We continue our list of the Top 15 Softball Stories of 2020, which will run through December 31st when we’ll present our No. 1 story of the year.
Here are the previous stories (clink on link to read):
- #15… NCAA Allows College Athletes to Be Compensated for “Their Name, Image & Likeness”
- #14… The Emotional Tribute for Texas Tech Signee Jaycee Hamlin
- #13… Two USC Union College Teammates Killed in Car Accident by Drunk Driver
- #12… USA Stand Beside Her Tour… Great Start for Team USA’s Barnstorming Event
- #11… The Scrap Yard Dawgs Tweet Controversy & the Quick Dissolution of the Pro Team
- #10… Maggie Bowle’s Softball Career Was Short… but Her Legacy Lives On
- #9… The Explosive Growth & Impact of AthletesGoLive
- #8… How Softball Recruiting Morphed in the Year of the Coronavirus Pandemic
- #7… Athletes Unlimited’s New Pro Model
- #6… The Florida Gulf Coast League – A Big Success in Season #1
We’ve surveyed the softball community and talked internally as well to come up with what were the most impactful and relevant stories of the year pertaining to the world of fastpitch softball.
Where applicable, we are providing the text to the original articles and/or references when the story first happened.
- Click Here to see the Top 15 Stories of 2019
- Click Here to see the Top 15 Stories of 2018
To provide comments, insights or thoughts, email: info@extrainningsoftball.com.
Today’s story… #5: In a year when much was shut down, there were also several new organizations that made their debuts—two of which we’ve already profiled in our list of the Top 15 stories of the year… Athletes Unlimited and the Florida Gulf Coast League.
In the club space, the biggest change came with the introduction of The Alliance Fastpitch, which created local/regional “Leagues” starting with the Texas FastPitch League, soon followed by Heart of America and California leagues and others.
Built to eventually replicate the Regionals in the NCAA DI playoffs, the new national league which see several top coaches and club organizations spearhead its growth including Scott Smith (Texas Bombers), Ryan Taylor (Aces Fastpitch), Kevin Shelton (Texas Glory), Tony Rico (Firecrackers), Mike Stith (OC Batbusters), John Corn (Lady Lightning) and many others.
Brought in to oversee The Alliance Fastpitch was Jami Lobries, a well-respected former Texas A&M softball player who has a doctorate and was instrumental in starting USSSA’s Select 30 program. By the end of the year, Lobries and Alliance had formed partnerships with top softball organizations like USA Softball, Triple Crown and USSSA.
Here are some samplings of the news from 2020 involving Alliance…
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Breaking News: Texas FastPitch League Created by Top Travel Teams for Summer Club Play
Originally published Mar. 4, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
With the COVID-19 pandemic causing uncertainties around competition and travel, a collection of the top fastpitch club teams in Texas have come together to create the Texas FastPitch League (TFL), which kicks off this summer and will culminate in a TFL Championship event scheduled July 28-August 1 in the Plano, Texas area.
The news was officially announced Monday at a press conference held in Texas and streamed on the TFL’s Facebook page with several well-known club coaches and organizations spearheading the new circuit including Dave McCorkle (Aces Express), Scott Smith (Texas Bombers), Jazz Jackson and KC Jackson (Impact Gold), Kevin Shelton (Texas Glory), Keith Allen and Jack Fultz (Glory Adkins), JB Slimp (Texas Blaze) and Jonathan Lampl (Event Director).
According to those behind the new series of events, the purpose was to limit travel so athletes, coaches and families could be within driving distance in case there would be a situation where “if a person was diagnosed with the coronavirus and needed to return home for treatment, it could be done as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Another factor, said one coach, was to reduce expenses for families who may have been financially impacted by the economy. “We have three types of families in our organization (in Texas),” one coach said requesting anonymity. “Those who have been furloughed, those who have been laid off and those who are waiting for one of the first two to happen.”
According to Smith, he and Shelton had “initial discussions led to realization that everything we did last summer would be difficult to think it would happen this summer.” He added, “We had to be creative and have an even platform so every team could play themselves into what level they wanted to have.”
What this means on the national scale is that the Texas teams involved in the Texas FastPitch League will not be flying to events they have attended in the past including PGF Nationals (Southern California), TC/USA Nationals (Oregon), Boulder IDT and Fireworks (Colorado).
Smith also said in Monday’s press conference that the TFL is intended to continue past this year, but is not designed to compete with established nationals. Currently, he added, an organization has to be based in Texas or “have ties to Texas in some way” to be in the TFL.
More than 300 teams have expressed in participating and 100-plus so far have confirmed they’ll play. According to the TFL organizers, the summer circuit will feature teams from 18U through 14U and will also have a Juniors division (“TFL Juniors”) which will include age groups at the 10U, 12U and a 14u Juniors for 14U squads that do not wish to play 14U TFL.
Each team will play a minimum of eight league games throughout the summer and will be broken into three geographically-based regions: North, South and Central.
Teams will earn points based on their winning percentage in the designated league games and already established competitive events (see list to the right) designated as “TFL sanctioned events.”
“Our goal,” said David McCorkle, “is to have everyone that wants to play, play.”
Finishes in the tournaments will generate bracket points which will factor into a team’s seeding for the TFL Championship which is open to all teams in the League. The TFL Championship will have a College World Series (CWS) format with each team playing in a Regional bracket. Each team competing will have a six-game guarantee.
