ACES Gold
Player and Team Showcase Program
What is it?
“ACES Gold” is the new initiative being developed by the ACES Academy of Softball to produce true “A” level players that can compete on both the national and international level.
How does it work?
Players will be rated on an individual basis using 20 standardized skills tests and requirements. The players are not rated against each other, but against a fixed standard. It will be up to each individual player to meet the standard in order to qualify for “ACES Gold”.
How do I start?
The first step is to understand how you can develop into a Gold level player. You will need a scorecard; you will need to understand the drills and then you need to start training. All of the ACES instructors will be familiar with all of the drills and what you need to do to develop your skills. Once you know what to work on, the rest is up to you.
How does the scoring work?
The 20 developmental areas are worth 10 points each. A “perfect” score would be 200. There are 7 “levels” of skill, all represented by a point total and a colour.
80 points out of 200 = Pink
90 points out of 200 = Green…and so on.
- Pink – 80 Points
- Green – 90 Points
- Blue – 100 Points
- Silver – 110 Points
- Red – 120 Points
- Black – 130 Points
- Gold – 140 Points
Any player that can achieve the ACES Gold standard can be assured that they have the skills necessary to compete at the highest level in the country.
What are ACES teams?
- ACES Silver
- ACES Red
- ACES Black
- ACES Gold
The purpose of the ACES program is to develop top level teams capable of playing at the highest level. ACES is looking for the best of the best to represent the program at provincial, national and international events.
The ACES Program will establish “Birth Year” teams. For example the top players from the 1996 birth year will all be considered first for the 1996 birth year team. In Canada, each division has 2 birth years. For example for the 2010 season, the Peewee division consists of players with the birth years of 1996 and 1997. The junior team would be the 1997 team and the senior team would be the 1996 team.
There are 4 levels of ACES Teams.
ACES Red – This will be the Junior Birth Year team in each division
ACES Black – This will be the Senior Birth Year Team in each division
ACES Silver – This will be the mixed Birth Year Team in each division
ACES Gold – This will be any ACES team that can qualify at least 9 players to the ACES Gold Standard based on their birth year.
There are separate tests for the pitchers and catchers to take in order to qualify at the 3 levels.
If you want to be the best, you want to be – ACES Gold