NFCA FASTPITCH DELIVERY JUNE 2014

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Fastpitch Delivery PAGE 1 JUNE 2014

Florida broke an early deadlock with a four-run fourth on the way to claiming the program’s first Women’s College World Series title by defeating Alabama, 6-3, on June 3 at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Delanie Gourley (15-1) earned the win for the Gators (55-12) by tossing two innings of hitless relief with a walk and two strikeouts, while NFCA All-American and WCWS Most Outstanding Player Hannah Rogers garnered her second save by allowing one earned run on two hits over two frames. Lauren Haeger started the matchup for the

Gators, permitting two earned tallies on five hits with one strikeout over three innings. Jaclyn Traina suffered the defeat for Alabama, dropping to 26-5 after giving up five earned runs on six hits with one walk in just 1.1 innings.

For Florida, center fielder Kirsti Merritt led the way by going 1-for-4 with a three-run homer. Second baseman Kelsey Stewart was 2-for-4 with two tallies and an RBI, while third baseman Stephanie Tofft went 1-for-3 with a solo homer. Center fielder Haylie McCleney (2-for-

Monthly columnist Aaron Weintraub says good leaders build support within their team through positive energy and empathy.

““I think it is important for them to understand how much I care about them as individuals and not just as student-athletes. Understanding that fine line of when you can laugh with them and be funny, but when we step on that field, how I can push the right buttons and get the best out of them as a student-athlete is key.”

Finding The Kee To Success At North Texas

COACH’S PROFILE PAGE 15DR. DOT RICHARDSON,U.S. SOFTBALL LEGEND

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 19, NO. 6

NATIONAL FASTPITCH COACHES ASSOCIATION

WORDS TO COACH BY...“Through the sport we learn that when we fall short

of our goals, we are not a failure because it is better to try and fail than to never try.”

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All-AmericansAnnouncedThe NFCA salutes the very best in each division with its 2014 awards.

West Texas A&M DII Champs

Florida Wins First WCWS Crown

INSIDE

West Texas A&M, which spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in the country, capped off its season by defeating Valdosta State, 3-2, in Salem, Va., to capture its first NCAA Division II national championship.

The two starting pitchers kept the game scoreless until the seventh inning, when West Texas A&M (60-7) finally broke through against Valdosta’s Brianna Hancock. Jessica Sipe led off the inning with a double, but Hancock managed

to get the next two outs before surrendering a walk to Lacey Taylor bringing up No. 9 hitter Brittany Gehle.

Gehle hammered the 1-0 pitch out to left field to put West Texas A&M up 3-0.

Valdosta State (47-15) wouldn’t go away quietly, though, as it got down to its final out

Gators Sweep Past Alabama In Division I Championship Series

TRAINING YOUR MIND PAGE 20

NEW MEMBERS ................................ PAGE 3DIVISION I HCC MINUTES ................ PAGE 4QUESTION OF THE MONTH ............. PAGE 7SOFTBALL BY SMITTY ................... PAGE 17EDUCATION .................................... PAGE 18VIEWPOINTS ................................... PAGE 23

Tufts Scores Title RepeatJumbos Defeat Salisbury In Division III Tourney

NFCA first team All-American Allyson Fournier pitched a six-hit shutout and Tufts University scored

twice in the second and four times in the third to win its second straight NCAA Division III national championship, 6-0, over Salisbury University on May 27 at Texas-Tyler’s Suddenlink Field.

Fournier, who threw 284 pitches over the 21 innings played to complete the first two games of the best-of-three championship series, finished the tournament with 24 straight scoreless innings. She had 77 strikes among 114 pitches in the finale.

Michelle Cooprider went 3-for-4, while Christina Raso drove in three runs on two hits and Sara Hedtler also had two hits in the triumph for

the (47-4) Jumbos, who played all 14 of their postseason

games on the road.Kathryn Larson SEE TUFTS PAGE 9

Lady Buffs Top Valdosta State For First National Title

SEE WEST PAGE 10

ALDRETE, COOPER SHARE INAUGURAL NFCA DIVISION I NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF YEAR AWARD PAGE 5

By MOUNTAIN EAST CONFERENCE

SEE FLORIDA PAGE 9

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Kristen Abernathy, All-Inclusive Membership; Marty Abezetian, All-Inclusive Membership; Don Baker, Head Coach, Poston Butte High School (Ariz.); Michelle Cote, Head Coach, Worcester State College; Michael DiNuova, Head Coach, LEAP Academy High School (N.J.); Matthew Dowling, Head Coach, Cisco High School (Texas); Michael Gentry, Head Coach, Southwest Tennessee Community College; Danielle Gonzales, Assistant Coach, University of Pennsylvania; Lee Haines, Head Coach, Cajon (Calif.); Daron Harris, Assistant Coach, Des Moines Area Community College; Bob Herrington, Assistant Coach (pitching), Jones County Junior College; Erle Hill, Assistant Coach, Broome (S.C.); Nick Jepsen, Assistant Coach, St. Louis College of Pharmacy; Cheri Johns, Assistant Coach, Eastern University; Derek Johnson, Head Coach, Saint Ignatius College Preparatory (Calif.); Jim Koltes, Head Coach, Maple Grove Senior High (Minn.); Meghan Lokey, Assistant Coach (pitching), St. Louis College of Pharmacy; Mark Mahoney,

Head Coach, Olathe Northwest (Kansas); Mark Martinez, Head Coach, Cen Cal Dirtdogs 12U Lee; Angelica Maxwell, Head Coach, West Platte High School (Mo.); Frank Melgoza, Head Coach, Diamond Girlz; Jay Monhollon, Head Coach, Topeka-Seaman High School (Kansas); Tim Moose, Head Coach, Triangle Lightning 18U; Steve Orr, Head Coach, HP Bombers; Nathan Pearson, Head Coach, Ringwood (Okla.); Tracey Powell, Assistant Coach, Stony Brook University; Mark Pratt, Assistant Coach, Mount Vernon Nazarene University; Gordon (Trey) Ray III, Head Coach, Lake City (Idaho); Christie Rees, Head Coach, Foster High School (Texas); Chris Robinson, Head Coach, Jones County Junior College; Carissa Roustan, Head Coach, Roswell High School (Ga.); Carl Singer, Head Coach, Bedford High School (Ohio); Mitch Smith, Assistant Coach, Newberry College; Leroy Smithson, Head Coach, Central Valley Quest; Anthony Willey, Assistant Coach, Delaware Storm; Amanda Wolf-Schramm, Head Coach, Elgin High School (Texas).

New Members

NEWS & NOTES

U.S. National Team Roster Announced

The NCAA Women’s College World Series will continue to take place in Oklahoma City through 2020, and significant improvements to the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium will be made during that time that could enable the championship to extend its stay through 2035.

The agreement between the NCAA and Oklahoma City includes a four-phase renovation process to improve facilities for student-athletes, access

for media and hospitality for fans. A new television compound has also been completed.

The next phase for 2015 includes expanded press boxes, a new building for game operations and upgraded guest service areas, with future phases that include expanded concessions, a new concourse and ticket area and an upper deck that will add 4,200 additional seats to the arena.

—Courtesy ASA/USA Softball

NCAA, Oklahoma City Extend WCWS Deal

Following a selection camp and series of exhibition games the 17-player roster for the 2014 USA Softball Women’s National Team that will compete in a number of events this summer highlighted by the International Softball Federation (ISF) Women’s World Championship that runs August 15-24 in Haarlem, Netherlands, is now set as announced by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball.

In preparation for the World Championships, the Women’s National Team will compete in exhibition games as well as three tournaments. The three tournaments are the General Tire World Cup of Softball IX in Irvine, Calif., July 7-13, the Canadian Open Fast Pitch International in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, July 15-21 and

Italian Softball Week in Azzano, Italy, August 6-10. The exhibition games take place July 2-3 in Morgantown, W. Va., and July 29 in Waldorf, Md.

The players chosen to represent the United Stae on the team are Valerie Arioto, Raven Chavanne, Amanda Chidester, Samantha Fischer, Kellie Fox, Lauren Gibson, Jolene Henderson, Taylor Hoagland, Destinee Martinez, Haylie McCleney, Jessica Moore, Michelle Moultrie, Sara Nevins, Jessica Plaza, Kelsey Stewart, Jaclyn Traina and Hallie Wilson.

Head coach Ken Eriksen of the University of South Florida will be assisted by three-time Olympic gold medalist Laura Berg, LSU assistant coach Howard Dobson and UNLV head coach Lisa Dodd.


FEATURED TWEETSPECIAL BABY EDITION

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May 6, 2014 Telephone Conference No. 2014-05The meeting was brought to order at

10:01 a.m. CST. Those present were:Michelle Burrell, America East Confer-

ence; Heidi Cavallo, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference; Jenny Condon, Big West Conference; Pat Conlan, Big East Confer-ence, and NFCA Board Rep (Acting Chair); Michelle DePolo, Patriot League; Jo Ev-ans, Southeastern Conference; Rick Fr-emin, Southwestern Athletic Conference; Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cessler, Big 12 Con-ference; Deanna Gumpf, Atlantic Coast Conference, Alternate; Jessica Hanaseth, West Coast Conference; Rachel Hanson, Ivy League; Amy Hayes, Missouri Valley Conference; Kyla Holas, American Athletic Conference; Melissa Inouye, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference; Amanda Lehotak, Big Ten Conference; Karen Linder, Mid-Amer-ican Conference; Eric Oakley, Big Sky Conference; Bridget Orchard, Atlantic 10 Conference; Dan Powers, Western Athletic Conference; Jeanne Scarpello, The Sum-mit League, Alternate; Mike Smith, South-land Conference; Heather Tarr, Pacific-12 Conference; Erin Thorpe, Mountain West Conference; Jaime Wohlbach, Colonial Athletic Association; Jane Worthington, Ohio Valley Conference;

Dee Abrahamson, NCAA Softball Secre-tary-Rules Editor, Guest; Sharon Cessna, NCAA Director of Championships, Guest; David Batson, NFCA Legislative Consul-tant; Lacy Lee Baker, NFCA Executive Di-rector;

Mandy Burford, Southern Conference; Melanie Davis, Troy University; Brad Irwin, Atlantic Sun Conference; Roy Kortmann, Northeast Conference; Drew Peterson, Big South Conference; Shonda Stanton, Conference USA, and Jordan Stevens, Horizon League, were not on the call.

1. NCAA Legislative Action. The group reviewed the legislative update document that Mr. Batson had provided.

A. Legislation Previously Tabled by the Council. The Council removed from the table, amended and adopted Proposal No. 2013-18, which specifies that strength and conditioning coach shall be certified and maintain current certification through a na-tionally accredited strength and condition-ing certification program. (Effective August 1, 2015)

B. Legislation Previously Forwarded for Membership Review and Comment.

(1) Proposal No. 2013-17. The Council adopted Proposal No. 2013-17 as amended by 2017-17-1, which specifies that an institutional staff member with cur-rent certification in first aid, CPR and AED use must be present any time a student-athlete participates in a physical countable

athletically related activity. (Effective Au-gust 1, 2014).

(2) Proposal No. 2013-20. The Council adopted Proposal No. 2013-20, which specifies that a student-athlete who, as a result of a drug test administered by the NCAA, is found to have used a sub-stance in the banned drug class “street drugs” (in accordance with the testing methods authorized by the NCAA Execu-tive Committee) shall be charged with the loss of competition during a minimum of 50 percent of a season in all sports (at least the first 50 percent of all contests or dates of competition in the season following the positive test). (Effective August 1, 2014; for tests occurring on or after August 1, 2014).

[Note: Mr. Batson clarified that the only time the NCAA would administer a test would be at a round in the national championship.]

(3) Proposal No. 2013-31-B. The Council adopted Proposal No. 2013-31-B, which specifies that an institution may pro-vide meals and snacks to student-athletes as a benefit incidental to participation in in-tercollegiate athletics. (Effective August 1, 2014).

[Note: Mr. Batson clarified that the NCAA was currently redoing frequently asked questions since there is a lot of con-fusion regarding this proposal. The pur-pose of the legislation is to meet the nutri-tional needs of the student-athletes.

[Note: Override Period ends on June 23 for the above proposals.]

2. Rules Committee Feedback. The HCC had emailed their conference coach-es regarding rules committee feedback. Ms. Abrahamson noted that this was a non-rules-making year, since the rule book is for a two-year period (the 2014 and 2015 seasons). The items that were brought for-ward below would be reviewed by the rules committee at its late May 2014 meeting; if the committee felt they were valid ideas, the next year will be used to obtain more information/feedback on the proposals.

A. Bat Testing/Equipment. (1) ALL games should have bat test-

ing. Along with this, the umpires should be present for bat testing so they do not have to go through the extensive pre-game pro-tocol in the dugouts. If baseball umpires get there early enough to “get the baseballs” game ready (which our umpires should do the same) then they can get there early enough to get all the bat testing done early. Too many teams are questioning the use of “hot” bats outside of conference play.

[Note: Ms. Abrahamson said this would be difficult, both because of commit-ments by host institutions to complete the testing and requiring umpires to be avail-able, unless additional dollars were pro-vided. Conferences could require it for the

conference season, and many do.] (2) Ball manufacturers need to abide

by specs that include seam height, mate-rial used, and circumference.

B. Baserunning. No feet-first sliding into first base. The first base person is the only base person that is ALWAYS in a vul-nerable position.

C. Batting. (1) Have a more definitive descrip-

tion of what a soft slap is compared to a drag bunt with 2 strikes. Athletes are not breaking their wrists with two strikes and umpires are not calling the batter out as they are saying it is a soft slap.

[Note: Ms. Abrahamson said that slapping had been on their agenda for awhile.]

(2) I would like to open a discus-sion about making two rule changes for the future of our game. One, there should be no such thing as a check swing on a slapper and two, the tap slap with 2 strikes should be the same as a bunt attempt with 2 strikes (if it is a foul ball the batter is out). We are always looking for ways to speed up our game, so instead of talking clocks, we should prevent players from extending at bats by essentially bunting the ball with their hands together. Umpires are having a hard time being consistent with the check swing call throughout the country and dis-tinguishing whether it was a tap slap at-tempt. When the bat sticks out over the plate on a slapper as they run through the box, it should be ruled an attempt. I have seen tap slappers have 10-12 pitch at bats causing extra pitches to be thrown and therefore extending the game. Bunting with two strikes has had this rule for many years cause skilled players could stand up there and foul pitches off until they are walked.

(3) I would like to see a greater pen-alty when a batter purposely gets hit by a pitch. As the rule stands now, a ball is not good enough when a player purposely gets hit because pitches in the river would be a ball anyway. There is no risk asso-ciated with purposely getting hit only a re-ward. (Not even bodily harm is a deterrent because of evoshields).

(4) Batters being hbp is at an all time high. Coaches are teaching batters how to get hit. Players develop deceptive moves to appear to be getting out of the way. Pitchers are being unfairly asked to throw fatter pitches because of this. Game times are increasing because there are more free passes ... It is just awful and it hurts the overall integrity of the sport.

[Note: Ms. Abrahamson said that there are no great solutions for this one since it’s hard to judge.]

