2022-20223 USFA Season Kick-Off Announcement:
USFA is excited to kick off the new 2022-2023 season! Tryout season is winding down, and coaches/managers are in the process of organizing their schedules for the Fall season. The sport continues to change, and USFA is proud to be a key driver in developing the game with quality event for our teams. Our tournament schedule is live on the USFA mobile app & www.usfastpitch.com . Last July nearly 100 teams from Texas traveled to the USFA World Series in Panama City Beach, FL which is the best national in the game! This year we are expecting an even larger number of teams to travel to Florida for World Series.
If you have not sanctioned your team yet for the upcoming season please go ahead and do so using the link below:
USFA Sanction Link: https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTApply0.aspx?tid=USFA&tab=10&sub=0
TX Tournament Listing Link: https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTFilterEvents.aspx?tid=USFATX&tab=2&sub=1&stid=USFATX
USFA Staffing Announcements:
Stephanie Maldonado will be taking a break from being an active USFA Director to focus on her family and her journeys. If you know Stephanie, you know how much she does for everyone. She is not technically resigning, just taking a break. Her efforts will surely be missed!
The rest of our management staff will be returning for the 2022-2023 season, here is the link to the contact information for the USFA staff in our Region
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTStates.aspx?tid=USFA&tab=8&sub=0&seq=1#
In Texas we are positioning our events to offer a higher number of guaranteed games this Fall, as the Fall is all about develop. You will see a number of 6GG, 5GG, and 1-day 4GG format offerings from USFA this Fall. The goal is to offer more value to teams, and our feeling is that higher guaranteed game counts is a win for our teams. We can’t wait to host your teams! There are various areas of focus we would like to key in on as we start the season with the biggest one being classification.
Classification: Classification continues to be the #1 issue for complaints in the market. The growth in coaches sanctioning their teams as C-Class continues to climb. C-Class was by far the largest classification, and it is not even close. Last season we saw some major shifts in team behavior with regards to sanctioning and event movement that is very concerning. B-Class used to be the largest group over a 15-year span.
See the Texas 2021-2022 stats below:
A-Class 19%
B-Class 18%
C-Class 63% **Record
This problem didn’t grow overnight, but the rise year over year is alarming. C-Class teams in Texas have doubled over the last 5 years, which doesn’t match the great talent level of softball in Texas. USFA wants to do a better job of providing a safe environment for true C-Class teams, as we all know there are teams signing up C that have no business signing up C.
See the USFA annual growth #’s of C-Class in Texas over the past 5 years:
2017-2018 31% C-Class teams
2018-2019 36% C-Class teams (+5% YOY)
2019-2020 41% C-Class teams (+5% YOY)
2020-2021 48% C-Class teams (+7% YOY)
2021-2022 63% C-Class teams (+15% YOY!!!!!!)
Strategic Initiatives: The USFA staff will be implementing a # of strategic initiatives this season to help improve the tournament experience for our teams:
*USFA Texas will be announcing the new “Fastpitch Steering Committee” in September: We will be nominating a select group of coaches from each age division to meet periodically via zoom to review classification, event placement, and how to improve the market
*Development of 7u 2k15, 9u 2k13, 11u 2k11 divisions by separating these groups into their own divisions in the larger events to help match skill levels age versus age taking the classification issues out of the equation. For example, many first-year teams classify as C-Class, so we want to provide more options so teams don’t have to constantly go up against 2nd year teams playing C-Class
*C-Class Only Events: USFA is working to breakout the C-Class events in a # of their large events such as Winter World Series, Super Regionals, Fall Southern Nationals, along with the State Tournament in June. This will help protect the C-Class teams from having to play higher skilled B or A teams, and it also allows the USFA Directors & Umpire staffs a chance to see if any teams are playing there that shouldn’t be.
*Improve Communication: USFA will strive to improve the communication between coaching staffs, umpires, and directors by hosting numerous online town halls for coaches to get information in a live meeting format versus emails, flyers, and texts. These town halls will be starting next week for 8u-14u, so look for more information with the links to your age division’s scheduled meetings.
*New partnership: USFA is excited to partner a special selection of events with The Diamonds at Daily Park in Rosenberg, TX! We are excited to work with Jason Ford and his team to develop quality events at their first-class facility. This great new turf complex will be the home for the 2023 C-Class Winter World Series and the C-Class Super Regionals on turf!!!!! Events at The Diamonds are live on the website…
There are so many more items that we would like to talk about with our coaches that we will cover in these Town Hall meetings such as:
Nationals-World Series PCB, Fall Southern Nationals, Western Nationals, Winter World Series
Umpire Development Initiative
Financial Team Management Tips
Event Format Discussion & More
Over the next few days an RSVP link will go out to all coaches where people can RSVP for the Town Hall for their age level. Complete the small online form in the link, and you will get a reserve spot in the proper Town Hall.
Key Dates: The following events are the largest events that you will not want to miss!
2023 USFA World Series Panama City Beach, FL
Week#1 8u, 9u, 10u, 11u, & 12u Divisions July 9th-July 15th
Week#2 14u, 16u, & 18u Divisions July 16th-July 22nd
Registration for World Series will open mid-September
Major USFA Events in TX that teams should make sure they schedule…
USFA Gold Cup Series: Stage 1
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA42105&tab=1
Texas/Louisiana Fall State Tournament https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA20012&qual=INTRO&edit=N
Fall Southern Nationals Open Pearland; C-Class Katy, TX ***World Series Entry Awards
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA40578&tab=1
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA43227&tab=1
2023 USFA Winter World Series Scrapyard/Pearland Open; C-Class Rosenberg, TX
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA20007&tab=1
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA43246&tab=1
USFA Gold Cup Series: Stage 2
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA41682&tab=1
USFA Super Regionals Open & C-Class Events
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA41043&tab=1
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA43255&tab=1
USFA Gold Cup Stage 3 Finals
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA40728&tab=1
Texas State Championship: Mandatory for all teams traveling to Panama City Beach for World Series
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA20256&tab=1
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA43273&qual=INTRO&edit=N
Gulf Coast Regionals 6GG ***World Series Entry Awards
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA42052&qual=INTRO&edit=N#
2023 USFA Western Nationals
https://baseball.sincsports.com/TTContent.aspx?tid=USFA40363&tab=1
On behalf of our entire staff of directors, umpires, and corporate staff we wish you’ll the best of luck this season, and we look forward to working with your groups!
Robert Guerrero
USFA State Director TX/LA