Raising Athletes
Raising Athletes is the ultimate guide for parents supporting their young athletes on the journey toward college recruitment and beyond. Hosted by experts in sports development, recruiting, and mental performance, this show provides actionable advice, inspiring stories, and practical tools to help parents navigate the competitive world of youth athletics. From goal-setting and skill development to navigating the recruiting process, Raising Athletes is your trusted playbook for helping your child achieve their athletic dreams while building character and resilience.
Order your copy of the PGM Athlete Performance Planner: www.PGMAthlete.com
Raising Athletes
USSSA All-American Games: A Father's Honest Review
Wondering if the USSSA-A All-American Games is worth it for your young softball player? Look no further than this revealing father-daughter journey from tryouts to championship week.
Having just returned from Florida where my daughter competed in this prestigious event, I'm pulling back the curtain on every aspect of the experience. Despite initial skepticism about whether this was merely an elaborate money-grab, what we discovered was a legitimately transformative opportunity that exceeded our expectations at every turn.
The journey begins with a comprehensive tryout process spanning 23 locations nationwide, where players showcase their skills through athletic testing, position evaluations, and hitting assessments. Unlike many youth sports "showcases," this one genuinely selects based on merit, creating teams of remarkably talented athletes from across the country. What sets this tournament apart is its thoughtful organization - players compete in single-year age groups rather than the traditional two-year brackets, and strict playing time rules ensure every selected athlete gets substantial field time.
From the moment we arrived at the USSSA Space Coast Complex with its 15 turf fields and 8,000-seat stadium, it became clear this wasn't an ordinary tournament. The opening ceremonies filled the stadium with cheering families, custom jerseys and trading cards made players feel like professionals, and the coaching staff delivered both technical expertise and genuine encouragement. Perhaps most surprisingly, these teams of strangers quickly developed extraordinary chemistry, with players supporting each other through successes and mistakes alike.
Yes, USSSA is running a business, but they're delivering exceptional value in return. For talented softball players seeking recognition and growth opportunities beyond their local travel teams, this experience represents something truly special. After witnessing my typically introverted daughter thrive in this environment, I can confidently call it the best softball experience we've had to date. If your daughter has the skills to compete, don't let skepticism hold you back from what could be a defining moment in her athletic journey.
Order your copy of the PGM Athlete Performance Planner - www.PGMAthlete.com
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pgmathlete/
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PGMAthlete
The U-Triple-S-A All-American Games Is it worth it for your daughter? Well, my daughter attended the tryouts, was part of the selection show, and we just got back from Florida where she participated in this year's U-Triple-S-A All-American Games. And, as a dad, I'm going to be revealing all of the truths about whether or not you guys should have your kids participate next year. Raising athletes the things that causes all dads to go bald and moms to buy minivans. Raising athletes the things that causes all dads to go bald and moms to buy minivans. Empowering parents to help their kids succeed. So welcome back to Raising Athletes Now. If you've been part of the show since the very beginning, you know that we're all in this together. We're all parents helping our kids to have the best chance of success, whether that be for just for the moment or for the future. And there's a few really great opportunities for our children out there that elevates their game and gives them even more experiences and makes it even more fun. One of those things the U-Triple-SA All-American Games. That is held every single year for the last decade. But the big question is is it really worth it? Big question is is it really worth it? Should you have your daughter attend one of the 23 tryouts that are scheduled throughout the entire country, literally coast to coast. Is it worth it paying all of that money for the entry fee, going through the grueling process of participating in tryouts and, if they're selected, is it even worth the money to now pay the entry fee and all the money it's going to cost to get to florida and to attend the week-long event? That's what today's show is about, because my daughter was one of those kids who participated this this past year, attended the tryout, got selected and we got to head down as a family to watch her participate in this year's u S a 10 year anniversary all American games down in the space coast complex in Florida. So is it worth it? The short answer is absolutely. I will say confidently. This was the best experience I've had with my daughter when it came, when it comes to softball.