D. Defense (1) One of the rules we need to clean

up the wording and application on is the interference and obstruction rule. Since it was modified quite a few years ago now, the application has been very inconsistent.

(2) I have been hurt by this rule sev-eral times on both sides because of loose interpretations. So many times the offend-ing team is given the advantage on the play on both sides interference and obstruction.

(3) First we need to really protect the defensive players’ ability to make the play; they should get the benefit of any doubt not the offensive player, within reason. I am fine with shielding the ball as long as you are not making the infielder feel like you are going to run into them. I just have had several situations where my player has been bumped while fielding the ball with no call made.

(4) With obstruction, I am of old school belief that the offensive team should not ever lose the advantage when the de-fensive team obstructs them. If they are put out, no matter how many bases past the obstruction, they should not be out but returned to the last base they would have been safe. Too many times they have pun-ished the team that was not the offending team. An example was someone obstruct-ed by the second baseman and thrown out by a step or two at home plate. They were called out because they went past the next base. NEVER, I say NEVER, should the team in violation be rewarded!!

[Note: Ms. Abrahamson said that just like the block/charge in basketball, it’s a judgment call. She noted that there is some video on the umpire site that gives more information for umpires and coaches on how the rule should be interpreted.]

E. Field of Play. ALL outfield walls should be padded.

F. Game, The. (1) Limit each team to FIVE timeouts

per game -- either offense or defense -- five only. One more per extra inning.

[Note: According to Ms. Abraham-son, this is already on the agenda, and it’s something that got looked at a lot a year ago.]

(2) I would like to see our game go to fewer timeouts called by the coaches both offensively and defensively.

(3) We try to play fast and we limit the number of pitches our pitchers throw between innings in the non-TV games. In the TV games, it’s a lot harder because you have so much time between innings.

(4) My thought would be three time-outs per team offensively and three time-outs per team defensively for seven in-nings with an additional time out for both teams each for offense and defense if there are extra innings played. If you have

MINUTES – HCC

SEE MINUTES—HCC PAGE 22

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Annie Aldrete of the University of Tennessee and Kasey Cooper of Auburn University were voted as co-winners of the inaugural NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award, the Association announced.

The duo was presented with their trophies at the NCAA Women’s College World Series Student-Athlete Banquet at the Devon Tower in Oklahoma City, Okla.

ALDRETE ENJOYED one of the finest seasons, not just for a freshman, but also for any player in the history of the Tennessee softball program. Tabbed first-team All-Southeastern Conference as well as to the SEC All-Freshman Team, the Monterey, Calif., native completed her initial season in the Orange and White by hitting .361 overall with 37 runs scored, 14 doubles, a program single-season record-tying 19 homers (12 of those in SEC play) and a squad-high 65 runs batted in.

She slugged at an .813 clip (third in the SEC), drew 29 walks and registered a .470 on-base percentage. She also batted .333 against ranked teams this season with 10 walks, six homers and 17 RBIs.

An in-state product from Dothan, Ala., Cooper proved to be a

major offensive contributor for Auburn throughout its run to NCAA Regionals.

The first Tiger player ever to be

chosen both All-SEC (second team) and to the SEC All-Freshman team in program history, she led Auburn at .418 overall over 62 contests with a staggering 70 runs scored, 10 doubles, a school single-season record 18 homers and 77 RBIs, the second highest total in the league in 2014.

COOPER ALSO ranked in the top six in the SEC in both slugging (.780 – fourth) and on-base percentage (.527 – sixth). Against ranked programs, she hit at a .352 clip (25-for-71) with 22 runs, 19 walks, seven homers and 20 RBIs.

The NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award was voted on by the members of the NFCA’s Division I All-American and Coaching Staff of the Year Committee.

With the Association searching for innovative ways to promote the sport of softball, the NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award grew from an idea to honor

outstanding athletic achievement among freshman softball student-athletes throughout Division I.

Other top 10 finalists for the award were Michigan’s Megan Betsa, Tori Finucane of Missouri, Minnesota’s

Sara Groenewegen, Haley Hayden of Louisiana-Lafayette, Cal Poly’s Sierra Hyland, Katiyana Mauga of Arizona, UCLA’s Delaney Spaulding and Karley Wester of Notre Dame.

Aldrete, Cooper Share Freshman Of YearNEWS & NOTES

All-America Tennessee Shortstop Shipman Captures Senior CLASS Award For SoftballAll-American shortstop Madison

Shipman from the University of Tennessee has been selected as the 2014 Senior CLASS Award winner in softball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award

focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

“Tennessee has not only prepared me for my future career as a professional softball player and coach but has taught me the importance of community,” Shipman said. “The Tennessee softball program provided me with the opportunity to work with different charity organizations and helped me gain a true understanding of what

‘giving back’ means. It doesn’t have to mean simply monetary contributions. Your time, respect, dedication and caring spirit are all ways to give back. My journey these last four years has been full of life experiences and I wouldn’t be the same person that I am today without all of the charity events that the Tennessee program participated in.

“As for my professional career, I have learned a lot from my coaches. From leadership skills to my maturity on the

softball field, I owe my progression to Ralph and Karen Weekly and Marty McDaniel,” Shipman continued.

“They provided me the opportunity to flourish as a leader on and off the field and the ability to improve my skills as a softball player. In the classroom, I developed life skills and knowledge that will prepare me for my future. Being a Lady Volunteer at the University of Tennessee has been a wonderful experience for me.”

—Premier Sports Management

Tennessee’s Annie Aldrete, left, and Auburn’s Kasey Cooper. Photo by Brian Davis.

Tennessee, Auburn Standouts Voted Co-Winners Of Inaugural NFCA Division I National Honor

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Florida State pitcher Lacey Waldrop was selected as the 2014 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced. The award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate

softball players across the country. This season, Waldrop helped lead the Florida State Seminoles to their eighth NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS) appearance and their first since 2004.

Florida State is the first team to have two different players selected as USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year, with Jessica Van der Linden

taking the honor in 2004.The 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference

(ACC) Conference Pitcher of the Year, Waldrop tied for the national lead with 38 wins and ranked third in the country with a 1.13 earned-run average. She led the Seminoles to both regular season and conference tournament titles.

In just three seasons, Waldrop has compiled an 81-22 record with 685

strikeouts.The other two finalists for the 2014

award were Michigan’s Big 10 Player of the Year Sierra Romero, who ranked second in the nation with a .491 batting average, and Pac-12 Player of the Year Ally Carda of UCLA who finished the season with a 1.90 ERA and .394 batting average.


Waldrop Named USA Softball Player Of YearNEWS & NOTES

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2013 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 San Antonio, 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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DVD’S NOW AVAILABLE!

DVD NAME & SPEAKER

“DEFENSE: PLAYING CATCH AT A HIGH LEVEL”Marla Townsend, Head Coach, University of Alabama, Birmingham

“MAXIMIZING SUCCESS WITH EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION”Kirk Walker, Assistant Coach, UCLASue Rankin, Senior Research Associate, Rankin & Associates

“THE WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COACHES & HITTERS”Tim Walton, Head Coach, University of Florida

“DEFINING CULTURE -- DEFINING LEADERS IN AN AGE OF ENTITLEMENT”Aaron Weintraub, Mental Training Expert

“DRILLS, DRILLS, DRILLS”Diane Miller, Assistant Coach, University of Nebraska; Cheryl Milligan, Head Coach, Tufts University; Kevin Shelton, Head Coach, Texas Glory

“REALLY? THAT’S A RULE?”Dee Abrahamson, NCAA Secretary-Rules Editor

“CHOOSING YOUR OPTIMUM TEAM DEFENSE”Bill Edwards, Head Coach, Hofstra and Staff

“TRAINING TODAY’S PITCHERS”Lance Glasoe, Assistant Coach, University of Washington

“BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL SOFTBALL BUSINESS”Sara Hayes, Founder & Owner, Powerline Consulting

“TEACH, INSPIRE & CONNECT TO YOUR PLAYERS THROUGH BOOKS & ARTICLES”Yvette Healy, Head Coach, University of Wisconsin

“TRADITION, HARD WORK & SUCCESS: DEVELOPING A WINNING PROGRAM FOR THE LONG TERM”Carol Hutchins, Head Coach, University of Michigan

“SECRET LIFE OF A STAFF”Amanda Lehotak, Head Coach, Penn State University

“THE YIPS: WHEN MIND MATTERS”Eileen Canney Linnehan, Assistant Coach, University of Illinois, Chicago

“AGGRESSIVE BASERUNNING: YOUR KEY TO SCORING MORE”Eric Oakley, Head Coach, University of North Dakota

“TAKING OVER A NEW PROGRAM: A NEW ‘STATE’ OF MIND”Shawn Rychcik, Head Coach, North Carolina State University

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Depending on season workload and current physical condition, I recommend pitchers take off four-to-six weeks following season end

to give their arm and body sufficient time to rest and recover. This does not always happen as many want to play summer softball. If they play travel then I stress taking off late July and August. After our six-week fall season, I again recommend a two-to-four week rest period before starting their offseason throwing and conditioning program.

John BoccoliniCounty College of Morris (N.J.)

I encourage my pitchers to throw some over the summer. Not a lot, maybe a couple times a week. It’s about staying in shape so

we don’t have to start over in the fall. I don’t want to waste a month during the fall trying to get them back into shape. This is college. They learned how to workout, and now they need to apply that dedication to their game in the offseason.

Cortney MagorianSierra College

My high school girls don’t get time off — just like my travel girls don’t — until the end of the season in July. Then they get the month of August

off, throwing only two or three days a week. In September, fall ball starts, then back in the gym in November. (There’s) no real offseason for the ones that love it, have a goal in mind and want to go to the next level.

Len MalteseSouth Amboy (N.J.) High SchoolNJ Xtreme Fast Pitch

I seem to be the minority on this topic but I prefer my pitchers take the whole summer — three months off from pitching. At this age and

skill level, along with having a great pitching coach, it never takes us long to get their control back. I believe twice a year they need a fairly significant amount of down time/recovery time, and this is one of them. If it was a younger player I would look at it completely different.

Ronald FerrillSt. Ambrose University

My high school pitchers will immediately go into their summer travel ball season without any rest. They will take some time off in September.

We will begin workouts in August, focusing on new pitches and increasing speed. We will also pay particular attention to any aches and pains left over from the previous high school and travel ball campaigns.

Tom HarleyUnited (Pa.) High School

As a high school coach, I strongly believe that players need to diversify and play as many different sports in the offseason (it helps develop the

total athlete and prevents overuse injuries). I recommend that my pitchers take at least three months off (from September to November) and start to throw lightly through the month of December. I have them begin a throwing regimen after the first of the year to be ready for the beginning of the season in April. I do this to prevent injury and burnout. Over the years, I have seen my share of both.

David HedgeWindham (N.H.) High School

One month to allow the arm to rest and to prepare a workout plan for them over the summer that coincides with fall ball when they

return to school.Bruce CozartSaint Augustine’s University

Three months (October, November and December). They are strength and conditioning months only. Then you can start back up slowly in January.

This gives a pitcher’s body and arm enough healing time and rest.Todd HoskinsProfessional Fastpitch Trainer

I usually give my pitchers two weeks to a month off after season. I choose this time so if we have a bad season they can let it all go and

that way they have ample time to rest and after that time they are usually ready to go again. This year, I only gave them two weeks, but one of my varsity pitchers was feeling kind of burnt out, so I am giving her extra time to want to come back to the sport. She is heavily involved in other sports as well. My other pitchers were ready to go after the two-week span. After summer league they will have a month off before they start fall league. That way they do not get burnt out.

Brandie RuckerMillsap (Texas) High School

I work with high school-aged athletes, and with year-round softball, we’ve had to really start to think about the timing of when pitchers should be focused

on various phases of their development. When is the right time to learn a new pitch? When is the right time to be at their best? When is the right time to rest? We feel strongly that pitchers need time off, so our pitchers are asked to take the entire time from Thanksgiving to Christmas. A stressful time already, it helps them to start the year fresh. From there, we try to give our pitchers one to two weeks off between their high school and summer seasons and between our summer and fall seasons.

Tim HustedDanes Fastpitch

How long do you have your pitchers take off after the season before they start throwing again, and why that amount of time?

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NFCA Hall of Fame coach Bill Edwards recently announced his retirement after 25 winning seasons at the helm of Hofstra University.

Longtime Pride assistant Larissa Anderson has been named Edwards’ successor. She has been with the program for 13 seasons, the last 10 as associate head coach.

“It’s been a great run and so much fun working with so many great

student-athletes,” Edwards said. “It has been rewarding to see that so many still embrace old-school coaching. The only thing I regret with leaving

now is not being able to work longer with our administration. But I know

they’ll take good care of Larissa.” “The timing is perfect to turn it over

to Larissa, who I respect and admire so much. I’ve given her more and more responsibility every year and she’s thrived. She’s one of the top coaches in Division I. The incoming recruits are in great hands and the program will make a seamless transition.”

Edwards crafted a remarkable 1,350-game career that spanned 1990-2014,

leading Hofstra to all 15 of the team’s NCAA Tournament appearances and capturing 18 postseason conference championships, including 10 Colonial Athletic Association titles.

The Pride finished at least 10 games better than .500 in 23 of his 25 seasons, which were all winning campaigns. Edwards earned his 900th win in

Hall of Fame Hofstra Coach Edwards RetiresNEWS & NOTES

Lewis University Coach DiMatteo, Arcadia Coach Detra End Long Coaching RunsLewis University’s George DiMatteo

and Linda Detra of Arcadia University recently ended long coaching runs at their respective schools.

DiMatteo won 1,032 games for the Flyers over 31 seasons, the sixth-most

victories in NCAA Division II history. He was a six-time Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Coach of the Year and directed Lewis to 10 GLVC titles.

“I have been simply overwhelmed by the many calls, emails, texts and

messages wishing me well,” DiMatteo said. “I never really knew how much of an impact I had made. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to have worked with so many wonderful people here at Lewis University, from

my assistant coaches to umpires and even opposing coaches in the hopes of continuing life-long friendships with them.”

Detra, meanwhile, spent 21 years

Edwards

SEE HALL OF FAME PAGE 25

SEE LEWIS PAGE 25

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3, two runs) and second baseman Kaila Hunt (2-for-4, HR, two RBIs) each registered two of Alabama’s seven total hits.

“First of all, I just want to congratulate Alabama and their senior class on obviously a wonderful season and wonderful career for some,” Florida head coach Tim Walton said. “This is kind of a surreal moment for me right now sitting up here with Hannah and all the other kids that bought into it this year. We set a goal and most teams set goals to win every series or win the SEC or do some things, and this team actually set a goal to win a national championship.

“IT’S THE FIRST one we’ve ever talked about in my coaching. In 2009, (we) talked about the ability to come out and be No. 1 with a target on our back, but this team felt like we had the parts and the pieces to do it. So very proud.”

Alabama’s offense came out ready to make an immediate statement against Haeger during the top of the first as McCleney and left fielder Kallie Case christened the contest with consecutive singles. The duo tagged up on a fly ball to right by Hunt, with the speedster McCleney barely sliding in safely on a strong throw to third by Florida’s

Bailey Castro. That set the stage for an RBI single to shallow center off the bat of right fielder Jadyn Spencer, as the Crimson Tide nabbed a quick 1-0 lead. Haeger rebounded from the rough start, however, to strikeout Molly Fichtner looking and induce a Traina groundout to short to limit the damage to just a single tally.

