ASA Tournament ASA Fall Showcase tournament in Columbus

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Anyone know anything about this tournament other than what is on the website? Thanks.

http://www.signatureshowcases.com/09ohioclassic.htm

http://www.signatureshowcases.com/09ohiosig.htm

 

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I was wondering the same, help please.

 

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Looks like the same one on Miami Valley Xpress website: http://www.mvxpress.com/home.htm.

 

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I received a letter in the mail about this and want more information too. It would be nice to get a quality fall showcase close to home.

 

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Anyone planning on attending this tournament in the 12-u from Ohio?

 

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$630 for a 5gg .... on diamonds we know won't be worked on and no proven record of attracting College coaches. thats a lot of jack

 

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630 $$ Did NSA get involved ? LOL

 

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Any info or list of teams entered??

 

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Way too much for a 1st year event....

 

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Looks like a proven track record in Florida. I'm looking into it for our 18U Valley Extreme Blue.
I guess you cannot be a successful 2nd year event without giving the first year a try. We are always talking about no quality showcases in Ohio. Well lets give this one a try!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yah I agree $600 for 5 games is a lot of cash, but what the saying " if you build it they will come". If we as coaches let the colleges know where we are going to be then if they want to see us then they will come.

I for one will give it a try. Beside Miami Valley is a very good organization and this looks like their affiliate from Florida.( Florida Fury)

Thanks
Bill White

 

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Wow, THAT ... is indeed a lot of "jack" .... I would be feeling a lot of pressure to deliver a good "value proposition" ..... entice a good field, have immaculate lined playing surfaces, 2-3 umpires, a who's who of coaches, and lovely printed programs for all of the college coaches to access. Looking forward to hearing about it afterwards, maybe next year.

Man, looks like "big business" is making it's way to Ohio fastpitch ...
I don't think "profit" is a bad word, but .... sigh ........

 

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Re: From Mid-West Signature Showcase Tournament Director

Hello Everyone

I understand your questions and your skepticism regarding our tournament. We are new to Ohio but we are not new to showcasing...we do have quite a track record. I was the original tournament director for the Rising Stars Showcase from day one, and was with them up until 3 years ago when I left that organization. But it did not take long for the college coaches to start encouraging me to get back into the business...and they have supported all of our showcase events so far. We have hosted our Signature events in Florida last winter and this past summer, and they have been successful.

We have a some fabulous people working with us like Linda Derk who was a college head coach and a professional head coach with the Tampa Bay Firestix. Joe Cotrone was with the Gold Coast Hurricanes organization until last year. And you all know the Miami Valley Express organization. Trust that quality people will put on a quality event.

We want to bring another first class showcase to the Mid-West. It is our first year but we plan to grow this tournament each year. Teams that come this year will be considered our founder teams and will always hold a special place in our hearts and will always have priority. And the younger teams that play in the Fall Classic will have a spot in the Showcase when they are old enough to play.

I will guarantee you that our fields will be maintained between games. We are all about running quality events and doing it right. The entry fee is $600 for the showcase, and you might consider that a little high, but most showcases are around $600 so we are really not out of line.

You want to know who is coming...which teams and which college coaches. Being a new event I can only tell you that college coaches have told us they will come but they have not RSVPed yet. As for teams, many have called and said they are planning on coming but have not yet entered. As payments come in, we will post the teams on the website and I am sure that over the next couple of weeks it will fill. And when the college coaches submit their RSVPs we will post them too.

I can only encourage all of you that are thinking about it to give us a try. We want this event to become a fantastic yearly showcase in Ohio that will attract teams from all over the Mid-West and all over the country...a showcase that you all will be able to proudly say that you are a founder. We know that you may feel that you are taking a risk on us, but we will do whatever it takes to make this event successful...we will not let you down.

If you have any questions at all, please call me. I am always available to talk and I will give you an honest answer.

Patti Shotwell
Fastpitch Headquarters
Tournament Director
954-540-7850

 

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Just posting this as a " Local " That has played at Berliner for many years - Yes $600.00 is quite a bit of money for a 5 GG. You stated that fields would be worked on between games - Do you have a signed contract with the City of Columbus for that to happen ?? Those fields are owned & maintained by the Columbus Park & Rec Dept and ONLY City Union workers are allowed to do anything to those fields - Out of the 6 or so tournaments played at that facility in the last 3 years - NOT once has there ever been batters boxes lined - The fields are lined and ready to go first thing in the morning and NEVER get touched again. Now as for parking .... $600 per team plus $5 a day per car to park??? Still a lot of skeptism for that much money. JMHO

 

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Midwest Showcase

Well the 18U Valley Extreme Blue has sent our application. If accepted we will be there. I invite other OHIO teams, to help get this event started. I can tell you that if we contact the College Coaches we can get them there. I've hear from some other 18U coaches asking about this event.