Speaker 1:I knew it was a big honor that she was selected and I did not know actually what to expect for the games. I did a little bit of digging online, obviously leading up to the games, and I saw some pictures and some videos from the prior year, but there's nothing like being there in person and when we first pulled up to the entire complex. There's 15 turf fields and there's a massive stadium. I think the stadium holds like something like 8 000 people. I realized this is a really big deal. But even pulling up and seeing the massive stadium, I'm like, all right, they're not going to get to play in that big stadium. There's not going to be enough people to fill the stadium, right. But the opening ceremonies proved me wrong and from the very beginning to the moment we left, we had one of the best experiences we've had for softball to date in her very short year, you know, career of playing softball. But it was amazing.
Speaker 1:Opening ceremonies. There must have been about 6000 people to celebrate these kids that were selected and they really did a great job of surrounding the kids with so much hoopla. They really felt like rock stars and they were the center of every single moment for the entire week. And I really want to tip my cap to everyone that was involved with planning this event because I thought that they did an extraordinary job. Number one, considering how many people were there and number two, really making all of the kids feel so special. My daughter left not can't wait to maybe come back when, you know, try out next year. She's telling everyone about it and she's so proud.
Speaker 1:Now my daughter. Now I've got, you know, a few kids. I've got triplets. You guys know Two of my daughters play softball and one daughter was selected.
Speaker 1:And now as a family, was that hard, absolutely. But the one daughter that was selected she's actually an introvert and it was so nice that they came and supported people like my daughter and they made her actually not made her, but they helped her to sort of get out of her shell a little bit. The teammates were incredibly supportive. The coaches assigned to the team were incredibly encouraging and knowledgeable and made the experience great. Not to mention, actually, my daughter's team made it to the semifinals and was selected as one of the top four teams in their age bracket. So it was awesome.
Speaker 1:Honestly, I can't speak more highly of this experience and recommend it enough to all of the families from around the country who have seen this and will just label it a money grab and stay away from it, because they're like, oh, this is just a money grab. I'm here to say it's okay for it to be both a money grab and a great opportunity, and this is a classic example of that. Yes, is this a money grab? Sure, they're in the business of making money. You triple say they are a business. They're leveraging their brand and their reach around the country to create something that is of interest to a lot of people, and they've done a good job of doing just that. And you know what they deliver.
Speaker 1:In an amazing event, they do make the kids feel special. It is a high class, um week long, long events. They do have great competition, great talent that comes out. They surround themselves with lots of activities, even the fill in the gaps throughout the entire week, and I would say it's 100% worth it. So it's okay in this case that, yes, are they making money? Yes, but I believe they're actually giving a tremendous value, considering what it costs for these kids to participate. Now, you can't pay to be involved with this.
Speaker 1:The kids have to earn their spots. Unlike other activities and events that happen around the country, this is a legitimate tryout. There's legitimate kids that are selected, as all Americans, based on merit, based on their skills, and they're evaluated. And I'll go through the whole tryout. Listen, if you've never been there and you want to know, trust me, I'm going to be telling you guys everything that I experience behind the scenes when it comes to this entire process. But yeah, these kids are genuinely. They go through the tryouts and they are selected based on their skill and there's a whole system and I'll get that in a second that helps them to select certain kids for the All-American Games. This year they said that there were over 2 000 kids that tried out for the all-american games and you know there's a handful of kids and that that are selected for each of the age categories, something.
Speaker 1:One thing I thought that was really nice that that they did. As you guys know, if you guys have daughters playing fast pitch travel softball, you know, travel softball is broken up by two year age gaps. There's 8u, 10u, 12u, 14, 16, 18, but for the all-american games they do it by single years, which I thought was a really nice um change versus the way that we are normally playing, uh, throughout the seasons here. So they brought, they broke all the kids up that were selected by age. So there was a 9u division, a 10u division, 11, 12, 13 and a 14u division. So that's all. It spanned 9u to 14u and it's broken up by single ages, which I thought was awesome.
Speaker 1:The rosters were. I saw them. They were anywhere from 11 to 12 kids and what that means playing time, lots of playing time for all the kids. Another really nice bonus is, I found out, there are rules that the coaches have to abide by. Kids are only allowed to sit a maximum of two innings per game, so that's guaranteed playing time for the majority of the game for every single child that is on that team, which is, I thought, a really, really nice thing.