Alabama’s lead lasted only minutes, as Tofft drove a first-inning shot the other way to left that just cleared the wall for a two-out, game-tying solo homer. Bidding for more, Florida put a pair aboard via a Haeger single that

ricocheted off Traina and a walk, but left fielder Briana Little grounded out harmlessly to short to leave the duo stranded.

Florida blew the game open with one out in the bottom of the second. Consecutive singles from catcher Aubree Munro, first baseman Taylor Schwarz and Stewart plated Florida’s second tally. Merritt promptly stepped to the dish and knocked Traina from the contest by blasting a three-run homer to left as the Gators took a commanding 5-1 advantage.

HUNT MANAGED to get one back for the Crimson Tide during the top of the third as the senior drove a two-out solo homer to left that cut the Alabama deficit to 5-2.

Traina got the top of the fourth off to a solid start at the plate for Alabama by driving a leadoff base knock to right center. In an interesting move, the decision was made to lift Haeger from the circle and summon freshman Gourley into the circle facing her first career WCWS action. She was greeted rudely by a long drive to left from designated player Marisa Runyon that was dropped for Florida’s fourth error of the contest. With runners stationed at second and third and still no one out, the Gator hurler responded to the pressure by managing to get first baseman Leona Lafaele to foul out to

first and then striking out third baseman Peyton Grantham for two vital outs. She walked the dangerous McCleney to load the bases and Case battled to 1-2 against Gourley before hitting a bouncer into the hole between first and second. Stewart raced over and despite bobbling the ball briefly, managed to retire Case on an inning-ending force out as Alabama let a massive opportunity get away.

After Florida left a pair stranded in the top of the fifth, Gourley firmly settled into the contest by retiring Alabama’s 3-4-5 hitters in order in the bottom half.

Rogers entered the circle starting the sixth inning, requiring just six outs to secure the Gator program its first national title. She was all business from the very start, retiring Traina, Runyon and Lafaele in order on two groundouts and a fly out.

A BUNT SINGLE by Stewart in the bottom of the sixth was cashed in for a big Florida insurance run as a two-out fielding miscue on a sharp shot to first by Tofft plated the Gators’ sixth tally. Pinch hitter Justine McLean followed immediately with a single to center, but Alabama’s McCleney gunned down Tofft on a strong toss to the plate to end the scoring rally.

Down to one final chance to extend Alabama’s season, pinch hitter Andrea Hawkins tried to get a Crimson Tide threat started by opening the seventh with a shot to left center. Looking like the ball would drop in safely, Florida’s Merritt raced out of nowhere to make a tremendous diving catch for a “web gem” of a first out. McCleney followed by legging out a triple into the right center field gap, as the Crimson Tide refused to go quietly. With two down, Hunt gave the Tide hope with an RBI single to right, but a Spencer bouncer back to the circle was handled by Rogers to finish off Florida’s 6-3 national title victory.

Florida teammates Castro, Merritt, Munro and Stewart joined Rogers on the WCWS All-Tournament Team, while Alabama’s Hunt and Traina were the other finalists that made the team. Others selected were Baylor’s Linsey Hays and Jordan Strickland, Kentucky’s Kelsey Nunley, Shelby Pendley of Oklahoma and Oregon’s Courtney Ceo.

struck out six and allowed one run over five innings in relief of NFCA first team All-American Rachel Johnson, who was not quite her usual brilliant self in the circle — a combination of accumulated innings and the prolific Tufts lineup — for the (44-5) Sea Gulls. Johnson had compiled a 0.30 earned-run average against teams not named Tufts at the NCAA Championship site.

After both teams sailed through bracket play 3-0, Tufts lost the Championship Series opener to the Sea Gulls, 2-1, for its first postseason

defeat since a 4-1 loss to national runner-up Linfield on May 20, 2012, a span of 22 games. In the second game, though, the Jumbos rebounded to outlast Salisbury, 6-0, in 14 innings.

Fournier and Tufts batterymate Jo Clair were named co-Most Outstanding Players of the Championship round. Others named to the NCAA Division III National Championship All-Tournament Team were Taylor Fravel of Rochester, Jamie Schnarr of Trine, Dana Amato of Montclair State, Alyssa Romero of East Texas Baptist, Emily Gregory of St. Thomas, Samie Seamon of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Cassie Ruscz and Christina Raso of Tufts, and Paige Knussman, Kim Dorsey and Rachel Johnson of Salisbury.

TUFTS SCORES DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP REPEATCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

FLORIDA CLAIMS TEAM’S FIRST SOFTBALL TITLECONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Florida players celebrate with the NCAA trophy. Photo by Gary Leland of Fastpitch.TV.

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before Morgan Butler and Heather Robinson hit back-to-back solo home runs to get to within one run. But NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Rita Hokianga got the final batter to strike out to secure the championship for the Lady Buffs.

Hancock (25-7) took the loss but only gave up three hits while striking out eight and walking four in seven

innings of work. Hokianga (29-3) was also impressive in the victory, giving up two runs on four hits with

eight strikeouts against a pair of walks. Hokianga was credited with all four West Texas A&M victories.

Neither team had a player with multiple hits in the game and all five runs were scored via home runs.

Hokianga was joined on the NCAA Division II National Championship All-Tournament Team by teammates Sipe and Renee Erwin, Valdosta’s Hancock, Shelby Altman, Courtney Albritton and Fran Johnson, Haley Strawn and Laramie Beal of Southeastern Oklahoma State, Armstrong’s Alexis Mercer and Hannah Reppert, Dixie State’s Marla Reiter and West Chester’s Erin Quense.

WEST TEXAS A&M WINS FIRST DIVISION II CROWNCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

No. 10 seed Angelina became the first Texas team to claim the NJ-CAA Division I national champion-ship with an 8-5 win over Central Florida on May 17 in St. George, Utah.

The (42-12) Roadrunners were led offensively by sophomore sec-ond baseman Melissa Boland, who went 3-for-4 with a game-high four runs batted in. Leading 1-0 in the

bottom of the third inning, Boland hit a three-run homer to give Angelina a commanding 5-0 lead.

After giving up a run in the top of the fourth, the Roadrunners struck back with two more in the home half of the inning. Freshman short-stop Sage Martinez singled in fresh-

man right fielder Madalyn Sumrall and was followed by Boland who drove in freshman third baseman Kassie James with a run-scoring hit of her own.

Central Florida (48-15) mount-ed a valiant comeback in the fi-nal two innings of play. Freshman outfielder Cheyenne Blaha started things off for the Patriots with a solo homer in the sixth. With two outs in the inning, sophomore out-fielder Amber Acosta had a base hit to push across freshman first base-man Lindsay O’Steen and trim the deficit to 8-3.

With two outs in the seventh, O’Steen cut Angelina’s lead in half with a two-run homer, but the Patri-ots could not get any closer.

Sumrall was named Tournament Most Valuable Player after record-ing a hit in every game — going 10-for-19 overall — and totaling six RBIs. Angelina freshman Sa-mantha Moore was honored as Most Outstanding Pitcher, tallying seven strikeouts and giving up only

six earned runs in 22.1 innings of work.

Sophomore shortstop Jessie Ro-driguez of San Jacinto-South was both the Marucci Elite Hitter and Most Outstanding Offensive Play-er, while Chattanooga State sopho-more third baseman Kadija Neely was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player and Angelina’s Mark Mattson was the Most Out-standing Coach.

The All-Tournament team includ-ed freshmen Autumn Hanners (P, Central Florida), Carson O’Donald (P, Spartanburg Methodist), Taylor Harper (IF, Angelina), O’Steen (IF, Central Florida), Katlyn Barker (OF, Angelina), Blaha (OF, Central Flor-ida), Courtney Crawford (OF, Chat-tanooga State) and Holli Rowland (DP, Southern Union State), plus sophomores Amy Szymanowski (C, Central Florida), Laura Mabary (C, North Central Texas), Boland (IF, Angelina) and Sammie Murietta (IF, Odessa).

—Courtesy NJCAA.org

Angelina First Texas Team To Claim DI CrownNEWS & NOTES

Winning four straight games in three days, Rock Valley (Ill.) claimed its first NJCAA Division III crown with a 2-1 victory over defending titlist Herkimer in the championship on May 17 in Rochester, Minn.

Amanda Blankenship pitched a gem for the (42-9) Golden Eagles, holding Herkimer to just one run on four hits. The sophomore struck out the first five batters she faced and nine in over seven innings to earn tournament Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Pitcher honors. Overall, she gave up just one earned run in 22.2 innings.

Golden Eagles freshmen infielders Kaytee Keefe and Haley Love were joined by sophomore infielder Dani-elle Walker and freshman Kaitlyn Ap-

pleman on the All-Tournament team, while Herkimer placed four sopho-mores, pitcher Toni Secreti, catcher Samantha Smaldone, infielder Ashley Sterritt and designated player Delaney Buckley on the squad. Others selected were Brookdale sophomore pitchers Samantha Hosey and Krsytal Pear-son and freshman outfielder Courtney Semkewye, plus Monroe sophomore outfielder Lexi Haley.

Rainy River sophomore pitcher Oashaja Dobie was the Marucci Elite Hitter, while Herkimer’s Delaney Buckley earned Most Outstanding Of-fensive Player status and Rock Valley’s Darin Monroe was the Coach of the Year.


Rock Valley Completes Roll To NJCAA Division III Title With Win Over Herkimer

Sierra College did what it had done all weekend with their backs against the wall, coming back for the third time in four games to shock Mount San Antonio, 6-5 in eight innings, to capture the Wolverines’ first California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championship — and first for a Northern California school since 2004 — on May 18 in Bakersfield, Calif.

Through the first four innings, it was a pitchers’ duel between the (40-10) Mounties’ Sabrina Garcia and Sierra’s Jordan Becker, who allowed two hits apiece during that span.

A perfectly-placed two-on bunt found a a hole between the pitcher’s circle and first base to score two runs for Mount Saint Antonio in the fifth and two batters later Celina Felix made it 4-0 with her fifth homer of the

weekend.Kaitlyn Garcia’s double in the sixth

cut the Wolverines’ deficit in half and Alexis Johnson’s three-run homer put Sierra in front, 5-4.

Charlotte Foster’s solo shot over the scoreboard in center field tied the game at in the tied the game at 5-5.

In the eighth, Carly Evans laced an one-out double down the left field line and Garcia drove in the game-winner for Sierra (43-5) four pitches later with a single to right-center.

Kalyn Paque got her 22nd win of the season, earning the tournament Most Valuable Pitcher Award, while Kaitlyn Garcia was named Most Valuable Player, wrapping up a wonderful weekend at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI in the finale.

Sierra Shocks Mount St. Antonio To Capture California Junior College Championship

SEE SIERRA PAGE 25

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Sophomore first baseman Brook-lyn Clark led the way with three hits as LSU-Eunice won its second straight NJCAA Division II nation-al championship and third crown in four years by defeating Jones County twice — including 8-6 in the decisive game — on May 17 in Clinton, Miss.

Clark was named the Tournament

Most Valuable Player after going 11-for-22 for the (64-3) Bengals with two doubles and

five runs batted in.LSU-Eunice trailed the (52-6) Bob-

cats 6-0 before scoring eight runs in the sixth inning, starting with sopho-more third baseman Carey Alexis’

bases- loaded walk, and including freshman designated hitter Danielle Cruickshank’s two-run double, an overthrow, two-run error, wild pitch and Clark’s run-scoring hit to center.

Bengals sophomore right fielder Emily Nolan was the recipient of the Marucci Elite Hitter award after go-ing 8-for-19 with four home runs, a double and 15 RBIs during the tour-nament, while LSU-Eunice’s Andy Lee was chosen the Most Outstand-ing Coach.

Alexis and outfielder Codi Cov-ington were joined by two freshman teammates, infielder Taylor Bou-let and pitcher Raven Cole, on the All-Tournament team, while Jones County had four players — fresh-men Bailey Stokes (C), Tori Dew (IF) and Lauren Holifield (IF), plus sophomore pitcher Samantha Buller

— selected.Rounding out the team were Black

Hawk-Moline freshmen Brooke Posey (P) and Lecy Waldbusser (DP), Kankakee sophomore infielder Jes-sica Arebalo, Cowley County sopho-more outfielder Jordan Haya and Des Moines Area sophomore outfielder Amanda Widener.

Des Moines Area sophomore short-stop Katlin Briley scored Most Out-standing Defensive Player honors, while sophomore teammate Riley Fisher earned the Most Outstanding Pitcher nod and Jones County sopho-more center fielder CC Lawn was the Most Outstanding Offensive Player.

LSU-Eunice (three) and Phoenix College (eight) are the only NJCAA Division II programs to win multiple national championships.


LSU-Eunice Repeats As NJCAA DII ChampionNEWS & NOTES

Top seed Mount Hood defeated second-seeded Clackamas for the fourth time in six meetings this sea-son to capture the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) championship, 4-2, on May 19 at Delta Park in Portland, Ore.

After Clackamas (39-7) took an 1-0 lead on Cassidy Edwards’ dou-ble in the second and added a second run on a bases-loaded walk in the third, Mercedes Green’s three-run homer in the fourth gave the (40-3) Saints to a lead they would not re-linguish.

Kristen Crawford did the rest in the circle, scattering two runs on seven hits to earn a spot with four team-mates — including tournament Most

Valuable Player Teaunna Huges — on the All-Tournament team. Other Mount Hood players on the team were Ann-Marie Guisher, SheaLee Lindsey and Chelsea Spanier.

For Clackamas, Cassidy Edwards, Breann Morrison, Samantha Owirka and Rashaun Sells, Clackamas made the team, while Cheyanne Barger, Jessica Capson and Jandee Carlson represented Treasure Valley, and Haley Hess and Julia Rambo were selected for Wenatchee Valley.

The Saints’ Meadow McWhorter, meanwhile, was named NWAACC Coach of the Year for the second straight season after guiding her squad to its fourth title in the last six years.

—Courtesy NWAACC.org

Top Seed Mount Hood Beats Clackamas For Fourth Time To Win Fourth NWAACC Title

Auburn Montgomery bounced back from a loss in the first championship game to defeat William Carey 10-6 for its first NAIA Softball World Series title on May 29 at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga.

The Warhawks have won 23 NAIA crowns, but this was the first national championship for the softball program, which is only in its sixth year of existence. The other 22 titles have been won by the school’s tennis teams. With the crown, the (44-7) Warhawks become the 21st different school to claim a World Series title in the tournament’s 34-year history.

“I’m very emotional right now. I’ve always wanted it for our program and our kids,” Auburn Montgomery coach Christina Steiner Wilcoxson said after the title game. “This is what we fought for from the first day we started the program. From what our dreams and our goals were, I can’t believe it’s a reality right now.”

The (52-12) Crusaders had nine hits in the title game, two each by junior Caroline Walker and senior Jasmine Shelby after forcing a winner-take-all second championship game by winning 7-4 earlier in the day.

But the Warhawks continued the trend of teams being successful after scoring early. For the tournament, the team that scored first won 18 of the 19 games played.

