What Is The Alliance Fastpitch?
The Alliance Fastpitch is a national organizing body for travel softball. The Alliance Fastpitch offers annual memberships for teams, athletes, and coaches.
Our national competition structure provides a clear pathway to your season starting with regional play that leads to a national event. Alliance Fastpitch competition includes league play, a in-season tournament series called the Super Cup Series, National Championships, and a player identification program called the Stars of Tomorrow Series.
MEMBERSHIP
Teams will join one of our 9 Member Leagues based on their geographic location. Athletes and coaches will join our annual Alliance Fastpitch membership designed to build champions on and off the field while connecting our travel ball community. Membership is required for all Alliance National Events including the AFCS, AFON, Regional Championships, Super Cup Series and Stars of Tomorrow Series.
On the field, the Alliance Fastpitch structure offers teams with year round league style play. Teams will earn points and rankings based on their body of work through the year. League schedules consist of existing tournaments in your region. Depending on the event type (stats on, points & stats, qualifier), your team and athletes will accumulate points based on the Alliance Rating System, players season stats will be attached to their profile, and teams can earn berths to the Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series.
Coach memberships include all the essentials you need for your travel ball season including background checks, athlete safety training, team insurance (that is paid for through our individual registration), a team profile with your standings, game results, and roster, the ability to compete in our national events, and a community of travel ball coaches to help you along your journey. Coaches will have access to our monthly coaching calls and the Alliance Academy, a virtual hub of information from softball’s greatest instructors and minds.
Athlete memberships include individual insurance and a player profile to collect your seasonal and historical stats and awards. The Alliance Fastpitch’s mission is to put the player first. We offer national opportunities for you to be recognized through our Player of the Month program, All Tournament Teams, monthly competitions, and seasonal awards. See where you stack up against your peers inside your League and nationally through our player stats leaderboards!
All individual members have exclusive access and discounts to our partners. Partnerships and member benefits are centered around the essential needs of athletes, coaches and youth softball family needs including the areas of recruiting, player development, training aides, sport specific training, and technology. By combining our resources and collectively working together, Alliance Members are offered the lowest prices and best access to the most trusted resources in the game. Our team thoroughly vets partners to ensure we are offering the best products and services at the lowest price for our members.
LEADERSHIP
The Alliance Fastpitch is guided by an Advisory Board consisting of youth coaches and organizational leaders with a combined 200 years of experience at travel ball, event operators, business leaders, and former athletes with college, professional, and Olympic experience.
The Alliance Fastpitch staff is led by CEO Jami Lobpries, one of the original founders of the Alliance Fastpitch. Lobpries has served in various leadership roles at all levels of softball including being a college and professional athlete, college and youth coach, and the National Director of Fastpitch for USSSA. She has built and executed national championships, All Star and All American events, and various youth events and programs in her leadership career.
The Player Advisory Committee (PAC) was created to provide a national platform and voice for our athletes. The PAC is a group of leaders who are current high school juniors and seniors. This athlete-led committee provides important feedback on the athlete experience and helps the Alliance Fastpitch fulfill its mission of putting the player first.
Each League is governed by a Commissioner and league advisory staff. These leaders represent the various programs, teams, and event operators in each region. League leadership provides an important voice for their respective areas across the country. League leadership meetings allow the Alliance to fulfill our goal of leveling the playing field and providing equal opportunities for all teams no matter their age or location.
WHY WAS THE ALLIANCE CREATED?
The Alliance Fastpitch was officially formed in the Summer of 2020, but the story began as a shared desire for change amongst leaders in youth fastpitch two years prior. This collection of individuals had a vision to work together and put the athlete back at the forefront of all decision-making.
The founders believed teams need equal access to resources and an equal opportunity to earn berths to National Championship play. They believed that working together off the field actually makes us stronger! These Club Directors, coaches, and former athletes knew that merging our efforts and creating one central hub is the solution to sustainable growth in the sport.
We started with the statement, "Together, we are the Alliance Fastpitch." Rivals and competitors decided to cooperate as business partners to achieve the same goals, challenge current trends, and create more equality.
Our leagues embody the spirit of collaboration and competition, where ‘rival’ clubs work together to meet the needs of their region and act as spokesmen for their region on a National level.
By bringing leagues and teams together under one national umbrella, the Alliance Fastpitch has the unique ability to leverage our volume for sponsors and brands looking to invest in softball. We created an ecosystem of athletes, coaches, and teams in fastpitch softball.
The result is a united effort to put the athlete first and a regionalized play structure and community.
Mission
The Alliance Fastpitch’s mission is to unite the fastpitch community and deliver value to our fastpitch athletes and coaches through a clear path to play and the collaboration of resources off the field.
Vision
Our vision is to be the source of truth for athletes and coaches. Our vision is to show the fastpitch community how competitors on the field can work together off the field to make our sport better and more attractive for participants.
Our Core Values
What We Believe. What We Live By.
We put the athlete first.
We focus on player development and recognition.
We understand coach development is an important part of player development.
We encourage collaboration and cooperation between associations, leagues, events, teams, coaches and athletes.
We ask ourselves, 'Is this what's best for the athlete and the game?"
We strive to connect all generations of the game.
We support professional softball and National Team Programs.
A Vision For The Future: Regional Member Leagues
Membership into The Alliance Fastpitch starts at the team level as teams register to play in one of the eight ‘Member Leagues’ of the Alliance.
Club directors, coaches, and event coordinators worked together to build the League platform to create purposeful play regionally. These regional youth leagues then came together under the umbrella of The Alliance Fastpitch to bring more consistency, accountability and nationwide structure. Our Member Leagues embody the spirit of collaboration and competition, where ‘rival’ clubs work together to meet the needs of their region and act as spokesmen for their region on a National level.
Alliance Member Leagues create a clear pathway to national championships for member teams through the Alliance Rating System and National Championship Qualification. All Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series (AFCS) berths must be earned through Member League play
Current member Leagues
Member Leagues organize nine regions across the country including the Atlantic Coast Fastpitch League, Central Fastpitch League, Heart of America Fastpitch League, Northeast Fastpitch League, Northwest Fastpitch League, Pacific Coast Fastpitch League, Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League, Southeastern Fastpitch League, and the Texas Fastpitch League.
The organized infrastructure allows for
Meaingful and organized competition across the region & nation
Equal opportunites on and off the field
A community for fastpitch athletes and coaches to share, learn and grow together
An ecosystem for our sport to work together and grow resources
Alliance Fastpitch Individual Memberships
Once a coach registers his or her team for an Alliance Member League, then he or she will invite all athletes and coaches on their roster to 'Join the Alliance'.
Alliance Membership is required for all athletes and coaches participating in League Qualifiers and National Events including the Super Cup Series, AFCS, and Open Nationals. Alliance Membership is required for all Player Recognition honors including Player of the Month, All Tournament Teams, and individual awards.
Alliance Members receive exclusive discounts and access to our partners. They are invited to Members Only events and provided early access or discounted pricing.
See below for all Alliance Member Benefits for athletes and coaches.
Athlete Membership
The Alliance Athlete Membership brings together generations of athletes through our membership program that will provide our current youth athletes with access to exclusive content on the Famer App, resources, virtual and live events, and much more.
Coach Membership
The Alliance Coach Membership is an active network of youth softball coaches. All coaches (head coaches & assistant coaches) who coach for teams in Member Leagues will become an Alliance Member annually. This membership provides individual insurance, background checks, SafeSport education, exclusive access to Coach content on the Famer App, and a cohesive network of youth coaches who want to help each other along their coaching journey.