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Fastpitch Delivery PAGE 1 JANUARY 2015

Immaculate Heart Academy head coach Anthony LaRezza says it’s critical for coaches to identify the personality of their team.

““Getting a new staff and new verbiage is always the challenge of taking over a program. ... We will (be challenged). The A-Sun is such a strong league. It’s sneaky strong. You have to come every day ready.”

Steele Getting In The Swim Of Things With Dolphins

COACH’S PROFILE PAGE 11NANCY LOPEZ, LPGA HALL OF FAMER

JANUARY 2015 VOLUME 20, NO. 1

NATIONAL FASTPITCH COACHES ASSOCIATION

WORDS TO COACH BY...“Competitors take bad breaks and use them to

drive themselves. Quitters take bad breaks and use them as reasons to give up.”

FD PAGE 9

Announcing The New National TeamEighteen Players Picked To Wear Team USA’s Colors This Summer.

MLB Ideas Can Aid Softball Recruiting

The Charge To Grow Softball

INSIDE

Strong Field For LeadoffReigning NCAA Champ And Defending Classic Titlist In NFCA DII Event

When the NFCA Division II Leadoff Classic returns to the Lincoln Park North/South Complex in Tucson, Ariz., February 6-8, reigning gold bracket champion Southeastern Oklahoma State will be in the 18-team field.

The Savage Storm, which swept undefeated (6-0) through the last

NFCA Leadoff Classic in 2013, are one of 12 pa r t i c ipa t ing teams that

appeared in the 2014 NCAA tournament and one of 10 teams that are attending their second straight Leadoff.

That group includes 2014 NCAA Division II titlist West Texas A&M, which went 60-7 a year ago, winning nine of its 11 NCAA tournament games and going a perfect 4-0 at the Division II Championship in Salem, Va. Southeastern Oklahoma State (45-20 in 2014) was itself an NCAA semifinalist, as was Dixie State (51-

SEE STRONG PAGE 8

In July 2007, I traded my job as a scout in the Florida Marlins organization to start a junior college softball program from scratch at Marion Military Institute (MMI) in Marion, Ala.

In retrospect, the decision changed my life for the better. Within a week, I

went from having unfettered access to the nation’s top baseball talent to life as an obscure unknown in this vastly new softball world.

Rationally, one might argue that I stood in the position of a duck without water. Fear and doubt would surely find me in this new setting. However, my trust in many of the skills I’d learned as a scout in baseball served

me well in this endeavor. Our first season on the field at

MMI, our program won 20 games with a roster of all freshman players. Our second season produced 32 wins and our first regional tournament appearance. After five seasons, we were fortunate enough to earn back-

By JOE GUTHRIEAsst. Coach, Penn State University

SEE MLB RATING PAGE 14

Addition Of An NPF Team In Dallas Is A Healthy Sign For Sport

VIEWPOINTS PAGE 15

NEW MEMBERS ................................ PAGE 3DIVISION I HCC MINUTES ................ PAGE 5QUESTION OF THE MONTH ........... PAGE 10SOFTBALL BY SMITTY ................... PAGE 16EDUCATION ............................PAGES 17-18RULES CORNER .............................. PAGE 21

Four years ago, the conversations about a professional softball team returning to Texas began. When National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) commissioner Cheri Kempf announced the addition of the Dallas Charge on January 8, those conversations finally became reality.

In the past year, the fastpitch community has seen growing television coverage of college softball and resurfaced talks about softball returning to the 2020 Olympics. Then, this past month, professional softball added fuel to the fastpitch fire by expanding to a market that features a hotbed of talent and

enthusiasm for the sport.

In the midst of all the sports media attention North

Texas has gotten the past couple months, with the college football national championship game, the Dallas Cowboys’ resurgence and the Dallas Mavericks’ trade for NBA star Rajon Rondo, there is one story

that resonates most with the softball community: The addition of a fifth NPF team — the Charge.

Dallas joins the existing four teams of the NPF — the Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, Pennsylvania Rebellion and USSSA Florida Pride. The Charge become the first NPF team to be based in Texas since the

SEE ADDITION PAGE 23

By JAMI LOBPRIES, PhDDallas Charge Marketing Consultant

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Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 2 JANUARY 2015

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The National Fastpitch Coaches Association is a multi-level coaching organization serving girls’ and women’s fastpitch coaches at all competitive levels of play. The NFCA strives to pro-mote and develop the sport, coaching knowledge and leadership through the services it offers.

Members of the NFCA receive 12 issues of Fastpitch Delivery, an annual calendar, discounts on various products and resource materials and the yearly NFCA Directory of Information.

The NFCA also represents its members in organizations such as the ASA and NCAA and awards programs are offered for coaching wins and high school and collegiate All-American and Scholar-Athlete honors. The NFCA also holds a national convention in December, com-bining business meetings, coaching seminars, exhibits of top equipment and plenty of social/networking opportunities. Members also receive discounts to NFCC courses.

NATIONAL FASTPITCH COACHES ASSOCIATION

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Articles for Fastpitch Delivery are solicited and edited under the guidance of the Education and Publications Committee of the NFCA and its Executive Director. To submit an article for the newspaper or receive informa-tion on membership, call (502) 409-4600 or visit the NFCA website at www.nfca.org. Lacy Lee Baker — Publisher — llb@nfca.orgDave Hines — Editor — dave@nfca.org

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Fastpitch Delivery PAGE 3 JANUARY 2015

The NFCA has announced six new additions and the re-election of four existing members as part of the As-sociation’s Board of Directors. Each appointee will serve a two-year term, stretching from December 2014 to De-cember 2016.

President and Nebraska head coach Rhonda Revelle was re-elected, as was Past President and Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy. Central Michi-gan University assistant coach Joanna Lane was elected to the Fourth Vice President position, while Arizona State assistant coach Boo Gillette has taken over as the new Second Vice President, following three years as the Assistant Coach representative. Moving into the Assistant Coach role is Nebraska’s Di-ane Miller.

Don Kennedy, head coach at Mis-souri S&T, will serve as the new Divi-sion II representative, Faulkner Uni-versity head coach Hal Wynn will be the NAIA representative and San Di-ego City College head coach LeeAnn Taylor will take over as the Cal JC rep-resentative.

Joining Revelle and Murphy as re-

elected representa-tives are Deer Park High School head coach Carrie Aust-gen (High School) and Kevin Shelton (Travel Ball) of the

Texas Glory.Continuing their terms on the

NFCA Board of Directors are Georgetown head coach Pat Conlan (First Vice President), Boston Uni-versity head coach Kathryn Gleason (Third Vice President), Memphis head coach Natalie Poole (Division I Representative), Eastern Connecti-cut State head coach Diana Pepin (Division III Representative), Mid-

land College head coach Tommy Ramos (NJCAA Representative) and Dr. JoAnne Graf (Coach Emeriti Representative).

Each coach on the 16-member board is slated to serve a two-year term with the potential, if re-elected, to hold his or her respective position over consecutive, two-year stints.

Board Has Several New RepresentativesNEWS & NOTES

Steve Adams, Assistant Coach, Winter Park High School (Fla.); Tim Adams, Head Coach, Freedom Elite; Felipe Alvarez, Head Coach, Monroe Woodbury Crusaders 18U; Emil Apacible, Assistant Coach, Nemesis Elite; Juan Ayala, Head Coach, WTX PRIDE; Tim Bigham, Head Coach, Lookouts-Bigham; John Bisset, Head Coach, Frederick Heartbreakers; Rich Britton, Head Coach, Lahar; Craig Cameron, Assistant Coach, Cal A’s; Aubrie Carmack, Assistant Coach, Covenant College (Ga.); Damon Clooney, Head Coach (internet only), University of Alberta; Tom Clooney, Head Coach (internet only), University of Alberta; Mark Colosimo, Head Coach, WHC Fever 18U; Renee Damerow, Head Coach, Mosquito Squad Damerow; Aurelia Dancause, Assistant Coach, Premier West Softball Club; Steve Dauberman, Assistant Coach, Central PA Havoc; Michael Evans, Head Coach, University of St. Mary (Kansas); Michael Fangman, Head Coach, USSSA Pride; Dana Fusetti, Head Coach, Carolina Elite; Donald Gabert, Assistant Coach, West Perry (Pa.); John Gallagher, Head Coach, Canyon Lake High School (Texas); Brian Green, Head Coach, Indiana Magic Gold; Zeke Hanger, Head Coach, Premier West Softball Club; John Hawe, Volunteer Assistant, Carroll College; Whitney Hawkins, Assistant Coach, University of North Alabama; Derek Higa, Assistant Coach, Saint Francis (Hawaii); Ashton Hinds, Assistant Coach, Savannah State University; Michael Hoffman, Head Coach, Fresno Force; Richard Iorio, Assistant Coach (hitting), County College of Morris; Brian Iseri, Head Coach, Cal A’s; Sarah Jackson, Volunteer Assistant, Carroll College; Brian Jacobs, Head Coach, Wilton High School (Conn.); Whitney Johnson, Assistant Coach, University of La Verne; Robert Martin, Head Coach, Sandlot Sluggers (Kan.); Chris Mastoridis, Head Coach, Frozen Ropes Long Island; Brittini Merchant, Volunteer Assistant, Northwestern University; Scott Morrison, Head Coach, Downtown; Joe Negrete, All-Inclusive Membership; David Newby, Head Coach, Texas Force Fastpitch; Kristy Odamura, Head Coach, Las Vegas Blast; Thomas Parten, Head Coach, Cal A’s; Tony Raia, Head Coach, Trevians; Robert Reynolds, Head Coach, Mesa Grande Academy (Calif.); Holly Roadruck, Assistant Coach, University of Chicago; Matthew Roberson, Assistant Coach (hitting), Belmont University; Mark Robles, Assistant Coach, Las Vegas Blast; Peter Rosa, Head Coach, Ultimate Softball Academy; John Schaffer, Head Coach, Jersey Flames Gold; Kevin Schreiner, Head Coach, Aquinas High School (Wis.); Chandelle Schulte, All-Inclusive Membership; Stephen Skarren, Head Coach, 16U Delco Diamonds; Bill Stearns, Head Coach, Premier West Softball Club; Mark Stevenson, Head Coach, Lady Broncos 14U; Leigh Streetman, Volunteer Assistant, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Kevin Sweeney, Head Coach, Las Vegas Rage Gold; Brittany Tillery, Assistant Coach, Mississippi Valley State University; Tim Todd, Head Coach, Georgia Mustangs; Steven Tuders, Assistant Coach, Guilford College; John Urrutia, Head Coach, CC Comets–Urrutia; Chris Vigil, Assistant Coach, Firecrackers Blanco; Nathan Walker, Head Coach, Willow Canyon High School (Ariz.); Russ Weatherbee, Head Coach, Redding Rebels; Sean Webb, All-Inclusive Membership; Matt Wiley, Assistant Coach, Red Mountain High School (Ariz.); Warren Wolff, Head Coach, Ohio Outlaws; Sarah Woofter, Head Coach, Lady Hustle; Jeffrey Zomer, Head Coach, Dordt College.

New Members

National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) re-cently announced its 2015 schedule.

The 120-game regular season sched-ule includes competition between the league’s five affiliate teams: Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, Pennsylva-nia Rebellion, USSSA Pride and new addition Dallas Charge.

Each team will play every other team in the league a total of 12 games with six at home and six away. Indi-vidual teams will play a total of 48 games during the season. Teams have released individual details of their specific schedules including times, dates and various venues. At least 16 different venues in at least eight dif-ferent states will see NPF action in

2015.The season will open on May 29

in Washington, Pa., as the Rebellion host the Chicago Bandits. On May 30, Akron will open its season in Washington, as the Rebellion host a doubleheader. Pennsylvania will face Chicago in the first game and play the Racers in the second.

The league’s newest team, the Charge, will open at home in Dallas against the Rebellion in a homestand that will see three games in three days beginning June 3. The defending NPF Champion USSSA Pride will be the last team to open, visiting Dallas in a four-game series that begins June 6.

This year, the NPF series makeup

will vary from the typical four-game design that has been in place since 2011. Games in a series will vary in number from two to four, along with a few single game matchups.

The Championship Series will be contested August 14-18 in Hoover, Ala., and will feature the league’s top four regular season finishers.

The format for the Championship Series will remain the same as 2014 with the No. 1 team facing the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed playing the No. 3 seed in a pair of best-of-three series. The winners of those series will vie for the Cowles Cup in a best-of-three Finals.

— Courtesy National Pro Fastpitch

National Pro Fastpitch Releases Schedule

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Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 4 JANUARY 2015

December 2 & 7, 2014 Bally’s, Las Vegas, Nev. December 2 MeetingThe meeting was brought to order at

6:02 p.m. CST. Those present were:Carrie Austgen, Deer Park High School,

High School Representative; Darci Brownell, Sierra College, Cal JC Rep-resentative; Pat Conlan, Georgetown University, First Vice President; Kathryn Gleason, Boston University, Third Vice President; Boo Gillette, Arizona State University, Assistant Coach Representa-tive and incoming Second Vice President; JoAnne Graf, Coaching Emerti Group; Bill Gray, Missouri Southern State University, Division II Representative; Joanna Lane, Central Michigan University, Fourth Vice President (Tuesday meeting only); Pat-rick Murphy, University of Alabama, Past President (Tuesday meeting only); Diana Pepin, Eastern Connecticut State Univer-sity, Division III Representative; Natalie Poole, University of Memphis, Division I Representative; Tommy Ramos, Midland College, NJCAA Representative (Tuesday meeting only); Rhonda Revelle, University of Nebraska, President; Kevin Shelton, Texas Glory, Travel Ball Representative; Hal Wynn, Faulkner University, NAIA Rep-resentative (Tuesday meeting only)

Kate Drohan, Northwestern University, Second Vice President, was not present. Incoming representatives Don Kennedy, Missouri S&T University (Division II); Di-ane Miller, University of Nebraska (Assis-tant Coaches), and LeeAnn Taylor, San Diego City College (Cal JC), were present for parts of the meetings. Lacy Lee Baker, NFCA Executive Director, and Carol Brug-geman, NFCA Associate Executive Direc-tor, were present. The full NFCA staff came in for a portion of Tuesday’s meeting.