Held to four runs in the first game, Auburn Montgomery had four base hits and jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the

first inning, added a run on a fielding error in the fourth and and got a home run from sophomore Kayla Hale in the

fifth.A five-run sixth put the game out of

reach, though the Crusaders staved off a run-rule loss in the bottom half on Sarah Beckman’s two-run homer.

The 10 runs scored by Auburn Montgomery were the second-most in World Series history and most since Oklahoma City won 12-0 victory in 1997.

Auburn Montgomery placed three players — pitcher Cassie Daniels, catcher Lauren Shaw and infielder Katie Spain — on the All-Tournament team. Daniels was also the World Series Most Valuable Player, while William Carey also had three players — oufielders Hannah Cook-Kelley and Relanda McFarland, plus infielder Walker — selected to the team.

The other named to the squad were catcher Randi Wimpi (Reinhardt); pitchers Dani Fox (Oklahoma City), Jordan Hood (Lindsey Wilson) and Nickayla Skinner (Idaho); infielders CJ Browder (Reinhardt), Hannah Gardner (Olivet Nazarene), Kyndra Holasek, (Oklahoma City) and Taylor Simon, (LSU Alexandria); and outfielders Ryan Norton (Simpson) and Randi Yousey (St. Gregory’s).

—Courtesy NAIA.org

Auburn Montgomery Bounces Back For First NAIA Championship In School History

Connect With The NFCA On Twitter!

@NFCAorg

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NFCA ALL-AMERICA TEAMS

First TeamPosition Name SchoolP Lacey Waldrop Florida St.P Cheridan Hawkins OregonP Jaclyn Traina AlabamaC Taylor Edwards Nebraska1B Hallie Wilson Arizona2B Alex Hugo Georgia3B Courtney Ceo OregonSS Sierra Romero MichiganOF Haylie McCleney AlabamaOF Branndi Melero AuburnOF Victoria Hayward WashingtonUT/P Ally Carda UCLAUT/Non-P or DP Stephany LaRosa UCLAAt-Large/SS Maddie O’Brien Florida St.At-Large/SS Madison Shipman TennesseeAt-Large/P Whitney Canion BaylorAt-Large/3B Shelby Pendley OklahomaAt-Large/2B Kelsey Stewart Florida

Second TeamPosition Name SchoolP Sara Moulton MinnesotaP Dallas Escobedo Arizona St.P Christina Hamilton La.-LafayetteC Amber Freeman Arizona St.1B Micaela Arizmendi Notre Dame2B Hannah Flippen Utah3B Kaitlyn Richardson MinnesotaSS Jill Barrett TulsaOF Janie Takeda OregonOF Jennifer Gilbert Ball StateOF Karley Wester Notre DameUT/P Jailyn Ford James MadisonUT/Non-P or DP Sahvanna Jaquish LSUAt-Large/UT-P Kirsten Verdun DePaulAt-Large/3B Kasey Cooper AuburnAt-Large/C Annie Aldrete TennesseeAt-Large/P Haylie Wagner MichiganAt-Large/P Chelsea Wilkinson Georgia

Third TeamPosition Name SchoolP Hannah Campbell South AlabamaP Aimee Creger TulsaP Sara Nevins South FloridaC Lexie Elkins La.-Lafayette1B Hooch Fagaly Washington2B Emily Carosone Auburn3B Missy Taukeiaho Cal St.-FullertonSS Kellie Fox ArizonaOF Emilee Koerner Notre DameOF Taylor Gadbois MissouriOF Lindsey Stephens TexasUT/P Tatum Edwards NebraskaUT/Non-P or DP Kylee Lahners WashingtonAt-Large/P Hannah Rogers FloridaAt-Large/1B Lauren Chamberlain OklahomaAt-Large/OF Shellie Robinson USC-UpstateAt-Large/OF Cassie Tysarczyk Texas A&MAt-Large/UT-P Meredith Owen Stetson

NCAA Division I

First TeamPosition Name SchoolP Morgan Foley IndianapolisP Jackie Bishop Missouri Western St.P Rita Hokianga West Texas A&MC Natalie Wideman California (Pa.)C Aly Dzierzynski LIU Post1B Anna Shartzer West Alabama2B Jenny Nelson Winona State3B Nicole Yancey West GeorgiaSS Alexis Mercer Armstrong AtlanticOF Courtney Albritton Valdosta StateOF Morgan Spearman Angelo StateOF Tiffany Brown Pittsburg StateDP McKenzie Rynard Pittsburg StateUT/Pitcher Cori Reinhardt Cal St. Monterey BayUT/Non-Pitcher Darian Dunn Angelo StateAt-Large/UT-P Ally Foster Bellarmine

Second TeamPosition Name SchoolP Kayla Cox TampaP Hannah Perryman UMSLP Kalynn Schrock Central OklahomaC Kim Jerrick Midwestern StateC Lindsay Erickson Minn. St. Mankato1B Kendra Sancet Texas Woman’s2B Tiffany Hollingsworth Humboldt State3B Jessica Sipe West Texas A&MSS Makayla Kovac Colorado MesaOF Renee Erwin West Texas A&MOF Whitney Okvist Georgia CollegeOF Rebecca Lee Hawaii-HiloDP Lacye Walker Armstrong AtlanticUT/Pitcher Jenelle Trautmann Augustana (SD)UT/Non-Pitcher Ana Coscorrosa LeeAt-Large/SS Shelby Altman Valdosta State

Third TeamPosition Name SchoolP Carley Tysinger CatawbaC Tiffany McIntosh Cal St. San Bern.1B Brielle Reighn Caldwell2B Micherie Koria Angelo State3B Nicki Sprague Azusa PacificSS Nicole Nobbe Cal St. San Bern.OF Macie Couey Alabama-HuntsvilleAt-Large/OF Ashton Bell Lubbock ChristianAt-Large/P Alex Sagl California (Pa.)At-Large/SS Samantha Holien Minn. St. MankatoAt-Large/UT/Non-P MacKenzi Dorsam Southern IndianaAt-Large/UT/P Monique Roberge Queens (NY)At-Large/OF Megan Konieczka Sonoma State

NCAA Division II

First TeamPosition Player SchoolP Allyson Fournier Tufts P Rachel Johnson SalisburyC Jo Clair Tufts1B Megan Light Emory2B Cynthia Hayes Guilford3B Ashley Garcia LinfieldSS Kim Dorsey SalisburyOF Tori Higginbotham Va. WesleyanOF Lauren Robenalt Texas-TylerOF Carly Searles Trine DP Paige Knussman SalisburyUT Anya Kamber BrandeisAt-Large Alex Hill Montclair StateAt-Large Nina Korn RochesterAt-Large Amber White Bridgewater State

Second TeamPosition Player SchoolP Kelsie Batten Texas-TylerP Samantha Derr Lebanon ValleyC Emily Gregory St. Thomas (Minn.)1B Jenn Dalickas Moravian2B Rachel Roberts Pacific (Ore.)3B Shelbee Damianos ManhattanvilleSS Jenna Hoffman St. Thomas (Minn.)OF Lexi Alm St. BenedictOF Samantha Bost Lebanon ValleyOF Adriana Sikora Ohio NorthernDP Brenna Walek St. Thomas (Minn.)UT Jessica Long Averett At-Large Laura Basford OtterbeinAt-Large Angie Jackson BethelAt-Large Hannah Sendel Emory

Third TeamPosition Player SchoolP Karina Paavola LinfieldP Molly McCready Illinois WesleyanC Alexis Lawley Finlandia 1B Lacey Lindsey East Texas Baptist1B Morgan Krisch Wis.-Whitewater2B Tayler Fravel Rochester3B Meghan Matan UticaSS Ana Walter Thomas MoreOF AJ Carrasco RedlandsOF Amanda Fischer Wis.-Eau ClaireOF Kelsey Rose LutherDP Jayme Perez East Texas BaptistUT Jayna Loy NorthlandAt-Large Brooke Smitherman Mississippi Coll.At-Large Jessie Richardson Coast GuardAt-Large Sabrina Hill Christopher Newport

NCAA Division III

Position Player SchoolP Lindsie Scholwinski SpokaneP Kristen Crawford Mt. HoodC Nicole Cardoza Southwestern Ore.IF Kasidee Lemberger Mt. Hood

IF Rashaun Sells ClackamasIF Destinee Chang ChemeketaIF Teauna Hughes Mt. HoodOF Cheyenne Barger Treasure ValleyOF Rachel Ray Clackamas

OF Hillary Strelau DouglasU Cassidy Edwards Clackamas UTL Lauren Burchak Bellevue

NWAACC

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NFCA ALL-AMERICA TEAMS

First TeamPosition Player SchoolP Cassie Daniels Auburn MontgomeryC Michele Rupard Central Methodist 1B Annette Merjano Concordia (Calif.)2B Hannah Gardner Olivet Nazarene3B Lizzie Fela Southern WesleyanSS Jenna Jorgenson Concordia (Calif.)OF Rachel Laird Houston-VictoriaOF Dominique Corona Belhaven OF Meghan Luebbert Concordia (Ore.)DP Cassidy Olson Oregon Inst. of Tech

UT Brittanee Grove William PennAt-Large Kim Pierce SoutheasternAt-Large KC Dunne DavenportAt-Large Lauren Shaw Auburn MontgomeryAt-Large Nickayla Skinner College of IdahoAt-Large Kyndra Holasek Oklahoma City

Second TeamPosition Player SchoolP Caroline Sagrera Spring Hill CollegeC Tori Weatherford Oregon Inst. of Tech1B Erika Tatum Olivet Nazarene2B Sarah Beckman William Carey

3B Katie Spain Auburn MontgomerySS Dharianna Familia Martin Methodist OF Relanda McFarland William CareyOF Kristin Benton Campbellsville OF Amber Getty DavenportDP Kayla Hale Auburn MontgomeryUT Heidi Walburg CornerstoneAt-Large Cheryl Sendzik Olivet NazareneAt-Large Nicole Nonnemacher St. XavierAt-Large Aubrey Utley Central MethodistAt-Large Justine Phillips Olivet NazareneAt-Large Dani Fox Oklahoma City

NAIA

First TeamPosition Name SchoolP Sydnee Eck Butler CCP Carlie Sargent Southern Union St.P Mackenzie Hoelting Jefferson C April Marquez Arizona WesternC Amy Szymanowski Coll of Central Fla.IF Aubrey Whitmer Southern IdahoIF Robyn Alvara Arizona WesternIF Baylee Williams Chattanooga State IF Kate Benton Shelton State CCIF Morgan Brown Jefferson CollegeOF Courtney Shields Southern Union St.OF Anna Reed Jefferson CollegeOF Alexis Dotson Pima CCOF Rose Stevens Polk State DP Katie Harrison Chipola UTL Kaisey Carson Northwest Fla. St.

Second TeamPosition Name SchoolP Ashlee Rex Arizona Western P Stephanie Flores Temple Coll.P Shelby Willard Chattanooga StateC Stephanie Koutsoumbaris Polk State C Zoe Murillo Odessa IF Maggie Roberts Polk State IF Monique Miller Navarro IF Sarah Lopesilvero Lake Land IF Corrina Liscano Howard Coll.IF Jourdon Foradori Southern Union St.OF Te Reo Matautia TallahasseeOF Kaila Crandall Eastern Arizona OF Sarah Galaviz Odessa OF Theresa DeCosty Jefferson DP Tyneesha Houkamu MidlandUTL Kendle Schieber Indian Hills

Third TeamPosition Name SchoolP Janessa Flynn OdessaP Mariah Rivera TallahasseeP Gia Johns AngelinaC Brigitte Gauvin San Jacinto SouthC Kenady Magouirk Lamar St. P.A.IF Bethany Olea Arizona Western IF Jessica Ball Western NebraskaIF Alexis Huss TallahasseeIF Kassie James AngelinaIF Shelbi Swenson Temple Coll.OF Alli Spivey BlinnOF Dakota Holly Temple Coll.OF Danielle Bottley MidlandOF Brashante Darues Chipola DP Peyton Webb BlinnUTL Shelby McGraw Western Nebraska

NJCAA Division I

First TeamPosition Name SchoolP Raven Cole LSU-EuniceP Shyanne Saladino Kirkwood CCP Ronette Claar Mercyhurst N.E.C Marissa Graslewicz Des Moines Area C Sarah Rothe HutchinsonIF Brooklyn Clark LSU-EuniceIF Tori Hawk IndependenceIF Alayna Carlson Mercyhurst N.E.IF Allie Hill KankakeeIF Anna Morgan Williston State

OF Chasney Jenkins KirkwoodOF Emily Nolan LSU-EuniceOF Courtney Geith Phoenix OF Codi Covington LSU-EuniceDP Meghan Gill KankakeeUTL Destin Vicknair LSU-Eunice

Second TeamPosition Name SchoolP Samantha O’Connor CatonsvilleP Cassie Roessing PhoenixP Jessica Seay Cowley CountyC Stacey Abasto CC of Morris

C Sam Bonner LabetteIF NiCole Dobernecker Iowa CentralIF Kory Watterson ItawambaIF Jessica Wood LansingIF Katlin Briley Des Moines AreaIF Stephanie Couser Cowley County OF Rebecca Wyatt PhoenixOF Amanda Orrell Dakota County TechOF Stephanie Weyemiller ChesapeakeOF Jessica Dubbs CatonsvilleDP Crystal Heffington CatonsvilleUTL Natalie Clark Kirkwood

NJCAA Division II

Position Name SchoolP Amanda Blankenship Rock Valley P Toni Secreti HerkimerP Samantha Hosey BrookdaleC Sammy Smaldone HerkimerC Jamie Cook Corning

IF Ashley Sterritt HerkimerIF Gabby Citriniti CorningIF Danielle Walker Rock ValleyIF Karen Caithamer DuPageIF Kaytee Keefe Rock ValleyOF Katie Meyer Rock Valley

OF Taylor Rizzotte Gloucester OF Cassidy Brzozowski BrookdaleOF Sarah Heimbach HerkimerDP Lexi Haley MonroeAt-Large Haley Love Rock Valley

NJCAA Division III

North TeamPosition Player SchoolP Shannon Mestas Solano CollegeIF Aleyna Benipayo Solano CollegeIF Tayana Mata Sierra CollegeIF Brooke Ramsey San MateoIF Mickey Loveridge Sacramento City OF Raquel Martinez San Mateo

OF Natalie Saucedo San MateoOF Mikal Cuellar CabrilloC Treasure Rodriguez San Jose City UT Dominique Foster Shasta

South TeamPosition Name SchoolP Alashanee Medina East Los Angeles IF Kali Pugh Palomar

IF Charlotte Foster Mt. San AntonioIF Sara Moore CitrusIF Danyelle Sturm Coll. of the DesertOF Keilani “KK” Fronda PalomarOF Alexandrea Simmons Mt. San AntonioOF Emily Whitecavage Santa AnaC Valerie Aguilar East Los AngelesUT Celina Felix Mt. San Antonio

Cal JC

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PLAYING A ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY BEFORE PLAYING

ABOVE LEFT: Jo Clair, left, and Chrissie Massrey of Tufts University have some fun with students during a community service activity at Jack Elementary School in Tyler, Texas, prior to the start of last month’s NCAA Division III Championship Tournament at Texas-Tyler’s Suddenlink Field. All eight competing teams arrived in town early to do some sort of volunteer activity (Photo by Alonso Nichols, Tufts University). TOP RIGHT: Players from Trine University and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater teamed to sort and package Cheerios into meal-sized bags for needy families at the East Texas Food Bank (Photo by Lindsey M. Mechalik, Trine University). AT LEFT: Members of the University of St. Thomas softball team take a moment to pose for a photo during their community service activity (Photo courtesy of St. Thomas Athletics). BELOW: Alison Cullen reads to a student during Montclair State’s visit to Jones Elementary School (Photo by Montclair State Athletics).

