NSA/AAU

I was looking at the NSA website then looked at the AAU site. Is the same person doing both websites, because their discounts and other items look just alike. Or is one just coping the other? Take at look and see what you think.

 

I heard through the "grapevine" that AAU copied NSA.. It wasn't on AAU website the day before NSA put their discounts on website..

 

That will make you go hmmmm!!!!

 

I don't see anything wrong with an organization copying something that works. It gives everyone more of a choice which makes the organizations fight a little harder (treat teams a little better, better officiating, lower fees) to get your business. It is good to have more than one game in town.

 

I just got to say, been playing AAU for years and they have always offered discounts, that is probably why AAU have been having such large tournaments, glad to see NSA following suit, giving teams a break in this troubled economy

 

For the record, as a coach who has played numerous organizations and constantly looks at these websites while planning schedules for 5 teams, I can say that NSA has always been the leading promoter of girls fastpitch softball as a national organization. NSA is not a one state association and schedules/promotions/etc are not strictly state or locally based - but from my understanding, answer ultimately to a national governing body. With that said, I can assure you that though the AAU schedule was posted prior to the NSA schedule for NC this year, many changes were made to the AAU schedule/promotions/discounts AFTER NSA posted theirs. I have print outs of schedules as they were posted and the changes are obvious....not just between AAU and NSA, but IFA as well (another non-national program).

 

For the younger girls, they just want to play. I don't see the benefit of them playing strictly ASA or NSA (national programs). I think it is a good thing that other organizations are coming in to play, who cares who came up with idea first. More competition to get teams to play could result in organizations not gouging parents to death. In these economic times it would be nice for someone to offer a good tournament at a reasonable price without requiring teams to stay in their "kickback" hotels.

 

On behalf of NC NSA Directors, I can assure everyone that NC NSA only negotiates with hotels to offer teams discounted rates for hotels...NSA directors (local or otherwise) receive nothing for trying to get these rates for you - we are simply trying to pass some savings on to the teams who play tournaments. Hotels receive some advertisement on our website in return for their discounted rates on select weekends.

 

I know that people appreciate organizations that try to get discounted rates for hotels, but some organizations require everyone on the team to stay at the hotels of the organization's choice. If someone does not want to stay at that hotel they shouldn't be required to. Maybe a family has had issues with that particular hotel and just doesn't want to stay there, they may not want to stay at the same hotel with alot of teams as there are some teams that have no consideration for other guests and scream and run up and down the hallways at all hours of the night (some may even be willing to pay more for the peace and quiet), or it could be that a family has frequent traveler discounts at another hotel and get a better rate on their own. It really isn't any of anyone's business why someone doesn't want to stay at a particular hotel, but all I am saying is everyone should have a choice and some organizations do not give you a choice. They can control whether we can bring a bottle of water into the ballpark forcing us to buy overpriced items at the concession stand but I refuse to let them control where I lay down to sleep at night when I am the one paying for it.