Jan. 17, 2025 TimMcElroy | Topic: Bats Discussion: Rolled bats @ Not Dave- SSUSA doesn't accept rule change suggestions from the message board, but it has always welcomed and encouraged player input on rules if formally submitted. We simply ask that you send an email identifying yourself (name, age group,etc) along with a clear description of what you'd like to see changed and how / why. The annual rules committee agenda includes a number proposals submitted by the membership. More often than not, submissions from the players exceed submissions from "staff." I've attended 12-15 SSUSA conventions across the country and can't remember a time when there weren't some players, managers and / or sponsors in attendance. There have also been times when I reached out to potentially impacted players over the phone, from the convention site to get their opinion on a rule that was being discussed. Others on the committee have done the same at one time or another. I think that we had 5 guys in attendance for the Tucson convention and each had an opportunity to speak. If not mistaken 2 roster related rule changes came out of it. Opinions are appreciated, but the suggestion that SSUSA will "NEVER" allow the players to have a say is factually incorrect. Tim |
Jan. 15, 2025 TimMcElroy | Topic: Bats Discussion: Rolled bats @Not Dave- As a director, I am not testing your ASA (USA), USSSA or weighted bat because they aren't legal for use in an SSUSA game anyhow. I really don't care what you swing in BP. Step in the box with an ASA (USA) or USSSA bat during the game and you've created a different set of problems for yourself. |
Dec. 11, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: mid-Atlantic tournament offerings Florida- I'll be adding a couple of qualifiers in Florida to help teams in the south. EASTERN TOC QUALIFERS hosted by SSUSA. MAR 14-16... Spring National in Lakeland, FL APR 02-06... Tidewater Classic in VA Beach, VA MAY 13-18... Atlantic Coast Championships in Raleigh, NC JUL 08-13... Northeast Championships in Syracuse, NY JUL 29-03... Eastern National Championships in Loudoun County, VA NOV 04-09... Winter National in Ft. Myers, FL |
Dec. 11, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: mid-Atlantic tournament offerings I've received multiple calls, texts & emails asking about tournaments in the mid-Atlantic region for 2025. Answer to the question is YES. I will hold tournaments in MD, VA & PA again this year. I haven't published any dates or details yet because I'm waiting for finalized documents from the local Parks folks. Here's the TENTATIVE (subject to change) breakdown of dates- MAR 29-30... Senior Opener in Westminster, MD APR 19-19... 40s & First Responder in Sterling, VA APR 24-27... Battle of the Roses in York, PA MAY 01-04... The Maryland Classic in Westminster, MD MAY 28-01... Don Brooks Crabtown Classic in Glen Burnie, MD and Westminster, MD JUN 26-29... Old Line State Showdown in Westminster, MD JUL 17-20... Bert Bennett Memorial in Westminster, MD AUG 09-10... Wayne Gilmore Memorial in Sterling, VA AUG 15-17... mid-Atlantic Last Chance in Glen Burnie, MD AUG 16-18... Wayne Gilmore Memorial / mid-Atlantic Last Chance SEP 03-07... *The Capitol Cup #1 (55s- 75s) in Westminster, MD SEP 13-14... *The Capitol Cup #2 (40s- 50s) in Westminster, MD OCT 10-12... *Potomac Sports Fall Classic in Westminster, MD Thanks for your patience. Tim |
Nov. 10, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Winter Nationals Score Updates Congrats to Phoenix Tube on winning the 60aaa division in Ft. Myers today. 2nd place goes to Isle Edge Trucking 60s. |
Nov. 10, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Winter Nationals Score Updates S2 updates 40aaa 1. Black Kings 2. Spam T9wn Sliders 50aaa 1. Up in Smoke 2. Kons Trenching 55 Major 1. FL Onyx 2. Tiffany's 3. Walkoff 55aaa 1. Hex.com 2. Isle Edge 55 3. Invaders 60 Major 1. Hudson Valley Cyclones 2. Team Mars 3. Team Florida 60aaa If game in progress Phoenix Tube vs Isle Edge 60 1. 2. 3. Diamond Dawgs Thanks to all teams for participating Tim |