Winners will advance to a Super-Regional, which will be played as a best two-out-of-three series. Winners will advance to the final eight (The Lone Star Series), which will be played out like the College World Series, culminating with a final game between the top two teams. The losers in the brackets will play in the Alamo Series. The Top 20 teams will then have the opportunity to play each other in the Fall League.
“Everybody has a chance to make it to the Championships Series,” said Scott Smith of the Texas Bombers. “A lot of teams that have inequities, we’ll let it be settled on the field and give everyone an equal shot. On Tuesday and Wednesday of the championship week we’ll play the Regionals, on Thursday the Super Regionals and Qualifying Bracket and on Friday and Saturday the Finals.”
All the TFL games will be live-streamed using the “Athletes Go Live” platform which will allow the league to show the games and also “maintain appropriate history and statistics. Standings will be updated daily and individual recognition will occur weekly.”
The Juniors division will mirror the TFL, with a few minor exceptions such as no streamed games or compilation statistics. TFL Juniors will culminate in a Juniors Championship at the end of the summer, which is tentatively scheduled for July 23-26 in Sugar Land, Texas.
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
The Texas FastPitch League website is live and can be accessed by clicking HERE. Information is also available on Social Media including Facebook @texasfastpitchleague and Twitter @TFLFastPitch.
You can watch the entire press conference from Monday, May 4, 2020 by clicking on the link below:
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Club News: Newly-Announced Heart of America Elite Fastpitch League to Cover 20 States In Four Divisions
Originally published May 11, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
One of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic this year has been the push to make summer club softball more regionalized.
Last week, several top travel ball organizations in Texas announced the formation of the Texas FastPitch League which will merge existing events sanctioned by the league with a new event called the TFL Championship that will keep all participating tournaments within driving distance.
Today, a group of top fastpitch organizations across the country made a similar announcement of a league called the Heart of America Elite Fastpitch League (“HFL”) which will have one major difference: it will encompass the Central and Eastern halves of the country and consist of four geographical divisions; West, North, Central and East.
The head of the HFL, Commissioner Ryan Taylor who runs the Aces Fastpitch organization based in Missouri, says that each team will play within its region through already established events.
“Through this league we will grow the game of fastpitch regionally and nationally in a college league format,” he says. “Our desire is to see all teams prepare their players, parents, and coaches for the collegiate level.”
The Heart of America Elite Fastpitch League divisions includes the following states along with Washington D.C:
- Central: Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania
- East: North Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C., Maryland, Delaware
- North: Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota
- West: Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska
Taylor says the idea for the Heart of America Elite Fastpitch League has been in discussion even prior to the announcement of the Texas FastPitch League.
“We’ve been kicking the idea around (of the HFL) for the last month,” Taylor explains, “talking about what we could do. There’s been a collaboration with several events run by Greg Dickel of Iowa Premier and Brian Madden of Oklahoma A’s and we’ve been working all together to do more this spring to give clubs the chance to compete against each other at an elite level. We really started to get down to the nuts and bolts last month.”
Taylor says there were parallel conversations with the creators of the Texas League, which he feels has been a positive in the development of the Heart of America League.
“We talked to those guys about what they’re doing while having our own conversations in our region,” continues the coach and former collegiate wrestler at Arizona State. “I’d definitely say getting confirmation from each other has helped us build a good product moving forward.”
The HFL organizers are looking for the first of the sanctioned events to begin a month from today, June 11-14 at the Team 1 tournament in Kansas City. The event would be for teams and programs in the West division with the other divisions holding their own regional events leading up to a combined championship tournament where top teams from the three regions would compete.
And like the Texas-centric softball circuit, the HFL’s top teams would be decided a point system and all games will be live streamed and scored in real-time using AthletesGoLive.
“We went to core events already established,” Taylor continues, “to have the quality to go into our league ratings. We’ll build in other events and work with other people to add their events. We haven’t talked about mid-week events as much like TFL; we’re really focused on events already established and will pull them in together under one umbrella.”
In a release issued today, the HFL stated: “Teams will earn points based on their winning percentage in designated league games. Already established competitive events will be designated “HFL events.” Finishes in the tournaments will generate bracket points.”
The HFL League Championship, will be open to all teams in the league. It will be seeded by a team’s ranking based on the combination of league and bracket points, using Divisions within the League. The Championship will have a World Series format, with each team playing in a Regional. Winners will graduate to a Super Regional best two-out-of-three before advancing to the final eight that is played out just like the Women’s College World Series, culminating with a final series between two squads.”
“A date and venue has yet to be determined, but options are currently being explored and considered. The HFL is also exploring the real possibility of forming its Championship event in conjunction with the newly formed Texas Fastpitch League. Talks are ongoing.”
Another key component the HFL is looking to include is integrating with governing bodies including USSSA, PGF, Triple Crown and USA Softball.
“We’re trying to understand how to connect the pieces with these organizations,” the HFL head states.
Taylor emphasizes that his new league is looking to promote spirit of cooperation with everyone and is not trying to replace existing events including Nationals.
“My goal was, when pulling this together, to put my kids in front of the best college teams I can and prepare them for college by playing elite programs. We travel to play good competition and there still has to be some of this on a national level.”
“We want to still try to work with those organizations while doing what’s right for us and for our players. If that conflicts with others, that’s fine. We’ll see what we can do better and how we can learn from our mistakes and that’s OK, but I don’t want teams to have to decide and try to avoid conflict with playing at events like PGF Nationals, we want to do what’s best for our teams and many may want to do both (regional and national). I know I want my team to play the best across the country.”