Speaker 1:They are constantly rotating kids to their primary and their secondary positions, because they do ask on the front end when you're trying out what's your primary, what's your secondary position, it's really important that you're putting down the correct two positions that your kid plays, because if they get selected, they're going to play those two positions in the games and they're going to be rotating, rotated between those two positions. Now my daughter she's an outfielder and she plays first base and she put down outfield and first base and, sure enough, she started every game and she got to play both outfield and first base, which is really really, really nice. And so, again, the coaches are very conscious about the playing time. There are very strict rules in place. The coaches actually have to log, every after every single game, the playing time chart. There's a specific chart that every coach has to fill in that proves playing time. They have to submit it to a database. All to say, they do a nice job making sure all the girls get proper playing time. But you know what? It's all deserving, because if a child, a young athlete, gets selected to be an All-American, these are all talented kids. I mean, every kid that's on the team they can play ball, and so that was that's also a really, really nice thing.
Speaker 1:I got to speak with some, some parents about kids that were, you know, from the Midwest, that were that I got assigned to my daughter's team and they were saying, like you know, their, their travel team, she's the best one, and this past summer was a little discouraging, and they were saying how nice it was to be able to be on a team where all the girls are really capable of playing their positions zero drama and collectively. All the parents really said one main thing that all of the girls were so supportive of each other. And one thing that I noticed even that's a difference between the even the teams that I coach and this particular team that just came together. It is amazing how supportive the girls were in game. And so were there mistakes made? Yeah, a hundred percent there were. There were still errors made by some of the kids, and it happens, right. But what I noticed was a big difference is, when an error happened, every single girl rallied behind that girl and it became a distant memory. It was amazing and it helped really encourage those girls and one mistake did not turn into two and it really just elevated, I would think, the quality of the game because of not just the skill of the kids, but all the kids knew that these brand new teammates had their back and were incredibly supportive and they weren't gonna be disappointed in them, and I think that created an environment that encouraged more at success. So we had a really wonderful experience.
Speaker 1:So let's go back a little bit and start at the very beginning the tryouts and what that looks like. Let me pull this up here for you, guys, so you can see this particular screen. So what you're going to want to do is you have to register for the All-American Games. Actually, let me see before I do this Now, I'm actually recording this. Here we go, I'm going to pull this up. I'm sorry, guys, that I didn't have this already made up, but if you are listening. This is going to be confusing to you, but if you're watching you'll understand a little bit more. I'm actually I'm live editing the show and I'm putting a little bit of a frame of myself here. I'll put it in the top corner so you can see me. But you're going to want to go to the U-triple-S-A website. There's a dedicated page for the all-american games. It's aagfastpitchutriple-sacom. This is where you're going to be able to go and you're going to be able to register.
Speaker 1:You have to register for the tryouts. You can't just show up to the tryouts. You have to select the area that I guess is closest to you. Last year there were 23 tryouts scheduled around the country, so you get to pick the one that's closest to you. For me, we live in New York and the closest one to us was in South Jersey, and so that's the one that we selected and we went to South Jersey for our tryouts. But there are tryouts again scheduled throughout the entire country. South jersey for our tryouts, but there are tryouts again scheduled throughout the entire country. But all simply you do is you're going to go to this website.
Speaker 1:Next year they will have the registration available for the tryouts and it's pretty simple. You register, you attend one of these 23 tryouts that are around the country and that at each tryout is and you could see it here the athletes are going to go through multiple stations that will include athletic testing, position evaluations and hitting evaluations, and then the top athletes at each tryout could be selected two ways either as a direct invite meaning that within 24 hours there are about it could be be, I think, about 12 kids that are selected as a direct invite and then about a month later they have this really big award selection show. Honestly, it's like the academy awards and uh and then they actually announce each kids that is was selected after the direct invites. Um, now, what does the um, what does the tryout look like? Well, the tryout is long. So number one, I would say prepare for a long day, because there's a lot of kids that attend and there's a lot of different skills that they're trying to document. Each kid when they get there, they get a special U triple C practice shirt. This way everyone has the same attire on and they separate the kids by age group. They all go to their different groups. My daughter, she was 14U, so she got assigned the 14U group.
