As this issue of Softball West reaches you, ASA Nationals should be over and the winners basking in their glory. But once again this year, as is the case every year leading up to nationals, there was plenty of discussion and complaining about the method of awarding national berths and the number available to various areas of the country, most notably Southern California.
I have discussed the ASA’s process of awarding national berths several times in the past, but I felt it was time to once again cover this matter, both to inform those new to the “national championship” chase, and to enlighten others who may not be aware the factors that led to the ASA’s current system of awarding berths. Here I am speaking directly about the ASA’s “A” National Championship Finals program, and not the Gold, “B” or Territory Championship events.
Over 25 years ago, the Nationals were limited to very few teams and the fill-in procedures were so tight that few teams were available from the local association or region to insure that they would be full. Magnifying this problem was the fact that the West Coast hosted so few ASA Nationals then, obtaining a fill-in spot was nearly impossible for a team from the left coast.
The sport of youth fast pitch has experienced a phenomenal boom in the last 25 years, especially in California. So it wasn’t long before this boom, and excellence on the field, California teams started grumbling about the lack of berths available. The first breakthrough in increasing the number of berths for the west came about when the use of statistical data led to awarding extra berths to those regions that had a greater number of registrations. You see, not only did this effect California, but also Texas and their large number of National Council votes.
The second breakthrough came about in a revision (actually a loosening) of the fill-in procedures for Nationals, permitting tournament directors to reach farther across the country in an effort to fill their events. This was supported by many, as tournament hosts wanted as many teams in their city as possible.
It is still difficult for me to understand how the next breakthrough occurred, even though I was there when it happened. Southern California Junior Olympic Commissioner Jim Lee authored legislation establishing a National Qualifier for the “A” Nationals in each region. This added 15 additional berths to nationals, berths that were available to anyone. This was one of the most controversial changes in the awarding of national berths, and is now cursed by many across the country, as those “California teams come in to steal our berths.” Jim Lee’s objective was obvious; to provide additional opportunities for his So Cal teams to obtain an elusive berth. Considering the So Cal dominance in the sport, it is still a wonder that the proposal was ever approved by the Council. Following this action until just recently, little had changed. There were annual proposals to shift the berths around in this manner. The berths from the largest regions were changed to reflect berths to largest associations; and the numbers of total berths increased slightly.
However, in the past five years or so, there have been two major changes that left intact most of the “traditional” berths, but adding several more teams to the 105 max brought the maximum number of potential teams to its currently bloated 185. The first of these was the establishment of the Territorial Nationals, better known as the West, North, South and East Nationals. The top finishing teams from these events now earn berths to the following year’s ASA National Championship Finals. While some feel these events were created to pad the pockets of the ASA with some fresh cash, the truth of the matter is that they were established in an effort to provide ASA teams that did not earn a berth with some type of “championship” tournament to keep them playing ASA and not NSA, AFA, Pony or in any other organization’s “championship” event.
Finally there was the final change to the qualifying process, the awarding of a direct berth from the local association if they register over 200 teams. This specific change in the allocation of berths had broad backing across the country, but a major push for it came from the southeastern portion of the country.
Naturally, the increase in the number of berths has had some negative impacts on these nationals, at least in my opinion. I was the tournament director for the ASA 14U Nationals in the late 1980’s, and we were able to conduct the event in a four diamond complex over three days. With the possible number of teams now eligible, you need a few four-field facilities and a few more days. This has both limited who can host these events, and it has spread the tournaments all over an entire city, taking away from the “championship” atmosphere the events deserve.
FOUL TIPS
As I write this column, I have just returned from the Canada Cup and as always I had a blast. I got to spend some time with the manager of the Firecrackers, Rico, and his assistant Don. Don has been a friend for many years and I always enjoy bumping into him. I had never met Rico, but enjoyed speaking to him about his philosophy for running his program. Seems like a great person * * * * For those of you who attended Nationals, I hope you had a great time. These are memories that should stay with you, and your child for a lifetime. Remember, so few of the softball players in the country get the opportunity to participate in these events, please take the time to cherish your experiences * * * * As always, you can contact me at floydeunslip@yahoo.com * * * * and so the ball rolls.