Greg Dickel adds: “We are not trying to compete or replace the nationally-recognized events of our partners in the governing bodies of fastpitch. We are trying to bridge the gap of affordability for families to do all this throughout the year, meaning playing regionally for the majority of the season so they can go to the national event and still be able to afford it.”
While much of the new Heart of America League is a work-in-progress, including the building of the championship event, the Division Leaders have decided that each will play locally before meeting together for the title series in a location such as Indianapolis.
“It doesn’t make sense to play weekly with this many states (20 plus the District of Columbia),” adds Taylor. “We’re looking at doing very similarly what the guys in Texas did, having the teams play each other regionally multiple times to prepare mentally and physically, trying to replicate the college game. The biggest thing is to identify the best avenue to help our players develop and prepare to play at the next level.”
The HFL will provide competitive league opportunities for ages 10U up through 18U and maybe beyond.
The league also announced today that the 10, 11 & 12U age divisions will encompass the Futures Classification with 14 thru 18U ages being designed as Showcase levels. The HFL is also exploring the option of developing a Women’s Division for College-Aged players, to take place after the collegiate season and to be played during the Summer.
Another key goal of the Heart of America League is to reduce travel costs as much as possible.
Said one source close to the League: “A focal point for the HFL will be we, in no way, will endorse or allow a ‘Stay to Play’ requirement for lodging of teams that would travel to an HFL event during Regional play.”
Taylor finishes by saying his role will focused on finding and promoting good events that make sense for the Heart of America Elite Fastpitch League as well as getting everyone on the same page moving in a unified direction.
“The key,” he believes, “is to throw myself together with good people so we can all make the best decisions going forward.
The HFL Board consists of the following members:
- Commissioner Ryan Taylor (Aces Fastpitch)
- Deputy Commissioner Greg Dickel (Iowa Premier)
- East League Director John Corn (Lady Lightning)
- Junior Olympics Liaison Tom Bunn (Williamsburg Starz)
- Central Region Director Warren Wolff (Ohio Outlaws)
- Championship Director Dan Runge (Future Stars of Softball)
- Director of Ops Cornelius Davis (Oklahoma Athletics)
- Legal Affairs Director Evan Beatty (St. Louis Chaos)
- Western Division Director Brian Madden (Oklahoma Athletics)
- Northern Division Director Sean Hall (Midwest Speed)
For more information on the HFL, click HERE to go to the website.
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Event News: Gulf Coast Fastpitch League Formed for Club Competition in Alabama, Louisiana & Mississippi
Originally published May 26, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
Working with the model set forth by the Texas FastPitch League, the Gulf Coast Fastpitch League has formed and issued the following release…
The Gulf Coast Fastpitch League (GCFL) is pleased to announce the most exciting structured event to take place in softball in many years. Leaders from some of the top programs in the state of Louisiana , Mississippi and Alabama have gotten together to figure out a new way of presenting our sport.
The Gulf Coast Texas League will be a Regional League that will allow all teams to compete on the same level. The league will have three conferences:
- the (West) located in the Louisiana Area
- the (Central) located in the Mississippi area
- the (East) located in the Alabama area
The league will have “Mid-Week” matchups for teams in each conference as well provide league game match-ups on Fridays leading into existing tournaments. Games could also be crafted into pool play of existing events.
The league will be based on a “points” process where teams will get points from league games as well as tournament finishes from GCFL Sanctioned events. Those points will rank teams.
All teams that participate in the league are automatically qualified for the GCFL Championship that will be held later this summer. Teams will be “seeded” into a College Softball postseason format that will have teams in a “Regional Bracket” (Mini Tournament) that will produce teams from there advancing to the “Super Regionals.
Two teams will then play against each other in a best 2-of-3. The winners then will advance to an 8-team “World Series” format to crown a champion.
Teams that do not advance to the Super Regionals from the “Regional” will all go into a new bracket called the “Q” Bracket. These teams compete and the Top 4 teams from that bracket will qualify as “Division 1” and along with the 16 teams that advanced into the Super Regionals will make the “cut” of being in the top 20 for the summer season and will ensure their team’s placement in the top events this coming fall.
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Gulf Coast Fastpitch League Leadership
Commissioner
Darrell Landry (Marucci Patriots)
Deputy Commissioner
George Beene (Marucci Patriots)
Eastern Conference Director (Alabama)
Tom McCluskey (Vexus Eagles Alabama)
Central Conference Director (Mississippi)
Dale Reese (Mississippi Elite)
Western Conference Director (Louisiana)
Todd Whittington (LA Blazers Elite)
Championship Events Co-Directors
Tony Knight/Bobby Lehman (Mississippi Bombers)
Director of Operations & Community Relations
Bailey Landry Domangue
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Breaking News: California Fastpitch League Announced… Will Provide a “Collegiate-Type” Event Structure & Championship Series Starting This Fall
Originally published June 1, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
Following on the heels of recent geographically-based club softball leagues such as the Texas FastPitch League, the Heart of America Elite Fastpitch League, the Gulf Coast Fastpitch League and the Copper State Summer League comes news that a powerful new league will begin this fall in the Golden State.
Top California fastpitch clubs have banded together to form the California Fastpitch League (CFL), it was announced Monday after months of discussion and work putting the new league together.
CFL commissioner Mike Stith, who heads the Batbuster organization, states, “Softball has a history of working together across organizations to improve the sport. This is an exciting next step that will allow us to enhance further the state of play for all players and teams.”