Speaker 1:They went to a field. They start with general warm-ups, the kids get, they pair up on their own. The kids pair up on their own to like warm up their arm. They run the kids through some basic dynamic stretches and whatnot to get them prepared. And then it's off to the races. And they started off with the agility first. So there was five, 10, five. They do your times and you get one shot at that.
Speaker 1:So I want to be very, very clear what I would recommend, and I had did this with my daughter. I found out all of the skills that they were going to be testing and I had my daughter just practice it so that the first time she was doing it wasn't actually the test, she'd got some experience earlier on. So we set up our own five, 10 f fives. I had her practice that, I had her practice, her, her turns. So I would have your child practice that, I wouldn't. It's not something that everyone does all the time. So if they haven't done it, I would definitely show your daughter the proper way of doing a 510 five. This way you get a decent time because you want a good time, you want a good, a good score at each of the various evaluation stations, then after the 5-10-5, then they go over and then they did the 60-yard dash and that is a straight run right, and so we had practiced that beforehand. My daughter's a little, you know, kind of quick, so she got some really good times there.
Speaker 1:After the running is finished, then it goes to throwing, and so they do. You throw into a net, there's a they had a pocket radar there set up. They had a bunch of nets because there were a lot of girls and it's an overhand throwing. So one thing I would recommend is go through this beforehand. Teach your daughter the proper way of doing a crow hop or a pull down. I saw a lot of girls that were just getting the ball and sort of throwing it flat footed. You know there are definitely techniques involved to help kids to increase their velocity, their throwing velocity, and show your daughter this this way it gives her that a little bit of an edge so she can add a couple miles an hour to her throwing velocity. Because it makes a difference, because you definitely want to score at the top echelon of all of these scores that are going to be coming in After the throwing velocity.
Speaker 1:Then there is a hitting and there's hitting velocity. There's two actually hitting things that they are evaluating. One is straight exit velocity. You hit off of a tee into a net. There's an evaluator behind the net with a pocket radar measuring your exit velocity and then they take the highest exit velocity. I think they got five or six swings. So that's also something that you're going to want to practice ahead of time because that helps now raise the overall hitting score, because after exit velocity then they brought them to a cage where they got some soft toss and they're intentionally now this is what I had found out earlier, they don't tell all of the girls this, but what the soft tossers are doing, they're intentionally tossing the ball different parts of the plate to see plate coverage, to see do you have power to all fields, do you try to pull everything? They really want to now see and be able to break down your hitting mechanics and you get a score one to five based on now those on your performance and I believe you get eight or ten swings and you just want to make sure your daughter is prepared to be able to show that she's got power to all sides of the field and that they're going to be evaluating her ability to go the other way, to pull the ball, to go up the middle After hitting is concluded and then it's all fielding. Now remember earlier I said that they now let me actually get. I can get rid of this.
Speaker 1:Now that they ask your primary and your secondary position, you're going to try out in both positions. So let's say, in the case of my daughter, you're saying you're an outfield and first base, then you need to be evaluated in both. Now this is where it got a little chaotic, because again there's so many girls and they're running all of those evaluations for every position at the same time. They're running pitchers, catchers, outfielders, infielders. They break down every infield position to all third basemen, all shortstops. They're doing everything at the same exact time. So on your own, you've got to be pretty efficient about it.
Speaker 1:This is where you've got to be also proactive. Take initiative and see the length of various lines, making sure that you're getting to each station. I do know that there was like some girls not realizing that they weren't going to call her number, only evaluated one position and then waited to the very end and then they had to reset up everything for her. So don't let that happen to you. Just know it's going to run its course. Be proactive, take initiative and understand you're going to have to get through multiple stations, especially if you're a pitcher and have two other positions that you are going to be trying out for.
