NSA NSA in Brookpark

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They did remove them rightfully. Any team who can play up and still win a tournament should not be at a b tournament. Not to mention they were one of the few teams to give the slammers a little competition. They take the glory for that then want to play b state tournament. Doesn't make sense unless it is for hardware as others have mentioned.

 

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Funny this is my daughetrs first year of travel ball, and her team won the 12u division and she never noticed the so called terrible conditions or really even cared about who they were playing...you are right there is a ton of whining. She the biggest kids on the team, trust me you cant miss her.

Sorry but I generally dont reply, simply like to read but after reading some of the posts you would think we played in the city dump against girls who didnt belong in a certain age bracket. Being from the area there are better fields but honestly they do have other things going on in Parma, with 100's of baseball teams so getting fields may have been an issue.

The tounament was a blast and not because we won...because the kids had fun.
Generally my daughter plays travel Basketball through the Summer and Emerald Necklace...take a trip to some of the AAU gyms we had to play summer basketball tounaments then report back, you would count your blessings

lighten up folks

 

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You're right about whining about competition.That can only make our girls stronger players but there are different divisions for a reason. The only way that can be changed is if NSA puts some guidelines in place that separate who should go where but that really doesn't bother me. But I disagree with the field conditions it was just above the level of a city dump. We have paid less money for way better fields and actually got field maintenance. The NSA should have had a crew taking care of the fields. There is no reason for that. If there were so many better things going on that they couldn't get good fields then maybe Cleveland shouldn't have been the location. If lights were such a concern then go somewhere with more fields so that you don't have to play at night. But cheap for profit come to mind.I think I agree with a lot of people N$A. I would have much rather drove to Columbus or elsewhere and had to spend the night if it would have meant not playing in a glorified sandbox.

 

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It is the same Tigerlillies team that was together last year, their second year at 16U.
From what I observed there are few teams from the Cleveland area that would hang with them and they should be playing teams like the Ice, Sapphires and Stingrays, but I do not have a problem with my DD playing tougher competition, it will only make her a better player.
The big question here is what World Series are they playing A or B?
They have won 2 or 3 Tournaments this year already.

 

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It is my understanding that with the building of a new softball world-- the old one will become a cemetary!

How appropriate ;D ;D

 

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Is that where they bury old softball coaches and OFC Junkies

 

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How do we make a reservation?

 

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picturing a huge round optic yellow tombstone complete with former players autographs ;D

 

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Tigerlillies are going b nationals......... and so is the Ice 10u who had complaints against them also..... That they should not be going B.... But they were beat by Stow who has a lot of 11 yr olds on the team and Ice is basically a 9yr old team except for 3 players who are and just turned 10....

 

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Call me an idealist maybe, but I just hope NSA is not surprised if they lose business when they select:
? ?Softball World (which got a measley 1 or 2 star rating (out of a possible 5)), with a lousy 24+ hours of downtime between games for a skimpy guarantee of only 3 games.
Over a location such as:
? ?North Ridgeville?s Uncle Stan?s (4 game guarantee on 9 fields) rated 4 stars for value and facilities.

Sure, in the short run, the open bar and much higher admission price and much fewer umpire fees let NSA bring in far more $$$ at Brook Park Softball World.
In the long run though you have to wonder if others will instead choose 4 and 5 game guarantee tournaments at nicer parks with lower admissions and more team-friendly schedules.
Please, remember too that a number of athletes and families are driving several hours and hundreds of miles. ?That translates into extra hotel costs that don?t make much sense when you have to stay around and wait more than 24 hours to play again.
Just how much extra does NSA (or others who do it as well) think they can continue to squeeze out of people just because they call it "states" or "nationals"?!?

 

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Congrats to the 16U Tigerlillies. Time for Softball World to be buried, the conditions are not good at all. If the NSA wants some returning teams they better fix a long overdue problem. Pony ASA doesn't look to bad now.

Emeralds Coach.

 

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Let's do this poll, how much money do you believe NSA makes off a state tournament? Do you think they are getting $250.00 a team? $200.00 a team? It's far, far less then most people imagine.

Until someone wins the lottery, there will never be a complex that is of any size...12 fields minimum and devoted solely to Fastpitch. There simply isn't enough return on investment to justify the cost to build such a park. It has to be multi purpose. If we had sons and were playing baseball we wouldn't be talking about this at all. It's not great but it is getting better.

 

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Coach22,
You are hitting on two very different topics.

I don?t hear it being suggested that NSA should build a complex. ?On that point, you are absolutely correct that it is near impossible to justify an adequate ROI (return on investment).

However, with respect to how much any non-profit association should bring in from a tournament:
$50 to $75 per season per ?member? (coaches, athletes, officials) should provide sufficient income so as to let the association provide a nice level of service.

My rough assumptions translate this into NSA, or ASA, or Pony or whomever netting about $100 per team per tournament. ?And that would include any income (team fees, clothing sales) less expenses (field fees, cost of items then re-sold).

 

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USA Volleyball offers a great example of how a youth sports organization can operate very effectively while providing a great level of service for a reasonable fee.
USAVB registers and insures athletes, certifies officials and coaches (including background investigation), and they constantly update team standings so as to seed tournaments so that competition is balanced.
Their primary income is member dues ($50 per year which includes insurance; and overrides on certification courses). ?While they sanction and set maximum rates for tournaments, they let members run the tournaments (and let those tournament directors work through the finances, and earn whatever the concessions and clothing sales bring in). ?Separate entrance fees and parking fees are NOT permitted UNLESS the event is held at a facility such as the Columbus Convention Center where a parking fee is unavoidable.

The OVR (Ohio Valley Region) of USAVB has been extremely successful. ?OVR does not try to gouge members for $$$ at tournaments. ?Rather, by charging reasonable fees, and delivering great value, they have built a ?customer base? that grows tremendously each year ? and thus raises income for OVR. ?Granted, one of their strengths is their tremendous organization skill, and ability to recruit officers who work for very little pay relatively, and rather are driven by a tremendous devotion to the game and to our youth.

 

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NSA gets a sanction fee for each team. They do not get any portion of anything sold etc.

As a non-profit park, it would be great if we received money from every registered official, team etc. The reality is that the tournament fees don't pay for sanction fees (don't forget the National organization), umpires, trophies, balls, labor etc. It's basically gate and concessions. When you consider what it costs to operate the park (overhead such as insurance, utilities, etc.) and low concession prices it's not as if our park is making tens of thousands of dollars. It's not even close.

I agree that no one has suggested NSA or ASA or USSSA build a softball complex but the complaints seem to center on teams having to play on multi-purpose fields.

We are truly sorry so many people were disappointed. We and the NSA tried very hard to make this a positive experience for all.

As for the volleyball comparison, they don't have to have purchase and maintain field equipment, pay people to re-line the fields between games, fuel expenses, umpires, game balls, pay for field dry, chalk etc. It's not really an apple to apple comparison.

 

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I don't think anyone is asking NSA to build a complex, however properly watered fields, lined, snow fences etc. makes a tournament more enjoyable for everyone. If these sanctioned bodies are not making any income, why have NSA, ASA, PONY, USSSA and others. They do make money on marketing individuals and merchandise and more.