USA Softball of South Mississippi

Official Website of USA Softball for South Mississipppi

Announcements

2022 Gulf Coast Championships

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Thank you so much for all the teams that registered for the 2022 Gulf Coast Championships.  We have a wonderful turnout of 48 teams for this weekend’s event.  It’s the 4th highest turnout since I’ve been doing this.  All my tournaments benefit the hosting organization including this one.  This weekend helps Woolmarket Youth Baseball and Softball.  We anticipate a long hot 3-day weekend.  Please start hydrating your players starting this as soon as possible.. There is a heat advisory for this weekend and it’s going to be brutal. Below are the brackets for this weekend’s event.  The address to the fields is 16520 Switzer Park Road, Biloxi MS.  Be sure to put “SWITZER PARK” into GPS or you won’t end up at the ball park.  This weekend, Roger Smith will be your UIC.  And Chris Mosley will be helping me as the Assistant Tournament Director… Congrats Chris on your promotion… lol… I’ve been getting a lot of complaints about having to play a pool game.  With a 100+ degree temperatures and only so much time, we will not play pool games.  The format will be straight double elimination in all age groups.  Seeding was done using the random number generator within Excel.  It’s going to a long, hot three-day event.  The plan is for Individual teams to only competing only on one or two days out of the three.  Tee Ball and 16U are only Saturday.  Coach Pitch is Friday and Saturday.  And 10U and 12U will be Saturday and Sunday.  I wish we could play enough Friday to not play Sunday.. but we have 23 games yet to play after Saturday night. You will need a completed roster form (blanks form below).  You don’t need all the parent signatures this weekend.  But we do need all the players listed on the roster. Please remember it’s all about getting to watch the kids play ball, umpires are human, and no scholarships will be given out this weekend.  Let’s all just have fun! Thank you for Playing USA Softball! … [Read more...] about 2022 Gulf Coast Championships

2022 Gulf Coast Championships (Rings Tournament)

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We've come to end of another invitational tournament season.  Our Invitational Hosts have done a tremendous job hosting their events and we've raised a lot of money to help those programs.  It's an important part of keeping our leagues fiscally sound and providing opportunities for their players to experience competition from across the coast.  This is where USA Softball is different than other Sanctioning Bodies.  We're not a tournament organization... we conduct Championship events.  We help others host invitational events.  As we enter into Championship Play, everything will become a more formal with lineups, rosters and playing rules. The Gulf Coast Championships will be held this weekend at the Woolmarket Sports Complex.  The dates are June 17-19, 2022.  The address is16520 Switzer Park Rd, Biloxi, MS.  Be sure to put "Switzer Park" into your GPS and not just Switzer.  We will host all age groups: Tee Ball, Coach Pitch, 10u, 10u, 12u, & 16u.  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 Wednesday, June 15th at 10:00 PM.  We need the extra time to plan the event.  There are three different softball tournaments on the coast next weekend.  So locking down umpires early is keenly important. As far as the schedule, it all depends on how many teams want to play.  We have 26 teams registered already.  I wouldn't be surprised if that doubles. So we might be Friday/Saturday, Saturday/Sunday or even Friday/Saturday/Sunday.  We certainly don't want to leave any teams out.  But we also only have so much time to play.  I do expect a long, hot weekend. PLEASE REGISTER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IF YOU WANT TO PLAY.  DEADLINE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15TH 10:00PM 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. 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. Communications will be via email. Registration will close Wednesday night at 10:00 PM.  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 … [Read more...] about 2022 Gulf Coast Championships (Rings Tournament)

