NSA Changes for 2015-16 season

[Mike_Craig_-_Ohio USSSA]

I wanted to post this to get some good dialogue on some changes that NSA is implementing starting on August 1, 2015. The list of changes is below.

Please do not turn this into a bash thread. I am gathering info from teams that participate in the NSA program to take to our World Series next week and welcome constructive feedback to show to my bosses.

This email was sent out to all 2015 registered teams with NSA. Again please offer constructive feedback if you participate in the NSA program.

Insurance is important to all NSA Teams and Leagues. NSA is pleased to provide the best rates in the industry. The NSA program offers coverage to each team as they participate in all NSA events and coverage is extended to all other sanctioned amateur softball competitions.

New for Girls FastPitch Teams for the 2015 - 2016 Season:

1. Sanction Year Change - The new sanction year will begin on August 1, 2015 and run through July 31, 2016. Registration / Sanction for the 2015 - 2016 season will open on July 20, 2015. ​ 2. Sanction Fee Change - The sanction fee will be $30​ 3. Insurance Change - It will be required that all teams purchase NSA / WestPoint insurance to participate in NSA events and the coverage will extend to all other sanctioned amateur softball competitions. The rates are lower than the 2015 season.​ If your organization has multiple teams (4 or more) you can save even more money by purchasing the insurance at the same time. 4. Please contact your State Director if you have questions or need assistance.​ Team Registration/Sanction for the 2015 - 2016 season will open on July 20, 2015.​

The rates are listed below. Please communicate with your NSA State Director with any questions. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL as it is not monitored. Contact your state director.

NSA ​ Rates effective 8/1/15 for 4 teams or more ​ 8 & Under ​ 10 & Under ​ 12 & Under ​ 14 & Under ​ 16 & Under ​ 18 & Under ​ 20 & Under ​ Adult ​ $92.00 $101.00 $111.00 $118.00 $125.00 $137.00 $144.00 $206.00 NSA Rates effective 8/1/15 for 3 teams or less 8 & Under ​ 10 & Under ​ 12 & Under ​ 14 & Under ​ 16 & Under ​ 18 & Under ​ 20 & Under ​ Adult ​ $104.00 $117.00 $128.00 $138.00 $145.00 $160.00 $171.00 $243.00

Thanks for your support of the NSA Programs.

 

[raidian70]

Mike,

I think you will see a bit lower turn out for normal tournaments by implementing the must purchase insurance. I don't have a problem with saying you must have NSA at NSA nationals, but if each sanctioning organization (PGF, ASA, NSA) starts saying in order to play in the Back Country Invitational you must buy their insurance it will begin to hurt the game as some teams will quit playing in other sanctioning bodies. One of the great things for me as a coach is to play in mulitple sanctioning bodies and to be able to do so while only paying for insurance once. It allows my kids the opportunity to play against the best the area has to offer week in and week out instead of having to collude with coaches to find out what sanctioning body everyone is going with.

That is just my 2 cents.

 

[Lasers 04 Coach Mike]

Mike,

I think you will see a bit lower turn out for normal tournaments by implementing the must purchase insurance. I don't have a problem with saying you must have NSA at NSA nationals, but if each sanctioning organization (PGF, ASA, NSA) starts saying in order to play in the Back Country Invitational you must buy their insurance it will begin to hurt the game as some teams will quit playing in other sanctioning bodies. One of the great things for me as a coach is to play in mulitple sanctioning bodies and to be able to do so while only paying for insurance once. It allows my kids the opportunity to play against the best the area has to offer week in and week out instead of having to collude with coaches to find out what sanctioning body everyone is going with.

That is just my 2 cents.

Agree 100%!!!

 

[pride1]

Going to lose alot of teams. Is this part of the obama care insurance act! Just kidding Mike. But i think this will hurt NSA

 

[Dougk30]

I think forcing a team or organization to carry NSA insurance is shooting yourself in the foot. I get it they say they are the cheapest, but it is not always about cheap, and like stated above, at some point other sanctioning bodies will not honor "NSA" insurance. If I was competing against NSA I would try to make it hard to accept their insurance. IMO it is a poor attempt to get teams/orgs to play more NSA tournaments throughout their season. Might work if you were a dominant sanctioning body or the most popular in an area or something.

