Georgia ASA

Four Georgia Teams Qualify to USA/ASA Nationals
One team each from the 12A, 14A, 16A and 18A age classifications won a berth to its respective 2008 USA/ASA National Tournament by winning the first Georgia Association Berth Tournament of the season. The tournaments held in Columbus and Cherokee County on May 2-4 awarded berths to the Atlanta Glory (12A), East Cobb Mad Dogs (14A), Team Georgia (16A) and Georgia Challengers (18A). Congratulations! A comprehensive list of Georgia teams going to nationals can be found on the Georgia ASA Berth Report.

J.O. National Qualifier Tournament Dates Posted
Dates and information for J.O. National Qualifier Tournaments and the Hall of Fame Tournament open to Georgia ASA teams are now available on the J.O. Tournaments By Date Page and the Regional Qualifiers by Age Group page. Breakdowns of the same information will be posted the individual age group pages shortly. But all the information approved to date is available on the master By Date page. Additional Georgia ASA sanctioned tournaments will be added as soon as they are sanctioned by Georgia ASA. To have your tournament sanctioned, please contact Katie Kay or Kim Hamilton.

Registration Time
Its time for J.O. teams and players to register with ASA for the 2008 Season. Information on Registration is as follows:

ACE Coaching Certification Goes Cyber
The ACE Coaching Certification Program is now available to coaches nationwide in a new web based format. For more information, check out the Georgia ASA ACE Certification Page.

Georgia ASA Coach is 3,000th Coach to Certify with ACE
ASA recently honored Georgia ASA coach Paul Hennelly of the 12U Wildcats of the Dacula (GA) Recreational League as the 3,000th coach to register for the ACE program through the online platform. Coach Hennelly, a second-year coach, will receive a gift pack courtesy of the ASA. The gift pack includes a set of nstructional DVDs, USA and ASA apparel, magnets, posters and much more! The ACE (Achieve, Certify, Educate) Coaching Certification Program is a certification program developed and designed to provide softball coaches of all levels – from beginning coaches to experienced veterans – an opportunity to certify as a coach with the ASA. Congratulations Coach Hennelly!

2008 Georgia Games
Georgia ASA, in conjunction with the Georgia Games Commission, will be hosting the 2008 Georgia Games in Cumming, GA this summer. The Youth Baseball and Youth Softball Divisions will be held on July 18-20, 2008. The High School Softball Division will be held on June 13-15. The entry fee includes daily admission to the park for parents, tee shirts, and medals. Registration Forms for each division are as follows:

2008 ASA Rule and Code Changes
ASA has announced its rule and code changes for the 2008 season. The rule changes for 2008 and comments on the changes may be found by clicking on the link below. Rule changes for 2008 include (but are limited to) a pitching distance change for Girls' 18-A, run rule changes for all types of ASA ball, pitching changes in senior slow pitch and 16-inch and removal of the 10-B special classification for championship play.

Changes to the ASA Code with comments and clarifications may be found at the following links (requires Adobe Acrobat reader):

Georgia to Host Five ASA National Tournaments in 2009
Over 70 cities in 30 states were awarded ASA Nationals for 2009 at ASA's National Convention in November of 2007. Georgia ASA was awarded Five. The ASA Nationals being held in Georgia in 2009 are as follows:

Georgia ASA will be hosting six ASA Nationals in 2008. The 2008 Tournaments are as follows:

Al Dattolo to Serve as Georgia ASA Commissioner
The ASA National Office has announced that Dattolo will serve as Georgia ASA's Commissioner. Dattolo served as Acting Commissioner most of 2007 while Brockey Brock had taken a leave of absence to deal with personal issues. Brock resigned earlier this fall.

Nationals, Nationals, Nationals
JO Teams from around the state competed in ASA Nationals in 2007. Click on our 2007 ASA Nationals Special Section for all the results, schedules and links for Georgia in the ASA Nationals

Grandfathered Bats No Longer Authorized Beginning in 2008
Under a resolution adopted by the ASA Board of Directors, bats submitted by manufacturers that were previously allowed a 2 mph variance in the ASA’s test standards are no longer authorized for use in ASA Championship Play effective January 1, 2008.

Commonly referred to by players and coaches as “grandfathered” bats, these bats were allowed a 2 mph testing variance under the terms of an agreement the bat manufacturers and ASA negotiated in the fall of 2003. These terms will no longer be in effect on January 1, 2008 thus making these bats illegal for use in ASA Championship Play.

According to the list provided to ASA under the terms of the agreement with each manufacturer, the following bats will be placed on the non approved list on January 1, 2008.

Easton
Synergy2

Miken
Freak

Louisville Slugger
SB304
SB404

Worth
XGOLD-Fastpitch
XRED-Fastpitch
XPST4
WWSCA
SBWKA

Junior Olympic