SHIFTING WINDS?
It seems that at least four times during the past six years, I have used this first column after ASA Nationals to rebuke the notion held by some in other parts of the country that they were catching up with California in the world of youth fast pitch softball. First it was when an exceptional pitcher from Texas knocked California from its perch at Gold Nationals. Then there were singular events where some team from some tornado infested locale was able sneak a national championship at one of the “A” level nationals. Some also pointed to the non-California dominance of the 18U “A” nationals as an indication of a change brewing in the wind; but of course California really doesn’t care about the 18U “A” event, that is except for maybe this year.

Well, for the first time I think I’m man enough to accept the fact that maybe things are changing and the quality of play outside of our golden state is beginning to knock down the wall of California dominance. Of the five “A” nationals and the gold event, California was still able to muster four national championships and that includes the usually dismissed 18U-A title. In the past when California did not dominate as expected, I was able to counter any parity talk by citing the large number of west coast teams that finished in the other top positions in these events. But even that is beginning to be a weak argument based on the results this year.

At the 10 and Under National in Auburn, Alabama, California was only able place one team in the top eight positions, and that was a team that tied for seventh place. The top five positions (six teams) were not from California and with the exception of two Texas teams, they were all from east of the Mississippi. The East dominated this age division. The 12 and Under nationals looked a little more like what we west coasters would expect. Six of the top eight teams were from California, including a sweep of the top three positions.

This same level of success played out at the 14 and Under nationals. Top three teams, California. Five of the top eight, California. Order is restored, that is until you look at the next age group, the 16 and Under nationals. Although three of the top teams were from California, the fact of the matter is that these teams only finished third, and seventh (two tied). Most of those with knowledge of this age division would have considered a sweep of the top four spots at nationals a real possibility. You want dominance, the IL Southern Force lost their second game, and marched all the through the loser’s bracket, playing a total of 14 games to finish second in the event. During this march, the Force dispatched a total of at least four California teams, including the heavily favored OC Batbusters.

While the 18U “A” nationals are undervalued on the left coast, as a California resident I have to mention the results, due to the fact that surprisingly California teams took the top two spots, a rare feat at this event. However, it should also be noted that the next highest finishing California team came in tied for 13th place. At ASA’s premiere event, the 18U Gold Nationals, 5 of the top 8 teams hailed from the bear state, including 3 of the top 4 positions. While this finish continued the So Cal dominance to the Gold division, results earlier in the year at some of the major “pre-national” events indicated that this type of success was highly unlikely.

While California took top honors in four of these six nationals, they really only dominated three of them in a fashion that we are accustomed. Using the same logic I have used in the past, a case could almost be made that the rest of the country is nearing our equal in terms of youth fastpitch quality. Whatever the situation may currently be, it is easy to see that many other parts of the country do have the ability and skill to be competitive with California teams.

FOUL TIPS
I want to thank those readers that have been in contact with me recently, communicating stories about their daughters’ teams and their games. I’m actually going to get an opportunity to see a few games during the next few weekends as it has been too long since I last made a tournament * * * * Congratulations to the Firecrackers and their coach (Rico) for their success at this year’s Gold nationals. As I mentioned in my last column, I had the opportunity to meet this coach this summer at Canada Cup. I was impressed with him as an individual then, and I’m pleased that his team has enjoyed this success * * * * As always, you can contact me at floydeunslip@yahoo.com * * * * and so the ball rolls.