 

[Jose_canusee]

We personally will probably not keep our tournaments Nsa because of this. I feel forcing teams in to something is not the nsa way. I always liked Nsa. Because it was the player/ coach friendly org, this is changing that. I don't like it, I personally didn't quite care for the explanations that be from NSA. Not you Mike.
I agree with some of the above comments, cheap doesn't necessarily mean that's okay. Cheap can sometimes mean scam. I do not think it is necessary and I think Nsa has not thought this through completely.
Again JMO.

Mendy Moore

 

[pride1]

Cheap is not true. We get same insurance for all 9 of our teams and at those prices its any where from 30-50.00 more per team. We are all counting our pennies at the end of the season. I think this is a negative approach to getting more teams to play NSA. Have always liked NSA most of there umpires are always approachable and know the rules. Not sure we will be sanctioning NSA next year or running our Tournament under this sanctioning body next year either. If this holds true.

 

[alborules]

Even coaching an 8u team in an ASA organization, I have sanctioned in NSA, USSSA, and PGF and paid out of my own pocket (the Wizards pay the ASA sanction and insurance out of our players fees) so that I could choose any tournament that suited our team without adding to the player's fees. I really liked the NSA because they have lots of 8u tournaments and the entry fees are usually lower than some others. All sanctions have previously accepted the team insurance that the Wizards supply us with. This season we played in only 1 NSA tournament. We were entered in 3 but the Coach Pitch World Series in Tennesse was cancelled, and I didn't have enough player's for the Class B in Indiana. If the NSA insurance requirement were in place, that would have essentially increased our single tournament entry fee over $100. If that were the case, I doubt that I would have entered as I already had asked the parents to pay for 2 league fees and an extra tournament already.

I enjoy playing in any tournament that we choose regardless of sanction. However, IF all sanctioning bodies (In Ohio we see ASA, PGF, NSA, USSSA, and now USFA) require a team to have their insurance prior to entering, I will have to pick one sanction and stick with it. I can't see adding approximately $30 for an additional sanction fee (PGF is more) and around $120 for insurance to team fees "just in case" we enter one of their tournaments. Multiply that by 4 or more sanctioning bodies and it's a showcase tournament entry. I would hope that we don't go to that.

Allan Abel
Wizards Nemesis

 

[Captain_Thunder]

NSA is making things easier for coaches & TD when deciding where they want to play!
I know as the president of an organization & TD of many events, this news sure puts a bad taste in my mouth......
Hope for all involved that the powers that being do the right thing before August!
NSA seemed to be once again gaining ground in Ohio - this IMO will be a major step back........

 

[BA824]

Ive known Mike for 30 years and he is a good honest guy and because of him we do a couple NSA events. But with that said I ditto the above remarks. With ASA and PGF controlling tournaments like Stingrays, Lasers, and their National Qualifiers drawing more interest this will kill NSA in Ohio

 

[Softballfarm]

I operate my team on a budget set by my org. My org purchases our insurance policy. I have a feeling that I am at the mercy of what policy is purchased. If it is anything other than an NSA policy I doubt I will be attending anymore NSA tournaments because I wont be in a position to purchase a separate policy for my team to attend the Summer Slam. I dont see it happening. At least I will have other options as there are a number of ASA and PGF tournaments to chose from. NSA has been doing a lot of good things lately, especially with their rule changes such as the Twin Player rule... I think the insurance policy is a good example of adults ruining a kids game.

Joe Nay
Thunder Elite 03

 

[BulldawgsDirector]

We personally will probably not keep our tournaments Nsa because of this. I feel forcing teams in to something is not the nsa way. I always liked Nsa. Because it was the player/ coach friendly org, this is changing that. I don't like it, I personally didn't quite care for the explanations that be from NSA. Not you Mike.
I agree with some of the above comments, cheap doesn't necessarily mean that's okay. Cheap can sometimes mean scam. I do not think it is necessary and I think Nsa has not thought this through completely.
Again JMO.