Nov. 8, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Winter Nationals Score Updates Session 1 results- 65 Major Plus 1. TRT 2. Prime Time 3. Ohio Elite 65 Major 1. Levin Ameriprise II 2. Long Island Jaguars 3. Hollis Appraisals 65 65 AAA 1. S. Levin Ameriprise 2. Playmakers 3. Fat Nancy 70 Major 1. Deep Purple 2. Slug-A-Bug 3. SFS / Minutemen 70 AAA 1. Long Island Jaguars 2. Spring Ford A.A. 70s 3. Syracuse Cyclones 75 Major Plus 1. Venom 2. NoVA Force 75/80 Gold 1. Vecter of Vero 2. Long Island Jaguars 3. JAG-ONE / Jersey Masters 80 AAA 1. Blaze / Ted Todd 2. Indianapolis Classics T-3. NorEasters T-3. Cozy Grill 85 Gold 1. Center For Sight 2. Team Rehabilitation |
Nov. 7, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Winter Nationals Score Updates some updates from Lee County Health Park- 75/80 Gold Division Vecter Scorpions are undefeated, waiting on the winner of Long Island Jaguars and Jag-One / Jersey Masters. 70 Major Division Deep Purple is undefeated, playing Slug A Bug for the title. SFS finished 3rd. 80 AAA Division Previously a full round robin, 2 days of rain have resulted in a single elimination finish (all teams had played 4 games prior) Still alive- NorEasters vs Blaze / Ted Todd Cozy Grill vs Indy Classics Eliminated- Chicago Gray Sox, Long Island Jaguars & Chadwell Supply 85 Major Division- Best 2 of 3 is on the field now. Center For Sight and Team Rehabilitation |
Nov. 7, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Winter Nationals Score Updates 65 Major- Levin Financial defeats Hollis Long Island Jaguars defeat Talaga Construction Levin Financial sitting back, awaiting the winner of L.I. Jaguars / Hollis 65 AAA Levin Ameriprise defeats Fat Nancy's Levin Ameriprise sitting back, awaiting the winner of Fat Nancy's / Playmakers 70 AAA Long Island Jaguars defeat Spring Ford in the 1st Championship game. 1. L.I. Jaguars 2. Spring Ford 3. Syracuse Cyclones 75 Major Plus Venom 75s take Game 1 of the series vs NoVA Force 75s Game 2 is on the field now. Weather is looking dicy. Hoping to get this in.... |
Nov. 7, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Winter Nationals Score Updates Here are some in progress updates 65 Major Plus 1. TRT 2. Prime Time 4. Ohio Elite 65s 65 Major Winner bracket final is Hollis vs Levin Financial Elimination bracket Talaga Const vs Long Island Jaguars 65 AAA Winner bracket final is Levin Ameriprise vs Fat Nancy Playmakers are waiting on the loser 70 AAA Long Island Jaguars is unbeaten, playing Spring Ford in the champ game now. Syracuse Cyclones finished 3rd. 75 Major Plus Venom and NoVA Force are playing game 1 of their Best 2 of 3 now. |
Nov. 6, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Winter Nationals Score Updates I'm on-site here in Ft. Myers and haven't been reporting the scores as I normally would. Not an excuse, but we have been dealing with oeruods of rain each day, park closures and schedule rewrites. The Lee County facility has been significantly impacted. The Naples Park will take on some of their teams and games tomorrow in an effort to complete. I will get some results out but it will likely be on Friday. Tim McElroy |
Oct. 22, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Bats Discussion: Player Dues https://seniorsoftball.com/?page=34 |
Sept. 16, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: 60 Major results 1. BTI 2. OHIO ELITE 3. SONOMA CRUSH 4. WA LEGENDS Congrats to those teams and thanks to all who participated over the weekend. It was a high quality field of teams and a pleasure to be a part of. Tim |
Sept. 12, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: SEEDING- 60 Major from BLD Team names for the top 5 seeds didn't come through on the original post. Here they are - 1….. 2….. 3….. 4….. 5….. |
Sept. 12, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: SEEDING- 60 Major from BLD Managers received a text with a photo of the brackets. Here's the seeding dump- 1,166 runs scored today- that's a lot of offense! 60 Major Seeding Summary & Friday Start Times Big League Dreams Seed / Team Name / Time / Park 1….. 2….. 3….. 4….. 5….. 6…..< BTI >.…8:30am…Angel 7…..< Team Mars >.…1:00pm…Dodger 8…..< Arizona Old School >.…11:30am…Yankee 9..…< MPH / Tiffany’s >….10:00am…Yankee 10...< Howe Creative / Bank >.…1:00pm…Wrigley 11...< Team Florida / Phoenix >.…11:30am…Angel 12...< Top Gun Warriors >.…10:00am…Wrigley 13…< Washington Legends >.…10:00am…Crosley 14...< D’Amore Law Group >.…11:30am…Wrigley 15...< SMASH >.…11:30am…Dodger 16…< Custom Truck >.…10:00am…Fenway 17...< Hard Hat Café / Latella >.…10:00am…Fenway 18...< Undisputed Truth >.