My suggestion to Patti is to list teams that will be there. I have coaches asking us for our Fall schedules. This thing can work.

Bill White, Manager
18U Valley Extreme Blue

 

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Thank you Bill...we did receive your entry. I will be posting teams and college coaches soon. We are compiling our list of coaches who have said they plan on attending.

And to those who asked, we do have a signed contract with the Columbus Parks and Rec Department that includes lining and dragging of the fields. We are paying for that service and we fully expect them to live up to their contractual commitments.

We also have negotiated a lower prepaid parking fee for the weekend that will be made available to all of the teams. That fee goes to the parks and rec department, not to us. We do not charge any gate fees to spectators as many showcase tournaments do. The $600 entry fee covers all of our costs, and we do spend a lot on our events. We even broadcast select games. We do a very comprehensive showcase book for the college coaches. We are committed to making this a wonderful yearly event in Ohio that will attract teams, and college coaches, from all over the country.

I hope that you skeptics will give us a try. We have been told that there is a need and a desire for quality showcases in Ohio and that is what we are trying to do. I hope you all will support us.

Patti Shotwell
Fastpitch Headquarters
954-540-7850 cell
patsho@aol.com

 

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Rising Stars was at times THE premier fall showcase tournament in the country during Patti Shotwell's tenure as TD, so I think you can trust her skills and reputation with college coaches. Although it was fun to go to Florida for Rising Stars, it was also very expensive and players had to miss a lot of school. If Fastpitch Headquarters can get us even half of the college coaches that attended the Florida Rising Stars tournament, that would be a VERY VERY good thing for Ohio.

We were already interested in the 14U tournament before realizing that Ms. Shotwell is the driving force behind it. Now our interest is even greater, though it is always a challenge to field a team given the other school sports that are active at that time of the year. Hope we can make it work.

 

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The web site lists the following coaches who have already said they plan to attend:

Wright State University
Northern Kentucky University
Tiffin University
Youngstown State University
University of Rio Grande
Mount St. Joseph
Cedarville University
Lincoln Memorial University
Ashland University
Ursuline College
Moorhead State University
Shawnee State University

 

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Hi All,

We don't usually get involved in web chatter. But, friends all over the country urged us to report TRUTH & FACTS, so you all won't be misled. This is Cyd & Marty Cooper, the ONLY FOUNDERS & ORIGINATORS of the Florida Rising Stars Showcase Tournament and the Gold Coast Hurricanes Organization. We are very passionate about fastpitch softball and have spent almost 20 years creating a quality environment were young athletes may achieve their dreams of playing at the collegiate level. We have been responsible for conducting some of the greatest showcase tournaments as well as producing some of the most talented players. Gold Coast Hurricanes is proud to be 2008 ASA Gold Nationals Champions & the 2009 ASA Gold Nationals Runner-up. Our 16U team has placed in the top 20 for the past 2 years at ASA/USA Nationals.

We mention this because it is important to speak for ourselves. There are people out there misrepresenting themselves as being a significant part of our efforts and organization. We commend and support any honest efforts to put on tournaments, however, BEWARE! BE VERY AWARE OF INFORMATION YOU ARE BEING FED REGARDING UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS. Ask for facts, such as "how many teams attended each tournament you hosted in 2008/2009?", "exactly how many college coaches attended your events in 2008/2009?". What you do and where you go can be very costly and should benefit your club or organization, so make certain you are well informed.

We believe we have always been a "contender" in the softball industry, be ware of the "pretender". Ask for facts and references, etc. We are available should you have any questions.

Thank you for your time,
Cyd & Marty Cooper
(954) 610-5366

 

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Um, you aren't saying that Patti Shotwell wasn't the TD for Rising Stars in Florida for several years, are you? I think that's all she said about herself as relating to Rising Stars and that Joe Cotrone was previously with the Gold Coast Hurricanes.

I've got no dog in this fight and the questions you encourage us to ask are good ones, but I don't think Ms. Shotwell has misrepresented her tenure as TD for Rising Stars. She was the apparent TD for at least the two years that my husband and I went down to Rising Stars with an Ohio team.

 

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Patti you can count our team Ohio Wave 16U (Rosinski) in. We appreciate your efforts and those of the Miami Valley Xpress. See you there in October.