Club News: Carolina Elite and NC Bandits Organizations Partner to Create “Bandits-Elite Premier” Program

Two preeminent travel softball organizations in the Carolinas—the Carolina Elite and NC Bandits programs led by Dave Maddaluna and the Gary Simpson, respectively—have partnered to combine forces and resources with the goal to “regularly compete in major showcases across the USA, as well as qualify and compete in the best National events in the USA.”

With both organizations historically placing National level teams in the Top 100 of national ranking sources, Simpson and Maddaluna will now partner to field Premier level teams starting in the Fall of 2021.

Both the Carolina Elite and the NC Bandits will continue to operate independently as they have since 2008, but plan to use their large networks, years of coaching experience, and success at placing over 250 players into college collectively, “to place top-flight teams in the best events,” per Coach Maddaluna.

“Basically, both organizations want to leverage the talent they have collectively, as well as draw on outside interested players to put together Premier teams to battle versus the best, in formats where there are orders of finish, and rankings based on results,” Maddaluna continues.

“Two obvious benefit of this are the players expect to be highly recruited by major college and universities given the demanding schedule, and committed players will be more prepared for college level competition having played the most demanding schedules possible.”

Here’s more on this partnership between the longtime successful programs…

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Why Create an Alliance Together?

Having both coached softball for 15+ years, Coaches Maddaluna and Smith say they have seen how they can put strong, competitive teams on the field in major events.

A quick look at past results shows Top 5 and Top 10 finishes as the JO Cup, TCS Nationals, USA Nationals, Colorado Fireworks/Sparkler and continued strong results coming out of major showcase events, including Atlanta Legacy, Scenic City, Veterans, Diamond Classic, Thunderbolts, ProSwings, and other top showcase events.

“If we had to state the main reason why we are forming this alliance,” Maddaluna explains, “in all transparency, it is to consistently show out on a national stage and show that our players can and will compete, and place high in National events across the country.”

“I guess you could say we want to push through to that final frontier to definitively place our teams among the best in the nation, and the only way to do that is to consistently show up and play, with your strongest teams, where results matter, and order of finish is a key ingredient that leaves no doubt where you stack up against the best of the best.”

“There is no subjectivity to how you place in an event, and if you are earning bids to major National events, either you do or you don’t.”

The Merger According to Dave Maddaluna:

“Having started with a single 8u team over 13 years ago—much like Gary—and having grown two organizations for the past 13 years, I am excited for this alliance with Gary and the NC Bandits Organization.”

“We have both proven we can have strong national level teams and place kids into colleges at all levels, but to me, it’s crucial to burst onto the scene with the truly Elite level organizations that have been doing it for a decade or more.”

“We need to consistently put our strongest teams out there year in and year out to compete head-to-head and leave no doubt progress is being made towards being considered among the elite organizations.”

“I have a deep trust and respect for Gary, how he has run his organization and how he has always done things the right way. His philosophy and mine match up nicely together. I feel this alliance will strengthen our respective organizations, the players within it, and put a product on the field that will take things to the next level.”

The Merger According to Gary Simpson

“Our organization began back in 2007 and we have experienced tremendous growth and success since that time. We’ve developed national level elite teams that have performed very well in some of the top competitive events.”

“We have experienced strong finishes at Triple Crown Nationals, USA Nationals, USA JO Cup, and in 2019 our 18u finished 2nd in the Colorado Fireworks Elite Division. In continuing to forge ahead into the next level, in 2020 our 18u competed in the USA Gold Nationals in Oklahoma City.”

“Because of the hard work we have been extremely successful in placing our players in organizations of all levels including Power 5 schools.”

“In an effort to continue to push the boundaries of excellence, we are excited to align ourselves with the Carolina Elite program. I think Dave and I share a lot of the same ideals in regards to putting in the hard work to develop elite level teams. I have tremendous respect for Dave and his program, and I feel this alliance will create a structure that will allow us to be a powerful force at any of the top national events.”

What is the Value Proposition?

According to both coaches, the newly created Bandits Elite Premier logo represents the coming together of two long established organizations with strong reputations to form Premier level teams, called “Bandits-Elite Premier.”

“We feel this alliance brings great value to any player looking to play the best competition, be developed to be prepared for the next level, and get the exposure needed to become strong student athletes at colleges and universities across the nation,” says Maddaluna.

They’ve also created a Value Proposition chart which highlights three key aspects they will emphasize: 1) Competition, 2) Exposure and 3) Combined Reputation along with each’s supporting strategies:

“Given our approach, we will also be able to bring to bear more opportunities for all the players in both organizations as well as the Bandits-Elite Premier Alliance to gain exposure to college coaches,” continues Maddaluna.

“We have already secured Bandits and Elite camps with multiple Division 1 and Division 2 programs starting in August 2021, and have the first Annual Carolina Elite Showcase in late Fall 2021.”

“Using the collective experiences from leadership within both organizations will certainly benefit a great many more young ladies collectively, than can be done separately. At the end of the day, seeing our players reach their goals is the reason why we are combining forces with the Bandits-Elite Premier alliance.”

What’s Next?

The strategy moving forward for the Bandits-Elite Premier teams will be to play in top invitationals, major showcases and national events where bids are earned and order of finish matters.

Maddaluna adds: “We don’t want there to be any subjectivity in how we are doing, and how we stack up versus the competition.”

Examples of planned competition includes the JO Cup, PGF Nationals, TCS Nationals and Colorado events, USA Nationals, and State Championship events, and major showcase events like ProSwings, Atlanta Elite Invitational, Legacy Events, Scenic City, Diamond Classic, Veterans Tribute, Thunderbolts and others.

Immediate next steps for the Bandits-Elite Premier teams will be formal tryout processes in late July into early August, which will likely be supported by coaches from both organizations, and selective college coaches who will provide thoughts and recommendations about the formation of the Premier level teams.

In addition, with both Dave and Gary’s deep connections in the softball community, with sanction directors, college coaches, business owners and others, there will be a strong and concerted effort to bring to bear funds and sponsorships to the table to support the funding of these teams who will be traveling across the United States to play in top events.

Several major product and other sponsors are already interested in partnering with the Bandits-Elite Premier teams to support the effort to bring elite level teams to the table.

Both Simpson and Maddaluna say they want to roll this out in a phased and methodical approach, so the plan is to start with the 18U in the Fall of 2021, with the goal to have at least one Premier team in age groups 14u, 16u, and 18u by the end of 2022 as the end state within this alliance framework.

— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball