THIS WEEKEND IN SOCAL
One free Saturday letter for SoCal travel families, 10U–18U. Three things: parent, player, weekend.
Open the WatchlistWritten by a travel-ball dad in Orange County.
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Sept 26–27
Open the Watchlist →Sample letter
Issue 001 draft for Sept 26–27. Hold send. Game times NOT POSTED. BOTW gate $5/13+. Combine check-in Sat 8:00–11:45 AM.
Sample · Issue 001 draft · not a send
THE CUT
SOFTBALL NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 001 · SAT–SUN SEPT 26–27, 2026
Good morning.
Inside:
Times still aren’t up for the tournaments. Four listings this weekend: PCFL Inland Empire Qualifier at Rosetta Canyon, Best of the West Showcase in Palmdale, the BOTW Player Combine Saturday, and USSSA The Thunder in Pomona Sunday. Combine check-in is posted; game clocks are not.
Parent — Heat is still the job. Water on the hip. Shade on the break. Fluids before, during, after. Energy drinks are not hydration.
Player — PCFL IE is turf: pack turf shoes. TCS: 10U and 12U no metal; 14U and up can unless the facility says otherwise. Ask the TD before warm-ups.
Weekend — Rosetta (PCFL IE, 10U–18U): gate NOT POSTED, turf shoes. Palmdale BOTW Showcase (14U–18U): gate $5 at 13+. Combine Sat check-in 8:00–11:45 AM; combine start TBA. Pomona Thunder (Sun, 10U–18U): gate TBA. Game times NOT POSTED.
Lake Elsinore — TCS PCFL Inland Empire Qualifier
Rosetta Canyon Sports Park, 39423 Ardenwood Way. 10U–18U. Saturday and Sunday, Sept 26–27.
Times: NOT POSTED (Wednesday evening prior to the event).
Gate: NOT POSTED.
Surface: turf. Pack appropriate shoes.
Palmdale — TCS Best of the West Showcase
Best of the West, 2723 Rancho Vista Blvd. 14U–18U. Saturday and Sunday, Sept 26–27.
Times: NOT POSTED (Tuesday evening before the event).
Gate: $5 spectators 13+; 12 & under free; players and coaches free.
Tryouts
Age first. Club pages only. If it isn’t posted, it isn’t here.
Nothing posted for this week yet. Check back.
Ask the club
No date posted? Ask the club on their page. We don’t invent tryouts.
Club pages only. If it isn’t posted there, it isn’t here.
Circuit
Notes from the weekend. What parents actually use. Sourced, not a rumor mill.
Nothing posted yet. Check back.
Player care
Water on the hip. Shade on the break. Short notes for a hot SoCal park day.
Water on the hip. Shade on the break. Don’t grind through a 92-degree park.
Show up hydrated. Water at least every 15–20 minutes, in the shade if you can. Take pads off on the break. Build heat work up over 7–14 days. Change the plan when it’s extreme. Energy drinks are not hydration.
Heat first. Then the reps.
Add time and intensity over 7–14 days. Water on a real break, in the shade. If the day is too hot, change the plan. Don’t save the water for the end.
Food first. Eat for the day you have. Fluids before, during, after.
A well-balanced diet helps replace what you lose in the heat. Skip drinks with stimulants or high caffeine as “hydration.” Meet needs with food, not supplements. Spread carbohydrate and protein through the day, especially after play.
See it. Feel it. In real time. Keep it useful.
Imagery works best when it is vivid, uses more than one sense, runs in real time, and stays on a positive picture of the skill.
Rain stays a footnote. Heat is the job.
Coming soon
Modules that fill when we have a real listing. Empty beats wrong.
Used equipment
Bats, bags, and gear that already did a season.
Nothing listed yet. Coming soon.
Hot bats
What’s in the bag this year.
According to Bat Digest’s 2026 list. Not our rank. Price: NOT POSTED. No affiliate links.
Featured players
First name, age, what we saw. Last names stay off the wall.
Nothing up yet. Nominations are in review.
In Need Of
A team looking for a player. A family looking for a team.
No asks posted. Coming soon.
Reviews
Would you go back. Named source only.
Parks/tourneys NOT POSTED. Coming soon.
Team search
Find the club. Then the park.
Coming soon. Public org pages only.
Nominate
First name only. We hold every nomination for review. No public last names.
If we use it, we use first name + age group only (example shape: “Maya, 12U”). Never a full name on the site or in the letter without a separate Tim yes.