The fastpitch softball team I coach is in the midst of an NSA tournament. It’s our only one with NSA this season. That’s unfortunate from a coaching standpoint because I love their playtime rules.

Specifically I love the two EPs you get to use. It’s sort of like the “bat everyone/free substitution” rules some tournaments use in pool play, but you can actually do it all the time.

Of course, how much you like it probably depends on how well your team hits. Mine has been hitting pretty well overall so it’s working well for us.

Players sign up for summer ball to play. When you can only bat/ play nine, a few are on the bench waiting to get in. With NSA rules you can keep more kids active and give more of them an opportunity to play. You can also rest players without risk if you get ahead, because if something happens you can always put your starters back in.

The other thing it helps with is the injury risk. With a straight nine, if you use up all your subs and then a player on the field gets hurt, you’re screwed (unless it was a sub). You have no one left to take their place. With the EP, you have a couple of moves left so you can use everyone without being penalized.

So if I love it so much why aren’t we doing more NSA tournaments? It has to do with the World Series — their equivalent of Nationals. The one we would’ve played in is down in Georgia, and I just didn’t feel like traipsing all the way down there. Sorry Georgians — I’m sure you’ll do a great job and your fields are lovely — but the thought of driving all the way down there from Illinois was a bit overwhelming. Maybe next year!