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COACH’S PROFILE

Finding The Kee To Mean Green Success

Tracey Kee got players to buy into her approach during her first season at North Texas. Image by sjmiller Photography.

IN THE PRESS BOX WITH TRACEY KEE1) How has the game changed in the time

you’ve been coaching?“It is much more balanced now in regards to speed,

power, pitching and complete defenses. In the past, if you had one of those components you would be successful to some extent. Now as a program, you must have all of these in order to be successful on a consistent basis. Luckily for us this task has been

fostered by the summer team programs, because student-athletes are entering college with a higher skill set and softball IQ.”

2) What are some problems coaches now face that are different from when you started coach-ing?

“Coaches face an incredible amount of pressure these days in regards to the job market, school

New Leader Has Brought Wealth Of Experience From The East Coast to North Texas

In the summer of 2013, Tracey Kee found herself in dramatically uncharted territory, professionally and geographically. Kee had spent her entire life living on the East Coast and more than half of her life in the East Carolina softball program, first as a player, then assistant coach, and finally head coach. She had flourished, winning almost 700 games, earning four Coach of the Year awards, and taking four teams to the NCAA tournament.

Now she was starting over, more than a thousand miles from the only world she had ever known.

“I WAS extremely apprehensive,” said Kee about taking the head softball coach position at North Texas. “At 46, this was the first time I was in a new environment and inheriting a team that I did not recruit.

“Most people experience that in their early years, and to have that turnover now was probably my biggest fear and concern as a coach,” she added. “At this point in my career, I was going to go into a group that I knew nothing about, and I did a lot of soul searching with it.”

Apparently, those searches found the right answers. The Mean Green won their season-series finale against No. 18 Tulsa en route to a semifinal finish in the Conference USA tournament, a testament to Kee’s ability to reach a group of players she did not recruit and to get the most out of her student-athletes.

KEE ARRIVED in Denton in the middle of a mercilessly-hot Texas summer and immediately began the process of transforming a Mean Green softball program that had produced just three winning seasons in 10 years. But what Kee discovered in the first meetings with her players was a team with talent and, more importantly, the ambition to succeed and the willingness to listen to a new voice.

“I think it was different for them and me,” Kee said. “Here we are, three days before the start of school, and I show up and am about to take the reins of the program. As a coach, I knew I needed to come out and be completely honest. I needed to tell them my vision, how I am, my expectations. It was either buy into it or

SEE FINDING PAGE 26

By NORTH TEXAS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

expectations, program results and just the daily grind of keeping your program and student-athletes moving forward each year. I landed my first head coaching job at the age of 28, when schools and administrations were more focused on just filling a team. Now with better resources, higher administration expectations,

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GETTING BETTER AT THE GAME

AN APPROACH TO HITTING IN ALL COUNTSBy Chez Sievers, Univ. of Texas graduate, ex-coach and blogger at smart-softball.comDuring my softball career, I considered myself to be a pretty good hitter. Looking back, I

could have been a smarter hitter. Here’s why: I had a poor approach. Which was no approach. At five feet with a Manny Ramirez leg lift and taking hacks with reckless abandonment, I’d

get myself out by swinging at bad pitches. After coaching for eight years, this is the approach I’ve gathered from experience and working with some of the top hitting coaches in softball:

1. Identify what pitches your hitter can handle. If she has a long swing, then low pitches are more ideal for her. Pitches above her belt may not be pitches she hits well. If she identifies and attacks her pitches, she will be more successful.

2. Early in the count, attack belly button to mid-thigh strikes. Elevated pitches have a higher probability of being driven in the gaps for doubles and home runs. Low pitches at the knees are more likely to be hit for low line drives and ground balls. That’s why drop ball pitch-ers are considered to be ground ball pitchers. If you apply this approach, you should see your power numbers increase, but unfortunately you might see pop ups increase too.

3. Behind in the count, what pitch is the opposing pitcher throwing with two strikes? Depending on the pitcher, changeups and rise balls are typically thrown in two-strike counts. Create a two-strike approach around these pitches. If they know it’s coming, they won’t be surprised when they see it. You should have your players practice seeing the changeup and reacting to the fastball. At the beginning of the year, during practice, before games, I talk to the team about our approach, which is usually “attack belt high strikes.” Each hitter has their routine or method to get them in the zone. With certain hitters in the hole, I’ll ask, “What’s your approach?” They verbalize their plan and attempt to execute it. If they don’t commit to their plan, they have no one to blame but themselves. I used to tear my hair out telling them what pitch was coming and what pitch to attack. And you know what? People don’t absorb the lecture. The human brain can only retain five pieces of information in a span of 30 seconds if it’s not repeated. Information tends to bounce off of them like a force field if it isn’t repeated. The good news is if you work on strike zone awareness and approach, you should improve pitch selection, slugging percentage, and two-strike hitting.

Here’s are some easy ways to create a visual strike zone on a low budget:Burrito Toss (photos above): Take a rolled up sliding mat or an old goal post pad. Place it

front of home plate and toss. Get your hitters to attack belly button to mid-thigh strikes.Roped Toss (photo at right): Pick up 1/2” rope and two carabiners from your local home

improvement store. Cut the rope to the width of the cage and tie a carabiner at each end. Set the rope just above the knees and start tossing.

(Photos courtesy of Chez Sievers)

Do you have a softball drill that should be featured in an upcoming issue of Fastpitch Delivery? Email your favorite drill, including instructions and any accompanying diagrams or photos, to Dave Hines at [email protected] FD

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Sitting in the stands, one can learn a great deal about coaching. It is admirable what spectators and railbirds know. They are gifted with insight and foresight that no mortal coach can possibly understand or equal. It is truly an amazing thing to behold.

Long before a college coach has recruited a player she is scouted by mysterious persons in cyberspace or somewhere. How coaches learn of the phenomenal players to be is not generally known to mere mortals. Then, once found, these spectacular youngsters are somehow recruited and often orally commit to college at an early age. Smitty wonders how this is done, except when these players visit campuses or go for camps.

IN ANY EVENT, they are recruited. Somewhere along the way, all seeing and all-knowing parents, often prompted by railbirds who follow the circuit, becomes aware that a particular player is a fantastic shortstop and should play at that position in college. Often, when the subject about positional playing is brought up during the recruiting process, intelligent coaches will say that the player, if she is recruited to the team, will play where she is needed and has the ability to do so.

This many times turns the parent and player off and they deign to look elsewhere. This is particularly prevalent in summer ball, but not so much in college, for the parent and player are most happy to get a scholarship and play.

The unsophisticated coach, or the one who believes that his/her school is the Eden of softball, makes promises

as to playing time and particular positions. This is a dreadful mistake and will come back to haunt the coach in the future. It is bad enough when a player is recruited and does not play very much, or at all, or is positioned somewhere not to her liking.

BY THE WAY, Smitty believes that kids are recruited too young and too many promises are made. Oral c o m m i t m e n t s are occurring at earlier and earlier ages and pose significant future problems. What if the player commits and suffers an injury which the recruiting coach feels will affect her future playing ability? What if the coach relies on the commitment, but at the last moment the recruit decides to go somewhere else? What if in her senior year the recruiting coach feels he/she made a mistake and withdraws the offer? More questions along these lines are there for the asking.

Now to the nitty-gritty. The player shows up at school and goes to the first practice. The coach doesn’t like the way she holds her bat and changes her. Or the coach feels her fielding form is wrong and suggests another way.

Other changes may occur, all or any of which might not change anything along the productive lines, or makes the player worse or upsets

the parent who immediately brands the coach as an incompetent boob.

On the other hand, what if the player changes nothing, but her production at bat and in the field is below par? There are those who will still resist change, but intelligent players will try to accommodate the coach’s instructions.

When dealing with any roster, all players have different abilities and

physical and mental makeups that do not make it possible to have a template for all. Each athlete must be dealt with separately.

This presents a problem.

There must be uniformity in fundamental a p p r o a c h e s to the game, whether it be batting, fielding

or whatever. In this regard, the coach must be a dictator.

HOWEVER, at times a coach must be a psychiatrist, a soothsayer and doctor when dealing with certain personalities.

This is a delicate situation and must be handled with care, not only to deal appropriately with the player, but for maintaining a standard.

Let’s take the example of a player who just experienced a terrible tragedy in her family. Sometimes emotions run rampant and are difficult to deal with. Should this happen to a star player, for example, the remedy will not be

easy when her game production goes down and her attitude suffers. How this is handled is a mystery to Smitty, but many schools have advisors and psychologists on staff that can advise the coach. It is dangerous territory for a coach to go it alone sometimes.

Parents and railbirds are often not aware of problems on the team that are affecting game excellence, and express uncomplimentary sentiments toward the coach. Even slight problems arise when, for example, a player doesn’t bunt in an obvious sacrifice situation, at which time antagonists will rage.

But do they know that the player can’t bunt? Or do they know there is no available replacement that can bunt well? So, it is often unreasonable for these folks to express criticism when none is warranted.

But all these problems are the stuff that great coaches overcome. How it is done requires vast experience and knowledge of the game; something not easily acquired.

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

SOFTBALL BY SMITTY

Coaches Face Problems Beyond Coaching

Parents need to learn to sit back and cheer for the team. Giving advice to players during the game, whether a child of theirs or not, is an unforgiveable sin. Nothing will harm a player’s production more than such actions. Even coaches should be very careful about giving advice during a game. Practices are the place for instruction; not games. Try it. You’ll like it.

SMITTY’S TIP

By DICK SMITH

Parents and railbirds are

often not aware of problems on the team that are affecting

game excellence, and express

uncomplimentary sentiments toward

the coach.

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Is your team as softball savvy as you think during games? I watch a lot of college, travel and high school softball games and I am amazed at some of the things I see during games. Here is a breakdown of things that I notice championship teams do to stay focused in games and display high levels of softball savvy that go highly unnoticed to the common set of eyes.

Championship teams have a lot going on in the dugout that most fans don’t see. Not only are the coaches charting and working off scouting reports to call pitches and position the defense, but the players have a lot going on as well.

THERE ARE ALWAYS a few players that are working on trying to decipher the signs given by the opposing pitching coach to the catcher, as well as a player and/or coach focusing on watching the pitcher to see if she gives away any of her pitches by pre-gripping or by tendencies in her delivery. They always have a few players charting tendencies as well.

Cheering, chants and songs are a big part of softball, and I’m all for it. But if your team does those things the expectation is that everyone participates. Not just a handful.

Most players and coaches know that the task of the on-deck batter and in-the-hole hitter are to begin the process of getting focused on their upcoming task of hitting by focusing on timing and approach. What most coaches and players don’t realize is that there are a few other jobs they have on a championship team.

THE ON-DECK batter has to know that if there is a play at the plate they will be behind home plate directing traffic to the runner, letting them know whether to slide or not. It is also their responsibility to get any foul balls that come to their side. There aren’t too many things that irk me more than seeing a catcher run after a foul ball

25 feet away that lands a foot from the on-deck batter’s feet. The on-deck batter securing any foul balls on their side is a sign of respect to the game of softball, the other team and especially the umpire by helping the game have a healthy tempo.

A KEY TEACHING point on retrieving foul balls in general: Anytime a coach or player on your team retrieves a foul ball, make sure to hand the umpire the ball. Do not throw it even if you are only three feet away and are underhanding it. We’ve all seen throws to the catcher or umpire that are errant or get dropped. Not only is it embarrassing, but it also slows the tempo of a great game. Umpires appreciate and respect coaches and players that will run up to them and hand them the ball.

Championship teams also make sure to shag the foul balls down the foul line on their side of the field. My eyes roll back into my head when I see a foul ball go down into the corner of the field and the corner outfielder runs 100 feet to get it, throw it back in and then head back to their position.

I LOVE SEEING a player fly out of the dugout as soon as it happens yelling “I got you” or “let it go,” so that the game doesn’t have to wait and can continue without delay.

When an at-bat ends we want the in-the-hole hitter to go directly to the on-deck circle so that they can begin their process of getting ready to hit. What we don’t want is for them to head towards home plate, pick up the bat of the previous hitter, and then walk all the way back to the dugout before finally proceeding to the on-deck circle.

To fix this issue, we have the new in-the-hole hitter retrieve the bat. It seems like a simple step, but I see very few teams even at the collegiate level do it.

When your team scores a run, or a player executes a sacrifice bunt or moves a runner over, everyone should get up in the dugout and pick up that

player by giving her a high-five, fist pound, “thatta girl” or something positive, regardless of the score.

It shows that you’re focused on the game and also a great encouragement to your teammates. This is especially important for when players execute a quality at-bat that they don’t reach base on. There are times on a non-championship team that a player will hit a sacrifice fly to score the run and everyone high-fives the girl who scored and forgets the girl who drove her in. This sends the wrong message that only base hits help the team win.

THE DUGOUT IS your team’s sanctuary. It should be kept extremely tidy. If possible, keep all bags out of the dugout or hang them to maximize your space. The only items that should be out of the bags are gloves and bats. Anything that is not needed in the game should not be in the dugout or at least not out of the bag.

I see dugouts that have shoes, clothes and personal items strewn about and coaches and players tripping over them while trying to get in and out of the dugout. Which leads into the next thing that championship teams do. As soon the defense gets in from the field, all outfielders should have their gloves placed together somewhere in the dugout and all the infielders’ gloves in a separate pile so that when the inning ends your nearest fielder can pick you up without having to look all over for your stuff.

SO MUCH warm-up time is lost when players spend a minute or longer looking for their glove between innings. Having your gloves organized allows the last batter of the inning and runners that are stranded on the bases to head directly to their position without having to run all the way back into the dugout. Players can hand their helmet to the nearest base coach and sprint out knowing that another player is going to pick them up.

A lot of coaches and players will read

the above paragraph and say, “I don’t think those things are that important.”

CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS think they are important. Championship teams know that they want to maximize every little detail of the game and want to use their 90 seconds of warm-up between innings getting as ready as possible for that inning. That’s why championship teams demand that as soon as the last batter of the inning gets out, they expect all nine defensive players to be at their position in less than 15 seconds, including the catcher and last batter, which is sometimes the same person.

In the next game that you play, stopwatch the amount of time you get to warm up between innings and then time how long it takes your team to get to their positions. Are you maximizing your time on the field? If you add this into your practice schedule every once in a while, you will notice how much this improves your team’s hustle, and in the games you’ll notice that the

By MATT LISLEAsst. Coach, Cal State-East Bay

Matt Lisle is the lead assistant softball coach at California State University-East Bay, where he serves as the hitting and catching coach and recruiting coordinator. He also is currently an associate baseball scout for Major League Baseball’s Detroit Tigers.

