A few weeks ago a major announcement came from ASA/USA Softball that could have a major impact on the future of club softball. The announcement was for the 2015 ASA/USA 18U Junior Olympic Cup and a $100,000 prize pool.
The national reaction so far has been all over the board. Such an event also raises a variety of different questions. The first and foremost is; what if any impact this can have on a player who participates in the event and their NCAA eligibility? Before we dive into that issues let’s look at the basics of the event.
All of the tournament information can be found on the ASA/USA softball website here.
The event is scheduled for July 26 – August 1, 2015. It will be played in Chino Hills, CA at the Chino Hills Community Park Softball Fields.
The USA Softball Junior Olympic (JO) Cup will feature a maximum of 32 of the nation’s elite softball clubs. Over 60 teams received an invitation based on nation-wide rankings. The top 32 teams will then compete for a prize pool with the top eight finishers receiving a cash donation award back to their participating program.
This tournament will also serve as an opportunity for evaluation by the USA Softball coaching staff and the Women’s National Team Selection Committee (WNTSC).
Breakdown of cash awards based on 24, 28 and 32 teams:
| Number of Teams | 32 | 28 | 24 |
| Total Cash Award | $128,000 | $112,000 | $96,000 |
| 1st Place | $44,800 | $39,200 | $33,600 |
| 2nd Place | $25,600 | $22,400 | $19,200 |
| 3rd Place | $19,200 | $16,800 | $14,400 |
| 4th Place | $12,800 | $11,200 | $9,600 |
| 5th Place | $7,680 | $6,720 | $5,760 |
| 5th Place | $7,680 | $6,720 | $5,760 |
| 7th Place | $5,120 | $4,480 | $3,840 |
| 7th Place | $5,120 | $4,480 | $3,840 |
In the above chart you can view what is being called the donation award back to the teams based on their placement at the event. It should be noted that it will cost clubs $6,000 to enter the tournament. The awards in the above table also show the return based on the number of teams participating.
The event is not a qualifying event and is being labeled a National Invitational Tournament (NIT). The reason being that the event has not been approved by the ASA/USA Softball Council. We asked ASA why it did not pass this year to which they responded “It takes 60% approval for an item to pass at the ASA/USA Softball Council level. An event like this that is a new concept has traditionally not been approved the first year. It did, however, receive over 50% support from the Council which prompted our Board of Directors to approve it as a National Invitational Tournament (NIT) for 2015”.
It is assumed that this will be addressed again this year and has a high likely hood of passing in its second time around. We asked Minnesota ASA Commissioner Dan Pfeffer if any Minnesota teams have been invited, Pfeffer said “ASA has contacted Minnesota ASA about participation from a couple of our club teams and I have extended that invitation to those clubs.”
ASA Position
Chris Sebren, Director of Championships for ASA/USA Softball was kind enough to have a discussion with us about this new event. Like many others we had plenty of questions. One question that many people may have is simply, why? So, we asked that question to see what the driving force behind the event is. Sebren responded “This event has been discussed over the last several years to us by travel ball coaches. We’ve received numerous requests to take the lead and establish a tournament that in addition to featuring these elite programs also helps to feed our National Team program. As everyone knows, the potential for softball/baseball to be added to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Program is still an ongoing decision for the IOC. With the possibility of being reinstated into the Olympic Program, we want to ensure that our Women’s National Team Selection Committee has additional opportunities to identify more athletes who may not have been seen. With the success the “Open tryout” for the Junior Women’s National Team last month, we believe this will provide another great opportunity for these athletes. We’ve received great support and encouragement from several teams and programs and are ready to put on a great tournament that benefits the athletes and programs.”
It appears based on his response that one of the main driving factors is to evaluate top level players. The question then remains, what about those players not on these 32 teams or clubs or those that can not afford to attend?
Sebren assures us that this is just one piece of the puzzle stating “In addition to participation at the USA Softball JO Cup, our Women’s National Team Selection Committee scouts ASA/USA sanctioned events throughout the country in order to identify athletes for our National Team pool. Athletes who play ASA/USA Softball at the highest level, meaning an ASA/USA National Championship, those who are currently playing NCAA Softball, or athletes who come through the National Identification Program with Softball Factory have the opportunity to be identified by the committee and coaches. We also revived the “Open Tryout” program this past year to provide an additional opportunity for athletes.”
That leads us to the real elephant in the room; how does such an event play out with the NCAA and their rules on amateurism? One has to assume that such a tournament was researched and Sebren confirms that by telling us “We have spoken with representatives from the NCAA and the event will not affect eligibility due to NCAA Bylaw 12.1.2.1.5”.