Speaker 1:So in the case of my daughter, she's first base and outfield. She got on the first baseline first. This is where I would recommend not doing that, because first base they don't get evaluated until all the other infield positions are done, because they need the first base. They don't get evaluated until all the other infield positions are done because they need the first base and to be able to evaluate third, short and second. So for next year, what I told my daughter is you're going to go and you're going to evaluate outfield first. Let all the other first basemen actually go through that process, because the first basemen are not being evaluated, even though they're managing that position. They're only going to be evaluated for when they're doing first base right. So this is why next year I told her do outfield first. This way you're fresh and then, once you're finished with outfield, then you can cycle back to first base and then we can close out, because this past year is she sat on the first base line I'm going to be honest for about an hour 45 minutes, about two hours before first base even got an evaluation, and then she had the run over and she was the last one to be evaluated for outfielders because it just took so long.
Speaker 1:So so next year, knowing this, we're going to just change the order around a little bit and again they are evaluating for infielders, your approach to the ball, creating a throwing lane, how accurate your throws are. They are evaluating the success rate of fielding certain ground balls. They're going to be your, your, your hit fungo, so they're going to be hitting it to your glove side, to your backhand, and they want to see your range, and so they're going to be evaluating all of that. And this grade score is zero to five and so you're going to want to grade high. Now, how do you grade high as an infielder? Make every play, make every throw and create really good approaches to the ball. If you do those, those, those things, you're going to get a very good grade for the infield evaluation. So overall, the experience was great.
Speaker 1:I will say the tryouts were really really long. I think our particular tryouts. We ended up being there for about five and a half, almost six hours. It was a long day. Pack lots of water, know that it's going to be a long day. It's not going to be like a two-hour evaluation, at least the ones that we went to. And just if that's your expectation, then you can manage being a little tired and you can then have that energy in the spurts that you need. Um, pitchers and catchers, remember you're gonna have to take the initiative. Remember what I said they're evaluating at least the one. We went to everything at the same time. So be, manage your time well, knowing that you've got to try out for your positions. Try out, maybe if you're a pitcher as well, and making sure you're taking the initiative of getting in the correct lines, because they're not going to come. Try to find you. And again, this is this is just our tryouts. They didn't. There weren't people going around making sure that girls were right in the right spot. They were expecting them to go to the right spot on their own once they announced where they were. Um. Now for the direct invites within 24 hours, there are 12 girls, I think, per region that get accepted. Um for a direct invite. That's a big deal. That means right off the bat. You scored at the very, very top for each of these skills that we just outlined. And they just pre-selected you and now you're in the direct invite division for the all-american games.
Speaker 1:And then, about a month later, they did something really cool and they had a special selection show. This was a live show that they promoted ahead of time. I mean, there were watch parties all over the country for this stuff. We gathered actually at my house and we watched it on the screen, we streamed it and they legitimately break down the divisions and they do a special announcement and if your daughter selected, her picture gets put on the selection show, they announce her name. It was awesome. I really felt like it was like the Academy Awards the way that they did this and it was a big, big production. You could tell they invested a lot of money into this production and it was awesome. And when we heard my daughter's name, we rejoiced, we celebrated. My daughter was shocked. It was very, very cool.
Speaker 1:And then it was off to the races. Over the course of the month we got some emails, um, trying to prepare us, um and uh, there was some really great. You can customize a Jersey, um, or you don't have to customize your Jersey. They do give the jerseys to the kids. If you don't want to customize them, that's fine. There's like a spirit wear shop, of course. We loaded loaded up with merch and they also had these really cool things. Each girl for free. They get trading cards of themselves that you get to customize. So you provide them a picture and they got these 18 trading cards. And the trading cards was a big hit. All of the girls took out their trading cards and they traded with everyone and my daughter traded all of her cards out with a bunch of girls on our team and there were other kids trading and that was like a really big part. It's sort of like, I guess, like the the pins over at cooperstown for baseball and but this was trading cards and uh, so that was, that was cool.
Speaker 1:But now the week of the all the all-american games is um, it was awesome. So when you get there, the complex has 15 turf fields, one gigantic 8,000 seat arena and it starts off where there's a skills competition for all the age brackets so that we participated in. It's a great way of meeting players and then you start your practices, the team that you're assigned to you, you practice with them before the games start this way you get to meet the coaches, develop some team chemistry, so there were some really well-run practices there, which is great, um, and then there's this massive ceremony and I I think, um, a great way, I think, to recap and to explain to you guys what to expect the all-american games is, honestly, just to show you, I put together a little recap video, um, and I'll I'll just show it to you guys what to expect the all-american games is, honestly, just to show you. I put together a little recap video, um, and I'll I'll just show it to you guys so that you can sort of see this. There you go. That was the arena that I was telling you about. There were about 6 000 people, as you can see, that attended the arena that I was telling you about. There were about 6,000 people, as you can see, that attended the opening ceremonies and then we got into the games.