The Concord, Calif., native is an instructor, clinician and writer who works with baseball and softball players and has coached at all levels of the sport, from Little League to Divi-sion I. Follow him on Twitter at @CoachLisle and keep up with him at www.coachlisle.com

Revealing Secrets To Being Softball SavvyEDUCATION

SEE REVEALING PAGE 27

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Does anyone else get asked the question, “So what do you do during the summer?”

I have found it quite funny that once school is out, my non-college coaching friends can’t seem to figure out what I possibly have to do all summer long. As school is letting out and summer is beginning, all college, travel ball and high school coaches know that the recruiting season is just about to get into full swing. As we all prepare for the craziness that is recruiting, I would like to share what I am most excited about for this summer.

While I look forward to recruiting, and since moving to Connecticut I look forward to hot summer days, I am most excited about August. Why August? Because in August the best softball players in the world are heading to the Netherlands for the World Championships.

LIKE MOST little girls who grew up during the Olympic era of softball I dreamed of wearing USA across my chest and hearing a stadium full of fans chant U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A. And like most little girls I never had the chance to play on that stage, that is, until the spring of 2011, when I got a text from one of my college teammates asking me if I would come be a part of the Great Britain national team. Now, I am not British, so I would not be able to play in the true international competitions, but they needed someone who could play for them in the World Cup of Softball as a guest player and who could travel with them to Italy for the European Championships.

Well it took all of a nanosecond for me to say yes. My role was unique. I would play as a team member during the World Cup, but I would also function as the pitching coach

and scout for the team. I would then transition to just a coach and scout during the European Championships. So the summer of 2011 marked the beginning of one of the greatest softball experiences I have ever had.

As soon as I arrived to meet the team I was immediately adopted into the Great Britain family, and I am so blessed to continue what will be my fourth season with the team this August.

WHILE I COULD go on for pages about how truly remarkable each member of the Great Britain

f a m i l y is, I would like to provide some personal insight of what makes international softball great. One of the first great things about international softball is the fans. The atmosphere is electric, so much energy and patriotism. The crowd hangs on every pitch and truly becomes a part of each team. I love to see all the outfits from each country. People dressed to the nines in every combination of flag and national

colors imaginable. The second thing I love is that as

a coach I never have to question the motivation or work ethic of the players.

ONCE SOFTBALL was dropped as an Olympic sport, the Great Britain softball team had to rely on sponsors, players and staff for its funding. When you have players who are paying thousands of dollars a year and who train individually while working other jobs or going to school, motivation is never an issue. As a coach, you get to actually

coach skill sets and help support your players

becoming great. They retain

i n fo rma t ion and improve q u i c k l y because the i n t e n s i t y level is always high and the atmosphere is always driven. The third

thing I love is that countries

make whatever they have work

for them. I see college players all the

time complain about what they don’t have

or how rough they have it while playing in million dollar

stadiums and wearing team-issued gear.

I LOVE the fact that international teams take batting practice with JUGS Lite-Flites instead of real balls because they don’t have a screen or they use two trash cans stacked on top of each other as a screen.

I love that every cleat and water bottle doesn’t have to be the same —

the only same they care about is the country across their chest. And lastly, I love how proud these women are to represent their country.

At the European championships last summer, the music did not work for the British National Anthem before our first game. As the media people were working to resolve this, you started to hear a faint but then booming rendition of “God Save the Queen” performed by the team, who were promptly joined by the entire Great Britain entourage. Such a display is unfortunately rare in society today, but was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in sports.

As we move through the summer I encourage everyone to mark Aug. 15-24 on his or her calendar and stand ready to cheer on the world during this special time of softball. If we want to see softball back in the Olympics we must show the world that it truly is a worldwide sport and has the support of millions of fans.

To find out more about the world championships, go to http://www.wcsoftball2014.com/en/home

Megan Brown is in her first year as an as-sistant coach at the University of Connecticut.

She recently earned her doctorate in ki-nesiology from Auburn University and was a three-time All-America pitcher at Florida Southern College, earning Hall of Fame induction at 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 currently serves as the pitching coach for the Great Britain National team.

Much To Do During The Summer MonthsINTERNATIONAL

By MEGAN BROWNAsst. Coach, Univ. of Connecticut

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For an individual to fully tap into her personal power, she needs support from others. It is the way humans operate. Positive energy is more than just an idea.

Proving the mechanisms for this to academic standards is difficult, but the proof is in the effects. What works? Teams (sports, business or familial) full of mutual respect for one another and a culture of excellence, enthusiasm and forgiveness work. Teams with great chemistry work.

Leaders in every industry want to put their finger on how to build chemistry. The answer is analogous to pursuing a peak performance in that there is nothing that can guarantee it will happen, but it is appropriate to pursue anyway. By following certain principles, chances are maximized. This starts with a shared goal; team members have to care about the welfare of the team as a whole. If winning is not a universal priority, problems arise.

THE PHILOSOPHY of “doing your best,” in and of itself, defines success. It is important to notice that being successful maximizes the chances at winning. Leaders do their best to get better and want to see their teammates get better to promote winning. They do not carry any resentment for the progress of teammates. They pursue, support and celebrate learning. They also want to be healthy and stay out of trouble off the diamond, be in good standing in the classroom and be part of a team that others would want to join. They want these things in large part because they promote winning.

Leaders not only have a vision of the goal of winning, they also have specific ideas about how to achieve this goal. They do not know the future, so specifics will vary, but they know that industriousness, positive energy, teamwork and consistency are fundamental building blocks of success.

They are like a rock; they do not get blown over by the shifting winds of

circumstance. Their core beliefs about what is right are constant.

The next step for a leader to build chemistry is connecting with teammates. Teammates do not have to all like each other. Respect, however, is a requirement.

Respect requires acknowledging the other person’s value; leaders make each team member feel important. Every member has an important role in making the team better, and their success is something the leader needs to help her reach her softball goals. For example, the last players on the bench are needed both to make teammates better and to be ready to perform when they get an opportunity.

LEADERS COMMUNICATE their appreciation of other people’s value in many subtle ways every day. They smile, celebrate successes and share struggles. They will not be betrayed in a moment of weakness, which is important since respect can be lost in a hurry, because their appreciation for teammates is sincere.

Many people lose respect for another when they disagree with her. This is avoided by remembering that either party could be wrong or partially wrong and, if it does happen to be the other person, by forgiveness. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” leaders recall. They realize that the past had to happen exactly as it did. Had they experienced the same things in life as another person, they are just as likely to be behind where that person is in life and softball as ahead of it. However, the future is unwritten, so they hope and work for perfection in others (without expecting it), just as they do for themselves.

When respect is present, the critical pursuit of empathy naturally follows. Empathy is the ability to understand and be sensitive to the thoughts, attitudes, feelings, desires and actions of another person. Some people are naturally better at it than others, but all people improve their skill with quality practice. Babies are incapable of empathy. They are only able to think about what they want, not the

motivations of others. People with Attention Deficit

Disorder have a disadvantage for learning empathy. It is very difficult for them to think about both what they want and another person’s point of view at the same time. Empathy is a challenging skill for everyone. It is impossible to see the world exactly as another sees it because everyone brings a unique set of experiences and DNA with them to the present moment. But leaders get closer.

The simplest way to practice empathy is to listen. Listening and hearing are different. Listening requires attention to what is being said rather than waiting to speak. Leaders care about the welfare of others and they also have the confidence necessary to let their current thoughts about what they want go. They know that if these released desires are important enough they will have no trouble retrieving them from memory later. This allows them to focus on the task at hand: listening. Just as a hitter sees the ball big by being undistracted from the task at hand, effective listeners have a singular focus – figuring out what the speaker is trying to communicate.

ANOTHER COMPONENT for developing empathy is curiosity. Being empathic is relatively easy when two people’s motivations are similar. It is when there is disagreement that curiosity becomes critical. Rather than judging others, leaders attempt to figure out why someone would hold a different opinion or point of view. Curiosity leads to questions and questions lead to answers. Leaders connect because they are focused listeners and because they ask the right questions to figure out what the speaker is attempting or needs to communicate. Doing (or saying) nothing is easier than doing something. Superb leaders are rare because they not interested in what is easier, just what is better.

But how can a leader respect a teammate who does something contrary to her core values? Perhaps the leader values hard work and the offensive behavior is to not run out

a popup, despite knowing that there is a chance the defense will make a mistake? The assumption is that the batter does not care about the team. She is too selfish to hustle.

CURIOSITY LEADS to a different conclusion: the lack of hustle likely comes from the precise opposite of not caring enough. It is caring too much. The popup disgusted the hitter so much that she had an emotional reaction that led her to forget to do her current job of sprinting to first base. Is this selfish behavior? Yes. Is it laziness? Not at its source. Armed with empathy, the leader is able to connect with this teammate, maximizing her chances of helping.

By AARON WEINTRAUBMental Training Expert

Aaron Weintraub holds a B.A. from Emory University (1993) and a M.Ed. from the Uni-versity of Virginia (2000). He served as an as-sistant baseball coach for 13 years at Emory, UVa, Presbyterian College, Brevard College, and Cedar Valley College. Four of those pro-grams achieved school records for wins while he was there.

I n 2 0 0 6 , We i n t ra u b s t a r te d w w w.CoachTraub.com, a consulting business whose mission is to over-deliver value on goods and services designed to help you win the mental side of the game. He has worked with teams and individuals in all sports around his hometown of Dallas and around the country.

His company also runs events such as softball camps and coaching clinics and sell books, videos, Elite Athlete Audios, and motivational cues. Leadership Training for Softball, the book from which this article was excerpted, is now available.

Leaders Build Support Within Their TeamTRAINING YOUR MIND

SEE LEADERS PAGE 27

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When I arrived at Adelphi University to begin my first job as a head coach, it was the first day of classes and the weeks following my job acceptance were spent packing my things and driving across the country.

The movers wouldn’t have my belongings to the East Coast before my arrival, so I had what could fit in a Jetta with another person and a large dog, and nothing else. My first of only two goals: Get to New York by the beginning of the semester. Upon arriving, my second and most important goal: Don’t sink the ship.

NOW, I AM NOT much of a goal-setter and I am not at all a planner. A grad school professor and mentor of mine was constantly frustrated with my lack of desire to plan ahead for anything in my life and I couldn’t understand it until my last semester. I finally had a plan, or so I thought. His advice to me: Don’t plan. The conversation that followed was one of the most memorable conversations we’d had.

He understood me, and who I was and was not, and understood that I may not always know what is next, but I will always be happy in what I choose to do. I open with this story as a prelude to the fear, excitement, challenge and satisfaction in taking over a program and creating a culture, system and structure that I am proud to put my name on. My original intention was to discuss ways to embed philosophy and values into team culture and dynamics, and then I realized that this was impossible to do without first discussing how important coach philosophy and behavior is in creating an environment where this is possible.

Don’t Sink the ShipWhile a seemingly simple goal, this

reminded me that I was coming into a lot more positive than negative, a lot more pros than cons. My assistant and I “talk coaching” a lot and we have great conversations. Recently, we were discussing the hiring of a new Mets hitting coach and the reports that in the

days following the team had recorded better offensive numbers. This led to a conversation about how good coaching can and does lead to performance-related improvements, but only to an extent.

The best hitting coach in the world will most likely not consistently make .200 hitters into .500 hitters, but poor coaching can do the opposite. In my observations, ego-driven coaching, especially without knowledge or insight, results in an overwhelming desire to “brand” a style with emphasis on naming it after oneself as opposed to sustained functionality and effectiveness. We wanted our athletes to have a successful year and an enjoyable experience, and in order to help guide the ship, we needed to do a lot of observing, a lot more listening than speaking, and determine what their definition of “success” was and if it was necessary and possible to redefine.

IT’S NOT ALWAYS easy to sit back and watch, especially when you feel there are things you would like to do differently. It also requires a great deal of patience and belief in the process. Something we feel very strongly about here is being task and process-oriented. Removing focus on results allows us to operate in the “now” and embrace the importance of the daily with an unwavering belief that the results will take care of themselves if we do the right things each day along the way.

What we’ve learned from observation is that it is mutually beneficial. It shows athletes that we respect the fact that change is hard, and, as a result, helps to grow the trust and respect that many of us desire in a coach-athlete relationship. Our athletes are intelligent, intuitive and just as skilled in the art of observation as we are. Sometimes we don’t give them enough credit for that. They can also be convincing and calculated.

We found that when we did things they liked or enjoyed, there were no issues, but when they were not sure about something, or not comfortable with it, they played the “change is hard” card. A few months in, we had a team meeting and knew how important

it was to approach them in a respectful and constructive way.

I’d never taken over a program before, so I didn’t have much to go off of, which I liked. We are not an ego-driven staff. I wanted them to know that change for the sake of change was not the priority, but that just as we expect others to be genuine and true to their values and beliefs, we have to do the same and we cannot coach like others did or do, but rather in accordance to who we are and what we value.

THE BEAUTY of conversation is that you sometimes don’t know what is going to be most powerful or what is going to “stick.” One observation we shared with them was that they were an incredibly loyal group, however that loyalty was to what came before us.

We made sure they knew that this was a great quality and one we admired, but we all needed to recognize that the circumstances had changed and we would be patient, understanding and reasonable in allowing them to go through their own processes of coping and adjusting, but there had to be a mutual desire to do so, and progress towards adapting. We later learned that for some, our recognition and appreciation of their loyalty was a powerful statement that helped them to trust in us and our intentions. To me, this was a huge step.

ON AND OFF the field, conversation became the glue that held this new, unfamiliar puzzle together. Through conversation we learned how they defined success and failure, the way they felt about structure and freedom, what they valued individually and as a team, and who they were as people and athletes. While it was valuable to us to assess our personnel, it was more important that they have a sense of ownership over their program. What did they want the culture to be? Where did they want to go?

We didn’t have captains. We didn’t reserve leadership for seniors only. It was simple: Work hard, compete, listen, do the right thing, be a good student, be a good teammate and in turn you

will have a voice. There were times they didn’t quite understand when it was appropriate to interject, suggest or express thoughts, but eventually they learned.

Through observation and con-versation, we learned a lot about the fabric of our team. Observation meant freedom, and newfound freedom. Some of them thrived on it and others fell on their face. Some adapted, and others didn’t.

Regardless, it provided a crucial opportunity to assess a culture and work to evolve it. There were many more elements, challenges and bumps in the road, but developing mutual trust and respect was the key to setting the stage for what was to come. My intention is to elaborate on the nuances of team culture in future issues.

By BREE NASTIHead Coach, Adelphi University

Bree Nasti is in her second season as the head softball coach at Adelphi University.

In her first year at the helm of the Pan-thers, Adelphi went 25-5 in Northeast-10 Conference play, won the Southwest Divi-sion regular-season title and the program’s first Northeast-10 Conference Tournament crown, earning a berth in the NCAA Division II East Regional. In recognition of their efforts, Nasti and her staff were named the NFCA East Region Coaching Staff of the Year.

Prior to Adelphi, she spent four years as the hitting instructor and outfield coach at Stony Brook University, helping lead the Seawolves to their best batting average since becoming a Division I school. She also spent time as an assistant coach at St. John’s and Hofstra.

