Quote:
Originally Posted by Dakota
All I've read (here, other boards, and on the web site of the tournament) still boils this down to:
o Cali coaches have their nose out of joint about having to travel to the land of the infidels instead of having the permanent home of the Gold tournament in mecca
o Cali coaches don't like being beaten by teams with college freshmen players and having to deal with parents upset because their little "Jenny Finch" did not get the scholarship to the Pac-10 school they were promised (by the coach, of course).
Everything else is window-dressing to make it appear that they have a legitimate beef with ASA.
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Tom, I think you are missing the biggest bullet points; the ones that have the teams outside California most upset.
Their most legitimate complaint is the length of the tournament, and the amount of time needed to play a 64 team tournament. They need to arrive the Saturday before the tournament starts, with required activities on Sunday; and, since they need to assume they will be in the championship games the next Sunday, make return flights the next Monday. That's 10 days. Of the 64 teams, 16 will play 4 games, 16 will play 5 games; in 10 days. Most would be willing to play that many games in 1 day, happy to play that many in 2 days. The cause is the location (which is probably secondary to the problem, not a different problem); it is a 4 field complex when the tournament should be played on an 8 field complex. That simple.
(And, the remote site used just to shorten pool play is not championship quality, and hardly should be used even for pool play. Forget using it to shorten the brackets.) Although a bond issue has been approved by OKC to expand the HOF complex, no telling when that would be available, and they have been unhappy for years. Just what do you do with 15-20 teens with all that down time in OKC?? It is an alright place to visit, but not to entertain all those teens. Particularly those there for the 3rd 10 day visit!!
The second issue is more basic than even that. For years, ASA officials (not umpires) have asked the Gold coaches what they could do to make it better; for years, very few of their ideas have left that room or the survey. If ASA is inherently opposed and unable to eliminate college players that are age eligible, that needed to be explained up front, and not let the coaches think their input could effect that change. If ASA is committed (as part of the aforementioned bond issue) to keeping the tournament in OKC, say that, and solicit those comments that would improve the experience in OKC. ASA also hasn't done a good job of overseeing and monitoring the Qualifying process; non-championship fields used (some with no fences one year, some with 170' fences another year), changing entry rules on the fly, not attempting to spread the calendar to give teams the most opportunities, etc. The non-Cal coaches that I know feel like they have been ignored; they are told they are the elite program, but treated like they have no real input.
And, trust me, I know quite a few Gold coaches; not just in Georgia. I am the webmaster of a Georgia messageboard, and work a lot of Gold events during the year. As an ASA council member, I see some of the roadblocks and problems with attempting to placate the group that is unhappy; I also am reminded that ASA is a service industry, and that our customer isn't happy.
I think we oversimplify the issue, and lead those that are also monitoring our board (now that a link was placed on heybucket) to think "the umpires just don't get it" if we say it is just Cali coaches wanting their way.
And, for all I know, I may be in trouble for posting this. But, it is what I see.