Good question. PGF is more than just their National Championship tournament, and the qualifying tournaments. They also do showcase events and other stand-alone tournaments. However, they don't seem to have shown an interest in rec level involvement. As far as I can tell, PGF is pushing to expand the areas it reaches for attracting top-level play.
USSSA vs PGF
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Good question. PGF is more than just their National Championship tournament, and the qualifying tournaments. They also do showcase events and other stand-alone tournaments. However, they don't seem to have shown an interest in rec level involvement. As far as I can tell, PGF is pushing to expand the areas it reaches for attracting top-level play.
- Dec 11, 2010
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Numerous comments on Illinois softball in this thread. Here are mine:
ASA/USA, PGF and USSSA are in a battle for Illinois softball. If ASA/USA was doing their job, USSSA would really only exist here in the form of USSSA Elite Select. ASA got what they deserved on this one.
Sluggerdome etc: Few hours from Chicago, few hours from St. Louis, one hour from Quad Cities. Reasonable drive for high level Indiana teams. This location is capable of attracting top talent including Bandits and Iowa Premier. That is a very good thing for midwest softball. More PGF and Topgun events are good for all of us. Wish it wasn't all turf. Wish there was another complex nearby that would allow a BIG tournament to be run there.
Betcher (like Conroy) has done a lot for Illinois softball. Central Illinois needs to get it together NOW if they want non-Betcher options. Get on the train or get run over by it. Betcher, if they don't do it, keep expanding.
Pekin is a dump inside and out. The outdoor fields could be something good. The dugouts suck. The ASA/USA state tournament is a tournament that every team should want to win. No one wants to play in Pekin and that's part of why no one wants to go to state tournaments. Get out of there until they fix it.
ASA/USA has been run into the ground by B.A. I believe it can be pulled out of its nose dive. It will take work.
Quit having 9 meaningless USSSA "State Tournaments" per year. There is no such thing as winning state more than once in a year. Go to the ASA/USA State or Metro tournament. Try to win one of the Topgun's. Try to win the PGF qualifiers. They are the ones you want to win. Quit trophy hunting every weekend coaches.
Good umpires from the fringes of the state are flocking to the good tournaments in Peoria etc. There is potential for umpires to make decent money and umpire good games there and there must be a drive to keep adding to the pool of competent umps. This will ultimately be good for everyone. Tournament directors have to help drive this process. Hint: $$$.
Quad Cities: Get your act together. This is a nice pocket of softball talent and you are losing pitchers and players to teams that play at a higher level. Consolidate talent. You have good tournaments within a few hours in every direction. Get your kids to Peoria, Crown Point, St. Louis. There are numerous new options coming online in Iowa. Send teams to enough Triple Crown that you can get into THE POWER POOLS in Colorado.
P.S. to our neighbors, Iowa High School Softball: You have a lot of talented players. Quit pretending high school softball is what the best players will choose. You went head to head with the best national tournaments. You are playing a game you can't win. Figure out how to fix the conflicts players have with travel softball. Its WHATS FOR THE BEST for your players.
It's been a long day at work, my thoughts are kind of scatter brained. Hopefully I made a little but of sense.
ASA/USA, PGF and USSSA are in a battle for Illinois softball. If ASA/USA was doing their job, USSSA would really only exist here in the form of USSSA Elite Select. ASA got what they deserved on this one.
Sluggerdome etc: Few hours from Chicago, few hours from St. Louis, one hour from Quad Cities. Reasonable drive for high level Indiana teams. This location is capable of attracting top talent including Bandits and Iowa Premier. That is a very good thing for midwest softball. More PGF and Topgun events are good for all of us. Wish it wasn't all turf. Wish there was another complex nearby that would allow a BIG tournament to be run there.
Betcher (like Conroy) has done a lot for Illinois softball. Central Illinois needs to get it together NOW if they want non-Betcher options. Get on the train or get run over by it. Betcher, if they don't do it, keep expanding.
Pekin is a dump inside and out. The outdoor fields could be something good. The dugouts suck. The ASA/USA state tournament is a tournament that every team should want to win. No one wants to play in Pekin and that's part of why no one wants to go to state tournaments. Get out of there until they fix it.
ASA/USA has been run into the ground by B.A. I believe it can be pulled out of its nose dive. It will take work.
Quit having 9 meaningless USSSA "State Tournaments" per year. There is no such thing as winning state more than once in a year. Go to the ASA/USA State or Metro tournament. Try to win one of the Topgun's. Try to win the PGF qualifiers. They are the ones you want to win. Quit trophy hunting every weekend coaches.
Good umpires from the fringes of the state are flocking to the good tournaments in Peoria etc. There is potential for umpires to make decent money and umpire good games there and there must be a drive to keep adding to the pool of competent umps. This will ultimately be good for everyone. Tournament directors have to help drive this process. Hint: $$$.
Quad Cities: Get your act together. This is a nice pocket of softball talent and you are losing pitchers and players to teams that play at a higher level. Consolidate talent. You have good tournaments within a few hours in every direction. Get your kids to Peoria, Crown Point, St. Louis. There are numerous new options coming online in Iowa. Send teams to enough Triple Crown that you can get into THE POWER POOLS in Colorado.
P.S. to our neighbors, Iowa High School Softball: You have a lot of talented players. Quit pretending high school softball is what the best players will choose. You went head to head with the best national tournaments. You are playing a game you can't win. Figure out how to fix the conflicts players have with travel softball. Its WHATS FOR THE BEST for your players.
It's been a long day at work, my thoughts are kind of scatter brained. Hopefully I made a little but of sense.
One of the big differences between PGF, USSSA, and USA/ASA is that PGF is solely focused on travel softball only. USSSA and ASA have their hands in everything from baseball, softball, slow pitch softball, etc.
I would say that PGF is currently A level softball for the most part. That is not to say that there are not some lower level softball teams that occasionally sign up for a PGF tournament. PGF is certainly trying to expand and they are doing a very good job at expanding, but PGF is not trying to expand into b and c level tournaments.
Given that PGF was in part created by some of the top organizations in travel softball I would say they are focused on being the best not the biggest.
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