Nasti holds a degree in psychology from the University of Buffalo, where she is the softball team’s leader in nearly every offensive cat-egory. She was a four-year letterwinner and a three-time All-Region and All- Mid-America Conference honoree for the Bulls.

Observation, Conversation Vitally ImportantPSYCHOLOGY

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Are elite level athletes born, or are they made?

I have asked and studied and asked again. And it always comes back to this: Greatness can easily be born, but certainly, with the right tools, can also be created. Having skills is helpful, but learning how to be great isn’t the hardest thing to learn.

There is one thing that I believe is harder. And perhaps it needs to be taught in just the right way. What makes most athletes great?

The will to win. And when I say that, I am often met with this question: What is it and how do I get one? The will to win sounds like something you can maybe find in a cereal box … something that’s on a piece of paper somewhere eluding you. If only you could find where you hid it, which notebook you stuffed it in three years ago, you would have no worries when you prepare to play.

It’s not that easy. Or is it?What does it take to win? Desire?

Strength? Commitment? Or a combination of all of that and then some? Have you ever wondered if some people just simply, “wanted it more?”

I have watched and played in countless hours of softball games in my life. It always amazes me how so often the “unknown” comes up big or the underdog takes the trophy, much to everyone’s surprise.

How does it happen? I believe strongly in the will to win. I believe that if you want something bad enough you can often times get it — with all the right pieces of course. This is not to say that if you are the worst team in the league you will win the World Series just because you want to. No, it’s far more than that.

THE WILL TO WIN is something that happens when the game is on the line. It’s that line you cross when there is no turning back. Like you have no choice.

It’s diving for third with no worry about the outcome. It’s making a “web-gem” type play in the bottom of the seventh with no outs and the bases loaded. It’s kicking it into overdrive when you have to. So, when is the “have to” moment? Why do people all of a sudden become masters of the game when they are about to lose?

This is deep, and I sit here playing with so many reasons and scenarios in my mind, allowing it to come out of my fingers the way I feel it. Here is my answer: Some athletes or teams just want it more. Simple. The end.

But how do you measure that? You don’t. You play the game, and on any given day, some people just put it together better.

So why in the big games is it turned up? Because it means more? The outcome is bigger, on a bigger stage in front of more people? Yes, I believe that is part of it. I know that in

the big games, when the adrenaline is pumping, the will to win kicks in.

For some it’s a full tank, others just half full. It’s desire. Some people have more of that than others. Not too surprising.

This all seems so simple, doesn’t it? But how can that change? How can we create more? Can we? Is it the reason why we want to win?

I strongly believe that it often comes when we least expect it, as so many other things in life do. When we aren’t pressing, or we aren’t worrying about who is going to score or who will get the credit.

There can be a good argument why playing on a well-gelled team is nothing short of extraordinary when this happens. But being handed opportunities doesn’t always mean you will win in the end. One of the most important ways to practice this is off the playing field.

IT’S NOT WHEN the game is on the line. It’s in the batting cage, the weight room and the pool. It’s the sprints in the humidity, the pushups on the dirt, the moments that aren’t as glorious, but just as important.

It’s like the workings of a clock. I don’t understand them, but I can look at the clock and know it’s ticking. I hear it. I see that the time is right, and I go about my day. But ask me to fix the clock and I would have no idea where to start or how to even get it open. Sometimes that is the simplicity of it all. The team is

amazing. They play so well together, and you can see it, feel it and hear it. But the intricacies of taking it all apart for examination is something only a highly skilled craftsman would understand.

On the will to win. Sometimes we do it more for others than for ourselves. When we don’t want to let down our teammates, or our parents, or even our coaches. The point we are trying to get to is when not letting ourselves down is more important than the other three combined. And that’s the biggest win of all.

THE MENTAL GAME

Jen Croneberger is a mental game coach who speaks at clinics, team workshops and corpo-rate seminars. She has been interviewed 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 pro-fessionals to youth and is formerly the head softball coach at Ursinus College. Her blogs and more information on her programs can be found on www.thefivewords.com.

On The Will To WinBy JEN CRONEBERGER

President, JLynne Consulting Group

to play 10 innings and you are out of time-outs, you get another additional offense and defense for the time out called by the coach.

(5) I would also like to try to find a magic number between innings if it’s a minute to minute and a half the first pitch has to be thrown by. To me this must start in the lower levels of travel ball recreation-

al ball and high school ball but I do think this can be promoted by the college level.

(6) Pitch clock of 90 seconds be-tween innings -- after the last out, the clock starts. At 90 seconds, the pitcher/batter must be ready to play. If not, strike or ball to the offending party.

(7) Ok, this might be weird or insig-nificant but see if you understand what I am trying to say: In a drop dead scenario (due to travel or weather etc), I understand if the home team is losing and time runs out before they finish their at bat why you would revert back to the inning before so

that both teams have equal opportunity, but in a scenario where the home team is winning why do you have to finish the inning? If time runs out before the inning is complete but the home team is winning then the last inning should count. Does any of that make sense? We were put in an awkward situation this season because of the rule. We went ahead in the bottom of the inning and with one minute left we had to purposely get out so that the bottom of the inning would count. I just don’t think that is upholding the integrity of the game. We had earned the runs against the other

team in the bottom of the inning so I felt we deserved to win, but we had to ask one of our kids to get out on purpose so that the inning counted.

(8) Would like to see a change to run rule, possibly 12?

Rationale: Amount of offense in the game, teams have the ability to score 7-8 runs in an inning.

G. Game Management. All games should start with 18 game ready balls. This will avoid delays during the game in trying

MINUTES—HCC

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SEE MINUTES—HCC PAGE 27

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Wife, best-selling author, two-time Olympic gold medalist, NCAA Player of the Decade for the 1980s, three-time All-American and MVP at UCLA, 10-time ASA National Championship winner, 15-time ASA All-American, seven-time winner of the ASA Erv Lind Top Defensive Player Award, physician, orthopedic surgeon, hospital executive … Dr. Dot Richardson is an inspiration, a leader and a winner!

As a 10-year-old shortstop in my not-so-hot, pink sliders, I grew up wanting to win like Richardson.

YEARS AGO, I unexpectedly ran into Richardson at the NFCA Convention. I was instantly that awkward, 10-year-old fan in the foam visor. I found myself truly speechless.

As one not typically nervous or star-struck, I was shocked by the giggling idiot that I had suddenly become standing in the presence of a living legend.

Today, I can laugh at myself and be thankful to call Richardson a friend. She has had an immeasurable influence on many lives, including mine, through the game of softball.

In the book, Women’s Fast Pitch Softball: Best of the Best, Richardson shares, “Through the sport we learn that when we fall short of our goals, we are not a failure because it is better to try and fail than to never try.”

Did you catch that? One of the greatest winners and leaders of all time says it is ok, even valuable, to fail. As a recovering perfectionist and relentless competitor, this concept challenges me.

Why would Richardson say, “It is better to try and fail than to never try?” In my book, Prep Steps, I

ask young athletes, “If there is no chance of failure, is there really any chance of great success?” If we never face obstacles or adversity that could momentarily break us, we will never maximize our coaching careers or our lives.

“Are you willing to pay the price (for greatness)?” leadership expert John Maxwell asks. “I certainly hope you are. But know this: Most people aren’t.” Those who experience high levels of success know well the value of sacrifice.

IS IT POSSIBLE to be a champion competitor and coach with a seemingly bipolar attitude that winning is both everything and nothing at the same time? Indeed, we train our teams to perform as if the outcome of competition is all that matters. This demands intensity and a focus on the goal so players can execute.

However, the balancing half of that successful attitude is just as essential.

Fear of failure creeps in when everything is on the line, leaving players petrified, unable to move or act. A proper perspective on losing frees our girls to perform and achieve. Failure actually provides an invaluable, low-risk opportunity to overcome and grow.

Wise Dr. Seuss understood the concept:

“Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best.

Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.Because, sometimes, you won’t…I’m afraid that some timesYou’ll play lonely games too.Games you can’t win‘cause you’ll play against you.”

None of us are the “best of the best” all the time. Our players are

certainly not perfect either. If we never fail, we are not challenging ourselves enough. We are not maximizing our potential. The same is true for our players. We must give them freedom to fail.

How do we win when we must play against ourselves?

BRIAN CAIN, a peak performance coach for pro athletes and top collegiate programs, has an incredible perspective on competing with ourselves and overcoming adversity. He says, “Champions and highest performers embrace adversity because it brings opportunities and success … Embrace the challenge and see what you are made of.”

Cain references Man’s Search for Meaning, a book in which Victor Frankel retells the horrors of surviving WWII Nazi Concentration Camps.

“Sometimes we get frustrated instead of fascinated with adversity. We think we are up against insurmountable odds or too tough of a challenge,” Cain says. “Compared to what Victor Frankel went through, most of us reading this book have it pretty easy.”

THIS CONCEPT is invaluable to athletes who must learn to win the games against themselves. Again, learning in the world of athletics is not always easy, but compared to Frankel, our obstacles are extremely low-risk.

So, go for it, coach! Make mistakes. Fail. Encourage your players to do the same. They may swing and miss or dive and come up short, but the world does not end when strikeouts occur or errors are made.

Mistakes on the field do not result in death. They are nothing compared to Frankel’s experiences, absolutely nothing. When we fail on the field, we

always survive.Take risks. Encourage your

players to make mistakes going hard. Fail at 100 percent effort. The rewards of maxed-out living and playing outweigh the risks of momentary failure. Every. Single. Time.

Most players are scared to push their limits, afraid of leaving the box that keeps them comfortable and keeps them from achieving the unbelievable. Until we are willing to push so hard that we fail, disciplining ourselves to be eager for the awkward and uncomfortable, we will continually underachieve our potential. Uncomfortable precedes unbelievable.

True greatness as players, leaders and people is only accomplished by those who overcome failure and become better as a result. If we fail enough, we will do more than succeed. We will eventually exceed even our own expectations!

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

Overcoming The Fear Of Failure Is DifficultVIEWPOINTS

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By JAMI LOBPRIESMarketing Strategist

Call it your niche. Call it your identity. Call it staying true to who you are. Call it authenticity. I’m calling it your brand.

In sports, the word brand is often associated with endorsement deals, television exposure and money. When I hear the word brand, I think identity. That’s because the foundational piece of building a brand is establishing your brand’s identity. A brand identity is even defined as a unique set of associations that help you stand out.

THINKING OF yourself as a brand means thinking of your unique identity. It means identifying your own unique associations that make you different from everyone else. What are your unique talents, your unique traits, your unique skillset that helps you make an impact on the world? Thinking of yourself as a brand allows you to think long term about how you can package and leverage your uniqueness to create long-term value.

Branding means identifying your unique attributes. Your unique brand personality. Your unique core values and passions. Branding is what differentiates you from your friends, teammates and competitors.

Branding is as simple as this: When people hear your name, what do you want them to think? What meanings do you want them to associate with you? The meanings that resonate with them are based on the way you have positioned your brand in their

mind. I’ll use myself as an example. I am

a former college and professional softball player. I was never an All-American or national champion. But along the way, I recognized one of my unique attributes was my academic success.

ONE OF MY passions is to grow women’s sports. I packaged my softball background, nerdiness and passion, and leveraged it through a PhD in Sport Management. This new association helps me stand out amongst the softball community and my athletic background helps me standout amongst my academic community.

Your brand represents your legacy. With every decision you make, you are building your brand’s legacy. We live in an era where we literally create our own life documentaries of our brands. Your Twitter posts, Instagram pictures, blogs, even the way you dress creates the content of your documentary.

The type of athlete or coach you are on and off the field adds credence to your brand’s legacy. The legacy you build for your brand and the way you leverage your uniqueness helps you create long-term value.

Building a long-term plan. That’s what thinking of yourself as a brand allows. Thinking in the long term can be difficult, especially in the world of instant gratification we live in today.

How you build your brand for the long term is way more important than the short-term financial gain. Personally, I have done things for

free to build my brand identity capital — free clinics when I move to a new area, free blog posts to build my writing brand — but there is always a long-term intention. The decisions we make and the actions we take affect the long-term value of our brand.

So how does this apply to softball and to female athletes? It is important to understand that not every athlete is going to become a mainstream brand. But thinking of yourself as a brand will enable you to create opportunities for yourself that generate long-term value. Opportunities that embody your unique core values, personality and passions.

CALL IT whatever you want, but think about your uniqueness and what sets you apart. Think about each decision you make and how it can help or hurt your brand’s legacy. Think about how you can package and leverage your brand for long-term value.

Whether you are an aspiring college softball player, aspiring softball coach, a professional player looking for sponsors or a former player looking to enter the corporate world, think of yourself as a brand and package your uniqueness. Create opportunities for yourself that you are passionate about and opportunities that create long-term value. And know each decision you make affects your brand’s legacy. Here are some key things to remember when considering yourself a brand:

1. The first step is knowing who

you are. Know what you are about.2. Differentiate yourself. Why are

you unique?3. Communicate your identity

consistently. Let people know this is who you are and what you are about. This will help you create opportunities for yourself.

4. Leverage your uniqueness into opportunities that match who you are. Create additional associations by linking yourself to other brands or jobs or community involvement.

5. Remember that every decision you make will have a lasting impact on your brand’s legacy.

I call it your brand. You call it whatever you want. Just know there is long-term value when you think of yourself as a brand.

Jami Lobpries is a sports management PhD student at Texas A&M, researching sports mar-keting and women’s sports. She played colle-giately at Texas A&M, where she participated in two Women’s College World Series, and profes-sionally in National Pro Fastpitch from 2009-12.

Lobpries uses her playing experiences and research to discuss marketing strategies to help grow women’s sports. Follow her on Twitter at @JamiLo2 and keep up with her blog at www.womenssportblog.com

Branding Goes By Many Different NamesMARKETING

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Felix finished 2-for-3 with a run and a pair of RBI to collect Best Hitter honors, while Mountie teammate Ayrika Simmons was named the Gold Glove receipient.

The All-Tournament team consisted of pitchers Sabrina Garcia of Mount St. Antonio, Becker and Paque; infielders Sydney Abounassar and

Torri Duquette of Santiago Canyon, the Mounties’ Alexandrea Simmons and Sierra’s Courtney Kelley; wild cards Alexis Johnson and Sydni Scott of Sierra; catchers Yumiko Hiroto of Mount St. Antonio and Sierra’s Carly Evans; first baseman Charlotte Foster of Mount St. Antonio; utility player Natalie Saucedo of San Mateo; and outfielders McRae Cayton of Santiago Canyon, Skania Lemus of San Mateo, the Mounties’ Ayrika Simmons and Sierra’s Kasie Trezona.

—Courtesy CCCAASPORTS.org

SIERRA RALLIES AGAIN TO BECOME CAL JC CHAMPIONCONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

February, finishing with a 928-419-3 mark (.687 winning percentage).

“In the world of collegiate softball, the name Bill Edwards is synonymous with success,” said Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz. “His remarkable tenure at Hofstra was

marked by his student-athletes’ excellence on the field and in the classroom. He built the Hofstra softball team into a nationally prominent program.”