1. 2014 National Convention. Ms. Bak-er reported that 1,378 attendees were pre-registered for convention, which was the most ever pre-registered. In addition, 120 exhibitor companies in 177 booths were registered, another all-time record. The number preregistered for the preconven-tion seminar was 256.

2. Sponsor Contacts. The following board members were assigned to visit with respective sponsors to make sure their needs are taken care of during the conven-tion: Ms. Gillette and Ms. Gleason (Lou-isville Slugger); Mr. Gray (Schutt Sports); Ms. Revelle (Mizuno); Ms. Taylor and Ms. Brownell (Diamond Sports); Dr. Graf (Easton); Mr. Shelton (Wilson); Mr. Ramos (BowNet); Ms. Pepin (USSSA); Mr. Wynn (Three-Piece Tee); Ms. Austgen (NCSA), and Ms. Poole (SportsBoard).

3. Convention Manual. The group re-viewed the convention manual and sched-ule, noting duties involving board mem-

bers. 4. Open Communication Between the

Groups. There was quite a bit of discus-sion regarding communication between the groups, and how the Softball Summit played into that. The following comments were made:

A. All of the Division I discussion items from the Working Groups were distributed prior to the convention to the membership, so there shouldn’t be confusion regarding Division I hot topic items. Mr. Shelton felt that the travel ball communication prior to the convention had been good.

B. Ms. Baker explained that the Soft-ball Summit was established so that the different membership groups could share thoughts on common items. Originally, there had been a business meeting held at the convention, but as business became federated by division, the Softball Summit replaced the business meeting so groups could still discuss common issues. It was the general feeling that one of the best Summits was when the pitching rule was discussed, since it affected all groups. It was decided that at this year’s Summit each group would give a report, and then discussion would follow. Some board members questioned the need for a Soft-ball Summit in the future.

5. Future Conventions. The group not-ed the following convention sites confirmed at this time. Ms. Conlan and Ms. Gleason had good things to say about their visit to Atlantic City, which is being considered for 2019.

A. 2015: Atlanta Marriott Marquis. De-cember 2-5, 2015 (first week after Thanks-giving)

B. 2016: New Orleans Marriott. De-cember 7-10, 2016 (second week after Thanksgiving)

C. 2017: Bally’s Las Vegas. Decem-ber 6-9, 2017 (second week after Thanks-giving)

D. 2018: Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. December 5-8, 2018 (second week after Thanksgiving)

The meeting was recessed at 9:44 p.m. PST.

December 7 MeetingThe meeting was brought to order at 8

a.m. PST. 6. Executive Director Evaluation Tool.

The group reviewed a document from the Executive Committee that will be used for evaluation of the executive director.

7. Convention Review. The board was very pleased with the convention, and felt there was a lot of good energy there. The following ideas for improvement were dis-cussed:

A. Hall of Fame Dinner. There was positive feedback on the Hall of Fame din-ner, and the changes made to the format

(elimination of the “presenter”). The event got finished in a three-hour time span (din-ner one hour, followed by two for the pro-gram), which was really good considering there were four inductees.

B. Clinic Speakers. Many felt that the speakers were more dynamic than last time.

(1) Length of Speakers. Some felt that Tracy Warren needed a longer time, while other speakers went too long.

(2) Music should be played in down time between speakers.

(3) More Pitching. It was felt that more pitching topics were needed, like possibly exploring multiple facets of pitch-ing, possibly going on at same time.

(4) Pop-Up Skills Discussions. It was noted that more and more pop-up skills discussions happened, and it would be good to figure out how to capture that discussion. One board member said that the convention was a “Think Tank” and video and audio should be available from the discussion.

(5) Pre-Convention Seminar. One member recommended a three-hour time frame for the pre-convention seminar, in-stead of four.

(6) PowerPoint Presentations. NFCA should remind speakers to make font size big on the slides since the audi-ence is about 1,500.

(7) Travel Ball Curriculum. Mr. Shel-ton said that the College Coach Panel was extremely well received. It was recom-mended that it be extended to a two-hour time period. Other topics went about 20 to 25 minutes, and that was fine. There was some sentiment to renaming the coaches panel to encourage high school coaches to attend. Mr. Shelton will type up notes from the panel for distribution.

C. Internet. Some attendees felt there should be free internet. It was noted that there was free internet at the Internet Café, which prompted some board members to say that it should have been better publi-cized.

D. Convention Scholarships. One coach had mentioned that there should be convention scholarships for graduate as-sistants. It was felt that the grad assistants could apply for the Mary Nutter Scholar-ship Fund.

E. Mentoring. (1) It was felt that the mentoring ses-

sion went well. There was one complaint about a mentor’s comments and another about some mentees not behaving pro-fessionally. More money was raised than ever to “pay it forward” through the Mary Nutter scholarship and other professional endeavors.

(2) Possibly having an assistant coach curriculum, that would be about

three hours. (3) Possibly signing up for a 30-min-

ute session one-on-one, with multiple coaches doing it at the same time.

(4) Maybe have a mentoring meet-ing prior to the convention for first-time at-tendees so they know someone.

(5) Continuing to mentor year-round. F. Caucus Meetings. (1) Travel Ball. Mr. Shelton felt there

had been some good discussion at the event, although now, since the move of the caucus to Friday, it conflicts with the high school caucus. The timing is still a problem since there are some travel ball coaches who are also high school coaches. Other items Mr. Shelton brought forward were:

(a) Group was adamantly opposed to no fall recruiting window, but supported a shorter, six-week window.

(b) The travel coaches were in support of the proposed idea of no recruit-ing contact or visits before July 1 after the sophomore year. A vote was in favor of this.

(c) Group was against the certify-ing of events.

(2) Division III. A bigger room is needed for the caucus. The convention planning should consider 200 attendance.

(3) Cal JC. Ms. Brownell reported that 45 to 50 attended, which was a great number for the group. Some of the key points were:

(a) Their main focus is to get some-thing into effect legislatively in the next two years to expand back to eight teams at their Cal JC championship. In 2007, due to cost containment measures, the championship was cut from eight to four teams; they were told it would last until 2014. Unfortunately, in 2014, it was not increased back to eight.

(b) There were three past presidents present, so a lot of the session was spent in trying to educate.

(4) High School. Ms. Austgen noted the following:

(a) The survey results were dis-cussed at the caucus, including the fact that of the respondents, the majority still wanted hard copy of the newspaper; edu-cation was the big need and want of the group, and the current membership price is fine.

(b) Growing the membership is im-portant, and it was decided that the NFCA would find state reps, and regional reps, to help with membership as well as provide a sort of “phone tree” in reverse. Since the convention is being held in Georgia in 2015, it’s important to make a big push in that area, possibly having a contest be-tween Florida and Georgia. Other promo-tional ideas were discussed, including a

MINUTES – BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SEE BOARD PAGE 5

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Fastpitch Delivery PAGE 5 JANUARY 2015

December 3, 2014 Bally’s, Las Vegas, Nev.The meeting was brought to order at

7:30pm PST. Those present were: Danielle Henderson, America East Con-

ference, Alternate; Kyla Holas, American Athletic Conference; Lonni Alameda, At-lantic Coast Conference; Bridget Orchard, Atlantic 10 Conference; Jen Steele, Atlan-tic Sun Conference; Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cessler, Big 12 Conference; Pat Conlan, Big East Conference, and NFCA Board Rep; Barb Sherwood, Big Sky Conference; Dot Richardson, Big South Conference; Amanda Lehotak, Big Ten Conference; Linda Garza, Big West Conference, Alter-nate; Jaime Wohlbach, Colonial Athletic Association; Shonda Stanton, Conference USA; Lynn Curylo, Horizon League; Lisa Van Ackeren, Ivy League; Melissa Inouye, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference; Karen Linder, Mid-American Conference; Amy Hayes, Missouri Valley Conference; Steve Johnson, Mountain West Conference; Jane Worthington, Ohio Valley Confer-ence; Heather Tarr, Pacific-12 Conference; Michelle DePolo, Patriot League; Jo Ev-ans, Southeastern Conference; Stephanie Hughes, Southland Conference; Rick Fr-emin, Southwestern Athletic Conference; Annie Smith, Sun Belt Conference; Holly Van Vlymen, The Summit League; Nikki Palmer, Western Athletic Conference

Dee Abrahamson, NCAA Softball Secre-tary-Rules Editor, Guest; Vickie VanKleeck, incoming (Sept 2015) NCAA Softball Sec-retary-Rules Editor, Guest; David Batson, NFCA Legislative Consultant, Guest

Natalie Poole, NFCA Division I Repre-sentative; Carol Bruggeman, NFCA Asso-

ciate Executive DirectorHeidi Cavallo, Mid-Eastern Athletic Con-

ference, Roy Kortmann, Northeast Confer-ence, Mandy Burford, Southern Confer-ence, and Jessica Rodgers, West Coast Conference were not in attendance.

1. Approval of November Call Minutes. It was moved (Holly Van Vlymen) and sec-onded (Lonni Alameda) that the November call minutes be approved.

2. Division I Caucus Review. To prepare HCC members for the Division I Caucus, Carol Bruggeman, NFCA Associate Exec-utive Director, reviewed the Division I Cau-cus agenda. NFCA Legislative Consultant David Batson reminded HCC members regardless of straw vote results at the Divi-sion I Caucus, the entire Division I mem-bership would need to be surveyed regard-ing legislative issues.

3. Working Groups/Hot Topics. NFCA Division I Representative Natalie Poole in-formed HCC members about the order of Working Groups presentations (followed below) at the Division I Caucus. Chair(s) of each working group would present the hot topic, allow time for discussion, and take informational straw votes as needed. Time limits will be set for each topic so each working group will have an opportu-nity to present their research and informa-tion. HCC members felt it was important to present a united front on issues in order to move legislation forward.

A. Recruiting Calendar (Lonni Alameda, Karen Linder)

1. Two Models: a. Model 1 (6 weekends counting back from

Thanksgiving weekend)(October 17th –

November 23rd) Eliminate the 50 days The fall we are only allowed to recruit

Saturday and Sunday We can work camps and clinics on

campuses 3rd party camps and clinics can only

be worked on Saturday and SundaysCalendar would look like: WCWS – Dead Period June 4th Recruiting Contact Period June 5th –

August 3rd ( 9 weekends) Quiet Period August 4th – October

16th (10 weekends) Recruiting Contact Period (w/ dead

period of LOI) October 17th – November 23rd (6 weekends) Quiet Period November 24th – June

4th ( w/ dead period WCWS and April LOI -- 27 weekends

b. Model 2 (No Fall Recruiting) Eliminate 50 days No limit on camps and clinics dur-

ing the summer WCWS – Dead Period over June

4th Recruiting Contact Period June

5th – August 10th ( 10 weekends) Quiet Period August 11th – JuneHCC members discussed whether or not

to tie camps and clinics with the Recruiting Calendar. Majority of HCC members felt it was important to do so. Straw votes will be taken at Division I Caucus to see which model has most support.

B. Certification of Events (Heather Tarr, Natalie Poole)

1. Survey was sent from NFCA na-tional office on Nov. 3rd with separate links for head coaches and assistant coaches to

gather feedback on Certification of Events. Results will be shared at Division I Caucus.

C. Slowing the Early Recruiting Process Down (Nikki Palmer, Holly Van Vlymen)

1. Very strong support for change.2. Final proposal to discuss at Division I

Caucus reads:There shall be no recruiting contact (un-

official visits, phone calls, text messages, recruiting conversations at camp) with a PSA until July 1 after their sophomore year of high school. There shall be no contact with a third party (high school coach, club coach, friend, teacher, etc.) regarding un-official visits/scholarship offers. We would like to move the official visit to their Junior year with the same current parameters (13.6.2.2.1 and 13.6.3). We would also like to move the NLI Signing Period to their Ju-nior year with the same current parameters (13.9).

D. One-time transfer rule (Shonda Stan-ton, Barb Sherwood)

1. Working group developed lists of pros and cons regarding exemption of the one-time transfer exception and will share at Division I Caucus.

2. Survey was developed by working group and sent to HCC on Nov 4th.

Results will be shared at the Division I Caucus.

E. Moving the Season Back (Steve Johnson)

1. Steve Johnson shared information from ESPN. ESPN does not favor softball moving the season back because of exist-ing contracts with baseball, NBA Finals, X Games, and other sports.

MINUTES – HCC

trial membership. (c) CEU units need to be available

for the convention, as well as a way to sign up for a roommate.

(d) The NFCA needs to explore more regional mini-conventions, and/or tacking NFCC classes on the different coaches associations’ meetings and clin-ics.

(e) There needs to be more “call to action.”

(5) Division II Caucus. Mr. Gray re-ported the following:

(a) For planning purposes, the caucus needs to be set for 200 people. The caucus also utilized “sharing circles,” which meant they moved the chairs into groups, so the room needs to be large enough to accommodate.

(b) The Bronze meeting rooms were noisy, and there needed to be more chairs and seating the Grand Salon.

(c) There was a lot of discussion on the Division II Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

(6) Division I Caucus. Ms. Poole not-ed:

(a) She felt the transparency of the Division I working group information helped in the debate, as well as with other groups.

(b) The caucus could have gone longer on Friday, so it needs to be moved to a room without a conflict if more time is needed.

(c) It was recommended that the talks by Dee Abrahamson and Donna Vavrinec be moved to another time period so they can talk to all interested parties at the same time.

(d) Ms. Weekly had a meeting with some of the travel ball organizations and will forward a proposal for the January HCC meeting.

G. Committees. (1) Tournament and Camp Commit-

tee. It was felt that there were some great ideas generated.

(2) Hall of Fame Committee. Ms. Conlan felt the committee had good dis-cussion. The following was discussed:

(a) A better definition of “Pioneer Category” is needed.

(b) The selection schedule needs to be moved up, and there needs to be better publicity of the deadlines and nomi-nation process. Ms. Conlan will get the NFCA office a suggested timeline and rec-ommendations on how to publicize.

(c) A lot of coaches don’t under-stand that there needs to be service to the NFCA; it’s not just win-lost record.

(d) There needs to be more rec-ognition of the Hall of Famers. The follow-ing was recommended: posters of Hall of Fame members; feature of Hall of Fame members on Throwback Thursday and in the newspaper.

8. Unsigned Convention Sites. A. Atlantic City/Las Vegas Combina-

tion. Ms. Baker was given the go-ahead to negotiate with Caesar’s Entertainment for 2019 in Atlantic City (Harrah’s) and 2021 in Las Vegas (Rio). It was noted that the NFCA had not been to the Northeast since 1993, and because of the room rates in larger Northeast cities, Atlantic City would be a good option to explore.

B. 2020. Phoenix was suggested as a possible site for 2020 since the conven-tion had not been to the West, except for Las Vegas, since San Diego in 2010.

9. Linked In. More needs to be done with Linked In.

10. NFCA Reports. The group acknowl-edged reports from the NFCA staff regard-ing (1) events, (2) education, (3) member-ship, (4) social media, and (5) marketing.

11. Adjournment. The meeting was ad-journed at 11:45 a.m. PST.

(Note: Other prospective projects and NFCA administration issues were dis-cussed in executive session.)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTESCONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

SEE HCC PAGE 7

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Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 6 JANUARY 2015

December 5, 2014Bally’s, Las Vegas, Nev.The Softball Summit, chaired by outgo-

ing NFCA Division II Board Representa-tive Bill Gray (Missouri Southern), filling in for NFCA Past President Patrick Murphy, Alabama, is an open forum sharing where softball issues can be debated with coach-es from all membership groups participat-ing.

Prior to the summit beginning, NFCA First President Pat Conlan (Georgetown), presented the Donna Newberry Persever-ance Award to Notre Dame head coach Deanna Gumpf.

The summit meeting was called to order at 1:40 p.m. PST.

1. Welcome. Mr. Gray welcomed every-one to the Softball Summit and explained rules of order to those in attendance.

Members are required to wear their credentials and show respect to their col-leagues. Within debate, please show re-spect to your colleagues, be courteous and be a good representative of your pro-fessional organization. They were asked to remember the two-minute speaking max, but members were told they could dis-cuss anything. Speakers may not speak to the same topic more than once without permission of the membership. Members must disclose their name, school and affili-ation. Robert’s Rules of Order would be the guidelines for discussion.

2. Membership presentations. Mr. Gray opened the proceedings and announced that each level or division would present its topics from their respective caucus meet-ings.

3. Cal JC. Darci Brownell (Sierra Col-lege)

a. Cal JC can now recruit in the entire state of California as of July 1, 2014. Be-fore we had to stay in a 20 mile area.

b. In 2007, Cal JC sports went into a cost containment process for all post-sea-son play. Our championship was cut from an elite 8 to a final 4. In 2007 we were told this would last until July 2014 and then we would go back to 8 teams. That didn’t hap-pen, so we are asking NFCA coaches who recruit Cal JC players to email a Cal JC coach and an request that we go back to 8 teams so they do not waste a recruiting trip on only 4 teams. We are going to flood the CCCAA with the emails from the NFCA coaches. (I have received a lot of emails from coaches since the conventions).

4. Division II. Don Kennedy (Missouri S&T)

a. Thanked Bill Gray for his service and leadership as our Representative on the NFCA Board.

b. As a caucus, we passed motions to create two awards, the DII National Player of the Year award and the DII Na-

tional Freshman of the Year award. There were time lines for each award and the All-Region/All-American Committee will be responsible for determining the award win-ners. Thanked Diane Baker and Schutt for sponsoring the awards.

c. During our caucus, we split into four sharing groups discussing the following topics: Team Chemistry, Recruiting – tech-niques and approach, Community Service – ideas and what your team does, and Ways to Improve DII.

5. NAIA. Hal Wynn (Faulkner University) a. Discussed trying to get more of our

membership to become members of the NFCA to enjoy those benefits and more importantly make more awards available to their student-athletes.

b. Talked about changing the format of our national tournament. Currently we have forty teams going to ten sites with the winners converging at a national champi-onship site. We are considering taking all forty to one site to help make it more of a championship environment for our student athletes. At the same time it will be more economical for teams and will encourage cities to bid on hosting this tournament due to the economical impact it would have on that city.

c. Mandatory drug education at its in-stitutions.

d. Starting in 2016, it will have manda-tory drug testing at its national champion-ships.

6. Division III. Kris Herman (Williams College), filling in for NFCA Division III rep Diana Pepin.

a. Division III membership talked in its caucus about starting a divisional mentor-ing program similar in nature to The Men-toring Session held each year at conven-tion. Those Division III coaches with five years or more experience were asked to serve as mentors, while those coaches with less experience were asked to signup as mentees by January 2. Ms. Pepin will pair mentees with mentors.

b. The group also discussed adding a HCC for Division III. The HCC would include one person from each Division III conference and would have a monthly or bimonthly conference call to discuss items of interest to Division III. A four-person sub-committee was formed to explore this proj-ect.

c. NCAA Assistant Director of Champi-onships Jan Gentry presented her annual caucus review of the Division III Champion-ship and spoke about new NCAA legisla-tion, scheduling, team alignments and the championship selection and tournament process. She and Division III Softball Com-mittee chair Robin Baker, the head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, held an informative optional mock ranking

exercise for those who wanted to see how teams are determined.

d. NCAA Softball Secretary-Rules Edi-tor Dee Abrahamson and National Umpire Coordinator Donna Vavrinec gave their an-nual presentation about NCAA rules and officiating.

e. Ms. Herman started a discussion about the proposal to reduce the softball schedule by 10 percent and the procedure for on-campus tryouts for potential student-athletes.

7. NJCAA. Tommy Ramos (Midland) a. Coaches wanting more input with

the NJCAA especially when it comes to the national tournament. We would like to change the format of the national tourna-ment.

b. Changing the total number of the softball Polls for all DI, DII and DIII junior colleges. Also when they begin and finish.

c. Discussed how well the NJCAA All Star team played in the Canadian Open. They were invited back for next summer’s games.

d. Establishing a dialogue with NCAA DI and DII universities when speaking or recruiting a junior college player at mid-term.

8. Division I. Natalie Poole (Memphis) a. Division I’s partnership between the

WCWS and Oklahoma City is extended until 2035 as long as Oklahoma City fulfills their expansion and facility improvement plan.

b. I appreciate all of the hard work that each working group member has commit-ted to the research, creation, and devel-opment of ideas and possible proposals, which we believe, will help the sport of soft-ball at the Division I level.

c. Recruiting Calendar i. There was unanimous desire for

change to the current calendar ii. Below are the agreed upon parts

of the calendar: 1. Elimination of 50 recruiting dates 2. Fall recruiting on Saturdays and

Sundays only 3. Quiet Period: The day after the

first weekend in August until 4. Fall Recruiting Period: Six

Weekends counting back from Thanksgiv-ing

5. Quiet Period: The Day after Thanksgiving until the Thursday Following the WCWS

6. Summer Recruiting Period: The Thursday following the completion of the WCWS until the end of the first weekend in August

iii. This will not go into effect until 2016-17 pending the NCAA legislative process and approval.

iv. Our next charge is to make sure camps/clinics are included during the sum-

mer and fall windows (this would include institutional/non-Institutional camps)

d. Certification of Recruiting Events i. We have been discussing the desire

to have better structure at recruiting events to aid in improved efficiency

ii. This does not limit the number of tournaments held on a weekend, how much money is made, who the money goes to, etc.

iii. This will help coaches get all of the appropriate information for the athletes as well

iv. In a straw vote, 75 percent were in favor of looking into this further

e. Slowing the Early Recruiting Process Down

i. Working on forming legislation to stop the recruiting conversations so early

ii. The potential legislation created that we are building on:

There shall be no recruiting contact (un-official visits, phone calls, text messages, recruiting conversations at camp) with a PSA until July 1 after their sophomore year of high school. There shall be no contact with a third party (high school coach, club coach, friend, teacher, etc.) regarding un-official visits/scholarship offers. We would like to move the official visit to their junior year with the same current parameters (13.6.2.2.1 and 13.6.3).

iii. This led to five straw votes 1. No recruiting with PSA’s or other

coaches until July 1 after their sophomore year; 95 percent yes; 5 percent no.

2. Propose that recruiting conversations take place at camps with sophomores or younger; 95 percent yes; 5 percent no.

3. Propose to allow official visits during the Junior year; 90 percent yes; 10 percent no.

4. Propose to put scholarship offers in writing beginning July 1 after their Sopho-more year; 20 percent yes, 10 percent no (small sample)

5. Propose that the NLI is moved to the Junior year; 20 percent yes; 80 percent no

f. One-Time Transfer Rulei. The question is whether we as a sport

want to be exempt from the one-time trans-fer exception. It means if a student athlete transfers they could receive athletic aid, practice, but not compete against outside competition for a year. The purpose is to better support the idea of slowing the re-cruiting process down.

1. In a straw vote, 90 percent voted in fa-vor of wanting an athlete to sit out the year from competition, 10 percent against

2. Moving the Season Back i. We began looking into this topic be-

cause February is winter and it is difficult to find consistent mild weather to compete

MINUTES – SOFTBALL SUMMIT

SEE SOFTBALL SUMMIT PAGE 7

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Fastpitch Delivery PAGE 7 JANUARY 2015

Olympic Champ’s ‘Biggest Loser’ Run EndsNEWS & NOTES

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Lori Harrigan-Mack’s inspiring run to the final five on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” came to an end Thursday night after spending 16 weeks as a contestant on the show.

She was the contestant with the lowest percentage of weight loss during the week and was automatically eliminated. But while Harrigan-Mack fell short of the winner’s $250,000 grand prize, she showed viewers what can be accomplished if you put your mind to it, losing 81 pounds on the show to drop from 301 to 220.

After going home to rejoin her husband and young son, Harrigan-Mack continued her progress, dropping another 10 pounds to get to 210.

She is a member of an elite group of four women who hold three Olympic

gold medals in the sport of softball. At the 2000 Olympics, she became the first individual pitcher to throw an Olympic no-hitter. Harrigan-

Mack’s Olympic accolades include a 4-0 record with a 0.00 ERA, 29 strikeouts and just seven hits allowed in 27.2 innings of work.

In addition to her three-Olympic golds, Harrigan won three

International Softball Federation (ISF) World Championships (1994, 1998, 2002) and three Pan American Games gold medals (1995, 1999, 2003) during her 12 seasons as a member of the USA Softball Women’s National Team.

A three-time ASA Women’s Major Fast Pitch All-American, Harrigan-Mack collected one Women’s Major Fast Pitch National Championship with the California Commotion in 1999. Inducted into the National

Softball Hall of Fame in 2011, Harrigan-Mack is also a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame as a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Softball Team.

The 16th season of the NBC hit, dubbed “Glory Days,” started with 20 professional and non-professional former athletes who want to change their lives. The show airs on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

--Some information courtesy of ASA/USA Softball

anywhere in the country. ii. ESPN, at this point, is requesting that

we do not go this route because of poten-tial programming conflicts.

iii. We need to decide if we want to push through regardless of television, or look into different options, such as limiting the number of games or weeks on the front end of the season.

9. Travel Ball. Kevin Shelton (Texas Glory)

a. Recruiting Window 1. The travel ball coaches are

“adamantly opposed” to no fall window, but as a group supports the idea of a shorter window of events where college coaches could evaluate

2. They like the idea of the window being from October 1 to Thanksgiving versus the six weeks before Thanksgiv-ing because it would help those in weath-er-impacted areas.

3. They are OK with the reduced window as long as September and De-cember don’t turn into “college camp fests.” It was felt by the group that the activity outside the allowed recruiting win-dow would be moved to college campus-es resulting in recruits and their families spending a lot more money (on college camps).

4. One concert was the unintended consequent would be helping the “travel ball haves” or better teams getting the better fields because there would be few elite events.

5. Regarding certifying events, “ev-eryone but one (coach)” was against this. It was said that, “basketball events are certified, but there hasn’t be a positive impact on those events.”

b. Early Recruiting 1. The travel coaches were in sup-

port of the proposed idea of no recruiting contact or visits before July 1 after the sophomore year. A vote was in favor of this.

2. The primary concern was the lan-guage that would be around an offer giv-en after July 1 so it would be understood by all. It was felt by the club coaches that if a player can’t get a scholarship offer un-til after July 1 of the sophomore year “it would make a big difference.”

c. Standards & Measurables 1. Regarding testing athletes at

events so there is a standardization of measurable such as home-to-first speed, it was stated that “TCS (Triple Crown Sports) and PGF (Premier Girls Fast-pitch) are working on this and everyone sees it as a positive.”

10. High School. Carrie Austgen (Deer Park High School)

a. Major goal to increase member-ship

b. High School Focus Groups 1. Regional Leader with State

Leaders 2. To gather information like State

Tournament dates, State Coaching Orga-nizations, Coaching Schools and contact people

c. Inform High School coaches that the NFCA is the Think Tank of Fastpitch Soft-ball

d. Inform High School Coaches that NFCA is available. I have a new assis-tant that has been coaching for over 30 years and didn’t know we existed nor was there a convention.

e. Increase connections between High School and College Teams

1. If I had to do it over again, I would have done a better job Contacting HS Coaches when I was a JC Coach

f. Suggested College Coaches make two connections a month

1. For example: Contact two on the 2nd of each month. Whether it’s via email, Linked In, or another venue. Just to say hi and explain how the NFCA is a great organization.

