Help & FAQs
General Overview
Established in 2020, Alliance Fastpitch serves as a unifying force for fastpitch softball, fostering collaboration among Member Leagues and building a cohesive network of athletes, coaches, and parents. In its inaugural year, the Alliance Fastpitch successfully registered over 1,000 teams and 10,000 individual members, establishing connections among premier programs and teams across the nation through six regional Member Leagues: Pacific Coast Fastpitch League (PCFL), Heart of America Fastpitch League (HFL), Northeast Fastpitch League (NEFL), Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League (RMFL), Southeastern Fastpitch League (SEFL), and Texas Fastpitch League (TFL). Expanding its reach in the 2022 Season, the Alliance added two more Member Leagues, the Northwest Fastpitch League (NWFL) and the Atlantic Coast Fastpitch League (ACFL). Further enhancing its presence in the 2023 Season, the Alliance welcomed its 9th Member League, the Central Fastpitch League (CFL).
There are currently nine (9) Member Leagues operating under the national unifying structure of The Alliance Fastpitch, providing an organized framework for teams across the 10U to 18U age divisions. Each Member League independently formulates its schedule by integrating existing tournaments within its region, employing a consistent point system known as the Alliance Rating System for League Events. At the commencement of each year, all Leagues are allocated AFCS berths, which they subsequently distribute through a combination of Qualifiers and League Championships.
Member Leagues collaborate on various initiatives within The Alliance Fastpitch framework. They leverage existing events—both sanctioned and unsanctioned—within their respective regions, assigning "Points" to these events through an AGL Event ID system. Results from these events are automatically calculated to contribute to a team's Alliance Rating and their position on the League Leaderboard. Additionally, Member Leagues cooperate to allocate AFCS berths and recognize outstanding athletes through the monthly Player Recognition Program, which includes both League and National levels. Through a National Committee, these Leagues collectively identify an All-Star Player Watchlist, League All-Star Teams, and the Alliance All-Star Team. Moreover, Member Leagues collaborate to honor interleague play, acknowledging the efforts of matchups between sister Leagues with the utilization of interleague points (APP) to aid in seeding for Alliance National Championships.
Alliance Fastpitch registration opens on August 15th and continues until August 14th of the following year. Each season, teams, athletes, and coaches are required to re-register. Registration encompasses insurance, background checks, and player safety courses, all of which must be completed annually.
- Step 1: Simplify your entry into a Member League and the Alliance Fastpitch with a single, convenient transaction. The head coach initiates the process by becoming an annual Alliance Fastpitch member, registering the team, and making the necessary coach and team fee payment. Register now by clicking HERE.
- Step 2: During the registration, the head coach has the flexibility to either include players in the registration and handle their fees, or invite players and staff to independently join the Alliance. Invited individuals will receive an email containing a registration link that guides them through the process, allowing them to pay their respective players or coach fees.
The Alliance Fastpitch functions as neither a governing body nor an event company. Instead, it collaborates with multiple associations and event companies to organize The Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series (AFCS) and other National events. Additionally, it actively incorporates sanctioned events into the schedules of each Member League.
- The ownership structure of The Alliance Fastpitch is a collective effort, jointly owned by all participating Member Leagues. A diverse Board of Directors, comprising representatives from various travel organizations, former players, and prominent softball industry experts nationwide, oversees its operations. The Alliance Fastpitch works in collaboration with major softball associations such as USSSA, USA Softball, Triple Crown, and local organizations. Additionally, a player's council provides oversight and review. With over 50 combined members involved in both the Alliance and Member Leagues, no single entity is permitted to own more than 25% of The Alliance Fastpitch. The voting power is distributed across all entities, ensuring balanced representation. Proceeds from the organization are allocated to Member Leagues, the Players Council, Championship events, and Board members.
Alliance Fastpitch membership & benefits
The Alliance Fastpitch offers teams comprehensive benefits including insurance for players, detailed profiles with game results and roster information, eligibility for national events, fair competition based on performance, and opportunities for rankings and awards. Discounts are available for recruiting packages, digital subscriptions, equipment, and technology essentials, enhancing the team's resources and operational efficiency.
Teams pay a membership fee to the Member League you are in to help cover administrative and operations costs for that League.
