Question for anyone that has been to ASA National Tournament

[Dave619]

My DD is playing on a new team this year. In their third tournament together we won the ASA State Tournament this weekend so we are now invited to the ASA National Tournament in Bloomington, Indiana.

The national tournament director says he is expecting about 100 teams so it will last for about 7 days. With only about 1 1/2 months until that tournament we are trying to decide if we can all afford to go. This will be about a 9-10 hour drive for us and our girls are 12u age.

Has anyone been to a tournament like this with girls this age? How did you handle the finances, rooms, etc? Did all the parents go?

Thanks for any insight on this.

 

[BrianMonk]

We've been to one and the last 12u in Bloomington, IN I did visit for a day.

Most teams going will have the parents pay for a room. A few teams have budgeted this into their expenses and/or dues.

Yes all the parents went, at least most.

Find out what hotel rooms are still available and the price/night. Generally room rates are higher during Nationals. That will get you a good starting point on costs.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

My DD played in 2 ASA/USA Nats - 2009 12U and 2010 14U. Both were in IL, so our costs also involved air fares and car rental. Because of that, a lot of players went with 1 parent. There was only 1-2 instances where a room was shared. Quite a few of them shared a rental car.

Teams should know their goals for the year. ASA/USA Nats was our team's goal in 2009, so it was known almost a year in advance. In 2010, we were planning on driving to ASA Western Nats in CO and ended up earning a berth to ASA/USA Nats at the SoCal State tourney. We only had 24-48 hours to decide whether to accept the berth and it was definitely debated.

12U is a great age to go to a true national event like ASA/USA. The girls will meet players from all over the country. They'll also get a sense of the size and depth of the talent pool and how they stack up.

 

[coachjwb]

Its not usually a full week either. Opening ceremonies are typically like on Tuesday evening I believe with games starting Wednesday. Some teams will be eliminated as early as Friday, and 80%+ of the teams will be eliminated by the end of the day Saturday.

It is a neat experience for the girls though, and there's usually some downtime in the schedule to see some local sights and make a little vacation out of it.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

Its not usually a full week either. Opening ceremonies are typically like on Tuesday evening I believe with games starting Wednesday. Some teams will be eliminated as early as Friday, and 80%+ of the teams will be eliminated by the end of the day Saturday.

That's for an Eastern or Northern National - OP is asking about an ASA/USA National. Thursday is usually the first day of the losers bracket and over 50% will be eliminated then.

The schedule for this particular one has been compressed by a day with team check-in, mgr's meeting, opening ceremonies and start of pool play all happening on Monday (see Tournament Schedule).

 

[Little Angels Softball]

Families take care of their own expenses. Some large orgs will sometimes help the girls but not their families. Air travel is normal and expected if you're on a team that has the stated goal of going to nationals.

Sometimes kids bunk together to help the parents with the expense. It has been different on every team I've taken, with most just having all the families have at least some parent along for the tournament and in their own rooms.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Congratulations on earning a berth!

Teams that intend to compete at ASA Nationals usually have that plan going into the season, meaning that parents and players know what the team's goals are before joining a team. The typical coach statement will be something along the lines of: "If we qualify for ASA (or PGF) Nationals, we're going". And many of the better programs can even tell you what their end-of-year tournament goal is more than a year in advance. We knew over a year ago that we'd be doing Triple Crown this July. This allows parents to budget for a week away from home and to sort out vacation days, if necessary.

You have to check in by Monday for Opening Ceremonies and there's a chance you might not play your 1st elimination game until Friday, so plan on being there for a minimum of 5 days.

Families cover their own expenses and last year, a generous donor covered our event passes for the week.

 

[Dave619]

Congratulations on earning a berth!

Teams that intend to compete at ASA Nationals usually have that plan going into the season, meaning that parents and players know what the team's goals are before joining a team. The typical coach statement will be something along the lines of: "If we qualify for ASA (or PGF) Nationals, we're going". And many of the better programs can even tell you what their end-of-year tournament goal is more than a year in advance. We knew over a year ago that we'd be doing Triple Crown this July. This allows parents to budget for a week away from home and to sort out vacation days, if necessary.

You have to check in by Monday for Opening Ceremonies and there's a chance you might not play your 1st elimination game until Friday, so plan on being there for a minimum of 5 days.

Families cover their own expenses and last year, a generous donor covered our event passes for the week.

Thank you all for the information. This really helped me out a lot understanding the expectations of these national tournaments. This team is a new team that just formed in March so time was short to make any plans. We already decided to make this a goal for next year so everyone knows up front. Best wishes for your DDs this year!