2022 Saucier Invitational Tournament Brackets

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The Saucier Youth Association would like to thank everyone for registering in their invitational tournament.  We had a very strong turnout with 31 teams participating in this event.  The 12U bracket has been up and down this year.  We only had two teams register, so they won't play this weekend.  Hopefully we'll get them back for the next two weeks in Championship Play. Below are the brackets for the 2022 Invitational Tournament.  Tee Ball and 16U will only compete on Saturday.  But due to number of teams in 8U and 10U, they will play both Saturday and Sunday.  The tournament entry fee is $100 for Tee Ball, $175 for Coach Pitch, and $200.00 for Fast Pitch.  The address to the field is Saucier Sports Complex, 23715 Saucier Lizana Rd, Saucier, MS 39574. Please have your players start hydrating today.  It's will be a long hot one.  Thank you supporting the Saucier Youth Association's softball program. All the proceeds this weekend goes to help their kids. Thank you for Playing USA Softball! … [Read more...] about 2022 Saucier Invitational Tournament Brackets

2022 Saucier Invitational Tournament

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The Saucier Youth Association would like to invite everyone to their Invitational Tournament this upcoming weekend. The long grind we started in January will soon be over for another summer.  We head into Championship Play after this.  I encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to play.   The entry fee is $100 for Tee Ball, $175 for Coach Pitch, and $200 for Fast Pitch.  The address to the field is Saucier Sports Complex, 23715 Saucier Lizana Rd, Saucier, MS 39574. A couple of housekeeping issues that I've been asked to address: Rules... our tournament rules start with the "Official Rules of Softball" as our starting point.  Then we're allowed to modify those rules for our situation.  That's where our local Tournament Rules come into play.  The USA Softball Official Rulebook can be downloaded at Official Rules of Softball. Runners do not have to slide when approaching a base or home plate.  This is one of the most misunderstood rules in the game.  A fielder not in possession of the ball cannot obstruct the path of the runner.  There is also no right to going after a thrown ball.  Possession is everything.  Once a fielder is in possession of the ball, the runner must either go under, over or around the fielder.  They cannot collide with a fielder in possession of the ball.  There are collisions in the game that just happen with no intent by either player.  We are interested in the safety of the fielder... so we do not allow the runner just to bowl over the fielder.  That would be considered unsportsmanlike contact. The difference between a natural collision and unsportsmanlike conduct is a grey area that falls within the judgement of the umpire.  As an umpire, this is one of the most difficult calls to discern the intent of a player.  As coaches, we have to teach our fielders how to avoid the path of the runner but still be in position to make a tag out.  There is certainly room for all of us to do better to help keep the player free from harm. We've really not had a big illegal bat problem.  But a few years ago years ago, Easton produced two different versions of the Ghost bat which has produced a few unintentional violations.   The blue Easton Ghost is approved for USA Softball and High School.  The gold can only be used in USSSA.  I'm not sure it's even legal now.  USA Softball does extensive equipment testing and certification.  More information can be found at Bat Certification Information including the list of approved bats.  Below you can see the difference in the logo color for the two different Easton Ghosts: Saucier would love to have as many teams come out as possible.  Please register early as it will help the tournament organizers prepare for this weekend.  It also helps bring out other teams. Here’s the registration link for the tournament: Saucier Tournament Entry Form If you want to check on the team registered, here’s the Teams Registered page: Saucier Teams Registered The full list of 2022 USA Softball of South Mississippi Tournament Trail events may be viewed at Tournament Trail. These invitational tournaments are fundraisers for our tournament hosts.  Not only are our tournaments more affordable than other tournaments, all the proceeds go to our league to support their organization’s softball programs for their young softball players.  All proceeds from this weekend’s event will go to support youth softball players with the Saucier Youth Association. Teams must be USA Softball sanctioned.  Teams may chose to Team Sanction for an 2022 annual rate of $30 at Team Sanction.  Teams must upload their own proof of insurance.  Teams without their own insurance can Individually Register with sanctions and provides supplemental medical/ general liability insurance at Individual Registration. Thank you for Playing USA Softball! Tom Stanley J.O. Commissioner USA Softball of Mississippi … [Read more...] about 2022 Saucier Invitational Tournament