11. Mr. Gray announced that summit at-tendees now have the floor to ask ques-tions or make statements, first starting with Cal JC. He went through the order of each group’s presentations and there were no questions or comments.

12. Adjournment. Meeting was ad-journed at 2:08 p.m. PST.

SOFTBALL SUMMIT MINUTES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

2. The four options for moving the sea-son back that will be discussed at the Divi-sion I Caucus are:

a. Keep the schedule as is b. Move the start date back one week

and keep 56 games c. Move the start date back one week

and reduce to 52 games(this option received minimal support)

d. Move the start date and end date back one week and if there was enough support from the membership, take to the NCAA with a collective backing to push for change.

4. Other Business. A. There will be a special Travel Ball

curriculum at NFCA Convention, held on Saturday, December 6th from 2pm-

5pm. HCC is encouraged to attend.5. Conference Call. The next HCC

conference call will be held at 10:00am Central time Tuesday, January 13th, 2015.

6. Adjournment. The meeting was ad-journed at 8:53pm PST.

HCC MEETING MINUTES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

Harrigan-Mack

Fresno State head coach Trisha Ford recently announce that Fresno State will retire former Bulldog All-Amer-ican and three-time Olympic gold medalist Laura Berg’s No. 44 jersey on February 28 prior to the team’s game

against Oregon State, where NFCA member Berg is in her third season as head coach.

Berg, an outfielder, helped lead Fres-no State to its first NCAA Division I title in 1998, and ended her career as

the WAC leader in triples, runs, hits, at bats, games played and total bases. She is the only player to produce more than 300 career hits and a 160-game defen-sive errorless streak as an outfielder.

--Courtesy Fresno State Athletics

Fresno State Retiring Berg’s Bulldog Jersey

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Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 8 JANUARY 2015

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2014 NFCA NATIONAL CONVENTION CLINIC DVD ORDER FORM If you couldn’t attend the convention or you just want to review a session that you attended in Las Vegas, you can purchase a DVD of many of the topics. DVDs are $20 for members/$25 for non-members (plus shipping and handling). Each features the speaker as shot in his/her presentation at the convention. All recordings are approximately 45 minutes in length.

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“THE MIND MATTERS: WHY YOU SHOULD FULLY COMMIT TO TRAINING YOUR ATHLETES’ MENTAL GAME AS PART OF REGULAR PREPARATION & HOW TO DO IT”Tori Nyberg, Founder & Owner, Elevate Performance Counseling

“DRILLS, DRILLS, DRILLS”Mike Lambros, Head Coach, North Davidson High School; Kristine Himes, Associate Head Coach, University of Kentucky; Kelly Ford, Head Coach, Cal State-Fullerton

“SHOW AND GO: AN INSIDE LOOK AT MANAGING PLAYER AND STAFF PERSONALITIES”Lonni Alameda, Head Coach, Florida State University

“A CATCHER’S GRIND: MOLDING THE DEFENSIVE DIFFERENCE MAKER”Jen Schroeder, Former UCLA Catcher & Owner of Jen Schro Catching

“CREATIVE TEACHING: THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX”Randy Schneider, Associate Head Coach, University of Wisconsin

“THREE KEYS TO ELITE HITTING”Matt Lisle, Assistant Coach, Santa Clara University

“CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENSE: GETTING GAME READY”Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson, Head Coach, Alabama State University

“POLISHING AN ATHLETE: COMPLEX TRAINING OF POWER & SPEED STRENGTH”Michelle Martin-Diltz, Strength & Conditioning Coach, University of Alabama

“PREPARING YOUR TEAM FOR THE POSTSEASON”Kevin Blaskowski, Head Coach, West Texas A&M University

“PITCHING PERFORMANCE MEASURES”Rick Pauly, Pitching Coach, University of Georgia

“EPIDEMIC OF OVERUSE INJURIES IN SOFTBALL”Dr. Chris Mazoue, Orthopedic Surgeon, University of South Carolina

“HALL OF FAME PANEL”Dr. JoAnne Graf, Bill Edwards, Margie Wright, Dr. Gerry Pinkston

10). Two teams, Missouri-St. Louis

and St. Mary’s (Texas) reached the NCAA Division II Super Regionals a year ago, while seven others — New Haven, Texas Woman’s, Midwestern State, Metropolitan State, California Baptist, Western Oregon and Central Oklahoma played in the Regional round.

Missouri-St. Louis went 49-8 in 2014 and had an 11-game win streak snapped by Wayne State in the Midwest Super Regional, losing the final two games to be eliminated. St. Mary’s (50-14), meanwhile, won 50 games for

the fourth time in school history, but fell in the Super Regionals to eventual titlist West Texas A&M.

Midwestern State (31-24) was runner-up to West Texas A&M in the South Central Regional, while Texas Woman’s (34-19) and Metropolitan State (33-17) also

had the misfortune of being in the regional with the Lady Buffs on their road to the title. New Haven (29-18), California Baptist (46-13), Western Oregon (34-23) and Central Oklahoma (41-17) all saw their stellar seasons end in Regionals.

Other teams returning from the 2013 Leadoff Classic include Regis (22-28), Molloy (30-22-1) and Colorado Mesa (27-21). New participants are Fort Lewis (26-29), Colorado State-Pueblo (27-21) and East Central (33-25).

STRONG FIELD FOR 2015 NFCA DIVISION II LEADOFFCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

VISIT OUR ONLINE STORE TODAY!Preparing to Play Softball at the Collegiate Level is a valuable resource for anyone beginning a college search. If you want to make sure you’re on track academically and athletically, this book provides you with a detailed road map. High school and junior college athletes will learn everything from how to meet academic and recruiting guidelines to how and when to contact college coaches, what to put in a skills video and where to find financial aid. It’s a must-buy for softball players, parents and anyone who works with college-bound student-athletes. To order your own copy and check out our skills DVDs and other softball items, visit our online store at NFCA.org

FD

Fastpitch Delivery PAGE 9 JANUARY 2015

Lamar University is seeking two NCAA Division I teams to participate in the first tournament at its new on-campus stadium in Beaumont, Texas.

The Cardinal Classic will take place February 21-29, 2016 at the Lamar Softball Complex. There is no entry fee for the event. Contact assistant softball coach Allison Honkofsky at (409) 880-7448 or send an email to

ahonkofsky@lamar.edu for more de-tails.

Lamar will open play at its new facility, and compete for the first time on campus, this spring when it hosts Houston Baptist for the first two games of a three-game South-land Conference series on March 6. Games are slated for 3 and 5 p.m. lo-cal time.

ASA/USA Softball Announces WNT RosterNEWS & NOTES

Eighteen athletes will represent the red, white and blue on the Women’s National Team this summer, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced following the completion of a recent three-day selection camp at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, Calif.

A total of 33 athletes participated in the selection camp, where they were evaluated by members of the Women’s National Team Selection Committee, who selected the final roster. The selected athletes will return to Bill Barber Park later this summer to compete in the World Cup of Softball, before heading to the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada.

“The Women’s National Team roster of 18 may be one of the most well-rounded group of athletes I

have been around in the last 10-11 years,” said Women’s National Team Head Coach Ken Eriksen. “I am looking forward to our continued development as we strive to gain our rightful place as the No. 1 team in the world.

“The journey over the next six years begins today with the announcement of the world’s best fastpitch softball team.”

In preparation for the 2015 season, Team USA will compete in a series of exhibition games in the weeks leading up to those two events. The complete schedule, including tour stops and clinics, will be released at a

later date on USASoftball.com. Representing the U.S. this summer

will be 13 returning veterans from the 2014 roster which claimed the General Tire World Cup of Softball title and finished second at the International Softball Federation (ISF) Women’s World Championship in Haarlem, Netherlands. Five rookies also join the squad, with two of those having

previously worn the red, white and blue as a member of the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team.

Joining Eriksen on the WNT coaching staff are assistant coaches Laura Berg, the head coach at Oregon State; Howard Dobson, an assistant coach at LSU; and Lisa Dodd, the head coach at UNLV.

— courtesy of ASA/USA Softball

The Mexican National Softball Fed-eration will hold open tryouts for its Women’s National and Junior National teams on June 20-21 in Irvine, Calif.

Before that, the Junior National Team will host a training camp for Mexico residents and players that reside in the United States from January 28-Febru-ary 1 in Baja, Calif., and another from March 26-April 1 in Culiacan, Sinaloa. Players that are U.S. residents will be required to tryout at the June 20-21 camp to be eligible to represent Team Mexico at the ISF World Champion-ship on August 7-16 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Meanwhile, the Women’s National Team will have training camps on March 26-April 1 in Culiacan, Sinaloa, and June 21-28 in Irvine, Calif., to pre-

pare for the World Cup of Softball on June 29-July 5 at the same location, as well as the Canadian Fastpitch Open on July 15-25 in Vancouver.

Players must have Mexican lineage from either parent or grandparents to qualify for the team and must have or obtain a Mexican passport as well as hold a valid U.S. passport.

Players selected must commit to play in all events and will receive airfare, hotels, meals and medical insurance from the Mexican National Softball Federation. The cost to tryout is a non-refundable $60, which includes a Team Mexico t-shirt.

Contact Carlos Caro via email at car-loscaro10@aol.com or call (305) 984-7035 before June 14 for more informa-tion or to reserve your tryout spot.

Open Tryouts For Mexican National TeamsLamar University Needs Two Tourney Teams

Women’s College World Series Tickets Now Available All-session and outfield flex package

tickets for the 2015 NCAA Women’s College World Series are now available for purchase.

The 34th annual Women’s College World Series will take place May 28-

June 3 at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium-OGE Energy Field in Oklahoma City.

All-session tickets, which include ac-cess to a minimum of 14 games and up to 17 games, range in price from $75 to $130. All seats are reserved.

Also available is the outfield flex ticket package, which allows fans to purchase tickets to a minimum of four sessions, starting at $60. More details and a complete list of ticket options can be found at www.ncaa.com/cham-pionships/softball/d1

The WCWS will once again feature

the nation’s top eight teams in a double elimination tournament format for the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Cham-pionship.

Last year, the University of Florida captured its first national champion-ship with a 6-3 victory over 2012 titlist Alabama.

USA Women’s National Team Roster• Annie Aldrete, C, Tennessee• Valerie Arioto, INF, California• Ally Carda, INF, UCLA• Raven Chavanne, INF, Tennessee• Amanda Chidester, C/INF, Michigan• Samantha Fischer, INF, LMU• Kellie Fox, INF, Arizona• Lauren Gibson, INF, Tennessee• Taylor Hoagland, INF, Texas

• Janelle Lindvall, C, Oregon• Haylie McCleney, OF, Alabama• Jessica Moore, P, Oregon• Michelle Moultrie, OF, Florida• Sara Nevins, P, South Florida• Sierra Romero, INF, Michigan• Kelsey Stewart, INF, Florida• Janie Takeda, OF, Oregon• Jaclyn Traina, P, Alabama

This issue starts the 20th year of Fastpitch Delivery as the NFCA’s member newspaper. We look forward to our next 20 years.FD

FD

Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 10 JANUARY 2015

Having a young team (12 and under), the message I try to send as the new year starts is simple, “It’s not going to be how we start, but

how we finish.’ For young players in Illinois, the season is a long spring and summer, March through August. If we can be consistent for six months, our team will have many successes.

Matt SchachtWasco Diamonds 12U

We do set New Year’s resolutions for the team. We also have players identify team and individual goals and write them down. Since parent

lack of integrity/commitment has been a problem (in the past), one of the main resolutions we have is to eliminate parent involvement and have players sign a commitment contract for the season.

Joe ManiscalcoNY BlueFire Fastpitch

To provide more individual one-on-one instruction.Jay Ozier

Southern Illinois Falcons

Do you have any New Year’s resolutions for your team?

Have a Question or an Answer?

Here is your chance to give input in a very simple manner – we need ideas for questions you would like to see answered in a future edition, so please feel free to share those ideas.

Respond by emailing Dave Hines at dave@nfca.org.

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

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NFCARECRUITING APP

College prospects can go to the Apple Store to download the free app to enter their profile for college coaches.

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HAS YOUR ADDRESS, COACHING POSITION OR SCHOOL CHANGED? If the answer is yes, your member information needs to be updated. Please call the NFCA at (502) 409-4600 or email Manager of Membership Jamie Hazel at jamie@nfca.org to make any necessary changes to your roster spot.

FEATURED TWEET

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Fastpitch Delivery PAGE 11 JANUARY 2015

Jennifer Steele has high hopes for her first spring as head coach at Jacksonville University, and plenty of success as a player and coach to draw from, as she works to return the Dolphins to prominence in the Atlantic Sun Conference and beyond.

A standout player at Longwood University, who excelled both in the circle and at the plate, Steele almost didn’t become a coach. Kathy Riley, her college coach and later boss and mentor, changed all that.

“She said ‘Have you ever thought about coaching? Well, you should, because you do a really good job at camps,’” Steele recalled.

THAT TURNED on a light bulb that led to Steele pursuing her master’s in exercise and sports studies at Smith College, where she spent two years as a graduate assistant. After that, she spent three years as the head coach at Randolph College, guiding that squad to its first winning season and first trip to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament, which earned Steele the league’s 2009 Coach of the Year award.

After two years overseeing the pitchers and catchers at George Mason, Steele returned to her alma mater and was reunited with Riley in 2012. Together, they won 81 games over the past two seasons, including a Big South title and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2013.

Now that she has her own program

again, Steele is trying to figure out exactly what type of team she has. It’s taken a little bit longer to figure that out than originally anticipated.

