USA Softball of South Mississippi

Official Website of USA Softball for South Mississipppi

2021 Gulf Coast Championships (Rescheduled) Registration Open

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The Gulf Coast Championships have been rescheduled for Saturday, June 26th, 2021. It will be held at the Long Beach Softball Complex.  The address to the field is 780 Klondyke Road, Long Beach, MS 39560.  The Tropical Storm gives a long rainy weekend to rest up.  Luckily we’re able to make the best of the situation.

Here’s the updated registration link:
Gulf Coast Championships (Rescheduled) Registration

Here’s the new page to see who’s regsitered:
Gulf Coast Championships (Rescheduled) Teams Registered

Please stay dry and safe.. We hope to see everyone next weekend.
Thanks for Playing USA Softball!

 

2021 Gulf Coast Championships to be Rescheduled

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We’ve all been watching the weather all week hoping the forecast would change.  At this point, we’re expecting a Tropical Depression or something to come through here Friday, Saturday and early Sunday.  Forecast calls for 4 to 6” of rain over that period.  From a risk standpoint, there is just no way we can risk putting our kids in harm’s away.  So we’re going to reschedule this weekend’s tournament.
 
I’ve worked with both Long Beach and Gulfport.  They have both agreed to push back their tournament for one week.  That will allow the Gulf Coast Championships to be played on the weekend of June 25th.  Then the State Championships to be played on July 1-2.  I’ll work up a new registration page.  You’ll need to re-register.  That way, we’ll know who wants to play and who can’t.
 
One of thing… I’ve been talking to a few Tee Ball Coaches.  I’m going to add a Tee Ball Division on July 2nd.  If we can get enough teams, we’ll play tee ball both weeks.
 
I think we’ll have good participation in the Gulf Coast Championships.  I’m really hoping teams will play in the State Tournament on July 2nd.
 
As always, we thank you for Playing USA Softball.  Stay dry this weekend.  I’ll update you when the reschedule links are available.

2021 Gulf Coast Championships (Rings Tournament)

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The Gulf Coast Championships will be held this weekend at the Long Beach Softball Complex during June 18 – 19, 2021.  The address to the fields is 780 Klondyke Road, Long Beach, MS 39560.  The Gulf Coast Championships reflects a more regional significance. It’s a title which signifies the importance of the Gulf Coast to USA Softball of Mississippi and the strength of fast pitch softball in the region.  Deadline to enter or withdraw is Thursday, June 17th at noon.

I’ve also had a lot of people ask if they “have” to play in the Gulf Coast Championships to play in the State Tournament. The short answer is no. But we’re trying to create a really special tournament. This is where we crown the Gulf Coast Champion.  We are doing rings this weekend.  I’m not big on rings because it promotes trophy hunting.  But this is a special tournament and they are really popular with the girls.  So we’re doing them. for first, second and third place.

USA Softball, as the National Governing Body of Softball, is an open organization where all teams and player are free to participate.  Even if you’ve been playing in one of the alphabet softball organizations, you’re most likely eligible to play this weekend.  So we hope everyone will come play this weekend.  You will need to be at least Team Sanctioned with USA Softball.  This tournament, as with all of tournaments, will help raise money to support the softball programs of the tournament host.  The beneficiary this weekend will be girls the Long Beach Girls Softball League.

We will host all age groups: Tee Ball, Coach Pitch, 10u All-Star, 10u Open, 12u All-Star, 12u Open, 14u & 16u.  We’ve not seen any open teams playing in our tournaments this year.  Just the number of independent teams is down now in the area.  So I really don’t expect to get many.  We’ve certainly hope to see some of our league sponsored 16u teams participate.

One final thought, all of us adults must lower the level of animosity for each other during this events.  That includes coaches, parents, fans, spectators and yes… even umpires.  If you watch any of the NCAA Men’s baseball games on TV, you’ll notice those umpires aren’t perfect.  Most people would say a lot of them are really, really bad.  Well those folks have been college games for a long, long time… they are the best at way they do.  And they aren’t perfect.  So how do expect someone calling a “league all-star” game to be perfect.  Speaking for all our umpires, they really don’t care who wins.  We need to conduct ourselves more appropriately to provide a better example around these kids.

So a few adjustments for this weekend:
1) In fast pitch, only one coach will be allowed to sit at the edge of the dugout on defense to call pitches.  Otherwise coaches will only be permitted on the fields at the District Tournament Rules allow. This is standard practice for Championship Play.
2)  Any discussions about a call will go through the umpire that made the call.. the other reason that should happen is to question a rule or request an appeal.  Coaches should “walk” to the umpire and speak in a normal tone of voice.  Running or yelling at umpire will get you a short walk to the parking lot.
3) Coaches should refrain from talking or yelling at another coach about a controversial call.  In my experience over 30+ years, there is nothing you can say to another coach to make it all better.  So just don’t do it.  All it’s going to do is make the situation worst.
4)  Fans should be fans.  They should cheer their team on.  They should refrain from derogatory comments about the other team or an official…  Sure, the normal Oooh and Ahhh is expected when we don’t agree with a call.  But name calling and berating will not be tolerated.  Fans should refrain from engaging in shouting at the other team’s fans from across the backstop.  We love your passion and emotion; but let’s be the adults we are and show these young players how we conduct ourselves.