Speaker 1:My daughter's first games were assigned at the arena itself, that massive stadium. We went on a tear, we won our first three games. There's lightning, and so the lightning there. Everything gets shut down, but it's quick, and they get us back. Everything gets shut down, but it's quick, and they get us back in the field. We play more games. The girls really do get close, but overall, again, it's a really really great experience for your daughter, if she's selected, and for the families, because they really do a really really nice job of putting together a special event.
Speaker 1:There's, in between the games, there's a ton of vendors as well, um and so, and there's lots of things to do. So where there might the games, there's only two games per day. In between there's so many other things that you could participate in. They've got clinics, they've got camps, there's professional photographers, if that's your jam right. And then, obviously, there's all of the major brands Easton and Marucci. They're showcasing their brand new bats. We got to actually use some brand new bats that are going to be released, and they debuted it at the All-American Games, which is amazing. So you really get to access some really really cool stuff. And then they get dripped on with merch. Oh my gosh, when we got there, we got a merch bag and she got a ton of amazing merch, and so it was really really cool.
Speaker 1:And then there's also a Home Run Derby. A ton of the kids do participate in the home run derby, but even that is a ton of fun to watch some of the best athletes in the country, per age group, participating in these skills competition and the home run, derby. It was it. Just it really is extraordinary and, at the end of the day, I cannot recommend this experience more for everyone. So if you got a daughter who has got some pretty good skills, let her at least try out and participate in just that.
Speaker 1:Participating in the tryouts is a great experience even by itself, because it definitely motivates and inspires kids to want to do even better, because you're surrounding them with other kids, like-minded kids, who are really into softball, and I found that that really gets them focused on it. So when the tryouts are announced, go on there, register for your local tryout and let your daughter participate. Is there a fee for the tryout? Yes, if they're selected to the All-American Games, is there a fee for them to have to now participate? Yes, does the? Do the U-triple-S-A? Do they make money? Yes, is that okay? Yeah, as well. It's okay that U-triple-S-A is making money off of this, because they're treating it like a business and they're making sure that the experience exceeds expectations, and they were successful in doing that. This year. Your daughters are going to get more value than what you're going to have to invest into this. It's an amazing, amazing experience, and I think that all girls should have an opportunity to at least now attend that tryout. And if they get selected, then that's the bonus, that's the icing on the cake.
Speaker 1:This has been an extraordinary experience. I am so grateful for everyone at U-Triple-SA that was responsible for running the tryouts, the selection, the production team behind the selection show and the people who managed the entire event the entire week. It was amazing. I'm saying this confidently. It was it's the best softball experience I've had with my daughter to date. It was awesome. And I just want to add one more other thing the coaches that were assigned to our team. We were so fortunate. Specifically, I'm going to give a little shout out to Coach Quinn. He was amazing. He was a great leader for these kids. He led with confidence, but he also led with compassion, and I really felt like he got a lot out of these girls playing on the field, and even the time that he took to talk to them individually, and the words of kindness, encouragement he even gave to my daughter at the very end. It's something that I will forever be grateful for. This has been an amazing experience.
Speaker 1:Guys, raising athletes it's more than just raising them to play in college. That happens for some, but I think we're raising athletes. It's more than just raising them to play in college. That happens for some, but as I think we're raising athletes also for the moment and I think if there's opportunities out there for our kids that'll make them better or just give them a great experience that makes them better humans, I say go out there, take advantage of it. This is, this is one of these things. I went through it. It's got my vote of confidence. I highly recommend it. I hopefully, hopefully you guys, if you are raising softball players, this is something that you could do for your kids as well. Thanks again for tuning into Raising Athletes. If this brought you value, do me a favor. Share it with someone else. I would love for you to help me grow this community because, guess what? We're all raising our kids together. Take care.
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
