Even though the Olympics was just this last summer, I cant help rant on the topic of removing Fastpitch Softball from the Olympics. I really don’t get why the Olympic committee can justify removing this sport, when Badminton, and Ping Pong are still in the games, go figure. Will it ever come back, don’t know. We have at least 8 years at the earliest, to see if it ever comes back.

So what can we do on this? Nothing really, but we can continue to support our local Fastpitch teams, whether it’s High School, Competitive, or even the Recreation League. Also, let’s start “Digging” this article. You’re probably asking yourself, Digg, whats that, right? We’ll, it’s a way of support sites, articles, content that you like. The more Diggs, you get, the more views you’ll get from the Digg community. It’s probably and most likely not going to bring back Fastpitch Softball in the Olympics, but at least we can bring this to the public’s attention.

So please, if you like Fastpitch Softball, if you support it, support the cause, and loved watching the games in the Olympics, digg this article. It’s easy to do, just go to Digg.com, register, then come back to this article, and click on the Digg button.

Spread the word, and hope you all have a great 2009 Season.

Now that I have had a chance to review the tournament schedules from the “big 3″ I can’t help but ask myself why so many tournaments. The answer……GREED. While I understand the need to fund raise in order to offset the costs of playing, The number of these events is mind numbing and many don’t make enough to justify the work involved. How to choose and how good are the events going to be if we have 4-5 every weekend. Different rules and regulations compound the problem.

Example: If I coach an 18u team and ASA and Triple Crown are going to pitch from 43 feet and USSSA is not, what is the best for my players.

Those with college aspirations need to work form 43 feet. Do I now ignore USSSA events? I know that there is no reasonable way to limit the number events as it is almost impossible to get the big 3 to agree to  much of anything. In my opinion it would be in everyone’s best interest to divide the weekends from March to July by 3 and have a weekend “draft” so we have bigger and better events that draw the majority of teams on any given weekend.This would also give us more leverage with the facilities and umpire groups. We would see better field maintenance and better officiating if all involved could work together.

I would rather see 20-30 teams in every age group than some of the limited number we now get in some events, there are actually many events that end up being a no-go based on lack of participation. We can certainly make some exceptions like 4th of July when the entire country comes to Colorado to compete and showcase their talent. Each could then hold a State championship and maybe even have a “Triple Crown of Colorado” Just like horse racing. the possibilities are endless. Don’t get me wrong…..competition is healthy, but having some sensible controls might make sense.

Opinions??