If you want to see the top talent in club fastpitch this summer, you’ll want to be in Huntington Beach and Irvine, Calif. from July 27 to August 3. That’s when the Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) National Championship will take place in the 18U Premier division.
The 72 teams who will battle for the crown in the fourth year of the event have been set… you can see the complete list below.
The tournament has become so prestigious that it will be shown live at 3 pm on ESPNU as well as streamed live on ESPN3.
We caught up with PGF Tournament Director Dan Hay today to get his thoughts on the tournament, but it wasn’t easy as Dan is one of the busiest men in the softball game—not only is he preparing for the four PGF national championship events in July (18U Premier, 18U Platinum, 16U and 14U), he’s also running the Surf City Summer Classic this weekend in Huntington Beach and somehow finding time to babysit a grandchild today.
“That’s my most important job,” he laughs, “PGF is important and all, but it’s a distant second to family.”
So how good is this tournament looking in its fourth year?
“The kids you’ll see will be the future stars of the College World Series,” Hay begins. “We’re excited with the lineup of teams we have. The key part of our success is the number of out of state teams we have. When we first started we had limited support, but when programs started to see what we put out on the field, the out of state interest grew. Now, I’d say we have 50-70% of each age group coming from outside California.”
Hay explains that PGF works hard to make it a truly national tournament despite California’s history and power in the sport.
“We’ve worked hard to keep the number of Southern and Northern California teams in balance,” he continues. “
Not only is the competition top-notch, the event director explains that the off the field experience is a crucial as well. A huge opening ceremony will be held Monday, July 22 at Huntington Beach Central Park and will include everything from live music to carnival games.
It doesn’t hurt, either, that the Pacific Ocean and the allure of the SoCal beaches are literally just two miles away.
“We feel our product is second to none,” Hay states. “The location is obviously great, but it’s also that the once the teams play their entry fee, everything is covered. There’s the opening ceremony, a 400 coach dinner and then the event is televised. The winners get trips to Knott’s Berry Farm, t-shirts and plaques. We want this to be a truly first-class experience.”
“We feel it’s not just a softball event, it’s a family event.”
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Teams to Watch
Who better to get insight on which teams will be ones to watch than the Tournament Director? We asked Hay who we should be watching at the PGF 18U Premier tourney come July 27… here are his comments:
1. SoCal A’s
“You can never count out the returning champs. They’re the best until somebody knocks them and they’re three time defending champions!”
2. Beverly Bandits
“They’re one of the strongest teams in the country, they’re loaded from top to bottom.”
3. Team Mizuno-Stith
“They’re another threat to win it all, they won the PGF 16U last year and Mike [Stith] moved his entire team up.”
4. OC Batbusters-Haning, Firecrackers-Rico, Corona Angels-Tyson
“It could easily be one of these top SoCal teams, you can never count out these great organizations. One of them could get hot and win it all.”
5. An Out-of-State Team
“We feel this year that the odds are higher than ever before that the national champion will come from outside California. I could be wrong, but it does look like the rest of the country is catching up; it’s getting closer every year.”
COMPLETE ROSTER of TEAMS FOR THE 2013 PGF 18U PREMIER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
| TEAM | COACH | CITY/ST | HOW ENTERED |
|---|---|---|---|
| All American Sports Academy | Bryan Merrida | Tracy, Calif. | INVITED |
| American Pastime Gold | Larry Farnworth | Upland, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| Az Hotshots | Keith Householder | Phoenix, Ariz. | QUALIFIED |
| AZ Lil Saints | Lance Dickson | Phoenix, Ariz. | QUALIFIED |
| AZ Storm Gold | Kara Brun | Ariz. | RETURNING |
| Beverly Bandits Gold | Bill Conroy | Chicago, Ill. | RETURNING |
| Beverly Bandits Team Premier | Kevin Stephens | Palos Hills, Ill. | QUALIFIED |
| Birmingham Thunderbolts 18 Premier | Richard Shea | Birmingham, Ala. | INVITED |