“It was interesting (in the fall),” Steele said. “A lot of our starters were out with injuries. It was difficult to get a gauge.”

The team had its first practice of the

spring on January 11, and, with the medical clearance of their final sidelined player two days later, the team is finally at full strength and ready for a proper assessment.

“I have no idea,” Steele admitted. “We do have a solid core of upperclassmen. Three pitchers are in the junior class,

as well as our offensive punch. We’re going to be young up the middle.”

It was clear to Steele, though, that the team did the work they were supposed to do during the break and came back to campus ready to go.

“There’s been a huge improvement since the fall,” she said. “Getting a new staff and new verbiage is always the challenge of taking over a program.”

THE TEAM will be tested early and often. The Dolphins face defending national champion Florida twice in their first six games and also play perennial Missouri Valley Conference powerhouse Illinois State and NCAA tournament regular South Florida at the Bulls’ season-opening tournament.

When the Atlantic Sun season opens, it won’t be a picnic, either. Lipscomb and USC Upstate earned at-large NCAA bids last season, joining conference champion and automatic qualifier Stetson in the 2014 Division I national tournament.

“We will (be challenged),” Steele said. “The A-Sun is such a strong league. It’s sneaky strong. You have to come every day ready.”

It’s also a balanced conference. There have been six different tournament titlists in the last six years, including Jacksonville in 2011 under Steele’s predecessor, Ali Higgs, who guided the Dolphins to 81 victories and back-to-back 30-win seasons.

Steele said she is excited about the possibilities the Jacksonville job has.

“I was really ready to take on a new

Steele Getting In The Swim With Dolphins

Jacksonville University coach Jennifer Steele, center, shares a light moment with catcher Lexie Ballard, left, and pitcher Victoria Brown last week. Photo courtesy Jacksonville Sports Information.

Former Longwood Standout Excited For Opportunity To Lead Jacksonville ResurgenceBy DAVE HINES

Editor

COACH’S PROFILE

IN THE PRESS BOX WITH JENNIFER STEELE1) How has the game changed in the time you’ve

been coaching?“The game is faster. It’s all about the athletes now

specializing. There’s even position-specific training.” 2) What are some problems coaches now face

that are different from when you started coaching?“The availability that the athletes have to us because

of technology. We’re very accessible on a variety of levels. But if you’re not using technology, you’re going to be left behind.”

3) If you knew then what you know now, how would your coaching have been different?

“I would be so much calmer. When I was younger, ev-erything was a fire. It’s like when people have children.

By the second one, it’s much more relaxed.”4) Is there a secret to success in coaching?“I think really enjoying people. You have to treat

people well. People have to know you care about them.”5) What would your ideal season be like?“Just if we can work at a high rate and give a con-

sistent effort and approach all the time.”

SEE STEELE PAGE 22

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Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 12 JANUARY 2015

PLAYING A ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY: SOFTBALL TEAMS

ABOVE (L-R): Amber Logemann, Taylor Shuey and Tiyona Marshall of the Miami of Ohio soft-ball team participated with their teammates in a Kiwanis Club Food Drive (Photo provided). BELOW: Members of the Northwest Missouri State softball squad wrap presents after selecting the names of four less fortunate children from the Angel Tree at Horance Mann Laboratory School. (Photo provided). LOWER LEFT: The University of Connecticut softball team poses for a photo at East Hartford Middle School after discussing strategies for making smart decisions with children in grades 6-8 as part of the Goal Line Project (Photo provided). MIDDLE LEFT (L-R): Carley Henning, Carley Moisio and Vanessa Kohl take a break from helping out at Men-tor Duluth Collaborative with their College of St. Scholastica teammates (Photo by Mentor Duluth). TOP LEFT (L-R): McNeese State’s Ashley Modzelewski, Taylor Goree, Emily Vincent, Lakeyn Fontenot and Jolie Trahan and their teammates helped collect items for a local Toys for Tots drive (Photo by Julie Fontenot).

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Fastpitch Delivery PAGE 13 JANUARY 2015

FEATURED DRILLSnap/Catch/Land Drill — Screwball

By Courtnay Foster, Pitching Coach, Northwestern University

Note: This language is specific to a right-handed pitcher.

I use this drill to exaggerate the feeling of resistance on an angle towards the in-side corner and to emphasize the finger and wrist snap in conjunction with weight transfer for the screwball.

1. Start with toes on the power line and the ball just behind your right hip. You should be about 5-7 yards from your tar-get.

2. Snap the ball to your target with screwball spin as you transfer your weight from your right foot to your left foot.

3. Keep your elbow straight for this drill to isolate wrist and fingers.

4. Control your lean to the right while the ball is in the air and land to the right of the power line as the ball reaches the target. The catcher should catch the ball before or as your right foot lands – hence the name of the drill.

I like to visualize a volleyball or soccer ball between my knees to remind me of my resistance. “Fingers down” is a good

reminder as you snap. The ball should follow the power line for this drill. Remem-ber, the spin is what makes the ball move.

Why does a screwball move?In my opinion, a screwball should not

be an “angle” pitch; rather, it should cut from left to right, or inside to a right-handed batter. To achieve this move-ment, the four-seam version of the spin would look like rise ball spin (straight back spin), tilted 90 degrees clockwise, so the ball would be spinning around an axis which is perpendicular to the ground.

I prefer a four-seam grip in which the first and ring fingers find a place along the long side of the seams with the thumb on a third seam.

To learn the basic spin, start from your knees, and place the ball on the

ground (with proper grip) with your thumb pointing toward your body. Using the ground as resistance, rotate your thumb around the front of the ball and spin the ball into the ground like a top, keeping your elbow straight and finish-ing with your thumb pointing away from you.

What role does the elbow play?I believe you don’t need to bend your

elbow to throw an effective screwball. A bent elbow on the finish is a natu-ral movement. However, if your elbow bends before the ball is snapped, it can hinder your ability to create maximum spin speed. That is why I like to keep a straight elbow for this drill. Keep in mind the elbow will bend after release at full speed, but isolating the wrist and fingers is a key emphasis for this drill.

Why do we step left and fall/lean to the right?

Stepping left helps the pitcher create a lane to snap the ball with a finish that goes right and still keep the ball in the

strike zone. It also helps angle her lower body so she can push to the right to aid her snap. I believe each pitcher should only step as far left as they need in or-der to achieve these two goals. Stray-ing too far from the power line could result in other negative side effects.

I think landing with the right foot sig-nificantly to the right of the power line for the screwball should be a conse-quence of the angle of the pitcher’s re-sistance relative to weight transfer and wrist snap as opposed to a deliberate step to the right. In simpler terms, if the pitcher uses her legs against her snap toward the inside corner, a controlled lack of balance will be the result.

If she deliberately steps right at the end, and this happens before her resis-tance can aid her snap, it can result in loss of spin and/or velocity. I think the pitcher should fall the right because she had a strong snap and great resistance, as opposed to doing it just because that’s the way the ball should go.

Search “NFCAorg” and click on videosSEE MORE ON

TAKE THE TIME TO GIVE BACK TO THEIR SUPPORTERS

Members of the Florida Gulf Coast University softball team pose for a picture outside the house they painted as part of a Habitat for Humanity project. Photo by Alycia Bachkora.

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Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 14 JANUARY 2015

to-back trips to the regional tournament and every player in the program’s history earned four-year college scholarship offers.

Great players make great coaches. The ability to find them helped land me the chance to coach at Penn State, where I am the program’s recruiting coordinator.

BEGINNING MY eighth season in college softball, I have encountered many new college coaches who have found themselves like I was — in the duck without water position. These coaches often come into the profession transitioning immediately from their playing days. They could be in their first coaching position, where recruiting is tasked to them, or they are coaches looking for a way to improve their current recruiting methods.

The aforementioned conversations sparked my pursuit of this article. My purpose is to explain the following:

1. How to use the ballpark to your advantage (Looking beyond what’s on the field and evaluating what’s happening in the stands).

2. How evaluation methods taught to me in the Marlins organization translated to success in softball.

3. How to use your evaluation process properly to arrive at the recommendation point.

THESE METHODS PROVED successful for me in both baseball and softball. Hopefully, someone smarter than me will take them and produce even greater results for our game in the future.

Dave Post, now the Director of Amateur Scouting with the San Diego Padres, served as my boss and tutor during my Marlins days. A consummate for details, he illuminated parts of the ballpark scarcely known to me during my playing days.

“You don’t have to have the best eyes early on as a scout,” he would say to me. “Early on, use your ears.”

I would go on to learn the meaning of his statement in droves. College coaches (or scouts) emit numerous details while they are evaluating

prospects at the field. Hearing which recruiting direction an opponent may go in will often greatly aid in the

process. A veteran scout from another

organization once had a 10-minute

discussion with another group of scouts

MLB RATING SYSTEM CAN HELP SOFTBALL COACHESCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Florida Marlins Grading ScaleHITTING

(Where do you project the player’s future major league batting average)80= .315 and over70= .295-.31460= .275-.29450= .255-.27440= .235-.25430= .215-.23420= .214 and below

HITTING(present)

25=Very crude, a project30=Raw, needs work35=Solid, average for level40=Very polished for level45=Fast mover, little to fix50=Exceptional, close to majors*Our organization did not list 60-80

present ratings based on the fact that very few amateur players have ever rated close to those numbers.

POWER(Major League Level)

80=35 Home runs or more70=27-34 Home runs60=20-25 Home runs50=15-19 Home runs40=10-14 Home runs30=6-9 Home runs20=0-5 Home runs

60 YARD DASH6.5 or under=806.6-6.5=706.7=60

6.8=506.9=407.0=307.1 or higher=20

RISK FACTORS0=No risk-10 out of 10 chances of

being a Major Leaguer 1=Minimal risk=8-9 out of 10 chances

of being a Major Leaguer2=Below average risk=6-7 out of

chances of being a Major Leaguer3=Average risk=4-5 out of 10 chances

or average college player4=Above average risk=2-3 chances

out of 10, average high school player5=Very large risk=1 out of 10 chance

GUN READINGS80=92 and up 70=90-9160=88-8950=85-8740-82-8430=79-8120=78 and down

CONTROL (Ability to throw strikes)

80= less than 1 walk per 9 innings70= 1 walk per 9 innings60=2 walks per 9 innings50=3 walks per 9 innings40=4 walks per 9 innings30=5 walks per 9 innings20=6 walks per 9 innings

ROLE PROFILE DEFINITIONSA=Very Good (VG) to Outstanding

(OUT) (70-80) Superstar, MVP candidate, Possible No. 1 starter (Barry Bonds, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter)

B=Above Average (A/AVG) (60-69) Frequent MLB All-Star, one of the top five players at their position, a complete player, No. 2 starter (Lance Berkman, Scott Rolen, Troy Percival)

C+=Solid Average (S/AVG) (56-59) Very solid positional starter (offensive oriented), occasional MLB All-Star, possible No. 3 starter (Jorge Posada, Steve Finley, J.D. Drew, Octavio Dotel)

C=Average (AVG) (50-55) An average starter. Premium defensive position, No. 4 starter (Mark Kotsay, Trot Nixon, Derek Bell)

D=Below Average (B/AVG) (45-49) Not a regular. Role and platoon players (Offensive Oriented), No. 5 starter (Alan Embree, Omar Daal, Andy Fox, Matt Lawton)

D-=Well Below Average (WBA) (42-44) Backup player at best, specific role players, No. 9-10 staff members (Tom Goodwin, Joe McEwing, Kelly Stinnett, Greg Myers)

O=Organizational Player/JCF (40-41) Organizational role player. Emergency call-up type, will play at the AAA level, good clubhouse player (41-42) Amateur JC follows. Rank according to interest and prospect status.

Sample Softball Grading ScaleHITTING (future)

80=.400 or better70=.360-.40060=.330-.36050=.280-.33040=.250-.28030=.250 and below

HITTING(present)

25=Very crude, a project30=Raw, needs work35=Solid, average for level40=Very polished for level45=Fast mover, little to fix50=Exceptional, close to impact starter

POWER80=20 Home runs or more70=17-19 Home runs60= 14-16 Home runs50=10-13 Home runs40=6-9 Home runs30=3-5 Home runs20=0-2 Home runs

SPEED to 1B80= 2.6 or Better

70=2.6-2.760=2.7-2.850=2.8-2.940=2.9-3.030=3.0-3.120=3.1 and up

GUN READINGS80=66 and up70=63-6560=60-6250=58-5940-56-5730=54-5520=54 and down

CONTROL(Ability to throw strikes)

80= less than 1 walk per 7 innings70= 1 walk per 7 innings60=2 walks per 7 innings50=3 walks per 7 innings*For me, in my sample, any pitcher

with higher walk potential automatically becomes an above average risk.

ROLE PROFILE DEFINITIONSA=Very Good (VG) to Outstanding

(OUT) (70-80) Superstar, MVP candidate,

Possible No. 1 starter, Frequent All-American

B=Above Average (A/AVG) (60-69) Possible All-American, Frequent All-Conference, one of the top 7-8 players at their position, a complete player, No. 2 starter

C+=Solid Average (S/AVG) (56-59) Very solid positional starter (offensive oriented), occasional All-Conference, possible No. 2-3 starter, closer

C=Average (AVG) (50-55) An average starter at conference level, premium defensive position, Possible No. 3 starter

D=Below Average (B/AVG) (45-49) Not a regular starter, role and platoon players (Offensive Oriented), role reliever

D-=Well Below Average (WBA) (42-44) Backup player at best, specific role players, innings eater

O=Organizational Player/JCF (40-41) Organizational role player…Great chemistry kid, academic +, great program enhancer

(41-42) Project HS follows…rank according to interest and prospect status.

SEE MLB RATING PAGE 20

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People say we get wiser as we get older. I would have to agree with that statement.

What I have learned through the years of coaching softball at both the high school and travel ball level is that you must adapt. I totally understand coaches at the collegiate level are looking for “their” kind of kids, who fit both the coaches’ and the team’s personality.