Please register early as it will help the tournament organizers prepare for this weekend.  It also helps bring out other teams. So please register early.

Communications will be via email. Registration will close Thursday at noon.  We have a lot of planning and activities to get ready. The brackets will be posted before Thursday at 5:00pm. I’ll email them out to first. Then I’ll post the brackets on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/USASoftballSouthMS/ and at https://usasoftballsouthms.com/.

Please REGISTER ONLINE & EARLY.
Online registration is available using the link below:
Gulf Coast Championships Entry Form

Here’s a link to the Teams Registered page:
Gulf Coast Championships Teams Registered

ROSTERS ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS WEEKEND:
You will be required to submit a roster.  For this tournament, I just need a listing of players and birthdays….. it does not have to be signed by the parents.  Please complete the roster using the link below and turn it in at the GCC check-in:
USA Softball Roster Form

I’ll send out information on the State Tournaments this week.  State Tournament Registration is available online at the USA Softball of Mississippi website.  I’ll put everything you need to do in one email.

Good Luck! Get out there and play!

Thanks for Playing USA Softball!

2021 Biloxi Invitational Brackets (Rescheduled)

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Deja Vu, all over again.  Seems like just last week, I was sending out brackets for the Biloxi Invitational…
By popular demand, we rescheduled the tournament for this weekend.  It’s so great to get a sense of normalcy about our lives.  My phone was blowing up on Monday with teams wanting to come play.  The Biloxi Girls Softball League would like to thank the City of Biloxi for their tremendous support.  They know how important it is for the financial viability of the league to be able to host an invitational.  I’ll also say this.. it’s so nice to teams from all over come play.  Just like the old days…

Below are brackets for this weekend’s Biloxi Girls Softball Invitational Tournament. The Biloxi Girls Softball League is excited to have everyone come out and enjoy the day. This tournament will be held at the A.J. Holloway, Biloxi Sportsplex at 765 Wells Drive in Biloxi.  The weather is typical South Mississippi; come prepared for anything.  Looking like hot with isolated showers.  Please be sure the players start hydrating on Friday night. We’re all just getting used to some warmer weather.

We’re going to stick with the rules played in Gulfport last weekend for 10u and 12u All-Stars. First both age groups, one half inning will consist of 3 outs or 7 runs. Seven runs is the max score per inning no matter what. If a team cannot possibly win and time has expired, the game will be over.

Second and only in 10u, there will be no dropped third strike. A dropped third strike will be an out. Also in 10u All Stars, a coach pitcher will come in after a total of 3 walks or hit batters in a half inning. The batter will be given 3 swings or 5 pitches. If the 3rd strike is fouled off, the batter can receive another pitch if she has pitches remaining. The fifth pitch must either be put in play or the batter is out.

It’s seems almost everyone in 10u is struggling with pitching. This is probably an effect of Covid and most players missing that year of softball. Those girls have probably never played in a tournament game before this year.

Thanks for Play USA Softball!

Download Brackets

BiloxiInvitational-Jun12-132021_brackets

2021 Biloxi Invitational Tournament (Rescheduled)

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My phone has been blowing up this morning.. It’s so great to see so much interest in playing this weekend.  It’s so hard as a tournament director… You know teams want to play.  But do you start a tournament knowing it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to finish.  Then you feel guilty about ending a tournament early.  A slow steady rain like last weekend will end a tournament just as easy.  We’re hoping for a good dry week so we can get back to playing.

The good news is we’ve be to secure the softball fields at the A.J. Holloway Biloxi Sportsplex for this weekend.  So we’d once again like to invite teams to come participate in their “rescheduled” annual invitational tournament.  The tournament will be held June 12-13th, 2021 at the A. J. Holloway (Biloxi) Sportsplex at 765 Wells Drive in Biloxi.   Right now, we have just the softball side confirmed.  Hopefully, we can use the baseball too if we need it.  That will help keep it a one-day event.  All depends on how registration goes and whether the baseball side comes available.

We welcome teams from all the local area leagues.  It’s exciting to see so many old friends coming back to play with us.  The State Commissioner of USA Softball of Mississippi has approved using a Team Sanction only for leagues which have their own insurance.  Changes within the USA Softball Code which allow some flexibility.  Team sanctioning can be done online at Team Sanction.  It’s only $25 per team for 2021.  We can also Individually Register players which sanctions the player and provides supplemental medical and general liability coverage for the players. Individual Registration can also be done online for $15 per player at USA Softball Individual Registration.

Please register early as it will help the tournament organizers prepare for this weekend.  It also helps bring out other teams. So please register early.

Here’s the registration link for the tournament:
Biloxi Tournament Entry Form

If you want to check on the team registered, here’s the Teams Registered page:
Biloxi Teams Registered

USA Softball of South Mississippi helps organize the invitational tournament trail to help our local leagues raise money to support their softball program.  A lot of families simply can’t afford to put out a bunch of money to play softball.  The leagues bear much of financial burden so the girls can go out and play.  All proceeds this weekend will go to the Biloxi Girls Softball League.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN for all tournament in the tournament trail.  The full 2021 schedule including registration links for USA Softball of South Mississippi

Registration is open for all tournaments. The full schedule including registration links for USA Softball of South Mississippi Tournament Trail can be viewed using this link:

USA Softball of South Mississippi Tournament Trail

Thank you for Playing USA Softball!

P.S. Register now while you’re thinking about it!