The CFL is a collaboration of leading organizations in the California softball industry to promote competitive play and enhancement of the sport. Working together, the CFL has created a postseason “collegiate-type” event structure and championship series to add purpose of play, excitement, and equal opportunities for all.
The CFL will be divided into regions from Northern California to San Diego and teams will be ranked by region and by state level. Two nine-week sessions will begin in September with the first championship to be held in January.
CFL league games will take place within existing California tournaments. All California tournament directors are encouraged to have their events included in the CFL points structure. The goal is to include as many quality tournaments as possible throughout the state.
“Our mission is to bring an enhanced level of play and equal opportunity to all teams and players within California,” comments Tony Rico, Deputy Commissioner and President of Firecracker Softball, Inc. “We are excited to kick off this new chapter with the cooperation of the top organizations in the state.”
Athletics Mercado’s Brian Tidd will serve as the Director of Analytics and Team Data, and the program’s head, Dave Mercado, will act as a CFL Advisor and Regional Director.
Information will be coming soon from CFL Championship and Communications Director Sean Brashear on how those interested in registering teams or events can do so through the new league’s website cflfastpitch.com.
Organizations that have committed to participate in this league so far include such high-profile and championship-winning programs as the OC Batbusters, Firecrackers, Athletics – Mercado, Corona Angels, and So Cal Athletics.
The CFL is also joining forces with BLAST and AthletesGoLive to provide the latest technology in online player performance statistics and viewing. The CFL is also exploring opportunities with Wilson, New Balance and other top sponsors.
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Club News: Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League Announced for Colorado & (Soon) Surrounding States
Originally published July 7, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
The pieces continue to be assembled for the building of a national Fastpitch League series built on state and regional leagues.
In the last two months, leagues across the country have been announced including the hierarchy of leadership built on commissioners and other administrators… here are the ones previously announced:
- Texas FastPitch League (TFL)
- Heart of America Fastpitch League (HFL)
- California Fastpitch League (CFL)
- Gulf Coast Fastpitch League (GCFL)
You can add another League to the list now as the Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League (RMFL) has been created and will be led by Randy Gale of the Firecrackers and Pablo Severtson of the Colorado Styxx.
“Our plan is for us to get Colorado up and running with the league and initial teams,” Gale told Extra Inning Softball on Monday. “We are kicking around the idea of using one of the local tournaments in the fall as sort of a baseline tournament for the league with a full league to start in the Spring 2021.”
Gale explained that the RMFL is looking to have teams compete in the Championship Series, which will pull top teams from each League to play in a Women’s College World Series-type playoff, along with an RMFL Series to split the competition.
“The Championship Series will play towards regional and national events while the RMFL Series will be more locally focused,” he added.
After the structure is set up in Colorado, programs in other states like New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming will be integrated. Colorado will have Northern and Southern Regions and possibly a Metro Region.
The Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League organizers (see list below) has created an initial website landing page “that will have more information as things progress.”
“We will be working with all other heads of the Fastpitch Leagues across the Nation,” Gale concluded.
Click HERE to access the site or go to rmflfastpitch.com for more information.
The Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League Board consists of the following members:
- RMFL Commissioner – Randy Gale (Colorado Firecrackers Regional Director)
- RMFL Deputy Commissioner – Pablo Severtson (Colorado Styxx Organization President)
- Colorado Region Director – Jeff Dunning (Colorado Bombers)
- Northern Colorado Region Director – TBD
- Southern Colorado Region Director – Tera Washco (Colorado Bombers)
- Foothills Colorado Region Director – TBD
- Marketing, Finance and Communications Director – Chris Silvaggi (Colorado Batbusters)
- Championships Series Director – Pat Racanelli (Prodigy Fastpitch Organization President)
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Breaking News: Southeastern Fastpitch League (SEFL) Announced for Club Play
Originally published Aug. 4, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
Lockdown was stifling for some across America. Patterns changed, activities changed, the way we worked and went to school changed.
For others, it was a time of creativity. Six club coaches in Texas formed a Texas FastPitch League in late spring and were faced with a summer heaped with limited travel options and uncertainty based on the global health scare.
The model Texas forged, however, became a catalyst and led to the building of other regional and state-centric leagues.
California formed its league to follow Texas’ example, but the state didn’t open up and the CFL has delayed its launch until fall of 2020 or beyond.
Midwestern clubs as well as many in the Northeast and East Coast united to form the Heart of America League.
Since the start of the year and, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, leagues across the country have been announced including the hierarchy of leadership built on commissioners and other administrators.
Here are the ones previously announced:
- Texas FastPitch League (TFL)
- Heart of America Fastpitch League (HFL)
- California Fastpitch League (CFL)
- Gulf Coast Fastpitch League (GCFL)
- Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League (RMFL)
But, from the Southeast… crickets.
Travel ball was still happening. Scenic City was rescheduled for August, due to the double whammy of COVID restrictions and tornado damage. ProSwings pulled off a successful event in Tennessee and Dalton, Georgia in June. Viera, Florida hosted the USA Elite’s World Fastpitch Challenge.
Triple Crown and PGF had successful events in July in Tennessee and Florida, respectively. Georgia hosted events almost every weekend. It was as close to business as usual as the South could get.
Behind the scenes, every Sunday afternoon six of the South’s top club coaches had a Zoom call. The timing was not right to launch anything new; travel ball in the Southeast was observing social distancing, teams were showing up, everyone adjusted to restrictions, and softball was played.