If they can do that year after year, that is a great thing. But what if you don’t have that luxury? Who should we take on our team?

IN HIGH SCHOOL, we as coaches don’t have the knowledge of who will be walking through the doors the first day of school and we certainly don’t know who will be trying out for the team. In my first couple of years coaching I had a certain style that I would not relent from. I treated everyone pretty much the same and would not sway from those tactics.

Although we had successful teams in those years, looking back I feel like I could have did a better job and I didn’t properly get the most out of each and every player. Recently, I have become more attentive to the pulse of the team.

I will give you two teams in particular. In 2009, we had a team that won the state championship. That team needed and embraced getting a pep talk, not before every game, but almost every other inning.

This may sound draining to some people, but for me I loved it. It was what they needed. That year if I didn’t like the way they were playing, the worst thing I could have ever done was give them the silent treatment.

In 2012, we also won the state title and finished 32-0. Some of those players were on the 2009 team. This team, I found out after three games, didn’t want to hear anything. They just wanted to go out and play. So, I had to just let them do their thing.

Now don’t get me wrong, we were always coaching or correcting

mechanical mistakes, but as far as motivation, nothing. Two teams with some of the same players that had a total opposite way they wanted to be treated.

Learning each team and each kid’s personality I feel is the single most important factor to maximize potential. Every kid must be coached differently and treated

differently. Knowing what kid to coddle or who to get after will go a long way in not only the team’s success, but more importantly in your players’ success.

The author recently won his 300th game at Immaculate Heart Academy. He is also a coach and president of the Akadema Elite travel ball organization.

By ANTHONY LaREZZAHead Coach, Immaculate Heart Acad.

It’s Critical To Learn Your Team’s PersonalityVIEWPOINTS

Immaculate Heart Academy coach Anthony LaRezza makes a point to his players during a game. LaRezza says that a coach has to identify what type of team he has and adjust his or her approach to that squad accordingly. Photo provided.

Do you know something Fastpitch Delivery should be writing about? Would you like to write articles for Fastpitch Delivery? Just have a question? Email your ideas, questions and suggestions to Dave Hines at dave@nfca.org FD

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Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 16 JANUARY 2015

It is said that when recruiting softball players one should always recruit the parent or guardian of a player in whom you are interested.

Truer words were never uttered, for getting “good” parents is as important as getting a good player. In fact, the parents should be even better than good. Awesome is the word.

So what is a “good” parent? Loaded question if there ever was one. In these cases, recruiters must rely on their own experiences and skills. Others might have a jaundiced view depending upon the relationships they’ve had with certain parents. Unfortunately these days, it is not going well for coaches.

IF THIS IS the first or one of the first times a coach has recruited, that person is at a distinct disadvantage.

Parents can be extremely deceptive when it comes to their children and what’s expected from an outsider. On top of this is the belief parents sometimes have that their child is a better athlete than she really is, coupled with the conviction that their child can do no wrong.

Of course, the reverse can often be the case in the minds of parents, human nature being what it is. Abuse

will sometimes manifest itself openly or very secretly. One never knows for sure and mistakes are certain to be made.

SO, SALLY SLUGGER likes shortstop and wants to play there. You don’t need another shortstop, as you have a good one and a fairly good backup. Another in the fold would not be a healthy situation, although it is said that a shortstop is almost perfect for playing any other position on the field.

The problem is that Sally only wants to play shortstop and will be unhappy with any other situation.

The situation that a coach must face is whether Sally wants to come to your school (1) because a relative graduated from there (2) it is close to her home (3) it is far enough away from her home or (4) some other reason. There is also the money she will be getting in the form of scholarships.

Another situation might be that either a really, really good friend is on the team or her boyfriend is a student at that particular school — both of which are the lousiest of reasons to go to a school.

A coach must be ready to handle these potential situations. Some might be pretty easy to solve. Money might be a problem and there could be other

reasons or considerations. Now what do we tell Sally? She is a real stud and a terrific fielder.

Do we offer her alternative positions and ask her to wait until there is an opening at short? She may not accept these options. If you really want her, you have to be a great salesperson.

A coach might be hampered by very high tuition and other costs at his or her school. Financial aid will only go so far and the association the school belongs to might not allow athletic scholarships. Again, salesmanship comes into play.

THERE ARE TWO great roadblocks to getting a player such as Sally. One is that she has been offered a scholarship at another school and the other involves beating the scholarship of the other school in terms of money, campus or quality of play. What division of the NCAA or perhaps the NAIA is often a determining factor.

Often a recruit has Division I as her choice and will not accept any school that is not at that level. There are, of course, several levels of Division I when it comes to level of play. There are very powerful schools, some not so powerful, followed by wannabes.

Which one will a player accept? Will reality set in and make her and her parents a believer that she may not

be as good as advertised? These are questions that have to be asked and answered. Each individual is different and requires a different analysis.

THERE IS a great problem with recruiting when railbirds or outsiders — or even parents — recommend a player, making claims about ability. The only options are to forget it or go watch her play. The latter may not be possible, due to distances involved. It is very dangerous to rely simply upon someone else’s recommendation, unless there is no question of the ability of the person doing the recommending to know talent.

Most coaches really hate recruiting. It is a difficult task and you are dealing with different skill levels and personalities. You must have several hats here, but chiefly one must be a guru or a soothsayer. Difficult at best.

Dick Smith is the former head coach at the University of St. Francis and previously coached at Valparaiso University.

Want to argue, cuss or discuss? Email Smitty at dicksmitty@sbcglobal.net.

SOFTBALL BY SMITTY

Recruiting Is Often A Tricky UndertakingBy DICK SMITH

Players seeking softball scholarships in college need to talk to many people, especially those who have gone through the recruiting process. It is advisable not to limit choices of schools, not to demand playing time or a particular position and not to overestimate one’s ability. It is best to visit as many schools as possible and talk to the head coaches. It is very important that you talk to the current players. They will ordinarily be very honest. Try it. You’ll like it.

SMITTY’S TIP

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Fastpitch Delivery PAGE 17 JANUARY 2015

Most months I write about topics that are geared to pitching coaches or just coaching in general. This month, I thought I would venture out a bit and write towards non-pitching coaches and, in particular, the questions they might have about consistency in pitching.

If you are a pitching coach who is not a head coach, you have no doubt fielded many questions about the consistency of your staff. Or if you are a head coach who does not handle your pitching, you have most likely had questions about the consistency of your staff.

WHILE THESE conversations are as normal as practice planning, I have found it helpful for all parties concerned to have a clear definition of what consistency is on your staff and an understanding of progression of skill. When these two elements are in place it becomes very easy to answer questions and formulate plans of attack for any changes needed.

Let’s start with a clear definition of consistency for your staff. See if this conversation sounds familiar? “I need Suzie to be consistent. Every game Suzie pitches three great innings and then gets shelled in the fourth. Why can’t she be consistent?”

First off, we need to be aware of how we talk about consistency, because if we go by definition, she is consistent. She is doing the same thing in the same fashion, repeatedly.

And, yes, I know this is a radical example, but let’s just be honest, we have all said something like that before.

If we are going to talk about consistency we must also determine what consistency means for our staff. If you coach 10U, it would mean something very different than if you were a college coach. But also keep in mind it might be different for your senior and your freshman on the same staff, and it could even be different for each pitch for the same pitcher.

ALSO IMPORTANT is an understanding of what your definition means in a game setting. Having a pitcher throw 8/10 sounds pretty good until you consider when you put that in terms of a game it means 80/100, which means 20 pitches don’t work or are fat. That works out to almost three pitches per inning.

If you go to 90 percent, which sounds really great, you still have better than a pitch per inning that doesn’t work or is fat. Now all

missed pitches don’t leave the yard or necessarily hurt you, but we just have to be careful and realistic in how we define things if we are going to hold pitchers accountable for them.

THE NEXT STEP in defining consistency is making sure your pitchers know what the definition of consistency is for your staff or for them individually. Keeping everyone on the same page helps keep communication and expectations clear and easily attainable.

So you have defined consistency and everyone knows the goals we are working toward. Great. You are well on your way. The second element is progression of skill.

Everyone knows pitching is a learned skill and there is a progression involved with this skill. However, I have found that sometimes the order of this progression gets turned around and, as you might guess, some pitchers try to skip steps in the progression, all of which lead to fragile mechanics and lack of “consistency” in pitching.

If we want solid consistent pitchers we have to have an understanding of how those types of pitchers are built.

It is just like a house. A solid foundation, strong wind-resistant walls and a sturdy roof will keep all the storms of softball out of the circle.

IF PITCHERS are trying to perform a skill in the progression but do not have the foundation of the previous steps they will undoubtedly struggle and have a lack of consistency in the skill. While the list (above) is not exhaustive with every single mechanical step — that would be a book’s worth — it does provide an outline for basic skill progression.

Notice how some steps are repeated for each pitch. It is important for pitchers to remember that basic mechanics do not need to change from one pitch to another.

Again, this is not exhaustive. I tried to highlight the biggest steps I see pitchers needing to master, but hopefully it will provide a guide to pitching progression and help your pitchers attain their maximum level of performance.

Megan Brown is an assistant coach at the University of Akron and the pitching coach for the Great Britain National team.

She earned her doctorate in kinesiology from Auburn University and was a three-time All-America pitcher at Florida Southern College, earning Hall of Fame induction for both her alma mater and the Sunshine State Conference.

Brown played in National Pro Fastpitch from 2007-09 and in Europe from 2010-13. She previ-ously coached at the University of Connecticut under longtime coach Karen Mullins.

How To Build Consistency In Your PitchersEDUCATION

By MEGAN BROWN, PhDAsst. Coach, Univ. of Akron Pitching Checklist

Fastball Mechanics q Arm circle on line to targetq Step online to targetq Front side releaseq Hand finishing to targetq Pitching with maximum effort on each pitchq Ability to throw pitch to all four corners of strike zone

Change-up Mechanicsq Arm circle on line to targetq Step online to targetq Pitch loaded on backside of circle for release (between 10 and 9 o’clock) q Front side releaseq Hand finishing to targetq Pitching with maximum effort on each pitchq Ability to throw to both sides of the

plateq Ability to throw for a strike and a ball

Breaking Pitch Mechanicsq Arm circle on line to targetq Step online to targetq Pitch loaded on backside of circle for release (between 10 and 9 o’clock) q Hand in correct position for releaseq Hand dominating release (shoulder quiet)q Hand turning the ball in the correct directionq Front side releaseq Hand finishing to targetq Pitching with maximum effort on each pitchq Ability to throw to both sides of the plateq Ability to throw for a strike and a ball

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Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 18 JANUARY 2015

Last year, I started Pumpkin Planning my life and business. Yes, you read that correctly. Pumpkins changed my life!

These seemingly quirky concepts have provided a new perspective and fresh approach that are quite applicable for all of us at the start of a new year.

“The Pumpkin Plan,” by Mike Michalowicz, is a book written for entrepreneurs. According to the book, after reading an article about a local farmer who had dedicated his life to growing giant pumpkins, Michalowicz realized the same process could apply to growing a business.

“Holy crop, I thought,” Michalowicz wrote. “Pumpkin farmers hold the secret formula for big-time entrepreneurial success. My get-out-of-jail-free card. The Holy Grail. The missing link. My golden ticket.

“There it was in black and white and orange. The answer I’d been looking for, for years. I needed to treat my company like a giant pumpkin!”

By adjusting the business concepts a bit, I have come to see the Pumpkin Planning principles apply to success in other areas of life. Michalowicz says, “You don’t need to do more. You need to do different.”

1. PLANT THE RIGHT SEEDS. Prize-winning pumpkin farmers

do not plant just any seeds. They search the world and pay literally thousands of dollars for just a few of the best seeds on the planet. To meet their goal of growing a mammoth pumpkin, these farmers know they must plant seeds from another giant pumpkin. These enthusiasts can plant literally thousands of other seeds, but no matter how hard they labor and toil, their work will be in vein without the right seeds.

Michalowicz says: “Find the ‘why.’ What purpose are you serving? What gets you stoked? If you know your ‘why,’ it will resonate with (you and) your clients. More importantly, it will be your compass. Dare to be exactly who you are.”

Life translation: Do not take on every little project or responsibility because others expect you to do it, or it may be a good opportunity, it could lead somewhere great or it seems like a nice thing to do. This is just planting thousands of average seeds.

Be determined to zoom in on something that matters to you. Dare to be you, because no one else can. Identify your values. Do not waste time that is only motivated by pleasing others and involves saying “yes” to everything.

Plant the seeds that matter most and then work your butt off to develop them. Weeding and caring for the things you are passionate about becomes exciting. You get better at what you do because you enjoy doing it.

2. WEED OUT THE LOSERS. In a pumpkin patch, rotten

pumpkins steal nutrients and stunt the growth of the hearty, healthy ones. To grow a prize-winning pumpkin, farmers must identify the most promising pumpkins and kill off the rest of the vine.

Michalowicz says: “I needed to cut the clients who were actually holding me back, cut the aspects of my business that weren’t serving growth and find unparalleled ways to serve my best clients.”

Life translation: The same is true of our attention, focus and responsibilities. Figure out which areas add the most value and provide the best opportunities for health, impact on others and personal growth. Then ditch the rest.

Of course, some less-than-exciting responsibilities are necessary for us all, but often we hang on to roles

that stunt our growth and steal away opportunities in the areas that matter most — the areas that will grow greatness.

My husband has taught me a valuable lesson concerning the need to “weed out the losers.” He said “It is not about what you choose not to do, but what you choose to do that matters most.”

Sometimes I have such trouble saying “no” because I want to do good for others and accomplish greatness in all areas. I do not want to miss anything. However, a divided focus does not promote success in any area.

Saying “no” is good, healthy — even noble — when it protects the potential prize-winning pumpkins in life.