In addition, all athletes and coaches listed on a League team's roster must become members of The Alliance. This individual membership not only provides annual insurance coverage through Player's Health for both the individual and the team during practices and games but also grants coaches and athletes exclusive access to various resources, events, and partner offers. To participate in Member League Post Season Play, registration of all individuals on the roster is a mandatory requirement.
Coach membership fees are $65 (12U-18U) or $25 (8U-10U) for the year and inclusive of participant insurance, background checks, and all membership benefits. Athlete membership fees are $55 for 14U/16U/18U athletes, $40 for 12U, $25 for 10U athletes, and $15 for 8U athletes. They are inclusive of participant insurance and all membership benefits.
A full view of membership benefits may be viewed by clicking HERE.
- 50% discount of NCSA Team Edition & NCSA recruiting services
- Exclusive discounts on equipment, apparel, & footwear from Alliance Partners
- Exclusive discounts to athlete/coach resources such as High Level Throwing, Vizual Edge, Always Grind
- Exclusive access & discounts to instruction and training platforms such as Versus
Click HERE to view all athlete, coach and team membership benefits.
Coaches and athletes are able to join the Alliance as a Free Agent
- Alliance Fastpitch registration opens on August 15th and continues until August 14th of the following year. Each season, teams, athletes, and coaches are required to re-register. Registration encompasses insurance, background checks, and player safety courses, all of which must be completed annually.
Individual memberships for both athletes and coaches can be viewed HERE. Alliance memberships offer individuals exclusive access and discounts to our partners, who are experts in their particular area. The Alliance prides itself on delivering the top brands, programs, and resources to our members. Resources they need in their youth softball and player development journey.
Players do not need to re-register for the Alliance or Member League if they switch teams. Contact info@thealliancefastpitch.com with the name of the team you are leaving and the team you are joining to have your information switched.
Athletes are attached to the Team in the Member League they register for. If an athlete changes teams, then the Head Coach will need to contact a League Administrator to add the new player to his/her roster. Athletes would not have to pay any additional fees.
Yes, all of your personal information is secure via iSportz. One of the big reasons why The Alliance Fastpitch and Member Leagues chose to use the iSportz platform was the safety of personal information and payment processing.
The Alliance recently expanded into two divisions for more balanced competition and enhanced opportunities for recognition.
The Super division encompasses the highest competitive tier for national teams aiming for AFCS berths and the Super Cup Series.
The Champions division offers competitive state and regionally-based teams an opportunity to secure higher-level seeding in AFON and regional championships.
Moving forward, player leaderboards and awards will be separated into these two divisions, offering more recognition opportunities for regionally-based teams.
Registration Process
Click HERE to register your team
A head coach has the ability to register and pay for coaches, team fee and players in one seamless transaction.
- Step One: You join a Member League and the Alliance Fastpitch in one easy transaction! The head coach joins the Alliance Fastpitch by becoming an annual member, registers the team and pays the associated coach and team fee. Click HERE to register.
- Step Two: Through the registration process, the head coach has the option to either add players and staff and pay for their registration OR invite players and staff to join the Alliance. Players and staff who are invited to join by a head coach will receive an email with a link that prompts them to register themselves and pay their players or coach fee.
Head coaches will pay their own individual coach membership fee and the team membership fee. The head coach also has the option to pay for any athlete fees. Or individual athletes and individual assistant coaches can pay their own membership fee. The 2025 Membership fees are below. This is an annual fee good through August 14, 2025.
Team Membership Fee (Super Division):
12U: $100
14U/16U/18U: $200
Team Membership Fee (Champions Division):
12U: $0
14U/16U/18U: $100
Team Membership Fee:
8U/10U: $0
Individual Player Membership Fee (All Divisions):
8U: $15
10U: $25
12U: $40
14U/16U/18U: $55
Coach Membership Fee (All Divisions):
8U/10U: $25
12U/14U/16U/18U: $65
Yes. Alliance Membership is required for all coaches and athletes participating in any Alliance National Event which includes the AFCS, Super Cup Series, Open Nationals (AFON) and Regional Championships.
No. The Alliance fee is paid only one time per coach or player.
As the head coach is creating his or her account and registering his or her team, the head coach can follow the prompts to invite players to join the Alliance. This is all done while registering on our platform HERE
To add or remove a player to your roster, please reach out to info@thealliancefastpitch.com
If a coach or a player switch to another Alliance team during the year, it is not required to pay any fees again. Please reach out to info@thealliancefastpitch.com and request to be moved to the new roster.