The summer gave them time: time to gauge interest, time to watch the Texas League’s launch and gather feedback, and most importantly time to establish a solid framework, goals, and a vision for a league that would work for the Southeast.
Today, the Southeast Fastpitch League is being launched by its founding members, a list which reads like a veritable Who’s Who of fastpitch in the Southeast: Jeremy & Jill Higdon, T.J. Goelz, Jim Huecker and Greg Schnute. The organizations represented by the leadership group are Fury Platinum, Tampa Mustangs, Louisville Lady Sluggers, and East Cobb Bullets, respectively.
“We want to open it up for people to express interest,” Higdon said. “They can go to the webpage, enter their information with an intent to participate, and ask their questions.”
By week’s end, an announcement will reveal a national unifying structure that might be a glimpse at the future of club ball across the country. The people involved in each league represent the top clubs around the country. This is an unprecedented opportunity to build something new.
“We have a group of people who want to collaborate to make the game better,” Higdon said. “We want to do more than just play under one banner or another and move on to the next event.”
Those people who across the country are uniting to develop this blueprint are key to the success of this framework.
“Overall, the concept and the people attached to it are what attracted me,” said T.J. Goelz. “These are people who live, breathe, and love softball.”
New ideas that have never permeated travel ball will be incorporated into the Southeast Fastpitch League, according to Higdon. They want to track stats—in a fashion similar to MaxPreps—although they’re still working on the details. It would lead to stat-based recognition of players and teams. Higdon hopes the byproduct is a community across club ball.
“We’d love the league to provide resources and guidance for travel coaches who want it,” Higdon said. “We want to enhance the travel ball experience and the first step is to create a community.”
They are aiming to include player’s clinics, coaches’ clinics, training for coaches who want it, consultation for those who need additional support, and even recruiting assistance, he said.
Above all else, the leadership of this newest league is dedicating to resurrecting the competitive aspects of the game, Higdon said, while bringing the community together in a collaborative spirit.
“We can compete against each other and also collaborate,” Higdon said. “We can all pull for each other and make the game better for the players while maintaining an ultra-competitive atmosphere. The leadership of the league is in lockstep on this.”
While Goelz acknowledges that there is much work yet to be done, he’s enthusiastic about the league and its soon-to-be-announced framework.
“I’m always looking to grow the game,” said Goelz, who will graduate most of his successful Tampa Mustangs TJ team and see them off to Division I schools this summer.
“I think this will make the sport more accessible, provide more opportunities for players and organizations, and will help get players ready for college. I’m excited to be part of this.”
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For more information on the Southeastern Fastpitch League, Click HERE or go to www.southeasternfastpitchleague.com
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Breaking News: The Alliance Fastpitch, Led by Jami Lobpries, to Oversee Fastpitch Leagues
Originally published Aug. 7, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
Over the last several months, six Fastpitch Leagues have been announced and established—those currently running, or in plans to begin soon, include the:
It was officially announced today that these Leagues will align nationally under the direction of former USSSA National Director Jami Lobpries and will be called The Alliance Fastpitch.
Here is an introductory video produced by the new organization to explain its multi-level missions:
Lobpries and several leaders of the Leagues invited Extra Inning Softball’s Brentt Eads to a Zoom meeting to discuss the newly announced organization. That video can be seen below.
“The Alliance Fastpitch is a member-based entity that will serve three purposes,” Lobpries, an All-Big 12 player at Texas A&M, explained. “One, it will align the member leagues; two, it will connect generations of athletes, and three, it will help bring unity to our game.”
In the Zoom call, the new national leader and several top club coaches including Tony Rico (Firecrackers), Mike Stith (OC Batbusters), Jeremy Higdon (Fury Platinum) and Ryan Taylor (Aces Fastpitch) explained that “coaches, industry leaders, and former players have come together to form The Alliance for the common purpose for putting the fastpitch athlete first and driving value to the player and player experience.”
Some of the Leagues are already up and running including the Texas FastPitch League which was the first one established. The plan, the coaches say, is to have the existing and future League events, which are sanctioned with a point system, fed into a National Championship where teams will have to “play in” each year.
But that’s not the primary reason for The Alliance, according to Lobpries.
“The Alliance brings together the fastpitch community in a way that drives the fastpitch athlete and game forward,” she added.
She explained that the new organized infrastructure will allow for four things:
- enhanced and meaningful competition across the country,
- athlete development opportunities on and off the field,
- identification of top athletes in each age division,
- collaboration among industry leaders.
One point of emphasis for The Alliance will be luminaries and legends of the game, including former Olympian and college greats like Natasha Watley, who will be working with the younger generations of players.
For more information, go to The Alliance Fastpitch website (thealliancefastpitch.com) by clicking HERE
The full video of the Zoom conference call held this week covers the following points:
- what The Alliance will attempt to do for the sport,
- how it’s different than other organizations and governing bodies currently in existence, how it will exist with existing events,
- how it will add value to individual player experiences,
- how youth coaches can benefit from involvement with The Alliance…
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Club News: Northeast Fastpitch League Announced as 7th League in The Alliance Fastpitch Organization
Originally published Aug. 25, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
The Alliance Fastpitch continues to make news in the fastpitch club world as the organization further defines its mission, partner relationshps and coverage areas.
On Monday, The Alliance announced a partnership with USA Softball to register players and coaches; earlier in August, the half dozen previously established Fastpitch Leagues were aligned under the direction of former USSSA National Director Jami Lobpries.