“It’s hard to thoroughly articulate what Bill Edwards has meant to Hofstra University, our athletic department and the softball program,” Hofstra Vice President and Director of Athletics Jeffrey A. Hathaway said. “Coach

Edwards has been a pillar of success during his amazing career and we are thankful for everything he has done to put our softball program among the nation’s elite. I have tremendous admiration for Bill’s coaching style and ability to lead people. As successful as he is as an educator and coach, he is an even better person.”

“I am honored to have the opportunity

to work with wonderful student-athletes and continue the tradition and legacy that Bill Edwards has built,” Anderson said. “I could not have worked for a better coach and person than Bill Edwards.”

“He has mentored me on and off the field and most importantly has taught me lifetime lessons.”

—Courtesy Hofstra Athletics

HALL OF FAME HOFSTRA COACH EDWARDS RETIRESCONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

as the Division III Knights’ softball coach, compiling a record of 445-306-1 and winning nearly 60 percent of her games.

She got her start at the school in 1971 — known then as Beaver College — as a field hockey coach and assistant professor of health and physical education and later served as the first-ever director of athletics.

Under her leadership, the school was

a founding member of the Philadelphia Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and Keystone Athletic Conference.

Detra led Arcadia to a school-record 34 wins in 2006, the second of three straight 30-triumph seasons, and had 14 winning campaigns.

“My career has been filled with so many great moments, but what is important to me is not the wins, but the quality of the young ladies that have been involved in my softball program,” Detra said. “It’s my hope that college softball and I have influenced their lives in a positive way.”

LEWIS COACH DIMATTEO, ARCADIA’S DETRA RETIRECONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

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maybe this isn’t the right change for you. But I think I was very fortunate because this group embraced the change and embraced everything from day one in regards to where I wanted this program to go, how I wanted this program to go and that I wanted them to be a part of it.”

By her own admission, Kee is a tough-love coach. Never shying away from the challenge of constantly pushing and developing her student-athletes to the brink of their full potential, she has a fiery passion for the game and for her players, qualities that emerged early in her career.

One of her former players, Erin St. Ledger, who played under Kee from 2004-08, considers Kee to have mastered the balance of discipline and compassion.

“By the end of my career, she had prepared me to be successful, not only on the field, but in life,” St. Ledger said. “She was always really tough on the field, and for the people that already were pushing themselves hard, she was that someone who would push you even harder to try and reach that top level.”

And while establishing herself as a disciplinarian was important, Kee also wanted to reveal her more personal side.

SHE PUTS an emphasis on her relationships with each player, allowing the student-athletes to be comfortable yet tightly focused as they work toward their goals, a style that has allowed Kee to not only survive, but thrive in the cutthroat coaching industry.

“I think it is important for them to understand how much I care about them as individuals and not just as student-athletes,” Kee explained. “Understanding that fine line of when

you can laugh with them and be funny, but when we step on that field, how I can push the right buttons and get the best out of them as a student-athlete is key.

“I think when they see that you’re human and that you do have a sense of humor and that you can be serious and intense, it’s a matter of being in the right moment at that particular situation. There are times where I can be intense with them, and there are times when being lighter and joking with them is a positive. They both work.”

The Virginia native sees herself as much more than simply a head coach. Knowing that student-athletes need support outside of just Xs and Os, Kee has come to realize through 20-plus years of experience that coaching is only one slice of the pie when it comes to running a program.

“You have to wear so many hats. You have to be the coach, the disciplinarian, the mom, the sister, the friend, the counselor, the therapist, and to not wear all of those hats is a disservice to those athletes,” Kee said. “Most student-athletes at this level want to be challenged and want to be pushed, and I think it is up to the coach to find the buttons on those particular individuals to make that happen.”

ST. LEDGER agrees, finding Kee’s connection with the players — including her — to be well-tailored to each individual student-athlete.

“She was a mother figure and gave out some tough love,” St. Ledger said. “But at the end of the day, you looked up to her, and she was someone you just wanted to make proud.”

The nurturing side of Kee could be seen on a road trip to Marshall, when the Mean Green’s Karly Williams was hit in the jaw by a pitch that hospitalized the second baseman in Huntington, West Virginia, for three days. Kee remained with Williams as she recovered, while

the rest of the team flew back to Denton to prepare for a mid-week game with UT Arlington.

Kee’s philosophies and style were a definite change of pace from what the Mean Green softball crew was used to, but she didn’t hold back placing her stamp on the program from day one. Utilizing a fast-paced practice structure and focusing the girls on the cerebral side of the game were two of the more drastic changes the players had to adjust to early on. Her implementation of schemes and defensive strategies were eye opening for a unit that wasn’t used to that level of organization in the field of play.

“THIS IS ONE of the most talented groups I have ever coached, and I was fortunate to come into a program that I felt needed a foundation, some positivity, some push and a sense of togetherness,” said Kee.

Creating that sense of togetherness and establishing a successful foundation is no easy task in collegiate coaching. Getting players to buy in and stick to the program through the hard practices and tough conditioning on top of their busy everyday lives may be the most challenging aspect of being a head coach, especially in their first year with a new program.

“At first, I could feel the energy but also the apprehensiveness,” Kee said. “It was at the end of the fall when we had another team sit down, and I just flat out told them that I have taken teams with less talent far. Because by then, four months in, I knew exactly how much talent this team had.

“I had a pretty clear vision of what this team was capable of doing, and I think that was the “a ha” moment where the girls realized ‘oh, she doesn’t think we’re bad, and she believes in us and does like us.’ That’s a credit to them and their hard work.”

Despite the difficulty of the assignment, Kee has found a way to execute her vision, while simultaneously giving her players a goal to strive for — winning a conference title and making the postseason.

“AFTER SITTING with coach Rick and the administrators here and hearing their vision, I felt our visions matched up,” Kee said. “I knew that, if given an opportunity, I could truly help a team get where they wanted to be.

“On the flipside, you have to have student-athletes that are receptive to that,” she added. “And I think that not just coming in overbearing and showing off my resume, but instead, showing them that I’ve been in it. I’ve done this. I’ve learned from experience, and you can either come with me or not.

“I felt the vision was very clear. This program needed to take a step up. This program needed to prove itself and is sitting in an area where it can be very successful. I felt those were all things that I wanted to help this program get to. I think just sitting down and talking to the team for the very first time and selling that to them. They didn’t have to buy it. They could have bucked the system and made things difficult, but I think the timing was perfect. This is the perfect place for me at this time.”

With her system now firmly in place and the goals clearly set, the Mean Green are poised to take that next step at long last, playing for its first conference title, its first conference tournament championship and for that elusive first NCAA tournament appearance.

“Change is not always a bad thing,” Kee said. “I think me landing at North Texas was a good fit, and we have blended from day one, worked extremely hard and ridden this roller coaster of good practices and bad. Right now, we like the body of work that we are building.”

FINDING THE KEE TO SUCCESS AT NORTH TEXASCONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

learned that the game and players are constantly evolving, and it’s up to the coach to transition as well. That’s the beauty of coaching, every year and team is different, and with that comes change.”

4) Is there a secret to success in coaching?“I believe the most successful coaches are

those who understand how to teach, communi-cate and how to listen. Every player is different, and so too are their learning styles and skill sets. Coaches that understand that have the ability to

get the most out of their players. Being a consis-tent communicator and taking the time to listen to your players helps create an environment where all parties feel they belong.”

5) What would your ideal season be like?“An ideal season would be one where you look

back and think, ‘Wow, the spring flew by.’ When players and/or coaches are counting down the days for it to end, then you know you failed in cre-ating a cohesive squad and an environment where success could be fostered and appreciated.”


larger budgets and a sport whose popularity has taken off, coaches understand their jobs are highly attractive and harder to keep.”

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

“I should probably apologize to that very first team I coached! Looking back, I would have hated playing for myself. I was quite insecure in my knowledge and leadership qualities. I quickly

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to “break” in slick balls. [Note: Ms. Abrahamson said this

could cause a financial burden for some teams.]

H. Pitching. (1) Need to have more clarity on

the back foot in contact with the pitching rubber. It’s enforced differently. Does it only have to start touching it? Or does it need to stay in contact the entire time? Some umpires are saying if you start in contact with it, it can lose contact once you put your foot down. Then there’s a few inches between their foot and the rub-ber.

(2) Rule 10.2.1. Pivot foot must be on top of the pitcher plate. Again either enforce it or do away with it. I remember that this was changed from ½ of the pitch-er foot must start on top of the rubber be-cause it was difficult to determine what is ½ a foot. On a number of occasions this year I’ve seen a pitcher kick the heel of their pivot foot up against the front edge of the rubber and the umpires were ok with this. When it was brought to their atten-tion, they called the pitcher illegal once. The pitcher then covered the rubber with dirt so it was difficult to determine if the pitchers foot was on top of the rubber or in front of the rubber. This leads to the next rule that is not enforced.

[Note: Ms. Abrahamson said this is always an issue; always on the agen-da.]

(3) Look at changing the penalty for illegal pitch due to the inconsistencies in

how illegal pitches are being called. The coach felt the penalty of moving up run-ners was to harsh.

(4) Second, lets get rid of some of these ridiculous pitching rules or call them all the time one or the other. Other than no crow hopping I am good. Either two feet on or not even.

(5) I also feel like the illegal pitch needs to be looked at extensively. The crow hop or the sliding of the foot forward I feel like is an illegal pitch but the Leap or elevating off the ground, I have a hard time feeling that the pitcher is gaining an advantage. 75 percent of all the pitchers out there are leaping and very few are be-ing called for it. It is either a rule or not.

(6) I don’t care either way about the rules mentioned but I do care about enforcing them. I’ve played in leagues where the pitchers stepped back and gained air under their pivot foot, landed out of the circle and then released the ball. That was ok with me because it was legal and everyone was equal and allowed to do it. We have rules on the books and we teach our athletes to abide by the rules then come to a situation where the other team is not abiding by the rules and the umpires don’t care or just as bad don’t know the rule.

(7) I really think our 10-second rule is a terrible rule that potentially puts a lot of people at risk or it can be dangerous. The intent of the rule is to speed the game up and have a gamesmanship of the pitch-er and batter to be taken out but I think this rule is really judgment based and I would hate to see a game decided by the 10-second rule. The umpires can enforce the hurry up without having to give a ball or strike on the batter with just a little bit more hustle.

(8) Also, can we reevaluate the 10-second rule? No one calls it and I don’t think they should any way; all it does is create umpires that do not allow the hit-ter to call time out if they need it. The only time people violate the 10-second rule is if the pitcher and catcher have trouble with the signal; do we really want a pitcher throwing a pitch when the catcher isn’t sure what is coming? I just think this rule needs to somehow be adjusted.

(9) Rule 10.18. Can you please bring up the 10-second rule? If it is in the rules book, let’s make sure the umpires are enforcing the rules. We were at one venue where the catcher could not get the sign from the coach and they called time not once but 6 times and the umpires never said anything. Either call it or get rid of it. I can see letting the first one go and warning the parties involved but 6 times? They also called time 3 time outs because the batter could not get the sign, again the umpires didn’t enforce the rules.

[Note: Ms. Abrahamson said that it’s really a 25-second rule now, but may-be that’s not long enough anymore.]

(10) 10.20. A team representative or player shall not intentionally cover the pitcher’s plate or erase a line of the pitch-er’s lane. If the pitcher plate is supposed to be clean, let’s have the umpires sweep it off when it gets covered and watch the pitcher closer for covering it. The pitcher covers the rubber so they can get away with coming forward a little to gain mo-mentum and balance. We need to ei-ther enforce the rules or get them off the books.

I. Players and Substitutes. Look at changing the rule that says the DP cannot play defense only. Allow the DP to go into the flex position.

[Note: Will look at this again since coaches and umpires are not totally clear.]

J. Umpires (1) The arguing of balls and strikes

shall not be tolerated. One warning is suf-ficient. A penalty needs to be enforced if a player or coach questions balls and strikes outside the confines of the dugout.

(2) Make it consistent that all Divi-sion I games (championship segment) have 3 umpires.

Rationale: Think it is tough for the umpires to go back and forth and there are a lot of missed calls during preseason tournaments and non-conference games that matter just as much as conference games for teams working for at-large bid.

[Note: Ms. Abrahamson clarified that the rules book is for all three divisions and can’t be divided by division.]

(3) Do something about the yelling of “two man” from the umpires.

Rationale: Distraction to the field-ers.

K. Other: Division I Women’s Soft-ball Committee or NCAA Legislative Channels

(1) The regular season should not start until March 1st and the WCWS should be pushed back until June 20th. This will help promote the game in the northern states.

(2) I would also like to see the season start and end later as (and you know) us Northeast Schools really are having a hard time with the number of games and the cost associated with get-ting them in.

(3) One coach wanted to look at changing an NCAA rule that was not a playing rule. She wanted to look at seeing if softball could become a sport with a summer safety exception so that coaches could supervise summer work-outs since kids may be using pitching machines, bats, and balls which could be dangerous.

(4) I believe our playing rules are good. My concerns are off-field issues like recruiting of and taking verbal com-mitments from high school freshmen and sophomores.

(5) Three-day Super Regional if “if game” is necessary.

3. Next Conference Call. The next HCC conference call will be held at 10 a.m. Central time Tuesday, June 10.

4. Adjournment. The meeting was ad-journed at 10:26 a.m. Central time.

MINUTES—HCC


Often, mistakes are clear, but their sources are complex and hidden, even to the offending party. In his classic book, The Mental ABC’s of Pitching, Harvey Dorfman tells the story of a young professional pitcher who came into a minor league championship playoff game in the ninth inning of a tie game with a runner on second base and two outs. The first two pitches were strikes, but the next two were wild

pitches that allowed the winning run to score. Afterward, Dorfman asked him what happened.

The college graduate did not want to make excuses for himself, but he finally revealed that his college coach had a rule against giving up hits on 0-2 and 1-2 counts. The rule was this: allowing a hit means the pitcher will run “until he dropped.” Dorfman: “Psychology 101: stimulus-response; conditioned reflex.”

All the pitcher thought about in those counts was, “Don’t throw it anywhere close to the strike zone.”

LEADERS BUILD SUPPORT AND RESPECT ON TEAMSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

umpire will appreciate your team even more and everyone wants the umpire to like them at least a little more.

While on defense there are a few key things that championship teams do outside of just playing defense.

A championship team has players in the dugout working on deciphering the sign system of the third-base coach while also keeping a close eye on the batter and runner to communicate anytime the offense is up to something. They always have a player designated to give the center fielder and first baseman a ball when they run in to have them prepared for the next inning’s warm up.

Keeping with the theme of hustle,

competing and respecting the game, as soon as the third out is recorded on defense we expect the entire defense to be in the dugout in less than 10 seconds.

I love seeing defenses that are so excited to go hit they literally have a race to the bat rack. You can even incorporate this into your practice as a conditioning drill. Players love to see what their time was and if they beat the record.

Want to have the savviest team around? Start by having a classroom session teaching the little things, post a list in the dugout and then go out and practice it. You’ll find that your team’s hustle will increase.

You’ll find that your games go faster and have better tempo, and you’ll see that they are so much more focused which will translate into a few more results in the win column.

REVEALING SECRETS TO BEING SOFTBALL SAVVYCONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

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