According to Michalowicz “there is always a direct correlation between diluted focus and a diluted bank account.” The same is true for our physical and emotional tanks. Diluted focus depletes us.

3. NURTURE THE WINNERS. Giant pumpkin farmers, nurture

only the pumpkins with the greatest potential.

Michalowicz says: What you need is “a maniacal focus on the one thing you do very, very well. Rather than fix what’s not working, you need to cut it out like the cancer it is. Then, you need to expand on what is working.”

Life translation: After determining the most productive areas of focus (planting the right seeds) and abandoning responsibilities that suck the life out of those all-important priorities (weeding out the losers), then work with a vengeance to grow those prize-winning seeds.

Once you weed out and simplify, you have more time and energy to tackle your areas of greatest priority and focus. You will work more effectively, accomplish more and enjoy the process. Go above

and beyond. Do the job well. Ooze excellence and enjoy the heck out of it.

So you see, prize-winning pumpkin farmers really do hold a secret to success. By Pumpkin Planning, we can achieve greater balance, better health, happier relationships and more overall success. Finding a laser-like focus is stress-relieving and empowering.

Taking on every responsibility possible is exhausting and a recipe for disaster. “In some perverted way,” Michalowicz says, “you start to be proud of how stressed you are.” Yep. Been there.

By Pumpkin Planning, we gain balance and the potential for extreme greatness all at the same time, but truly adopting this mentality is a process. These changes have taken a year or more to implement and I am still working on them myself. The results, however, are worth the effort.

Here’s to a very balanced and extraordinarily successful 2015!

By CHARITY BUTLERFounder, Exceed Sports

Charity Butler is respected nationally & in-ternationally as a pro athlete, writer, speaker, collegiate coach, hitting instructor and Certi-fied Intrinsic Life Coach®.

As a Pro Speaker for Sports World, Inc, Butler travels the country speaking to more than 40,000 people annually. As a recognized ex-pert in confidence training, she also presents at various conferences, colleges & universities.

Butler is the founder of Exceed Sports, LLC (www.Exceed-Sports.com) and of the I HEART FASTPITCH Campaign (www.iheartfastpitch.com). Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @CharityButler

Pumpkin Plan In 2015 For Optimum SuccessEDUCATION

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“You’ve got to have patience and take what’s given you. At the same time, you can’t be afraid to pull the trigger.” —Jerry Bailey, Hall of Fame jockey

A superb, short description of the way softball should be played is aggressively under control.

An analogy with NASCAR clarifies this concept. The accelerator is aggressiveness and the brake is control. Without the accelerator, a driver would not be competitive; but without the brake, she would not be able to finish the race.

The challenge that athletes face is finding the appropriate amount of aggressiveness, which is as much as possible without losing control.

SO HOW does an athlete find the ideal balance? It depends on the person and the situation, but a correct amount does exist.

A gymnast competing on the balance beam has a tendency to fall at a specific point of her program. With too much aggressiveness, she falls off to the right. With too little, she falls off to the left.

Balance is the goal — both mentally and physically. A hypothetical balance beam exists in every performance situation. Everyone has a tendency to fall off one way or the other in a given situation, as opposed to splitting the mistakes evenly.

Awareness of specific situational tendencies enables the athlete to adjust appropriately, so she should always be on the lookout for patterns. Softball’s many statistics aid this process.

Awareness of patterns leads to awareness of personality flaws or tendencies. Everyone’s personality

affects on-field performance in both positive and negative ways. Without awareness, no adjustment to those negative effects is possible.

CONTROL, AS IN controlled aggression, can be broken down into two component parts: self-control and situational controls. Controlling hype level and emotions is a prerequisite for an athlete to control her performance. To consistently be in control requires a healthy perspective on the game and uncommon levels of awareness and discipline.

Physical balance is indicative of an athlete’s self-control or their lack thereof. For example, a pitcher or hitter should always be explosive, under the control of dynamic balance.

If she falls over, even a little, during the pitch or swing, the source of the problem is either insufficiently practiced mechanics or too much aggressiveness.

For older players, it is usually the latter. The physical mistake indicates a flaw in the mental approach. Therefore, the solution often lies in adjusting the mental mechanics, not the physical ones.

LEGENDARY UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was a great believer in control and balance. For his players, Wooden liked aggressiveness, too, but recognized that competitive athletes are much more likely to lack control than aggressiveness in “big” games.

He taught that to remain in control on the basketball court, the student-athlete must be emotionally and spiritually balanced off it. Wooden wrote the following:

“I preferred to maintain a gradually increasing level of both achievement and emotions rather

than trying to create artificial emotional highs. For every contrived peak you create, there is a subsequent valley. I do not like valleys. Self-control provides emotional stability and fewer valleys.”

Wooden discouraged both excessive celebration and excessive disappointment over outcomes.

INSTEAD, his teams were conditioned to play their best at the end of games by being prepared physically and mentally. Three specific examples of their preparation follow.

1) Their stamina was fantastic. Practices were performed at an extremely fast pace, with “move, move, move” being the most common instruction. Wooden made it a point to tell reporters that his players believed that they were the best physically conditioned team in the country.

2) They had the perspective to judge themselves on their effort instead of the score. Some players accepted this lesson more than others during their limited time at UCLA, but it was a lesson that Wooden continually preached, so on the whole his teams understood it better than opposing teams.

3) Wooden’s athletes were in control of themselves. This expectation was standard, regardless of the intensity of the battle being fought.

FAILURE TO MEET this standard resulted in a lack of playing time. Curse words were not allowed. Wooden wrote:

“You cannot function physically or mentally unless your emotions are under control. When you lose control of your emotions, when your self-discipline breaks down, your judgment and common sense

suffer. How can you perform at your best when you are using poor judgment? Complaining, whining and making excuses just keep you out of the present. That’s where self-control comes in. Self-control keeps you in the present. Strive to maintain self-control.”

BY THE WAY, the reason a “big” game is in quote marks is because now is big, but no particular now is more important than any other now — in theory.

Success, according to Wooden, is doing your best. That is never more achievable or less achievable. Now is the only time over which we have any control.

Restated by Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi: “Winning is an all-the-time thing.”

By AARON WEINTRAUBMental Training Expert

Aaron Weintraub runs www.CoachTraub.com, a consulting business with the mis-sion of over-delivering value on goods and services designed to help you and yours win the mental side of the game. He also recently launched a blog called Smile Coach.

His website, www.smilenowcoach.com, is dedicated to inspiring you to inspire others with short articles and videos.

Weintraub holds a bachelor’s of arts de-gree from Emory University and a master’s of education degree from the University of Virginia. Before becoming a full-time mental skills coach, Weintraub served as an assistant baseball coach for 13 years at Emory, the University of Virginia, Presbyterian College, Brevard College and Cedar Valley College. He is married with four children and lives in The Colony, Texas.

Go Fast, But Not So Fast That You CrashTRAINING YOUR MIND

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No, really. I mean it. Goal setting is so last year.

And yes, I may be partially kidding, but here is what I know for sure: Sometimes what we do when we are trying to set goals is we end up setting ourselves up for failure.

AND THAT can be a tricky situation, as most of us have decided that failure is personal and we make it our own, whether it’s good or bad. And then we end up frustrated that we didn’t do what we wanted to accomplish and end up walking away from completion of the goal before we ever really started.

Happy New Year. This is the time of resolutions and goals and “This is the year I am going to do it” mantras. I know, because I have done all of that and then some. I realized that every time I ended up failing, even a little piece of it, I walked away from it because I was disappointed and frustrated. And then I wondered why I didn’t achieve what it was that I was after.

I was talking to a friend last week about goals and resolutions and the like, and she said something that made me stop and think. “What if we just didn’t make them at all? Would we ever achieve anything?” I had to

laugh to think that we often need to say something out loud in order for it to become real, or we need to write it down to make it ours.

All of the reasons we tell ourselves we need to “think things into existence and put a timeline on them and make them SMART (using is a mnemonic device to guide in the setting of objectives) are just excuses for us actually doing the work. Do I set goals? Not really. Or at least I don’t call them that anymore. They feel cumbersome and scary to a lot of us, and feeling like I need to spend days planning instead of moments doing is just too much time wasted.

LIFE IS SHORT. We all have had moments where this realization hits us more than ever, and we don’t know what comes of tomorrow anyway. What if we spent our time doing, allowing, letting go and walking hand-in-hand with our best intentions, showing up as our best selves? Is that what we really need to be doing?

What if during that process we actually find a little more joy and a lot less stress? And perhaps realize that when we intend authentically and we act genuinely, others will feel that energy and follow. Living in the now can offer so much joy that we often

miss when we are eyes deep in a spreadsheet and planner.

I have achieved a whole lot more by letting my soul speak louder than my head. By following my heart and the pull I feel when I get up in the morning, I have been 10 times more successful than I ever have before.

BY PURSUING my purpose with a passion I have never felt like I needed to look back, or search forward. Things fell into place when I needed them to the most and my happiness trumped all else.

A good leader will always know that in order to lead others into achievement, we need to first understand the process ourselves. And the very limits we put on success, we end up putting on our team.

John C. Maxwell wrote about the Law of the Lid in his book, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” that you will never grow higher than the lid, and that may be the coach, the boss, the parent, the teammate, and most of all, can be you.

Maybe intend to not just raise the bar, but get rid of the bar. Because with goals, we settle once we get there. We pull off the gas. We pat ourselves on the back and can easily get complacent.

We don’t know how far we can go until we go there. Flowing easily

through the process makes the outcome take care of itself.

Life is short. Let’s live now a little more than we plan for tomorrow. And no tomorrow can ever come close to the joy of living in the now.

I intend to.

THE MENTAL GAME

Jen Croneberger is a mental game coach who speaks at clinics, team workshops and corporate seminars. She has been inter-viewed on ABC News (Philadelphia affiliate) on many occasions about the mental game, consulted by MTV’s MADE as a fear coach and was the 2009 Female Business Leader of the Year for Chester County, Pa. She works with many organizations and sports teams from professionals to youth and is formerly the head softball coach at Ursinus College. Follow her on Twitter at @JenCroneberger and find her on Facebook at Jennifer Lynne Croneberger. Her blogs and more informa-tion on her programs can be found on www.thefivewords.com.

How To Not Set GoalsBy JEN CRONEBERGER

President, JLynne Consulting Group

about a player in a game we were all watching that day. All of his remarks were incredibly positive of that player’s ability. Unbeknownst to him, we were listening. That information greatly aided our ability to know how much time to spend on evaluating that player.

As in college softball, we were often weighing on potential money invested per player, time and signability. Knowledge gained in the stands of the ballpark greatly assisted that decision.

Post always taught me to count heads of opposing coaches and scouts at a field. Know how often they are watching a particular team. What type of player did they typically go after?

How did they react during a game when a player does something positive or negative? Do they get on their phone during key moments of the game? Do they consort with that player’s coach during a game? All of these questions are highly relevant and help to make your recruiting decisions better. As Chinese warrior philosopher Sun Tzu once wrote, “Know your enemy. Know yourself.”

During my time as a pro scout, talent

evaluation methods used for over a century were challenged by Michael Lewis’ 2003 bestseller, Moneyball. The talent evaluation argument at that time was as follows: Is it best to evaluate players by the traditional 20-80 scale or utilize Bill James’ scientific mathematic approach known as sabermetrics?

The debate still rages. I was trained on the traditional 20-80 model. I will explain it briefly. I believe it’s still highly useful and such a model might help your softball recruiting.

Admittedly, the MLB model has both subjective and objective elements I find useful to recruiting. Objectively,

in both baseball and softball, the stopwatch and the radar gun don’t lie. If you marry them up with the scale numbers and letters, then a player obtains a specific grade.

One might rank Chris Jones, OF, of Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Fla., as a D 47. In our organization, that meant we saw him as a below-average major league prospect and would not be seriously considered for selection until the first 10 rounds were over. Thus, our selection madness has a method.

One can use their own measurements. Coaches will always value game

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Over the years many myths have developed around the games of baseball and softball. There are so many of them that we will discuss them in a series of articles.

Before reading the following sections, decide whether each statement is true or false. See how many you can get correct.

The fielder catches the ball, takes a few steps, falls down and drops the ball. The fielder held the ball long enough for a legal catch.

Time has no significance in determining the validity of a catch. A legal catch is the act of a fielder who has complete control of the ball and any release of the ball is voluntary and intentional.

Secure possession of the ball must be maintained during any continuing action of the catch attempt. If the ball is dropped unintentionally or involuntarily, it is not a legal catch. If the ball is lost during some new movement not related to the continuing action of the catch attempt, the catch is legal.

Here are some examples:1. The fielder controls the batted fly

ball into the glove as she is running at full speed. As she attempts to slow down during this continuous action, the force of her running causes the ball to fall out of her glove and hit the ground. She has not successfully caught the ball.

THE RELEASE OF the ball from her glove or hand was not intentional or voluntary. It does not matter that she held the ball in her glove for any number of steps during this continuous action.

2. The fielder dives for a sinking line drive and makes a phenomenal “catch” in the air. She hits the ground, slides a few feet, and then the ball rolls out of her glove.

Despite these heroic efforts to get an out, the catch is not legal. The release of the ball was not intentional or voluntary.

3. The fielder “catches” the fly ball on a dead run then crashes into the outfield fence, jarring the ball out of her glove and the ball contacts the ground. Sorry. Again, no catch.

4. Same situation as No. 3, but when the fielder hits the outfield fence the ball rolls around in the glove. The fielder grasps the ball before it falls out and then completes the catch by stopping and throwing the ball toward the infield. We have a legal catch.

The hands are part of the bat.

No, the hands are not part of the bat. Although this myth is an old one, most coaches are now aware this is not true; yet we still hear it from spectators.

Think about it. When the bat was first purchased, it did not come with hands on it.