Today, the 7th and latest League was announced: the Northeast Fastpitch League which will be overseen by Adam Dorman, from the South Jersey Mystics organization.
“With the unique dynamic of the Northeast, we are excited to have our own league where we can work together to bring our region some structure and a college-like feel to our competition,” Dorman told Extra Inning Softball on Monday.
“We are starting with events this fall in New Jersey, New York, and Eastern Pennsylvania, and are looking to add existing events in Connecticut and New England this summer.”
Here is a list of the previously establish Fastpitch Leagues overseen by The Alliance Fastpitch:
Named as the Commissioner of the Northeast Fastpitch League, Dorman envisions players of all ages participating in NEFL events.
“This isn’t just for 16U and 18U,” he explains. “We have been talking with USSSA and USA Softball directors about adding their events to the league for the younger teams including 10U, 12U, and 14U. We want all Northeast teams at all age divisions to be able to compete for a regional championship in the NEFL and advance to the Alliance National Championship.”
The Northeast region was originally integrated as part of the Heart of American Fastpitch League (HFL) led by Ryan Taylor, the head of the Aces Fastpitch organization. Taylor says he has aided Dorman in repositioning the Northeast into its own league.
“We originally had the region in the HFL to help them get up and running this summer,” Taylor states. “However, strict COVID regulations made it almost impossible for teams to play and it made sense to give the Northeast teams opportunities through our HFL system over the summer. We’ve been working with Adam and his team and felt they were in a great spot to start establishing events in their region. We’re excited to see them grow and participate in The Alliance!”
The new Commissioner has been busy pulling in teams and events to hit the ground running in the next few months.
“We have some of the top programs in the region already on board,” Dorman believes, “including the NJ Batbusters, South Jersey Mystics, NJ Pride, Newtown Rock, Team Long Island, Nightmare, Jersey Gators, Jersey Flames, and EC Bullets Coleman. We expect many more of the great teams and organizations here in the Northeast to join us.”
“In addition to the region’s top teams,” he continues, “we are getting some of the best showcases and tournaments to be League events, which this fall already includes the Pride Fall Bash, Nightmare Octoberfest, Team Long Island Fall USA Elite Select Qualifier, Power 12, and Team NJ. Our full schedule of league events will be posted on our website shortly.”
Dorman further adds that “Our website should be up and running by the end of the week and registration should be open September 1st. We are looking to have a town hall-style Zoom meeting to answer any questions coaches may have.”
As the acting director of The Alliance Fastpitch, Lobries admits she’s excited to see the pieces coming together with the regions being further defined and integrated on local and national levels.
“The build-out of the Northeast Fastpitch League epitomizes what The Alliance is all about in regards to unity, collaboration and doing what is best for the athletes,” she states.
“The Northeast has variables specific to that part of the country and the teams are used to working together to build competitive schedules regionally and nationally. I’m excited to have the Northeast be a part of The Alliance and look forward to working with the teams, athletes and coaches from that region.”
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The Northeast Fastpitch League consists of the following members:
- Commissioner: Adam Dorman, South Jersey Mystics Vice President
- Deputy Commissioner: Dave Wheeler, Founder of Nightmare Fastpitch, most recently with NJ Batbusters before retiring from coaching
- Director of Championship Events: Jim Barsalona, Founder of Team NJ
- Junior Program Director: Stacy Jackson, Hofstra Hall of Fame pitcher & South Jersey Mystics President
- Advisor: Rob Stern, President of NJ Pride
- Advisor: Joe Garvey, President and travel Director of Newtown Rock
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Event Recap: The Alliance Fastpitch Fall Cup Brought “Competition on the Field; Unity Off of It”
Originally published Oct. 5, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
Starting on Friday and wrapping up Sunday, the first-ever Alliance Fastpitch Fall Cup took place with elite teams from all over the country participating.
The Fall Cup was hosted and run by USA Softball at the USA Hall of Fame Complex and Wild Horse facility in Mustang, Oklahoma.
“The vision for the Alliance Fastpitch Fall Cup was to create a ‘Ryder Cup’ style event in youth fastpitch where we brought together the top teams from each League and they competed against each other as a League Team,” explained Jami Lobpries, the Executive Director of The Alliance Fastpitch.
For more information on The Alliance Fastpitch, including each of the Leagues, click HERE
“The first year was challenging with teams having played a limited summer schedule in certain areas and with current travel restrictions still in place for other regions,” she continued. “Additionally, several states are currently in their high school season which limited other Leagues, especially for a first-year event.
Two Lone Star State teams from the Texas FastPitch League, the Texas Glory and Texas Bombers, finished 1-2 at the 18U level while Iowa Premier finished on top at 16U ahead of two California teams.
Here is the standings recap from the Alliance Fastpitch Fall Cup, Powered by USA Softball:
Alliance Fastpitch Fall Cup Scoring:
- Total points were recorded for each team result, then added with the other teams in their League
- 18U took the 4 highest point totals
- 16U took the 3 highest point totals
- 3 points for a win
- 1 point for a tie
18U Recap:
- Team TFL 47 points
- Team HFL 37 points
- Team CFL/TFL 37 points
- Team CFL 34 points
- Team SEFL/RMFL 34 points
16U Recap:
- Team CFL 40 points
- Team TFL 33 points
- Team HFL 26 points
- Team SEFL/RMFL 18 points
Top 18U Team Points
- Texas Glory 16 points
- Texas Bombers Gold 15 points
- Lady Lightning Gold & Athletics Mercado 13 points
Top 16U Team Points
- Iowa Premier 16 points
- Corona Angels Felton 15 points
- CA Suncats Nor Cal 13 points
Lobries explained that there were two goals that were successfully accomplished over the weekend.
