Drop Dead games

I think what a lot of people are frustrated about is that there are getting to be so many showcase type tournaments that it is taking away from the regular tournaments. Whether we like it or not the majority of the girls playing softball are playing for fun and not to be seen. they just want good tournaments to play in and try and win. The problem is that just like in most other aspects of life the majority don't rule but those who speak the loudest do. For every 10 coaches out there who are just coaching teams to give the girls a place to play there is only 1 who coaches for trying to get scholarships but those few are the ones who carry the most weight because they are the ones speaking out, and that shows up here especially. Now while I give praise to those who help get the girls a scholarship I give just as much praise to those who are just giving them the experience of playing for fun. And for those who say that some should start their own circuit well that just compounds the problem. There are already to many sanctioning bodies now and it has caused for a lot of tournaments not making or being no very good for lack of teams. I no longer travel and watch the games but still keep up with how things are going for our local girls and I to miss the days gone past before the girls became a product for sale but rather went and played ball and had fun. and you know what a lot of those girls either got or were offered schlorships.
Oh well just my thoughts. As for the original question Drop Deads. I don't think they should even be used in showcase events. That is not softball. I don't even like time limits but I know in tournament it is a necessary evil as some games could go for hours. The least amount of time for any game should be 1.5 hour.

 

Check Online

Check online at NSA, ASA, USSSA, WFC, there are tournaments every weekend beginning in March for younger ages and May for older groups that are not Showcase tournaments. These run all through the summer and fall and a team would never have to play showcase unless they chose to do so! However it appears that most teams have bought into the showcase atmosphere as all seem to be full. Many are going to single elimination events after a few pool games which bring back the atmosphere you desire.
You are correct that a small percentage of the girls play college ball but a large percentage of teams are playing the showcase circuit as many new teams form each year.
In the perfect world several teams would concentrate on college prep and others would play competitive softball as you suggest. NC would get a much higher percentage of girls playing at the college level and all girls could play the game at a level which they enjoy. Make sense? OK fire away!

**Just checked on line at ASA and it appears 4 out of 22 tournaments were Showcase events, now I only went by the names and the ones I knew so could have miss one or two but the point is majority of tournaments are NOT showcase as presented on the board. There is plenty of OLD Time softball if you want to watch. SCASA had many more non-showcase tournaments as well.**

 

Looking at all options

Based on what I saw with this 1st year tournament, I am considering lowering the number of teams entered to 50-56, to make it more of an elite(and I hate that word) tournament and keep it all at Walnut Creek. The biggest complaint I had was playing at the extra field. There was not a lot of colleges going over there for games. Trust me, I know what I like, and it fits with what most others like. I will do what's best for the majority and make it as an enjoyable experience as possible for all involved. I do listen and consider all suggestions.

 

We also like to see a game finished. We adopted 1 Hr 15 Min game time and finishe the inning. No new inning can start after 1:15 but finish the current inning. We schedule the games 1:30 apart and have been able to stay on schedule. The one thing we will add in the future is that we will not allow any timeouts during the last 5 mins. of any game. We hope this will prevent milking the clock and allow the next inning to start if time remains on the clock.

 

Will games be allowed to end in a tie? Will the teams know what place they finished and tournament champions for age brackets?

If there is a championship game it would be nice for that to at least be a regulation game.

Sure would be good to find a tournament where regulation games were routine. Maybe someone could advertise that format and see what the response would be. Raise the entry fee if necessary and make the championship worth it! Winning team gets to play free, for example.