Yes, log in by clicking HERE. Everyone with an account can login to access their dashboard and make any edits to their information.
Team Info For Playing In Member Leagues
The head coach will register a team for the Member League your team resides in. See Member League map HERE
If teams traditionally play schedules in a region outside of their assigned League, then they can submit that information to The Alliance in their appeal to register for a different Member League. The Alliance Fastpitch and Member League Leadership have created an ‘appeal process’ for teams wishing to play in a Member League outside of their Member League territory. Teams will have to apply and get signed approval from each Member League Commissioner.
Any team within the 8U to 18U age division can join a Member League.
The amount of points up for grabs is based on the win probability of the game. If you are expected to win (i.e. your team has a higher rating than your opponent) you will receive less points for a win. If you are expected to lose, but end up winning, you will receive more points for a win.
Click HERE for more information
Outside of Member League Championship events, most tournaments are existing events from various sanctioned event hosts or are in partnership with an association or event company. Teams can find out what events have points by visiting Member League websites. The goal for each Member League is not to change a team's normal schedules but rather to enhance the events teams are playing in by adding point values and purpose of play. In many Member Leagues, teams can earn points by matching up against another League team in a game that plays to a winner. Teams should refer to Member League rules for schedules and point systems.
Yes, you can play up in age divisions and still earn points.
We will be tracking non-alliance teams in alliance sanctioned events throughout the season based on their AGL Id. When you score your game in AGL be sure to always enter your opponents AGL ID if they have one. If they don't, we will treat your opponent as a 1600 rating.
Each Member League will have a list of teams on their League website. This list of teams, per age division, will be public. Additionally, we are working with our stats provider to include the information on whether or not a team is part of a Member League. Some Leagues are working with Event Hosts to include the League membership behind the team name on the schedule. Please contact your specific Member League for more information.
Alliance Championships and National Qualifying events will use NFHS playing rules, with the age cut off of Dec 31. Events within Member League Schedules will follow the official rules of the host tournament (i.e. USSSA playing rules will be used for USSSA sanctioned events).
Age eligibility for Alliance National Events will follow the December 31 birthdate deadline.
ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIP AND QUALIFYING EVENTS WILL NOT FOLLOW THE NEW USA AGE RULE.
SEE THE ALLIANCE FASTPITCH RULES AND POLICIES PAGE FOR MORE SPECIFIC DETAILS
Interleague Play
Interleague play in The Alliance Fastpitch refers to games played between teams in different Member Leagues. Interleague points will be tracked and used as one criteria in final seedings for The Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series. Points from interleague play should not affect your rankings/total points within your Member League.
Member Teams that compete against Member Teams from opposing leagues, or Alliance Interleague Play, will earn Alliance Power Points “APP.” Anytime a team from one league plays against a team from another league there will be APP points awarded.
See below for specific information on the APP Point System.
APP Point System:
- 3 Points for a win if the Road team wins
- 2 Points for a win if the Home team wins
- 1 Point for a loss
If the Interleague game is played on “Neutral Ground” example CFL vs TFL in Oklahoma (HFL country) that would be considered “Neutral.” The points would be awarded like:
2 Points for a win
1 Point for a loss
APP points will be used when your team reaches The Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series to help the Seeding Committee determine the Top 16 seeds that will secure the top regional seeds. APP points will be cumulative throughout the playing season.
There will be a place on the Alliance website where teams can see the National Leaders in APP points.
Each Member League will host their own Championship event(s), typically Fall and Summer. Point totals from the season will seed teams into Member League Championships. Winners and top finishing teams at Member League Championships will have the opportunity to earn a berth to The Alliance Championship event. Total berths awarded will be determined by Member Leagues based on their total allotment from The Alliance Fastpitch.
The Alliance Fastpitch will host a National culminating event at the end of the Summer for qualifying teams. Teams will have to earn a berth to this event by winning berths through Member League play. Member Leagues are awarded a total number of berths from The Alliance Fastpitch for the Alliance’s National Championship event. Each Member League will award those berths to teams through their League Championships. All berths will be earned in competitive play.
Championships will have a total of 96 teams. The 96 berths are divided amongst the Member Leagues and the Member Leagues will assign those berths to Championship Events.
Day 1 and 2 will consist of regional brackets and will determine which super regional championship teams will fall into.