“Our goal in year one was to utilize this event to show our message of ‘competition on the field and unity off the field,” Lobpries added. “As we created the leagues and The Alliance Fastpitch, we’ve been working virtually. This event provided a unique opportunity to bring together some of the top teams from each League while also utilizing the time off the field to spread our message of unity.”
The “competition on the field” was outstanding with many of the top Extra Elite Eighty 18U and 16U teams going head-to-head and off the field there was value as well.
“One of the core values of The Alliance Fastpitch is connection,” Lobpries, who played at Texas A&M, stated, “which includes connecting our generations of athletes.
On Saturday, the club players, their families and coaches also heard from two greats of the game, Cat Osterman and Shelby Pendley, who just completed their first season with Athletes Unlimited. The two pro and international stars took part in a discussion for the teams and stayed around to answer questions from athletes, coaches and parents.
https://twitter.com/Elisa_Smith_03/status/1312517612857778177
As for the play between the lines, it was exactly what the leaders of The Alliance Fastpitch were looking including the support of non-playing teams sticking around to watch.
“The energy at the complexes was electric with great play on the field including walk-off wins, SportsCenter Top 10 plays, and pure competition,” concluded Lobpries. “Even more important, the energy off the field was welcoming and inclusive. Teams stayed at the ballpark to cheer on their organizations or other teams in their league, and just to watch the great competition.”
Here’s one example with energized play between two perennial powers, the Texas Bombers (white uni’s) and Corona Angels:
National Championship intensity in October💥👊🏼
@bombercacataw @CoronaAngels@TFLfastpitch @CflFastpitch pic.twitter.com/VEQ11i78LX
— The Alliance Fastpitch (@thealliancefp) October 3, 2020
And there some spot-on coach impersonations, too, as Brook Blankenship nailed her Wichita Mustangs head coach Mark Griggs:
Who did it better?@WichitaMustangs @HFLfastpitch pic.twitter.com/SN5xqQwLvF
— The Alliance Fastpitch (@thealliancefp) October 3, 2020
Announcements on next year’s event will be out soon including dates, location, and how to qualify for the 2021 Alliance Fastpitch Fall Cup.
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Breaking News: The Alliance Fastpitch Announces Postseason Event for League Champions; Partnerships with Triple Crown Sports, USA Softball & USSSA
Originally published Oct. 16, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
The following information was released Friday afternoon by Jamie Lobpries, Executive Director of The Alliance Fastpitch…
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The Alliance Fastpitch is excited to introduce the Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series (AFCS), the postseason event that unites Member League Champions and top performers.
Athlete experience and unity were centric to the decisions on locations, dates and strategic partners to help execute the National Championship for each age division.
As we strive to prepare our athletes for the next level, the AFCS Championship format will resemble NCAA Post Season play with a Regional, Super Regional, Elite 8, and Best of 3 Championship Series format. League and interleague play will help seed teams into the AFCS.
The Alliance Fastpitch will utilize the expertise and infrastructure of Triple Crown Sports (TCS), USA Softball, and USSSA to execute each AFCS. Host sites for each age division will rotate locations (West, Central, East) through the various partners each year.
“This is a unique opportunity to work with leaders in our sport to provide a first-class Championship experience,” said Jami Lobpries, Executive Director of The Alliance Fastpitch. “These teams will have fought their way through their Leagues, similar to Conference play in college, and they will have earned their right to compete against the top teams across the country.”
“We have an obligation to those athletes to provide them with a National Championship atmosphere and experience at the AFCS. I’m looking forward to working with each event host and putting our resources together to do something special for these teams who qualify.”
Teams will have to earn their way to the AFCS through League play in one of our Member Leagues – California Fastpitch League, Heart of America Fastpitch League, Northeast Fastpitch League, Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League, Southeastern Fastpitch League or Texas Fastpitch League. League teams will compete in existing events from various event hosts including TCS, USA Softball and USSSA and accrue points that will seed them into League Championship events.
Leagues will utilize a “Tier” system to group teams into a competitive environment that correlates with their level of play. Each season teams have the ability to define their Tier status (Tier I or Tier II) based on playing results. The top performing teams in each Tier will earn the right to play for a National Championship in the AFCS based on their results at League Championship events. Each Tier will crown its own National Champion at each age division.
AFCS berths for each Tier and age division were divided among the Member Leagues by The Alliance Fastpitch and League leadership.
Alliance also put out this video today:
In the Tier I Division for 12U to 18U, 64 total berths were divided amongst the six Member Leagues. In the Tier II Division, 64 total berths were divided amongst the 12U and 14U age divisions while 80 total berths were divided amongst the 16U and 18U age divisions. In the 10U age division, 48 berths have been distributed amongst the Leagues at the Tier I and Tier II divisions.
Breakdown:
- 10U — Tier I 48 Berths / Tier II 48 Berths
- 12U — Tier I 64 Berths / Tier II 64 Berths
- 14U — Tier I 64 Berths / Tier II 64 Berths
- 16U — Tier I 64 Berths / Tier II 80 Berths
- 18U — Tier I 64 Berths . Tier II 80 Berths
The 2021 10U and 12U Tier I and Tier II AFCS will be hosted by TCS in Southern California. The event will run Monday, July 26th to Saturday, July 31st. Each age division and tier will be completed within a five-to-six day window. Note: Additional fields in an open state will be reserved should the state of California not be open for travel and play in 2021.