Mendy Moore

As an NSA tournament director as well as a coach in an organization sending 3 teams to Chattanooga this year I am in agreement with Mendy. Mike and his staff have done a great job of creating momentum in Ohio and the National office is squashing it all with one move. I could not disagree more with their decision and look forward to working with the NSA staff to explore alternative solutions.

 

[crm9911]

Our organization currently purchases west point insurance for all of our teams as well as extra liability for our tournament and practice facility use and we pay less per team than the amounts mentioned. The only reason for NSA to do this is to line somebody's pockets because "somebody" is getting a big kickback on this. Is this just going to be an Ohio requirement? I suspect that, as an organization, we will be asking our teams to avoid NSA tournaments, or if they choose to attend, they will be responsible for paying the policy on their own because I'm sure NSA won't accept the Westpoint policy that we get on our own. We also host a smaller 45-50 team tourney which will likely switch sanctions for 2016 if NSA continues down this path. Like a previous poster said...leave it to (greedy) adults to ruin a kids game.

 

[Mike_Craig_-_Ohio USSSA]

No it's not an Ohio only requirement. It is across the board for all states that host NSA events. I do not like the fact that in essence our TD's just became insurance agents myself included. And no there is no kickback to state directors for selling the insurance. Sad day when greed trumps common sense.

 

[Captain_Thunder]

No it's not an Ohio only requirement. It is across the board for all states that host NSA events. I do not like the fact that in essence our TD's just became insurance agents myself included. And no there is no kickback to state directors for selling the insurance. Sad day when greed trumps common sense.

Mike,
We have talked several times before & in no way am I trying to bash. I actually think you have done an outstanding job bringing NSA back near the top in Ohio. I am just wondering if there are other states where the presence is so strong over all other associations that they are the ones missing the big picture here???

This is basically killing the steady growth efforts you have accomplished here. If someone is going to ASA Nationals, then no way would they waste an additional $150-200 to play one or two NSA events, when there are other options.

Hopefully they are willing to listen & do the right thing before this takes effect..........

 

[Supertech]

This is just another nail in the coffin of the NSA. Along with sub par umpiring at the NSA tourneys we played in. Don't even get me started because it won't do any good.

 

[Lasers 04 Coach Mike]

Mike,

IMO; NSA gained the ground on the younger teams this year and a lot of the 10U teams continued their success into the NSA National bids. When schedules were being developed; coaches and teams flocked to the most competitive tournaments they could find. At 10U, other than the Stingray and Lasers tournament, it was apparent that NSA was where the stiff competition was at. From a coaches perspective, it seems as if the sanctioning bodies are going head to head to draw more teams to their sanction in an attempt to squash out the other sanctions. In Ohio this year; NSA has done an excellent job developing the momentum. The insurance change will absolutely; no doubt; kill that momentum. If you want continued success; don't change a thing at the younger age groups. For the older age groups; create more opportunity for college exposure. Overall; do not change the insurance policy!

 

[nonparentcoach]

Was looking to play n NSA this fall, not now.

 

[Mswanagin]

I had a state director explain it to me this way. If you had 30 teams and 20 had NSA/Westpointe and 10 did not that a blanket team insurance would be purchased by these teams. It would be say $100 split over the 10 teams. Does this sound possible or right?

 

[Captain_Thunder]

I had a state director explain it to me this way. If you had 30 teams and 20 had NSA/Westpointe and 10 did not that a blanket team insurance would be purchased by these teams. It would be say $100 split over the 10 teams. Does this sound possible or right?

Doesn't sound right......But NSA has already pretty much put the nail in their coffin in Ohio, so doesn't matter..........
Cause in any other event - If 30 teams & lets say 20 have ASA insurance, then the other 10 can have U-trip, or any independent coverage & it is no problem. NSA wanted to either cost teams approx. extra $150 for double coverage or try to get a monopoly on the market by making this requirement. Well, they just helped make things easier for Ohio. And with the change in USFA, which was beginning to work it's way over from Indiana into Ohio.......It is now either ASA, PGF, or USSSA....end of story....