OKLAHOMA CITY, Dec. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today a strategic partnership with the Softball Factory of Columbia, Md. In an effort to provide fast pitch players with more exposure to colleges and additional opportunities to be identified for the USA Softball Junior National Team, ASA/USA Softball and Softball Factory are launching a National Identification Program. The National Identification Program will help identify players for the USA Softball Junior National Team Selection Committee, while also providing additional college exposure and skill development through the Softball Factory brand.
The ASA strives to give players opportunities for participation and the best possible experience for those involved. With the Softball Factory as an Official Scouting Partner for ASA/USA Softball, this partnership will help facilitate that mission through various identification events and college recruiting guidance for ASA participants.
"We are excited to partner with Softball Factory in helping identify potential players for our Junior Women's National Team Program," said ASA/USA Softball Executive Director Ron Radigonda. "With the International Softball Federation holding Junior World Championships every two years, instead of every four years as in the past, it is vitally important that we identify players quickly as our preparation time has literally been cut in half. Softball Factory's brother company, Baseball Factory, has a solid and longstanding history in identifying baseball players and we are thrilled to bring their expertise for our Jr. Women's National Identification Program."
The partnership will kick off with events for players in the 16U and 14U divisions. The primary focus of the partnership will be the National Identification Program, powered by Softball Factory. Players who attend the National Identification Program will be entered into an identification pool for the USA Softball Junior Women's National Team selection committee to review for possible selection. Currently the USA Softball Junior Women's National Team is en route to Cape Town, South Africa to compete in the IX ISF Junior Women's World Championships where they are defending gold medalists.
"We are proud to partner with ASA/USA Softball and create new opportunities for fast pitch softball players across the country," Steve Sclafani, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Softball Factory, said."The National I.D. Program we are launching is designed to open doors for softball players giving them the best possible chance to reach their full potential both on and off the field. It's a great day for amateur softball."
The events will be held at select ASA regional facilities across the entire country. All participating players will also be considered for Softball Factory player development events and will receive guidance on the college recruiting process.
"Our sport needs Softball Factory," said Karen Johns, USA Softball Junior Women's National Team head coach. "This organization is revolutionizing the sport of softball and providing much needed opportunities in player development and college recruiting for players across the U.S.They have a proven system that simply gets results for players.Training at a young age is critical to success in high school softball.Our sport was really lacking in player development before Softball Factory came along."
Players in the 18U division will also be provided with an opportunity to participate in Softball Factory scouting workouts, during which the players will be evaluated based on their future college potential. In addition to improving softball skills, Softball Factory works with potential college players and their parents on both the academic and athletic aspects of the college search process.
Softball Factory is a division of Baseball Factory. The Columbia, Maryland-based Baseball Factory is widely recognized as the top, hands-on player development and college recruiting company in the United States. Over 3,000 players from Baseball Factory have been selected in the amateur draft, with over 260 of those players going on to the Major Leagues. In addition, Baseball Factory has assisted players in obtaining almost $1 billion in college scholarships and over 40,000 of their players have gone on to compete at the college level. The Softball Factory division was created with the same vision and principles as Baseball Factory. Softball Factory is led by Lea Ann Jarvis, a former USA National Team player and NCAA Division I college coach for 17 years. She participated on USA Softball Teams that won two ISF World Championships and had a stellar career with the Raybestos Brakettes.
About Amateur Softball Association (ASA)
The Amateur Softball Association (ASA), a volunteer driven, not-for-profit organization based in Oklahoma City, OK, was founded in 1933 and has evolved into the strongest softball organization in the country. The growth and development of the association led the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to name the ASA the National Governing Body of Softball, pursuant to the Amateur Sports Act of 1978. The ASA has many important responsibilities as the national governing body of softball in the United States, including regulating competition to ensure fairness and equal opportunity to the millions of players who annually play the sport. When the ASA entered the softball picture in 1933, the sport was in a state of confusion with no unified set of playing rules and no national governing body to provide guidance and stability. The ASA changed all that by adopting softball's first universally accepted rules of play and by organizing consistent and fair competition across the nation. From this beginning, the ASA has become one of the nation's largest and fastest growing sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 250,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than four million.
About Softball Factory
Softball Factory provides softball players nationwide with expert instruction, college planning and guidance. Softball Factory has developed programs to provide players, parents, high school coaches and college coaches with year round advice and training so that they all can benefit from Softball Factory's relationships in the Softball community. Softball Factory's mission is to assist youth and high school players in their skill development while providing guidance both on and off the field. Softball Factory works to assist each student athlete in their ultimate quest to play at the college level. We help players match their athletic and academic ability with the correct college program. For further information, please visit www.softball-factory.com.
SOURCE Softball Factory