“Triple Crown Sports is humbled to be selected by The Alliance Fastpitch as one of the three strategic partners to execute the AFCS,” said Triple Crown CEO Keri King. “With over 38 years of experience, we know our dedicated and talented staff will produce an excellent championship event for The Alliance Fastpitch teams.”
The 2021 14U Tier I and Tier II AFCS will be hosted by USSSA at the Space Coast Complex in Viera, FL. Tier I will begin on July 26th and Tier II will begin July 27th. Each event will be five days with the Championship Series being completed on the sixth day.
“I am excited about the opportunity of USSSA to partner with the Alliance Fastpitch to help improve the overall structure of high-level events and furthering the playing careers for the youth of our game,” said USSSA CEO Donny DeDonatis. “The Alliance is taking an innovative approach to allow athletes to compete and I am enthusiastic that USSSA and our Space Coast Complex get to be the final destination for the 14U Tier.”
The 2021 16U and 18U Tier I and Tier II AFCS will be hosted by USA Softball in Oklahoma City, also known as the Softball Capital of the World ®.
The 18U Tier I will kick things off first on Saturday, July 24th followed by the 16U Tier I on July 25th. The 18U Tier II will begin Tuesday, July 27th and the 16U Tier II will begin Wednesday, July 28th.
Each event will be five days with the Championship Series being completed on the sixth day at historic USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.
“USA Softball takes pride in serving the sport of softball as the National Governing Body in the United States,” said USA Softball Chief Executive Officer, Craig Cress. “It is vital to provide as many opportunities for individuals to play, coach or umpire the game they love. We’re excited to not only do that but also welcome The Alliance Fastpitch teams to USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex where some of the greatest softball players in the world have competed through the years.”
Dates and Locations
- 10U/12U Tier I and II Mon, July 26 – Sat, July 31 Southern California
- 14U Tier I Mon, July 26 – Sat, July 31 Viera, FL
- 14U Tier II Tues, July 27 – Sun, Aug 1 Viera, FL
- 16U Tier I Sun, July 25 – Fri, July 30 Oklahoma City, OK
- 16U Tier II Wed, July 28 – Mon, Aug 2 Oklahoma City, OK
- 18U Tier I Sat, July 24 – Thurs, July 29 Oklahoma City, OK
- 18U Tier II Tues, July 27 – Sun, Aug 1 Oklahoma City, OK
It’s a new era for League play in travel softball and The Alliance Fastpitch looks forward to kicking it off this season with TCS, USA, and USSSA. To find out more information about The Alliance Fastpitch and our Member Leagues, please visit www.thealliancefastpitch.com. To register for a League and begin earning your way to the AFCS, visit https://thealliancefastpitch.leagueapps.com/leagues
About The Alliance Fastpitch
Founded in 2020, the Alliance Fastpitch is a member-based organization focused on organizing and unifying fastpitch softball through our Member Leagues and our cohesive network of athletes, coaches, and parents. It is our goal to drive athlete-centric programming and development-based resources that raise the standard for our sport. The Alliance Fastpitch is the result of grassroots collaboration and a vision for change by youth fastpitch leaders across the country. The Alliance Fastpitch connects six regional Member Leagues including the California Fastpitch League, Heart of America Fastpitch League, Northeast Fastpitch League, Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League, Southeastern Fastpitch League or Texas Fastpitch League.
Follow The Alliance Fastpitch on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube and visit our website www.thealliancefastpitch.com.
About Triple Crown Sports
Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing youth, high school and college events for more than 38 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason WNIT basketball events and produces the men’s and women’s DI Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown is also powering “WNIT” concept events in D-I softball (NISC) and volleyball (NIVC), with those two events debuting in 2017. Triple Crown’s PV College Challenge features more than 10 of the top DI college softball teams in the country each year in Puerto Vallarta, MX. TC fastpitch tournaments (including the 900-team Sparkler/Fireworks event) draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes. TCS produces one of the largest youth baseball events in the world with the 750-team Omaha SlumpBuster during the College World Series. The Triple Crown Volleyball NIT has become the top-recruited club volleyball event in the country each February when 650 teams compete in Kansas City, MO. Follow Triple Crown Sports on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube and visit our website www.triplecrownsports.com.
About USA Softball
USA Softball (USAS) is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USAS sanctions competition through a network of Local Associations, which includes all 50 states and select metro associations. USAS is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USAS annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. The USAS umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.
As the NGB for the sport of softball, USAS is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USAS, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com
About USSSA
USSSA is headquartered in Viera, Florida. USSSA is the world’s largest multi-sport athletic organization. Founded in 1968, USSSA has grown to over 4 million participants, competing in 14 nationally sanctioned sports including Baseball, Fastpitch, Slow Pitch, Karate, Basketball, Soccer and more! USSSA is an Associate Member of the WBSC. For more information about USSSA, visit www.usssa.com and follow USSSA on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
USSSA Space Coast Complex is located in Viera, Florida and owned by USSSA, the world’s largest multi-sport athletic organization. The complex has 15 AstroTurf fields including five NCAA Softball approved fields, five NCAA Baseball approved fields, and three fields equipped with HD video scoreboards. USSSA Space Coast Complex is located in Brevard County on Florida’s Space Coast with over 72 miles of coastline and beaches and only 45 minutes from the Orlando Airport.
