A Discussion about ASA and the World Cup of Softball
(Brian McCall is the Communications Director for the ASA. We sat down with him to talk about the organization, the U.S. National Softball team, and the upcoming World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City, OK July 13th-17th.)
So what is the ASA (American Softball Association) exactly?
The ASA is the national governing body of softball and has the largest grass roots softball program in the country. There’s a lot of other softball organizations that have formed outside of ASA at a grassroots level—running things like slow-pitch leagues. But no one has quite the reach that ASA does.
And how does the U.S. National Softball team fit in with ASA?
USA softball is under the umbrella of ASA. USA Softball as an organization focuses just on the national team. But within the national team program the coaches and athletes help develop training programs for coaches and athletes through their involvement with the national team program.
How many teams are under the ASA umbrella?
18 and under we have about eighty-thousand teams—with just under 2 million kids. We host over 20 different national championships in those divisions and all those teams have to qualify to get to those. We’re hosting the Gold National Championship in Oklahoma City for fast pitch players 18 and under. And all these players competing for the U.S. National team have come through that program.
Why Oklahoma City as the headquarters for ASA?
They looked to move the ASA offices out of New Jersey in the 60’s and it became a bid process. Oklahoma City is one of the cities that stepped up and wanted it badly. At this point we’re pretty entrenched in Oklahoma City now with the stadium we have and the support from the city. Most NGB’s (National Governing Bodies) are in Oklahoma City or Colorado Springs.
How big is the stadium in Oklahoma City?
We have a main stadium with five thousand permanent seats and three adjoining fields that have seating for about 500 each. With the support of the city there are going to be some additional renovations in the next few years to add more VIP boxes and expand the press box--because we’re running out of space for media.
And because coverage tends to improve when your media accommodations are better?
Yeah. You could say that. (Laughs.)
So how do you select players to try out for the national team?
Athletes were invited to our camp in late November/early December, and 24 players were chosen for the national training team. That designates you as one of the top 24 softball players in the country and gives you the benefits of monthly training camps as well as training stipends that can really help out. From that group of 24 we selected the group of seventeen we have now.
Of the seventeen players selected how many pitchers will be taken to the World Cup?
Typically we have four on the roster. But we have a few pitchers this year that can do more than just pitch. Amanda Freed is somebody who through the Olympic process in 2004 had really moved onto the outfield. She was an All-American pitcher at UCLA but didn’t fit that role when she first got on the team. Then during last year’s Japan Cup she was used as a pitcher. So she can pretty much do it all. We have a lot of players who provide some flexibility.
And how many games will they play during world cup?
Six. A round robin tournament in which they compete against everyone--with the top two teams playing in the finals.
That’s a lot of pitching for four players.
Actually it’s not. Alicia Hollowell who just won the NCAA championship for the University of Arizona is on the team. She went 5-1 during the Softball World Series and pitched six complete games from Thursday to Monday. And that’s just for one pitcher. So really the struggle a lot of times for us with carrying that amount of pitchers is getting enough innings for people on the roster. It’s definitely not the baseball model.
What’s the mindset of the U.S. National team going into the World Cup of Softball?
This will be an interesting year for us. The U.S. team has been ranked #1 for the last 20 years. And then last year we lost the World Cup—the 1st real international event we’ve lost in almost over a decade. I’d think there’d be an added intensity to this year’s tournament.
Who are the powerhouses—other than the U.S.—that fans can look forward to seeing at the World Cup?
Japan, China, and Australia are the biggies. Japan won the World Cup of Softball last year. China, in hosting the games in 2008 and as well as the World Championships, have been training non-stop and putting all sorts of funding toward every sport that they have. And Australia has always been strong—and have always had a pretty deep rivalry with us. Canada will always be tough but really those are the top three teams we will be facing at the World Cup of Softball.
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