| Bownet 18 Gold | John Ashley | Simi Valley, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| Cal Cruisers | Phil Harman | Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| California Cruisers | Mel Sievers | Aliso Viejo, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| Carolina Elite Gold | Tony Genovese | S.C. | QUALIFIED |
| Chaos Gold | Joseph Spina | Delaware County, Pa. | QUALIFIED |
| CO Stars Gold | Dan Burns | Boulder, Col. | QUALIFIED |
| Corona Angels | Kim Howard | Corona, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| Corona Angels GOLD | Matt Tyson | Corona, Calif. | INVITED |
| Didi Rockers Mo | Maureen Hohman | Columbia, Mo. | QUALIFIED |
| East Coast Firecrackers | Tom Constantin | R.I. | QUALIFIED |
| EC Bullets Premier | Greg Schnute | East Cobb, Ga. | INVITED |
| Explosion | Bret Denio | Tustin, Calif. | INVITED |
| Finesse 18u | Donny Dreher | Mich. | QUALIFIED |
| Firecrackers | Tony Rico | Huntington Beach, Calif. | RETURNING |
| Firecrackers | Jeff Blanco | Huntington Beach, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| Firecrackers-AZ 18U | Randy Kaye | Phoenix, Ariz. | QUALIFIED |
| Georgia Impact | Keith Pauly | Douglasville, Ga. | RETURNING |
| Gold Coast Hurricanes Gold | Marty Cooper | Plantation, Fla. | INVITED |
| Grapettes Gold | Dennis Gomes | Lodi, Calif. | INVITED |
| Illinois Chill Gold | Gerry Quinn | Rosemont, Ill. | INVITED |
| Indiana Magic Gold 18u | Kim Clay | Ind. | QUALIFIED |
| Indiana Shockwaves Gold | Mike Ramsey | Nobelsville, Indiana | QUALIFIED |
| Irvine Sting | Blair Ota | Irvine, Calif. | INVITED |
| Jersey Inferno Gold | Don Meister | Bridgewater, N.J. | INVITED |
| Jersey Intensity KOD | Kevin O'Donnell | Farmingdale, N.J. | INVITED |
| Kansas City Peppers | Dan Eakin | Olathe, Kan. | INVITED |
| Lady Lightning Gold-Miken | John Corn | Charlotte, N.C. | INVITED |
| Lakewood Firecrackers | Susane Rodriguez | Downey, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| Louisville Lady Sluggers 18u | Don Dobina | Louisville, Ky. | INVITED |
| Lower South Liberty | Ed Brabazon | Southampton, Pa. | QUALIFIED |
| Minors Gold Lena | Lena Lovelace | Wildomar, Calif. | INVITED |
| Nebraska Gold | Dick Jablonski | Omaha, Neb. | QUALIFIED |
| Nemesis Elite 18u | Manuel Garcia | Downey, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| New Lenox Lightning Gold | Jim Abbott | New Lenox, Ill. | QUALIFIED |
| New Mexico Sundancers | Paul Kohman | N.M. | QUALIFIED |
| Newtown ROCK Gold | Joseph Garvey | Newtown, Pa. | QUALIFIED |
| NW Bullets - Gold | Tony Campos | Portland, Ore. | INVITED |
| OBS Monarchs | Corey Reid | Oakdale, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| OC Batbusters | Gary Haning | Huntington Beach, Calif. | RETURNING |
| Originals | Chad Bernhotz | Kansas City, Kan. | QUALIFIED |
| Quakes Gold | Grant Isbel | Fontana, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| San Jose Sting 18Gold | Bob Perales | San Jose, Calif. | INVITED |
| So Cal Athletics | Bruce Richardson | Los Alamitos, Calif. | RETURNING |
| So Cal Breakers | Brant Beddow | Carlsbad, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| So Cal Choppers | Gary Fausett | Valencia, Calif. | INVITED |
| Sorcerer Phil | Phil Mumma | Concord, Calif. | INVITED |
| Team Mizuno | Mike Stith | Anaheim, Calif. | INVITED |
| Team Mizuno | Jesse Gonzalez | Anaheim, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| Team North Florida | Troy Whitt | Ocala, Fla. | INVITED |
| Texas Blaze Gold | JB Slimp | Round Rock, Texas | QUALIFIED |
| Texas Bombers Gold | Scott Smith | Longview, Texas | INVITED |
| Texas Firecrackers Gold | Connie May | Housten, Texas | QUALIFIED |
| Texas Glory | Kevin Shelton | McKinney, Texas | INVITED |
| Texas Glory-Lusk 18 U Gold | Aaron Lusk | Dallas, Texas | QUALIFIED |
| Texas Rapid Fire Gold | Brian Menefee | Flower Mound, Texas | QUALIFIED |
| Texas Storm | Joe Wymer | Housten, Texas | QUALIFIED |
| Texas Sudden Impact Gold | Glenn Bennett | The Woodlands, Texas | QUALIFIED |
| The Next Level 18 Gold | Jerry Delamater | San Marcos, Calif. | INVITED |
| USA Athletics Gold | Mike Rogers | Long Beach, Calif. | QUALIFIED |
| Vienna Stars 18U Gold | Tony Rollins | Vienna, Va. | QUALIFIED |
| Virginia Legends | Barry Paul | Hampton Roads, Va. | INVITED |
| WA Lake Breeze Gold | Rick Fritz | Lake Stevens, Wash. | QUALIFIED |
| Washington Ladyhawks Gold | Wayne Miller | Puyallup, Wash. | RETURNING |
| Wichita Mustangs | Mark Griggs | Wichita, Kan. | INVITED |