. Its been broken badly for years. They promise they are going to fix it but they dont listen. They dont learn. They dont change.

 

ASA national level is different but they dont listen much either. They have the right connections so they stay on top for now anyway. It is catching up on them but they dont see it coming. In states like tn all this stupid stuff like mandatory bollinger insurance through them at rediculously high prices and id cards and really lame coaching certification, what a joke that is, just to step on the field is going to nothing but eliminate a lot more teams playing asa in tn. Tn asa is still living in 1985 and dont think they need to do anything to stay on top. Crook is kicking butt and taking asa names and its going to keep going until tn asa fixes it all. I think its too late but maybe not. Getting rid of the whole bunch and starting over is a good idea. Hanging on to the glory days and bashing other asa distrcits isnt the way to do it.

[CFS]

Yet every body keeps missing the point. Every body who has ever been to a asa national knows that the other world series dont hold a candle in competition to that. Thats not the point.

 

The point is that one asa director comes on this board and complains about nashville getting a national qualifier because she says they don't deserve it because nashville doesn't support asa and chattanooga is all that there is supporting asa. Nashville put on the qualifier with a ton of teams and most were middle tn teams that she says doesnt support asa just because they dont travel every week to chattanooga. Not many chattanooga teams made the trip up to nashville. Now she has a qualifier in chattanooga and nobody shows up.

2 12u teams

2 10u teams who are both knoxville

5 18u teams 2 nashville, 1 knoxville, 2 chattanooga and one with a berth

8 16u teams - 4 nashville, 3 knoxville and only 1 chattanooga

12u only has 12 with even split with nashville, knoxville, and chattanooga

Add in the 2 teams who have already qualified just so we dont have to hear that argument and pretend they are there both nashville and knoxville have alot more teams than chattanooga playing in a chattanooga qualifier.

 

Chatt might be registering a lot of rec teams so she can talk about how much they support asa there but they arent supporting travel asa anywhere near the level nashville is. All the rec leagues in mid tn dropped asa several years ago under the incompetent leadership of a couple of lame asa directors. They are gone but asa isnt going to get those rec leagues back no matter who is in charge.

 

Tn asa is broken. Its been broken badly for years. They promise they are going to fix it but they dont listen. They dont learn. They dont change.

 

ASA national level is different but they dont listen much either. They have the right connections so they stay on top for now anyway. It is catching up on them but they dont see it coming. In states like tn all this stupid stuff like mandatory bollinger insurance through them at rediculously high prices and id cards and really lame coaching certification, what a joke that is, just to step on the field is going to nothing but eliminate a lot more teams playing asa in tn. Tn asa is still living in 1985 and dont think they need to do anything to stay on top. Crook is kicking butt and taking asa names and its going to keep going until tn asa fixes it all. I think its too late but maybe not. Getting rid of the whole bunch and starting over is a good idea. Hanging on to the glory days and bashing other asa distrcits isnt the way to do it.

 

 

 

FYI: The weekend of Hendersonville, Crook did not have a tourney except 12U only in Cookeville, so those teams that play USFA regularly played ASA because it was local. After that qualifier, those teams except a couple in each age came to Chattanooga for the next qualifier which means they were not willing to try to qualify unless it was at home. Keep in mind also the serious teams travel to qualify and the rest stay at home for the local tournament and also keep in mind the Nashville area is much larger in population than SE TN. which helps Ken. Ken does a good job and should be doing ASA but also knows the market and the market in Nashville is USFA for most teams because most do not know the value of playing the best in ASA. But again ASA is for the Elite teams especially older ages and most teams have trouble competing for those 4 berths available but never will till they expose their players to the best. Not a negative but truth.

 

ASA does have to work on things especially marketing to keep up, such as awarding sites to "Owensboro" or Sioux falls etc...but overall in TN it is improving. If the Midstate (large population) can buy in then ASA will be in TN where GA, TX and Cal is. The other thing with ASA is that it is a National event not a regional and with economic times the way they are it is hard for some to travel west but to keep it as big as it is, this would be hard to change.

[joeyT]

FYI: The weekend of Hendersonville, Crook did not have a tourney except 12U only in Cookeville, so those teams that play USFA regularly played ASA because it was local. After that qualifier, those teams except a couple in each age came to Chattanooga for the next qualifier which means they were not willing to try to qualify unless it was at home. Keep in mind also the serious teams travel to qualify and the rest stay at home for the local tournament and also keep in mind the Nashville area is much larger in population than SE TN. which helps Ken. Ken does a good job and should be doing ASA but also knows the market and the market in Nashville is USFA for most teams because most do not know the value of playing the best in ASA. But again ASA is for the Elite teams especially older ages and most teams have trouble competing for those 4 berths available but never will till they expose their players to the best. Not a negative but truth.

 

ASA does have to work on things especially marketing to keep up, such as awarding sites to "Owensboro" or Sioux falls etc...but overall in TN it is improving. If the Midstate (large population) can buy in then ASA will be in TN where GA, TX and Cal is. The other thing with ASA is that it is a National event not a regional and with economic times the way they are it is hard for some to travel west but to keep it as big as it is, this would be hard to change.

 

Dont disagree with any of that but still missing the point. She bashes nashvilles participation and the whole story that they only play in nashville and wont travel but she doesnt have any chatt teams in her chatt qualifier. Whree is all the powerful chattanooga support for asa. More nashville teams by far in a chatt qualifier than chatt teams. More knoxville teams. They are traveling but chatt teams arent even qualifying at home. I dont see anything improving. Same ole same ole. Yeah they have more registrations in chatt but it is mainly rec league registrations. Not so in travel. Considering the crap in mid tn asa the last 10 years it is amazing that any mid tn teams still participate. Maybe elite teams do asa but more and more elite teams are going the showcase route in tn and avoiding asa. Way better competition than 2, 2, 5, or 8 team tn asa qualifiers. The nasvhille market is usfa because tn asa keeps screwing it up over and over. Crook has taken advantage of their incompetence. They cant or wont buy in because it is so shoddily run and being bashed by the leaders. ASA used to be top dog in tn even way more than ga is now. Those days are long gone and until national changes their policies and tn asa cleans house and revamps the glory days wont ever be back.