…11:30am…Dodger 19…< Express 60s >.…11:30am…Wrigley 20…< Pope Transport >.…10:00am…Crosley 21…< Minnesota Merchants >.…10:00am…Wrigley 22…< Sidewinders >.…11:30am…Angel 23…< Team Rawlings >.…1:00pm…Wrigley 24…< Sea Glass >.…10:00am…Yankee 25…< Crossfire >.…11:30am…Yankee 26…< Northwest Yeahoos >.…1:00pm…Dodger 27…< Demolition >.…8:30am…Angel 28…< New Life Interiors >.…10:00am…Dodger 29…< Peak Softball / S.I. >.…8:30am…Crosley 30…< Diamondblade >.…10:00am…Angel 31…< Arizona Monsoon >.…8:30am…Fenway 32…< Precision / Wolfpack >.…8:30am…Wrigley 33…< Texas Impact >.…8:30am…Wrigley 34…< Hawaii Five-O >.…8:30am…Fenway 35...< Vegas Elite >.…10:00am…Angel |
Aug. 9, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Bats Discussion: Bat testing I felt that SSUSA's original answer was pretty clear. So far, the process for testing bats, etc hasn't been without a bit of trial & error. They (SSUSA) are working to develop one that more effectively meets the goal. Rather than raise speculations or create unneccessary panic, I'm respectfully asking that you take a step back and let SSUSA continue to work through the process. |
Aug. 5, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Last Chance Qualifier Thoughts With 39 million residents, California teams are unlikely to garner any support from the other 49 states on this matter. Here's something else to keep in mind- Las Vegas is driveable for California teams. If they get a case of the last minute roster "shorts" it's easier for them to bring in a player (of any skill level) than it is for a team from, say..... Ohio or North Carolina. |
Aug. 4, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Last Chance Qualifier Thoughts I am a promoter for a couple of Last Chance Qualifiers. Neither are huge and I assure you that there won't be a new yacht purchase in my future. If padding pockets was the goal, I'd probably require teams to stay in certain hotels so that I could draw a kickback or somethiing of that sort. As a parent of a kid in youth travel sports, I'm aware that "stay to play" hotel schemes are the ultimate cash grab. I don't do that. Rather, I encourage teams to stay where they want, whether that's 5 guys in an Air B&B or 5 guys sleeping on another guys living room floor. Regarding roster make-up, some associations allow managers to "qualify" a team for their worlds by sending an email to a desk 2k miles from Las Vegas seeking roster approval. The recipient of that email has no real idea of who he is really approving to play in their biggest tournament. That's one of the reasons I'm in favor of the SSUSA policy. SSUSA asks teams to participate in their qualifiers during the year so that our directors have a chance to put eyes on the team / player and make a judgment as to whether or not they belong in said division. To DaveDowell's point, it's an integrity of the game / spirit of the game issue. You're asking that a team be allowed to add a "chip" player prior to Worlds simply because roster space is available. Here's my response- When every other team in the country needs to qualify players throughout the season, using a 30 yr old process (that works), why should another team be allowed to circumvent the rules just because they have deep pockets (can fly a guy in) or connections in the softball community? To the extreme point, you're asking about a team adding 1, un-qualified out of rating guy. What happens if a team has all 3 "chip" spots available? Would you then be okay with a team flying in 3 newbies? P, SS, CF ? How about this scenario. 2 pretty strong AAA teams decide to combine for worlds, taking the 7 best from each team. Wouldn't it make sense for somebody to put eyes on that team to make sure that, as a combined group, that AAA is the right spot for them? The line needs to be drawn somewhere, and I'm comfortable saying that the current line is accruately drawn for 98+% of all cases. |
July 30, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Fields for Eastern nationals All teams in S1 (age 65-80) played on the 300' diamonds. |
July 30, 2024 TimMcElroy | Topic: Tournaments Discussion: Fields for Eastern nationals Women- 2 of the past 3 East nationals were on 300' diamonds. Men 50 AAA- 2 of the past 3 East nationals were on the 300' diamonds. Men 40 Major- 0 of the past 3 East nationals were played on 300' diamonds. |