THE HANDS ARE part of the batter’s body. If the ball hits the batter’s hands, it is a dead ball immediately and is treated the same as a pitch hitting any other part of the batter’s body.

Here are some examples of how this can come into play:

1. The batter tries to check her swing as the pitch comes in on her and the ball definitely hits either the hands or the bat. The plate umpire must make two decisions on this difficult situation. Did the ball hit the hands or the bat? Did the batter swing?

If the judgment is that the ball hit the hands, then the batter is awarded first base, right? Not so fast. A hit batter is not automatically awarded first base if she swings at the pitch or she intentionally lets the ball hit her.

Now the second umpire decision comes into play. If it is ruled a swing, then we have a dead-ball strike, and it could even be a third strike.

If it is not a swing, but it is judged to be an intentional act by the batter to be hit with the pitch, then we have a dead

ball and a ball is awarded to the batter. If the plate umpire is not sure if the batter swung or successfully checked her swing, then the plate umpire can ask the base umpire for help on the check swing.

2. The batter takes a full swing and the ball rolls to the pitcher as the batter stays in the batter’s box and vigorously complains about the pain in her hands from being hit there by the pitch.

As the pitcher throws the ball to first base to apparently get the batter-runner out, the umpire judges that the ball hit her hands and not the bat. This decision will probably get some argument from the defensive coach unless the batter had two strikes, in which case the batter would be out.

SINCE IT IS always an immediate dead ball when a pitch hits a batter, the apparent play is nullified and the batter is returned to the plate with an additional strike being charged.

3. Same as No. 2, but the batter has two strikes and the apparently batted ball rolls foul. Now it is the offensive coach’s turn to argue the call, as it is not a foul ball but the batter is declared out on strike three.

Please be aware, this can be a difficult play for the plate umpire. Many times the action of the batter will cause the hands and bat to be in front of her body on contact.

The umpire must make a call on the action, although it is not easy to see over the catcher and around the batter to determine exactly what the pitch hit – hands or bat.

An umpire would like to see every play on the field with complete clarity. When this cannot happen, due to the circumstances of the play, he or she must use all the senses for assistance, as well as reading the players’ actions.

The sound of a pitch hitting flesh is different from the sound of a pitch hitting a softball bat. If the batter immediately reacts to the pain of a hit pitch and the umpire is not 100 percent sure, this factor may be part of the decision process.

Another difficulty on this play is the fact that when the hands are gripping the bat, they are not flush with the surface of the bat. There is a small space in which the pitch could hit both the bat and the hands.

The umpire must judge which one it hit first. Because the ball is round, it would most likely hit the hands first. This is a tough call to explain to the defensive coach, as he or she probably heard the sound of the ball hitting the bat, which it probably will do after it hits the hands.

It is also possible that the ball hits the bat first, but because of its round surface, it hits the hands immediately after hitting the bat.

The sound of the ball hitting the bat is louder in this situation and often the judgment leans toward it not being a hit batter.

We will investigate a few more Myths and Truths next month.

John Bennett has 26 years of umpiring experi-ence in fastpitch softball, working high school, travel and college games.

He umpired at the NAIA National Champion-ship Series from 1998-2003, and has umpired in National Pro Fastpitch, dating back to when it was known as Women’s Pro Fastpitch and the Women’s Professional Softball League.

Bennett has umpired Pac-12 and Big West conference contests for many years, earning standing as a crew chief, and has worked many Division I Regional and Super Regional games. The last two years he worked at the Division II National Championship Series in Virginia.

He recently finished his term as the Active Official for the NCAA Softball Rules Committee.

RULES CORNER

Separating Softball’s Myths From TruthsBy JOHN BENNETT

Longtime Umpire

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challenge (again),” she said. “I learned so much from Kathy. Still, I think it was good for me to play at Longwood and then go away for a while.”

Steele said that time allowed her to experience different team environments and help her find her own coaching identity. That helped her feel confident it was the right move this past July to leave Longwood for a second time.

“I DIDN’T HAVE to leave,” she said. “I love Kathy and the kids. I was only going to leave if it was the right move. So far, it has been great.”

It doesn’t hurt that she was going to a competitive conference and has the sparkling Debbie and Fred Pruitt Softball Complex, dedicated in 2013 as the first jewel of the university’s since-expanded $85 million ASPIRE campaign, at her disposal.

But the thing that really sells the program is not a strong conference or great facilities. It’s Steele herself. Her

knowledge and enthusiasm comes across in the very first conversation.

Her vision for the program is clear, shaped by her many coaching influences, topped by Riley, but including Georgetown coach Pat Conlan, Virginia Wesleyan coach Brandon Elliott and James Madison’s Mickey Dean.

“Pat does everything great, Brandon continues to impress me by his ability to

balance it all and Mickey gets the most out of his players, even when you might not expect it,” Steele said.

They have nothing but good things to say about her as well.

“JEN IS A rock star,” Elliott said. “Her energy, knowledge and passion for teaching all facets of the game are infectious. Her ability to recognize ability is what gets her good players, but her ability to develop ability is what is going to set her apart from everyone else.”

“You are talking about a very talented individual,” Riley added. “She believes in hard work, integrity and respect; these are the first things she will do by example and ask her players to be accountable for.

“She has a tremendous base of knowledge from which to draw because she pitched, played third and hit third or fourth in our lineup during her extremely productive Longwood playing career. I am confident we are going to see a highly successful program at Jacksonville University and the biggest reason why will be Jen Steele.”

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Jacksonville University coach Jennifer Steele, left, instructs pitcher Victoria Brown on proper form during a practice session last week. Photo courtesy Jacksonville Sports Information.

measurements differently. However, it is easy to see how a coach becomes more precise with their selection. Jane Smith now becomes an O player, while Hannah Taylor is a C 50 ready to be offered 60-65 percent, for instance.

Post and I also followed some subjective grading maxims. For example, if a player did not remind you of a big leaguer on the field, they probably were not one. I have found the same statement to work in softball. Here, if they don’t remind you of an All-Conference player, they are not.

THIS MAXIM particularly bodes well in staff conversations leading up to final selection discussions. The missing element in this equation is money. I think it wise to know what you are willing to spend; what the going market rate is for the positional needs in each class. The 20-80 chart and the market allowed us to know whether a player might be too rich for us to draft at a certain round. The same could be said for what one might be willing to spend on a player in softball.

Furthermore, regarding sabermetrics, it is still a relatively young frontier, even in baseball. Despite certain successes, like the 2002 Oakland A’s season featured in Moneyball, kinks are apparent in the system.

Selecting players based solely on sabermetrics statistics like OPS (On-Base Pct. + Slugging), WHIP (Walks plus Hits per Inning) and WAR (Wins Above Replacement) have often produced questionable selections. The Oakland A’s organization learned this the hard way from 2007-2011, a span during which they did not make the playoffs.

SUCH ERRORS led many MLB organizations, such as the A’s and the Astros, to fill their scouting staffs with not only traditional 20-80 scale-trained talent evaluators, but also sabermetric, Harvard MBA types.

There are a variety of ways one could speculate on these developments relative to college softball. I would simply put forth some of my own ideas.

New uses of math — sabermetrics

or otherwise — to evaluate softball could possibly be the way of the future. Considering this statement, hire a strong math student (possibly a grad student of some kind) as a manager. This person might chronicle your own team’s historical data for the past 5-10 seasons.

SUBSEQUENTLY, they might use various sabermetric equations to analyze teams within your conference. Sabermetrics is about getting information down to one number. Theoretically, having a single number quantification helps coaches make faster decisions with more confidence.

The other element I learned with the Marlins was how to use this process to come up with the best recruiting recommendation to your boss. I emphasize the word recommendation, because as an assistant that is exactly what you are doing.

As a scout, I tallied the recruiting numbers, wrote reports and sent that information up my chain of command each night. This process followed a barrage of highly detailed emails,

phone calls, meetings and further evaluations. In the end, satisfaction arrived by knowing that I exhausted all means of our process to allow our bosses to make the best selection.

You make recommendations. The head coach or general manager makes selections. One should not waste emotion on what they are not responsible for in this case.

Player selection meetings can go awry due to lack of an evaluation system. Many coaching staffs will simply go on a feeling about a player. Having these practices in place will lead to a smoother selection.

FOR EXAMPLE, our meetings with the Marlins and at Penn State look something like this:

• Agenda – 2017 prospects• Objective – obtaining a pitcher in

that class.• Options – Mary Smith, San Antonio,

Texas, LHP, C-58, player compares to Jane Doe. Jenny Washington from Montgomery, Ala., RHP, C 50, player compares to Tina Wilson. Further opinions on strengths and weaknesses

would continue the list.• Signability – Timeline, money

options, willingness to spend• Endstate – Conclusion to go with

Smith for X, Y and Z reasons• Concluding Offers – Smith at X

percent• Contingencies – Washington or

return to other player on list ASAP with one week’s time from this meeting. Be able to deliver another three if Washington drops.

Sometimes this system has to be explained and implemented under time limits. The list of responsibilities of the head coach is often lengthy, and does not cater to these time-sensitive limitations. As an assistant, it’s your job to get the best information to them as efficiently as possible. This communication has led to better results in the recruiting arena.

I hope that coaches can gain something from my personal odyssey in baseball scouting to college softball recruiting. There are many aspects in the field of recruiting. I offer these that might spark ideas for coaches at any level. I wish you all success in 2015.

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Texas Thunder, which was located in Houston, left for Rockford, Ill., in 2007.

AS I WRITE this article about the development of the Charge, I cannot help but glow with excitement. As a former college and NPF player, it is great to feel the new energy around the sport of softball and see concrete signs of growth. With the possible return of softball to the Olympics and the growth and stability of professional softball, that means little girls can dream to play at the highest level.

It means our female athletes can be deemed professionals and make a viable living playing the game. It means television and corporate America can realize the potential of giving women a bigger platform. And, most importantly, it means elite softball players get to inspire the next generation of players and be more recognizable role models for our youth.

The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area is home to one of the largest and most active youth softball communities in the country. Perhaps the most recognizable youth softball organization in the area is the Texas Glory, a group started and built by Kevin Shelton, the travel ball representative on the NFCA’s Board of Directors. He also serves the membership on the association’s Awards, Hall of Fame and Recruiting committees.

SHELTON, a former military officer and businessman, who has already established one thriving fastpitch organization and overseen professional softball through hosting PFX Tour events, it made perfect sense for him to be the Charge’s general manager. Shelton is not just well connected with softball and in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; he is also well respected and passionate about growing the sport.

When Shelton and his family moved to the Dallas community in 1997, his oldest daughter Kristyn made the switch from baseball to softball, and

Shelton made the switch from baseball to softball coach. During a conversation with Dan Adkins in 2000, Shelton and Adkins decided to build their own team from the ground up.

FIFTEEN YEARS LATER, the Texas Glory has become one of the premier teams in the country and has produced college, professional, and U.S. national team stars, such as Shelton’s daughter, Kathy, who is the career steals leader at Baylor; Whitney Canion, who holds almost every pitching record

at Baylor; and Amanda Locke, a 2012 national champion at Alabama. They also boast the top two career home run hitters at the University of Texas, Taylor Hoagland and Amy Hooks, as well as 2014 All-NPF Team selection Ashley Thomas, who was the 2013 ACC Player of the Year at Georgia Tech.

“It’s a real honor and pretty humbling,” Shelton said. “The opportunity to help grow the game at the professional level is a big responsibility. Doing it right is exceedingly important to me. We want our athletes to have an extremely

satisfying experience on all levels. “We want the Dallas Charge to be

a solid contributor to the community and something all of North Texas and the NPF can be proud of. We are dedicated to making that happen. It’s important to our fastpitch community, from our youngest athletes to our most experienced fans.”

Shelton said his vast experience in softball, events, and the corporate world has helped prepare him.

“The devil is always in the

details,” he said. “Establishing a solid staff will help us deliver an outstanding product and experience.”

ONE OF THOSE details was hiring the right head coach to manage the new team. There was one name that kept coming up, and a name that fits perfectly with the Dallas Charge brand and mission: Jennifer McFalls.

As a player, she has all of the accolades — Olympic gold medalist, Texas A&M Hall of Famer, NFCA All-American. As a coach, she has helped the University of Texas return to the Women’s College World Series

(WCWS), and she has strong North Texas roots, having grown up in Grand Prairie. In fact, there is even Jennifer McFalls Park in her hometown. But beyond her softball experience and accolades, McFalls offers the personality and credibility to manage a team full of professionals in a market where opportunities are endless for the sport.

Shelton said the goals for year one are hopefully no different than in the ongoing years.

“We want to be competitive on the field and position ourselves to compete for an NPF championship immediately,” he said. “We also want to inspire a generation of young athletes to compete in one of the most exciting games there is.

“It is our goal to assemble a high-quality group of athletes who have the same aim of being competitive on the field and motivating the young ones to continue to grow and improve the sport.”

IN A CITY that features some of the world’s most famous sports brands, the Charge will offer the community — especially young girls and women — an opportunity to watch female athletes compete at the highest level. The name Charge was chosen based on our competitive, community-focused brand and the idea of being trailblazers in both the NPF and women’s professional sports. Leading the charge means we want to lead the charge in

growing the sport of softball as well as the NPF, and lead a charge in the community.

Four years ago, the conversations about professional softball returning to Texas began. And a little over four years ago, I left the world of college coaching to pursue a doctorate in sport management that would help me learn the world of sports marketing and help me pursue a dream of growing professional softball. Helping develop the Charge is one step toward that goal.

With a prime location, great management, a strategic vision and a devoted fan following, the Charge and NPF can help set the table for all young players to dream about.

ADDITION OF CHARGE IS A GREAT SIGN FOR THE GAMECONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

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Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 24 JANUARY 2015 National Fastpitch Coaches Association2641 Grinstead DriveLouisville, KY 40206

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