Publisher's Comments by Mark Linnemann
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Publisher’s Comments by Mark Linnemann If someone had told me a year ago there would be forty three teams in the USSSA Major NIT held last month at Eggleston Park, and that less than two weeks later twenty teams would compete in the “Open” division of this year’s Cincinnati ASA Metro tournament, I would have suggested they have their head examined. After all, only sixteen teams played in the “Major” NIT at Eggleston last year, and even at that size it was one of the largest in the country. And the top division of the ASA city tournament attracted a paltry six teams in 2005. Additionally, there are only five USSSA “Major” and twenty “A” level teams actively participating in the USSSA tournament program in the entire country, and only a picayune three teams played in the ASA “Major” Division National Tournament last September in Sanford, Florida. So what could possibly attract forty three teams to a USSSA “Major” NIT or twenty to the “Open” division of the ASA Metro? According to area teams, it was a plethora of things, ranging from double points, world berths and travel money to atmosphere, exposure, the opportunity try to improve one’s team by playing superior competition, and the opportunity to lock horns with the very best teams in the country. And those were just some of the carrots that made these events so wildly successful. Playing against the best teams and earning travel money have drawn Freeze Concrete/James Arnold/BW3/Easton to the U-Trip “Major” NIT at Eggleston the last two years, says manager Homer Matheny. “More and more teams like to say they played the very best,” says Matheny. “A couple years ago I thought playing in the Major NIT was a waste of time and money. After a 5th place showing last year and another 5th place showing this year, I have realized how gratifying it is to step up and compete at that level. And, obviously the number of teams that showed up realized the same thing. The USSSA Major NIT is fast becoming the event of the year in Cincinnati. “Last year we received an additional $850 for being the highest finishing B team,” continues Matheny. “This year USSSA awarded extra money to the highest finishing teams of all divisions. This was a contributing factor in the largest USSSA Major event of the year. “But, it is not just the prize money teams are playing for,” he stresses. “As we found out, it is a test of your team's ability and the thrill of going toe to toe with the best the game has to offer. Teams realize the benefits from all angles. I think it has been a great way to make teams forget about A, B, C, D and just go out and play.” For Andy Larkins, manager of Cincysoftball.com/Easton, a USSSA “C” team, the attractions to compete in the USSSA Major NIT included World Tournament berths for lower division teams and a “fun atmosphere.” “First of all, both events were very well run,” said Larkins. “When you jam a 40-plus team event into a Friday, Saturday and Sunday or run a tournament the size of the Metro, you will have glitches. But I really feel both parks ran excellent events. “The Major at Eggleston appealed to us because of several reasons, including the World berths available to lower division teams and double points. I've attended this tournament in recent years and it always seems to draw a large crowd, which makes for a fun atmosphere. I think had there not been the berth available for the lower teams, we may not have entered it. We all know that most ‘C’ teams are not going to make a big run into the winners bracket in this event so having other perks made it more appealing for us. “I think the ‘Open’ Metro was a success because teams enjoyed sharing the spotlight with the major teams to some extent, having their games on the main field, having their games announced over the PA system, etc. I also think the lack of true major teams in the area maybe made some managers think they could make a run in the tournament because after the top four teams, it could be a wide open tournament, especially if the top dawgs drew each other early on.” Travel money, double points, exposure, big tournament excitement and being able to watch some of the local talent who play for U- Trip “Major” teams were just a few of the carrots that lured Loveless Hardwood/Easton to Eggleston Park for the Major NIT, says manager Tom Richmond. “The travel money and the extra points you get are a plus when you play up,” says Richmond, whose team is classified “C.” “That gives everybody a chance to win something. I also think the local talent that is on some of these Major teams - like Brian Wegman, Shane Hatfield, Rick Baker and Brian May, just to name a few - draw people and teams, and they should be promoted more by the tournament. “When you play up it also gives your team a chance to see how they stand against better teams,” notes Richmond. “And I think it helps you get ready for the State, Nationals and Worlds. Also I think the excitement of a big tournament and crowds get your team more exposure and they get to see who you are. The biggest thing is its fun.” Richmond’s team also found several benefits in competing in the “Open” Metro. “Playing in the Open division helps a team that is an ‘A’ team to play more games during the tournament week,” explains Richmond. “When the Metro comes around it is a week and a half tournament. For a team like ours in the ‘A’ division, we only had six teams. After you play your first game, you may not play again until the following weekend. Being able to also play in the Open, you get more games thru the week and more exposure for your team. When you play in both, if you don't do well in the upper, you always know you have a chance in your own division. When you play in the Metro you are at the park most of the week anyway to watch friends and family on other teams play, so why not be there to play also.” John Tomlinson, manager of Moe’s Southwest Grill/Saints, a USSSA “D” team, says playing better teams and observing the better players in the country at the USSSA Major NIT can only help his team improve. “Unlike most other teams that are trying to find loopholes and stay at a lower level in USSSA, I like to push my guys to play better competition, and hopefully instill in them a desire to move up whether we have to or not,” says Tomlinson. “So playing these teams only makes us better in the end. We may take our lumps, but we actually played Pace (a USSSA “A” team) better than we played the other teams that weekend. Also, seeing guys at that caliber and how they do things, maybe some good things will rub off on my younger players. It seems, around here at least, that the ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams have a lot of ego to go along with their talent. But when we talked to the teams and players that are above that level, and when we played against the Pace team, we found that all those guys were past the ego part of softball and acted like regular guys that love the game. I think it is good for my team to realize that you don't have to tell everyone how good you are and you don't need to look down on those not as good as some others.” Playing new teams and the opportunity to play in a consolation bracket were also nice carrots at the Major NIT, says Tomlinson. “I think another reason the larger tournaments draw so many teams is because of the possibility to play different teams. Then to have a consolation bracket for teams that go 0-2 I think is another great idea. I do think all teams in all tournaments should be seeded though in order to make the consolation fair, otherwise you may have a great team in the consolation bracket that went 0-2 because the tourney wasn't seeded correctly.” It will be a formidable task for these two events to achieve the level of success they enjoyed in 2006 in future years. But for now you have to give them credit for pulling out all the stops to virtually triple their participation from 2005. Perhaps more importantly, we wonder if there isn’t a message here for other tournament operators? With tournament participation waning, how can tournaments be made more attractive? What kind of enticements - berths, travel money, exposure, atmosphere, stepping up, consolation brackets, rubbing elbows with the game’s superstars, etc. - will make teams forget about classifications and play softball simply for the fun of it again? Hopefully the lessons learned from these two events will have a positive ripple effect throughout all of Greater Cincinnati softball. In My Opinion by Ron Jeffers Over the years the Amateur Softball Association has flirted with the idea of doing away with what they call Metro Associations. Metro associations meaning cities such as Cincinnati. Several ASA state commissioners have wanted to do away with the “Metros,” and incorporate them into the state organizations so the state commissioners would immediately get more teams, more umpires, more registrations and, of course, more money for themselves.