That Bylaw reads; Payment Based on Performance. Any payment conditioned on the individual’s or team’s place finish or performance or given on an incentive basis that exceeds actual and necessary expenses, or receipt of expenses in excess of the same reasonable amount for permissible expenses given to all individuals or team members involved in the competition. (Revised: 4/25/02 effective 8/1/02, 1/19/13 effective 8/1/13)
As of now USA/ASA is confident that there will be no impact on a players future NCAA eligibility if they participate in the event.
The next logical question is, if this event proves to be successful, will ASA/USA move such an event to the lower levels? When asked about this Sebren stated “At this time, we are putting all focus on the 18U Division.”
Such an event could have an impact on youth sports in general, when asked about how this may impact other sports Sebren said “At this time, we cannot speculate on what other sports may or may not do.” This is a fair response, but in the big picture if this succeeds, one would be hard pressed to not think something like this could become more the norm in elite youth sports, especially if their are no eligibility issues as it relates to the NCAA.
At the end of the day ASA/USA will need to get the buy-in of the coaches whose teams would be the ones participating in the event. Sebren shared that “Coaches have been very positive in responses and appreciative of the invitations. They all show concern for eligibility and inquire about the donation back to the participating program. Most importantly it has continued communication between ASA/USA Softball and coaches/programs within the Junior Olympic program.”
When asked about coverage for the event and if it will be viewable Sebren said “There are plans to do live stats and potential of live streaming.” Streaming the event would make sense, but obviously there are technical issues that have to be considered.
We asked if there were any additional thoughts or points that ASA/USA would like to make. Sebren responded “Our goal is to put on a world class NIT that continues the standard of excellence that ASA/USA Softball has established with our tournaments. Coaches, players and fans know that when they play ASA/USA Softball, they’re going to be playing with the most trained umpires out there while getting the experience and exposure to both collegiate and our National Team programs. With the possibility of softball returning to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the encouragement we’ve received from the softball community has helped us to put the concept together and help our National Team development.”
As an organization ASA/USA has made a bold move with the creation of this event. How it plays out and what kind of impact it has are yet to be seen. Based on coaches and programs we have spoke with there is a mix of reactions. As previously stated the buy-in of the coaches and clubs will be very important to the long term success of this event. It will also be interesting to see if such an event works it way down to the lower levels. For now we will have to wait and see how the first one turns out and see where it goes from there.
Not everyone is on-board with the event and some even feel it was a direct move against the Premier Girls Fastpitch organization that has made strides the past few years.
PGF Position
We wanted to get the reaction of the PGF and reached out to legendary Batbusters Coach and PGF Co-founder Gary Haning.
We posed the question that this could change softball and possibly have a major impact on youth sports in general. Haning does not agree stating “We do not think this tournament will change softball. There are not many teams that can pay a $6,000 entry fee in the hope of winning money. There is an element of chance involved that turns off a lot of people. We do not see youth sports organizations flocking to this type of event and we will be very disappointed if money becomes the most important factor in why youth sports are conducted.”
Many coaches, off the record, have expressed the notion that this was a move by ASA/USA to go head to head with the growing PGF. One reason is that it is being held on the same weekend and not all that far away from Huntington Beach, CA, where the PGF Nationals are held. We asked Haning if he felt this was the case to which he responded “We believe the tournament is intended to help regain the once lofty status of the group that has organized the event. It is clear to any observer of or participant in girls youth softball that PGF National Tournaments are easily the most competitive and are attended by the greatest number of elite teams. There are other organizations that now host National Tournaments that also surpass what used to be the best tournament.”
Teams have assisted with travel expenses of players and have sponsors that provide things such as uniforms, bats and other things. This is all done within NCAA guidelines. We asked Haning where he thought the line is when it comes to what a club covers or pays for. Haning said “There is no Line, players with intentions of playing in college CANNOT be paid. Club teams, with a very few exceptions, struggle to have money for their week to week existence. Paying huge entry to fees for the chance to win money to me is the same as the guy who makes $100 a week and buys 25 lottery tickets. It may payoff someday but for most it never does and the guy probably can’t eat two days a week. There are a couple well to do coaches who pay travel expenses, perhaps lodging or even food. These people have money and don’t need to enter a tournament to win money and they don’t pay their players in terms of cash handouts.”
We asked Haning if there was anything in general he would like to share as part of this article to which he responded “They (people) should know simply that the best National Tournaments of 2015 and beyond will be played in Southern California in July and August, at Huntington Beach, Irvine and Fountain Valley as has been the case since 2010. If your team does choose to play in Chino Hills be sure that you clearly understand what is and is not legal in the eyes of the NCAA and exactly what will be done with any money that your team wins.”
Thank you to Coach Haning for sharing his thoughts. Also thank to Mr. Sebren. This will be an interesting story to follow as it plays out this summer.