Each Member League will have their own set of rules, however, teams who earn a berth will not be paired up against teams who have not earned a berth in Championship play. In some situations, Qualified teams will play in a separate pool and matched up in the final bracket of Summer Championship play as long as it does not take away berths from non-qualified teams.
Insurance & Background Screening Questions
Alliance Registration includes participant insurance through Players Health. Teams can request COIs directly from Alliance/Players Health once they have a minimum of 9 players on their roster. Players Health covers all rostered players and coaches -- meaning players on the roster who have registered and paid for their Alliance membership.
This insurance will be accepted at the majority of tournaments within League Schedules. Some associations may require additional insurance or other items. We recommend coaches always consult with the tournament host.
Coverages extends to the team as an insured entity if all team members register individually. As long as everyone (all coaches and athletes on the roster) that is part of a team is registered through The Alliance Fastpitch individually, then that team would be able to get the additional insured certificates that is required to practice at most facilities.
No, Alliance Fastpitch membership no longer includes USA Softball membership.
If a team would like to register with USA Softball and/or purchase USA Softball insurance then the team needs to reach out to their Local USA Softball Association HERE.
No. If a coach would like to purchase a USA Softball background screening, then the coach needs to reach out to his/her Local USA Softball Association.
However, a background screening through Players Health is included in the 2023 Alliance Membership for all registered coaches.
Yes, Alliance Coach Membership includes coach background screenings through Players Health.
Coaches will have to purchase additional screenings for USA Softball sanctioned tournaments. Teams that register with USSSA will have to purchase an additional background screening through USSSA as well.
If you need to a Certificate of Insurance (COI) or need to add an additional insured, please email insurance@thealliancefastpitch.com
Insurance is an included membership benefit with your individual Alliance Membership, as well as many additional membership benefits associated with Alliance Membership. This will allow you to play in the majority of tournaments within League schedules and will allow you the coverage you need for the AFCS and AFON.
If you have already purchased additional team insurance from another association, this will not affect your Alliance Membership.
A link will be sent by Players Health to each coach who registers with The Alliance Fastpitch. This link will have instructions for the coach on how to take his or her background check. If you have not received this link, please contact info@thealliancefastpitch.com.
Teams and participants can contact insurance@thealliancefastpitch.com for any questions about their Players Health insurance included with their Alliance Fastpitch membership.
The Alliance Fastpitch & Member League Contact Info and Processes
The first contact should always be the Member League Commissioner or appointed League contact. If a dispute is unable to be handled at the Member League level, then the Commissioner and League Leadership should submit to The Alliance Fastpitch leadership. If the dispute involves the Leadership of a Member League, then the head coach can send the dispute to info@thealliancefastpitch.com for review.
The majority of events you will play in as a member of a Member League will be operated by an association or event host. In those events, teams will abide by that event’s rules of play and processes. Therefore, any coach, parent and/or athlete disputes would be handled with the Tournament Director of that event.
If there is a conduct issue with a coach, parent, official and/or athlete during a Member League Championship, then the head coach should contact the Championship Director for that event.
If there is a conduct issue with a coach, parent, official and/or athlete during an Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series event, then the head coach should contact the Championship Director for that event.
The Alliance Fastpitch provides oversight and guidance to Member Leagues and also has contractual guidelines outlining what it means for Member Leagues to be in good standing. If it appears that a Member League is not in good standing, then The Alliance Fastpitch will do its due diligence in working with The Member League and stepping in when needed to adhere to our principles and core values.
Pacific Coast Fastpitch League: Shannon Harvey
Heart of America Fastpitch League: Cornelius Davis
Northeast Fastpitch League: Dave Sharp
Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League: Chris Salvaggi
Southeast Fastpitch League: Jen Carden
Texas Fastpitch League: Kevin Shelton
Northwest Fastpitch League: Jordan Schilling
Atlantic Coast Fastpitch League: Tom Bunn
Alliance Fastpitch: Shannon Harvey
Pacific Coast Fastpitch League: Mike Stith
Heart of America Fastpitch League: Ryan Taylor
Northeast Fastpitch League: Adam Dorman
Rocky Mountain Fastpitch League: Randy Gale
Southeast Fastpitch League: Jeremy & Jill Higdon
Texas Fastpitch League: David McCorkle
Northwest Fastpitch League: Joe Breer
Atlantic Coast Fastpitch League: Ryan Taylor/Tom Bunn